33. Of Holy fellowship with Jesus and with his saints

" QudBsite Deum, et vivct anima vestra.''* " Seek ye after God, and your soul shall live."

1. There is nothing better, — nothing more beneficial to the soul than to seek after God alone. He that seeketh any other thing, shall end by finding nothing.

If, therefore, thou wouldst have o o a friend to give true consolation in affliction, go to Jesus ; — approach His crib with the shepherds,* come with the Magi, to adore Him in the arms of his mother ;t follow Him to the temple with Simeon and Anna ;| to the city with Martha ;^ to the sepulchre, with Mary Magdalen :|| or filled with sentiments of the most sweet and lively joy, join the apostles in the upper chamber, to receive with them the Holy Spirit.** Blessed is he, that in these and other holy places, devoutly seeks Jesus, not in body only, but in spirit and in truth.

Blessed is he who, at all times, and in every place, seeketh Jesus from the bottom of his heart, and who burns with an ardent desire to enjoy His presence, and to preo o parehimself every day for the bright vision, and presence of Christ.

Blessed is he who, in his life, follows Jesus to Calvary, and bears his cross with Him ; for his divine Saviour shall assist him in his last hour, and he shall not fear the sentence of reprobation destined for the wicked.

2. Seek not only Jesus, but the disciples of Jesus, and all that love Jesus ; and all, who for His love, bear patiently the pains and sorrows of this life : for the love of Jesus and His friends maketh a man despise the world, and driveth away all that is impure or vain.

Renounce then those friends, those acquaintances, those com- })anions, who would offer an obstruction in thy retreat or devotion ; and for thy singular consolation, seek in secret retirement to entertain thyself with the holv apostles, o and brethren of Jesus, that they may speak to thee of the kingdom of God, and declare how great is the happiness of the elect ; and how, by passing through many tribulations, thou mayest attain their happy society.

Come then, before all holy saints, men or women, citizens of the heavenly court, withdraw thyself from the tumult of the world : retire into the secret tabernacle and oratory of the blessed Virgin Mary, and seek there by constant prayer, for all necessary consolation.

'.]. Listen to the angel of the Lord, announcing to Mary the incarnation of Christ, and the redemption of the human race.

O blessed day and happy hour ! if thou canst rest there in company with the angel Gabriel,' and the blessed Virgin Mary, and learn from their mouths the mysteries of o o heaven ; believing, most firmly, in the truth of all things which were declared by the angel to Mary, even as she believed God, and His angel sent from heaven.

Then turn to the desert, and seek diligently John the Baptist, the precursor of our Lord Jesus Christ, where he lies hid ; and on bended knees humbly say with much devo- " Hail, John, the most holy and beloved friend of Jesus Christ, I have often heard of thy many virtues, and the wonders of thy admirable life ; I have heard of the miraculous sanctity of thy birth ; I have heard with what religious austerity thou livedst in the desert from thine infancy, that so thou mightest' preserve thy spotless purity in word and thought."

4. Ask of him how long he remained alone in the desert, and a dwell with him there as long as thou canst, or time will allow.

Learn of him what was his meat or his drink, and who ministered to his wants ; see if his father or mother sent any thing to him ; or whether they came to him, or he to them ; or whether the angel Gabriel descended on him to reveal to him many hidden things, or even whether Jesus appeared in person to him, and strengthened his hand, as it is written in the gospel : " For the hand of the Lord was with him."* Whatsoever revelations St. John the Baptist had been favoured with in the desert, do thou commit thyself entirely to the Holy Spirit, with whom he was filled, by whom he was instructed, — who formed him, and adorned his life with all virtues ; — who, in the desert, in the o world, in prison, and in chains, watched over him, and received his soul at last, as it bore away the glorious palm of martyrdom.

5. Approach then to the apostles of Christ ; seek out St. Peter, and follow him to the temple to pray, or ascend with him into the upper chamber, " to receive the Holy Spirit."* Follow St. Paul to Damascus, to Ephesus, and go with him through all dangers, to preach the gospel of Christ, not in body, but in spirit.

Behold how his labours exceed all ; how often he prays, and how frequently in his prayers and meditations, he is rapt up into heaven.

It is true these great fiivours are not vouchsafed to all ; and yet the apostle, humbling himself to the lowest, says, " I do not count myself to have apprehended :"t and o o elsewhere, when teaching the humble, that they ought to conform themselves to the life and passion of Jesus Christ, he says, " I judged not myself to know any thing among you, but Jesus Christ and Him crucified."* Follow, then, St. Paul, for he will lead thee by the straight path unto Christ, and by the way of the cross to heaven.

6. Go then further, and in the parts of A-chaia, listen to the apostle Andrew, preaching the faith of Christ ; hear his words from the cross on which he was nailed, for the name of Jesus Christ ; engrave them on thy heart, and study to fulfil with joy, through the inspiration and assistance of the Holy Spirit, all that he declares of the passion of Christ, and the praises of the holy cross.

Seek then St. James the Greater, who suffered martyrdom under Herod ; drink, with him, of the chalice of sorrow in this miserable life ; — bearing patiently with all suffering, for the love of God, and the salvation of thy soul.

7. Next proceed, and seek John, the beloved apostle of Christ, who,, for the name of Jesus, was sent into exile ; and separated from the world, and all its cares and concerns ; where, enlightened by divine revelation, he wrote in symbolic and mysterious style in the Apocalypse, the state of the church militant and triumphant ; and after this, he wrote his gospel, to instruct and console all churches, and all the faithful therein, and give testimony, last of all, to the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Read and study well these, and the other books of Holy Scripture, o o as much as thy understanding will allow, and thy wants require in this thy exile, here on earth : not with a view to pass for wise and learned, in the eyes of men, but that thou mayest become m.eek and patient, humble and obedient even unto death.

8. Go also, and for thy consolation seek, the other apostles, employed in the service of God, enduring martyrdom for the faith and love of Christ, and leading the faithful to virtue, both by their example, and by their words.

Behold St. James, the brother of our Lord, writing his canonical Epistle, wherein is contained the rule of a Christian life, and the whole perfection of our religion.

Seek St. Thomas in the Indies ; that apostle who reverently touched the wounds of Christ, and who, believing firmly, cried out with | o o an ardent love, " My Lord and my With a like holy zeal, seek the holy apostle and learned evangelist Matthew, writing, in the Hebrew character, the gospel of Christ, for the instruction of all the world, and for the salvation of all people, and nations and tongues.

With an equal ardour and affection, follow the other holy apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ ; each one, in the several relations and places, preserving the word of life, teaching the people, and labouring unto death in the vineyard of the Lord.

Behold these are the saints and friends of God, who, at the price of their blood, and by the crown of martyrdom, merited eternal life. Read with pleasure the recital of their labours and sufferings, and o o thou wilt be consoled in thy labours, and light affliction ; for whatever thou mayest do or suffer, it is as nothing in comparison with that which the martyrs and all the blessed have done and suffered fior Christ in the service of God.