10. Overwhelmed by the remembrance of his sins and void of good works, the sinner stands naked and trembling, in fearful anticipation of the sentence to be rendered against him.

11. Each one reads the tablet of his entire life. Those who have walked in the narrow way, those who have effaced their sins by sincere repentance, and those who have shown mercy to the poor and the stranger, await, full of confidence and blessed hope, the glorious coming of the great God-Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ.

12. It is the day of their triumph. Behold, not coming from the earth, but descending from heaven, He appears as the lightning cutting the air. Hear the cry-" Behold, the Spouse arrives; behold, the Judge comes to pronounce the sentence; the God of the universe comes to judge the world and render to every one according to his works."

13. All hearts, at this cry, are seized with trembling. Universal consternation prevails. The firmament becomes one blaze of light; the choirs of archangels advance; the cherubim and seraphim chant the hymn of glory. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts, who is, who was, and who comes in His omnipotence.

14. And the heavens and the earth reply, "Blessed be He who comes in the name of the Lord." The opened heavens display the King of kings, the Sovereign Ruler of all powers, clothed in glory and majesty. All eyes see Him. Those who nailed Him to the cross recognize Him, and the ancient inhabitants of the earth weep with them, bewailing their blindness. The Prophet Evangelist marks His coming in these words:

15. Alas, sinners that we are, what will then become of us? The Son of Man is seated on His throne of glory; the books are opened according to the prophecy of Daniel; those books wherein are written not only our works, good and bad, but our words and our most secret thoughts.

16. What then will become of those sinners who now refuse

to do penance?

and to give alms.

This is no time, they say, to pray, to fast,

Then the voice of the Judge will be heard in tones of thunder, "Show me what have been your works and receive the reward they deserve."

17. Alas, how do we deceive ourselves! Ah, my brethren, what tears should we continually shed in anticipation of that terrible day!

18. Behold all men assembled with pallid faces and downcast eyes, suspended as it were between life and death, heaven and hell: before that redoubtable tribunal each one hears himself called-cited by name to undergo a rigorous examination. Woe is me! I would explain the rest, but my voice is mute. 19. All then is examined discussed judged in the presence of angels and of men. Every Christian is examined on the promises of his baptism; on the deposit of faith; on the renunciation he has made of the devil and all his works, without exception. Happy he who has faithfully fulfilled these engagements!

20. The examination over, the good are separated from the bad, the sheep from the goats. To the first is said, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you;” to the second, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!”

21. You who were without charity, enemies of God and of your brethren-you were without mercy, I shall be without pity-deaf to the voice of my gospel. I say to you now, I know you not! And the division is made for eternity. To the wicked, hell, with its everlasting torments; to the just, heaven, with its immortal rewards.

22. The torments of hell! Exterior darkness-tortureswailing and gnashing of teeth, the worm that never dies-the pool of fire-the fiery, exhaustless furnace-and to all of these torments are assigned particular victims corresponding with the sins of which they were guilty. All banished forever from the presence of God! All abandoned to despair! All delivered to everlasting death, who makes them his prey!

[Here Ephrem, weeping bitterly and striking his breast,

suspended his discourse. His congregation with one voice begged him to continue.]

23. You wish it? I will then speak, but only with my tears and deep sighs.

24. Oh, my brethren, what do you wish to learn? Oh dreadful day! Woe is me! woe is me! You who have tears, weep with me! Let those who have them not learn what fate awaits them. Ah, let them not forget their salvation.

25. Cruel separation-the false priest-the prince and the monarch, who abuse their power; the worldly Christian fathers and mothers who forget their duties, are separated forever from the faithful priest, from their brothers, their sons, their friends, without regard to their anguish-without one to plead for them.

26. In vain do they implore aid; vain are now their riches and their flatterers. The angels with lashes chase them before them and force them into the abyss. Unfortunate beings! they look backward, imploring pity; they arrive at the brink of the abode of eternal torments; "No more hope!" they scream, in plunging in. Oh, why were we carried away by the seductions of the flesh? what good has it been for us to have served the world? where are the parents from whom we received life? Where are our children and our friends?

27. Where our riches and our pleasures? Adieu, adieu forever, Saints and just, the blessed souls whose example we refused to follow! Adieu parents, friends, children, whom we shall never again see! Adieu holy apostles, prophets, and martyrs of the Lord!

28. August Mother of the God-Saviour-oh, you who united us to penance, you who entreated us with such tender prayers to think of our salvation-oh, why did we refuse to listen to you? Farewell, delights of Paradise, the Celestial Jerusalem! Farewell, immortal Kingdom of Heaven!

ST. EPHREM OF EDESSA, DOCTOR.

95. MY GOD! I LOVE THEE!

[ST. AUGUSTINE, born in Africa, 354, was one of the most eloquent writers of the Latin Church. According to Bossuet, Augustine is one of the most renowned orators, and one of the most extraordinary men who have been given to the world.]

Y

My God! I love Thee! Thou hast struck my heart with Thy

Word, and I have loved Thee! Heaven and earth, and all things that are in them, tell me to love Thee; nor do they cease to say the same to all men, that they may be inexcusable.

2. But what do I love when I love Thee? Not the beauty of the body; not the graceful revolutions of time; not the dazzling brilliancy of light, so enchanting to our eyes; not the sweet melodies of dulcet sounds of every description; not the aromatic fragrance of flowers and of perfumes; not manna, and not honey. It is not these I love when I love my God; and yet I do love light, and harmony, and fragrance; I do enjoy the pleasures of food and of endearment; but when I love my God, light, harmony, fragrance, food, endearments, speak to my inward being; a light shines on my soul which is not hemmed in by space.

3. Harmonies are there which time interrupts not: fragrance not to be dissipated by a breath of wind; pleasures of taste not to be diminished by indulgence of the palate; abiding caresses, endearments, over which satiety has no power to produce disgust. This is what I love when I love my God. And what is God? I asked of Earth, and it answered me: "It is not I!" And all the creatures she contains within her bosom made the same acknowledgment.

4. I asked the Sea, and the deep abyss, the reptiles alike, and the animals which live within their depths, and they answered me: "We are not thy God; search thou above what we are." I asked the atmosphere we breathe, and the vast encircling air, with all its inhabitants, thus answered me: "Anaximenes was wrong-I am not thy God." I asked the

azare sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, and they replied: "Neither are we the God whom thou dost seek."

5. Then said I to all objects exterior to my body, and which surround me: "Speak to me of my God, which you are not; tell me something concerning Him." And they exclaimed with a loud voice-" HE MADE US."

6. I interrogated them by the intention framed within my soul. They answered me: "By their beauty." I then addressed me to myself, and questioned: "What art Thou?" And I answered: "A Man !"—a being in whom a body and soul are conjoined, the one exterior, the other interior. "In which of these ought I now to seek my God, whom I had already sought by means of my bodily senses, throughout all earth, up to the heavens themselves, wherever I could send my eyes as messengers to gather light?"

7. But far better speaks the interior sense, since all exterior objects refer to that in judging and appreciating the several responses of earth and heaven, and of all which are contained within them, saying: "We are not God, but He it was who made us." The interior man knows this by the ministry of his exterior organization; I myself know these things, by my inward sense; I, i. e., my soul, receive impressions through the senses of my body. I have interrogated Matter concern. ing God, and it answered me: "I am not He, but He made me."

ST. AUGUSTINE,

96. DEFENCE OF EUTROPIUS.

[ST. JOHN, Archbishop of Constantinople, was surnamed Chrysostom, or "Golden-Mouthed," on account of his wonderful gift of oratory and success in the ministry of preaching. The entire East, Christians and Pagans, called him the Divine Orator. Christian eloquence never achieved more brillian victories, or reigned with more triumphant sway, than from the pulpit of St. Chrysostom. The people hastened in crowds to hear him. His regular audi ence in the city of Antioch was a hundred thousand. Heretics, Jews, even Pagana, mingling with Catholics at the feet of this man, the worthy Ambassador of the Supreme Judge of the living and the dead, presented an image of the future concourse of the human race on that day when he shall come in the