And as the Prophet foretold of Christ, "The will of God shall be prosperous in His hand" (Isaiah liii.), so was the Church instituted by Him, the office of which is to teach and to preserve the will of God. "Her Just One

shall come forth from Sion as brightness, and her Saviour shall be lighted up as a lamp; but Jerusalem (the Church) shall be called by a new name; she shall be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and the will of God shall be in her"-she shall be the guardian of the Divine will. (Isaiah lxii.) But in what consists this Divine will, which, by means of the holy Church, is to be fulfilled in us? "This is the will of the Father, who hath sent Me," says Christ, "that every one that believeth in Me may not perish, but have everlasting life." This will of God is already fulfilled in the holy angels, and in the glorified souls of holy men; but in us not yet; and therefore we pray, "Thy will be done,” as in those who have reached their happy destiny, so also in us, who are still wanderers here below, earth as it is in heaven." The former, in whom the Divine will is perfected, fulfil on their parts, in the most perfect manner, this holy will; for, without prejudice to their freedom, they can no more be separated, in the splendour of the Divine light, either from truth or from love; whilst, on the contrary, in us mortal men, nothing is more common than the blinding of our intelligence and the perversion of our will, and generally because nature or passion is permitted to rule over the spirit.

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As the full dignity of man can be attained only when the corporeal or animal life of nature is exalted to the spirit, and is fully governed and penetrated by the spirit, when the spirit is raised up to God, and united with

Him, we may, according to the expression of St. Cyprian and of St. Gregory Nazianzen, with full justice, call the spirit of man a heaven, and his body earth. The spirit is a heaven by its heavenly offspring, by being an immediate creature of God, and by its capability of divine revelation; the body, on the contrary, is earth, because it is formed of earth, the most noble and the highest formation of created nature. "The spirit is willing," as our Saviour tells us, "but the flesh is weak." On the part of his spiritual and heavenly life, man is inclined to bend to the Divine will; not so on the part of his earthly life, which follows the weight of earthly nature. Hence, in this signification, we pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;" that is, as our spirit knows Thy will, and desires to obey it, so may nature also obey it, without being led away by its inclination to contradict this spirit, so that the entire man may be sanctified by grace: Thy will be done," by our nature, as by our spirit. For this is the express teaching of the Apostle, "This is the will of God, your sanctification." And in what does this our sanctification consist? We have seen that the sanctity of God is no more than the purity of His will, of His disinterested, infinite, creative, sanctifying love. If the creature is bound to aim at sanctity (to a likeness with God), in what must this consist, if not in his turning to God in the most pure and spiritual love? Hence the Apostl carefully places the sanctification of man before every thing that might contaminate or frustrate the endeavours of his spiritual nature, which might degrade his life to a mere animal existence, in which nature, with its inclinations, reigns triumphant. "This is the will of

God, your sanctification; that you should abstain from fornication, and that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification, not in the passion of lust, like the Gentiles, who know not God. For God has not called us unto uncleanness, but unto sanctification." (1 Thess. iv.) When, therefore, we say, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," this petition signifies, in a fuller extension, that, as in heaven" the inclinations of nature shall no longer rule over us, but only Thy holy love; and as Thou hast promised, that after the resurrection men shall be as the angels, free from the slavery of the body, so may Thy pure and spiritual love rule over us upon earth, that by it we may overcome the impurity of our sensual inclinations, and may live worthily of Thee.

Gregory of Nazianzen, surnamed the Theologian, was yet a youth at Athens, whither he had gone to devote himself to study, when, being once engaged with his books, he fell into a slumber; and suddenly, in clear vision, there stood on his right and left hand two virgins of celestial beauty. Astonished, he asked them what was their wish; but they kindly answered, 'Trouble not thyself, for we are well known to thee, and we are named Wisdom and Chastity; we have been sent from heaven to take possession of the abode which thou hast prepared for us in thy heart; unite thy spirit with us, and we will exalt thee to the full light of the sacred Trinity.' Wisdom and purity are inseparable sisters; and he who is faithful to one will not be a stranger to the other. "The luxurious man hath heard a wise word, which shall displease him, and he shall cast it behind his back." (Ecclus. xxi.) How can the carnal

man, whose life, and thoughts, and ideas are in the life of nature, have any thought or capacity for spiritual truth? His spiritual free being is under the yoke of his unfree nature; and as the whole life of nature continually strives for existence, the slave of nature is continually governed by its passions, which he, as a spiritual being, ought rather to rule; and, to his shame, he seeks delight in those things which ought to appear to him terrible, as they are the mystery of his origin. Great, or rather terrible, must we call this mystery, for it threw heaven and earth into commotion. For as man is the living unity of two contrary substances, his existence has a twofold source. As by his life of nature he belongs to one species, he has been brought into existence, as to his body, by the power of nature.

Amidst the general corruption which reigns amongst men, the Christian must frequently and seriously ponder on the exhortation of the Apostle: "Be not conformed to this world, but be reformed in the newness of your nind;" be not borne away by prevailing opinions, but examine all by the spirit of the Gospel; "that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God." (Rom. xii.) Wherefore this triple designation? Because the acts of men that are agreeable to the will of God are of a threefold rank: some are good, others better, and some perfect. Not to hate our enemy is good; to love him is better; but to benefit him is perfect. In all our works, therefore, we should act in this manner; we should endeavour to direct all our actions, not only according to the good and acceptable, but perfect will of God; and hence we do not pray only that the will of God may be done, but that it

may be done on earth as perfectly as it is done in heaven. It was this desire that dictated the well-known vow of St. Teresa-always to choose the better of two good works, whenever she could make the choice. But, to act up to so exalted a vow, we should stand in need of a high degree of heavenly light and heavenly understanding; for we are as often wanting in understanding to distinguish the better and the best, as in strength to perform it. “For who among men is he that can know the counsel of God? or who can think what is the will of God? For the thoughts of mortal men are fearful, and our counsels uncertain. For the corruptible body is a load upon the soul; and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things. And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth, and with labour do we find the things that are before us; but the things that are in heaven, who shall search out?.... . For if one be perfect among the children of men; yet, if Thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded. . . . . Send, therefore, O Lord, Thy wisdom out of Thy holy heaven, and from the throne of Thy majesty, that she may be with me, and labour with me, that I may know what is acceptable with Thee." (Wisdom ix.)

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As often, therefore, as we have to choose and to act, the guide of our choice should be no other than the Divine will, which, for most occasions, has been manifested to us as the Divine law; but, in time of anxiety and doubt, patient expectation and fervent prayer must be called to our assistance. "As we know not what to do,”—thus did the holy king Josophat once pray on an occasion of anxious doubt-" As we know not what to