his business, what account could he give to the king on his return? But, O God! what a much greater account will he have to render in that judgment, to the Lord, he who was placed on the earth not to amuse himself, not to amass riches, not to acquire honours, but to save his soul if he shall have attended to everything rather than to his soul? The worldly take thought of the present only; not of the future. S. Philip Neri once, in Rome, conversing with a young man of ability named Francis Zazzera, who was attached to the world, thus addressed him: "My son, you will make a large fortune; you will become a noted advocate; afterwards you will become a prelate, perhaps even at length a cardinal, and who knows, it may be a Pope; and then? and then? " " Go," he said in conclusion, " think upon these two last words.", Francis retired home thinking upon these two words: and then and then? He left his worldly studies, and entered into the same congregation of S. Philip, and began to attend to God alone.
The one " business," since we have but one soul. Benedict XII. was asked to grant a prince a favour which he could not concede without sin. The Pope answered the ambassador: " Tell your prince that, if I had two souls, I would lose one of them, and keep the other for myself; but as I have only one, I cannot, neither do I desire to betray it." S. Francis Xavier said, " that there is but one good and one evil in the world: the one good is to save, the one evil is to lose the soul." S. Teresa used to repeat to her nuns these words, " My sisters, one soul, one eternity; " wishing to say, " one soul lose this and all is lost; one eternity lose the soul once and it is lost for ever." Wherefore David prayed, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, which I will require, even that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life." (Ps. xxvii. 4.) Lord, one thing I ask of Thee save my soul, and I ask nothing more.
"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. " (Phil ii. 12.) He who does fear and tremble lest he be lost, will not save himself; therefore we must labour and do violence to ourselves to obtain salvation. " The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." (S. Matt. xi. 12.) To obtain salvation, it is needful that at our death, our life should be
