escaping death? consider what will be the despair of a soul when it shall be condemned to hell, as it says: Is there, then, no longer any means for my escaping from eternal ruin?
When thine eye rests on scenes in the country or along the shore, on flowers or fruits, and thou art delighted by the sight and scent of all, say: Behold, how many are the beautiful creatures which God has created for me in this world, in order that I may love Him; and what further enjoyments does He not keep prepared for me in paradise! St. Teresa used to say, that when she saw any beautiful hills or slopes, they seemed to reproach her for her own ingratitude to God. And the Abbot de Ranee, founder of La Trappe, said that the beautiful creatures around him reminded him of his own obligation to love God. St. Augustine also said the same, crying out aloud: " Heaven and earth and all things tell me to love Thee." It is related of a certain holy man, that in passing through the fields he would strike with a little stick the flowers and plants which he found, saying: " Be silent; do not reproach me any longer for my ingratitude to God; I have understood you: be silent; say no more." When St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi held in her hand any beautiful fruit or flower, she used to feel herself smitten by it with Divine love, saying to herself: " Behold, my God has thought from all eternity of creating this fruit, this flower, in order to give it me as a token of the love which He bears towards me."
When thou seest rivers or brooks, reflect that as the water which thou beholdest keeps running on, without ever stopping, to the ocean, so ought thou to be ever hasting on to God, Who is thy only good. When thou happenest to be in a vehicle that is drawn by beasts of burden, say: See what labor these innocent animals go through for my service; and how much pains do I take myself in order to serve
