me fortitude to resist; from Thee I seek it, and of Thee I hope for it! But I will not content myself only with the grace of not falling again; I desire also the grace of loving Thee exceedingly during the days that remain to me, so that I may love Thee still more in eternity. O Mary, my Mother! do thou also pray, and beseech Jesus for me; thy prayers are all-powerful with thy Son, Who loves thee so much. Thou who desirest so much that He should be loved, beseech Him to give me a great love for His goodness, and let this love be constant and eternal.
Recite the Steps of Our Saviour's Childhood, page 377.
6. Exercises for the Fourth Sunday of the Month, Consecrated to the Preparation for Death.
1. He that Loves God must Love and not Abhor Death.
How can he ever abhor death who is in the grace of God? " He that abideth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him" (1 John iv. 16). He, therefore, that loves God is secure of His grace, and, thus dying, he is sure of going to rejoice forever in the kingdom of the blessed; and shall such a one fear death? David truly said: "Enter not into judgment with Thy servant, for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified" (Ps. cxlii. 2). This means that no man may presume to be saved by his own merits; for no .one but Jesus and Mary can say that he has been without sin throughout his life. But he ought not to fear death, if, with true repentance for his sins, he trusts in the merits of Jesus Christ. It was to save sinners that Jesus
