may know and do the will of God.
5. In the fourth place, receive frequently and worthily the sacraments of Penance and of the Altar. These sacraments will maintain the purity of your soul, and the Giver of grace will descend into your heart with His light and strength. After each communion entreat Our Lord, with earnestness and confidence, to teach you what are the designs of His sacred Heart in regard to you, and to strengthen you to make any sacrifice that may be necessary. And on your communion days give some time to serious reflection. Imagine that you are stretched upon your death-bed. Ask yourself if you were in that awful hour what state of life you would wish you had chosen. Would it not be a cause of bitter regret if you had acted in accordance with your own self-will, instead of following the advice of your confessor?
6. I can not refrain from mentioning one more means for arriving at a right decision, namely, a true, filial, confiding love and devotion
- o Mary. On the present occasion I will only
make two brief remarks in regard to this devotion. If you desire wisdom and enlightenment concerning the choice of a state of life, the surest way to obtain it is through Mary, for she is "Sedes sapientiae," the "Seat of wisdom." And if you wish to attain eternal salvation in the state which you may choose, the surest way to realize this is through Mary, for, as a great saint tells us, "a true servant of Mary can never be lost."
7. Do not imagine that thoughts like these are suited only for a young man who is about to enter the cloister. These reflections are not intended for this one or that one, but for all who
