therefore shall we have?" Jesus answered and said: "Amen, I say to you, there is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive much more in this present time, and in the world to come, life everlasting" (Luke xviii. 29, 30).
Life everlasting! This promise does not surprise us. But the other is very remarkable. Even in this life the disciples who follow Christ wholly and entirely will be bountifully rewarded. They will receive a hundred-fold, far more than they have left, even in this time; liberty of spirit, peace, interior joy, happiness, confidence in God, brotherly love.
It is, however, true that those who enter the cloister take human nature with them; and there also is much human frailty to be found. But in spite of all this, there is but one spirit which pervades the cloister - the spirit of love - a fraternal co-operation in all undertakings. That is the blessing of Christ, the happiness of a religious vocation.
4. This happiness is mirrored in the daily life of a true Religious. The whole day is consecrated exclusively to God by means of obedience, cheerful labor, and religious exercises. His first awaking in the early hours of the morning is a pious upward glance to the most holy Trinity, whom he adores, and to whom in his prayers he offers up his life, his will, his heart, and its desires.
