contemplate thee. How happy and glad I am, and I shall remain so for all eternity!
The difference of merits shall not cause any jealousy there. What do you think, my dear brethren, of this joyful company? True it is that the measure of joy in heaven shall correspond to the merits of each one, and he who has done more good on earth and amassed more merit shall be greater;md higher in joy and glory, and shall be preferred to others. But this inequality shall not give rise to envy or discontent in those who receive a lesser degree of glory; for every one shall be quite satisfied with what he has, and have no wish to be raised higher. How is that? The Holy Ghost by the Wise Man gives me a beautiful simile to explain this. “All her domestics,” and the inhabitants of the city of God, “are clothed with double garments.”[1] What else are those double garments, asks Cardinal Hugo, but the glory of the soul and of the body?[2] They are all provided with a double garment of the same material; but how? In what manner are they different in glory? Just as the clothing of a grownup man differs from that of a little child. See how the rich father acts who has several children to provide for; he gives each of them clothes of the same material, richly adorned, and embroidered with gold and silver; but does he have all the garments made of the same size? Not by any means. Why not? One child is taller and stouter than the others, and he must have clothes proportioned to his size. One requires eight ells of cloth, the other seven, the third six, and so on in proportion; one more, another less. Now ask the smallest of the children if he is dissatisfied because his coat has less cloth than that of his brother, and whether he is jealous of the other on that account, or would like to change with him. He will answer, no. But is not the larger garment of more value, worth more money than the smaller? True; yet as the little brother has a coat that suits him and looks well on him, he is content and does not want any other.
Because each one is content with his own glory. Shown by a simile. So it is when several guests are sitting down to table to enjoy themselves. They all partake of the same food, and drink the same wine; yet according to the difference of health and appetite one is able to consume more than another. But no one is therefore envious of his neighbor because every one eats and drinks as much as he pleases. O chosen children and domes-
