better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which shall never perish." [1]
O happy chaste man, to whom Almighty God grants the sovereign dignity both of a son and of a father; of a son by the singular grace of adoption, and of a father in spirit by the copious fruits of benediction!
v. The fifth favour comprehends many very singular graces and privileges, which He grants them in testimony of the great love He bears to chastity; for as the chaste elevate themselves above the ordinary laws of nature, living in flesh as if they had no flesh; so God will sometimes exalt them above the ordinary laws of grace in honour of their chastity. The Virgin, our blessed Lady, through the rare vow she made of virginity, was exalted to the dignity of the mother of God Himself. The evangelist St. John, for his purity, was much beloved by our Saviour Christ, from whom he received extraordinary favours in the supper and on the cross, and great revelations; in which also, for this reason, Elias, Eliseus, Daniel, and other sons of the prophets were very famous; and the fire of Babylon touched not the three children, because they had vanquished the fire of luxury.
vi. The last favour is that singular privilege to "follow the Lamb" in glory " whithersoever He goeth [2] for whosoever imitates Him in this life, embracing His virginity and purity, shall also imitate Him in the other, participating in His most excellent glory, united to His sweet company with particular joy. [3]
Colloquy. — O most pure and immaculate Lamb, grant me that I may follow Thy purity both in body and spirit, that in issuing out of this strait prison of the world I may with Thee in Thy spacious heaven dilate myself and rejoice! Amen.
