the lily of chastity. The giver and his gift will then be acceptable to Him.
III. Many follow Jesus the Nazarene, but few Jesus the crucified. They willingly adhere to Him in prosperity, but when adversity frowns they immediately abandon Him. They are willing to share His kingdom, but not His sufferings; they admire His crown, but not His cross. Remember it is your duty to follow Christ in all His characters, and to shrink from no difficulty.
SATURDAY.
A Summary of the Virtues which Christ exercised in His Infancy.
After having meditated in detail the mysteries of Christ's Incarnation and Nativity, it will be well to collect in one point of view the chief virtues which He exercised, and contemplate their united lustre.
1. He displayed a sovereign contempt of the world. He was born privately in the night, without pomp and attendants, and unknown to all. When born He was visited by poor shepherds. He afterward lived in obscurity and banishment, contemning the world and all its conveniences, and unknown to all.
2. His humility was equally great. Though the God of infinite majesty, He assumed the body of a helpless infant, and was an outcast in Bethlehem. He became a companion of beasts in the stable. He assumed the character of a sinner at His circumcision. Well might He say by His prophet: "lam a worm and no man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people." (Ps. xxi. 7.)
3. His poverty corresponded with His humility. " Be-
