immortal by nature, take care that you be so by grace; for sin is the death of the soul.
III. God has endowed this soul with many noble faculties, chiefly the memory, the understanding, and the will. Your free-will renders you supreme master of your own actions. Reflect what returns you can make to the great Creator for such favors. At least, return Him these faculties without spot or blemish, and beware lest you suffer the reproach, "Thou hast forsaken the God who begot thee, and hast forgotten the Lord who created thee." (Deut. xxxii. 18.)
TUESDAY.
The Benefit of Creation.— II.
I. Wonderful combinations and perfections are discoverable in the composition of your body. "Thy hands have made me," exclaimed the enraptured Job, "and fashioned me wholly round about." (Job x. 8.) Observe with what variety of members and senses God has furnished your body. They are all adapted to the convenience of each other, and of the whole body. Everything is disposed in its proper place, so that there is nothing wanting in this stupendous fabric, nothing superfluous. Hence David cries out, "Thou hast formed me and hast laid Thy hand upon me. Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me; it is high, and I cannot reach it." (Ps. cxxxviii. 5.) That is, as St. Basil explains it, " In the structure of my body Thy knowledge is magnificently displayed, and I cannot reach it."
II. Every member of your body is a particular and distinct favor of God. Reflect how wretched you would be had you been born blind, deaf, or dumb. How grateful you would be to the man who should restore to you
