Introduction
My Prayer-Book is more than a book of prayers and devotions; the sub-title, Happiness in Goodness, indicates that it is also a book of counsels and reflections on the pursuit of happiness, not only with a view to the eternal life, but also with regard to our present existence "in hoc lacrymarum valle."
"All desire peace," says "The Following of Christ," "but all care not for those things which appertain to true peace."
We may say the same thing with regard to happiness. All desire it, but many do not attain to it because they seek it where it can not be found. The one thing necessary to true and lasting happiness is the state of sanctifying grace — the love of God — union with God, in whom alone man's heart can find rest. "Rejoice in the Lord, always!" Seek happiness in goodness, in virtue; in loving God above all things and in loving all things in God ; in loving your neighbor; in doing good to others for the love of Jesus Christ — that is the key-note — the dominant note of this book. It is an exponent of the greatest thing in the world.
