act, and so speak, as if this day were to be thy last. Learn to die before death comes, that so when it does come, it may not seem to thee a prison-house, but rather the gate of life. Christ is dead and the prophets are dead; and soon thou too must go the way in which thy fathers have gone before thee. But great is the hope, very great the comfort, of those words of Jesus: " He that believeth in Me, although he be dead, shall live "; and again: " He who heareth My word, and believeth Him that sent Me, hath life everlasting" In this life, then, make Jesus thy Friend, that in the life which is to come thou mayest find mercy at His hands. Cast from thee whatever comes between thee and the love of Jesus, whatever keeps thee back from seeking the Kingdom of Heaven. Be on thy guard against everything which can stain the purity of thy conscience: give up everything which tends to destroy thy peace of mind. Keep thyself detached from the world, united to God, friendly with Christ. Walk with Jesus in the liberty of the Spirit; take no thought for the things of the world. Make ready for Jesus the chamber of thy heart, offer to Him a large upper room furnished; that so before thou goest hence, Jesus and His disciples may keep with thee a mystic Passover.
When thy health begins to fail, and thou hast cause to think that thy summons to depart hence is at hand, humbly lift up thy heart to Jesus, and say to Him in the words of Mary and of Martha: " Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick ": for the loving and merciful Jesus, Who wept over Lazarus, and brought him back to life, is able to assuage thy pains, and after thy death to raise thee up again at the last day. At that time especi-
