habit without any attempt to overcome it, and therefore they must bear its consequences.
A Christian, if he would not constantly expose himself to the guilt of mortal sin, should earnestly endeavor to conquer a habit so pernicious. To this end let him follow the counsel given us by our Saviour, and which St. James repeats in these words: "Above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath. But let your speech be, Yea, yea; No, no; that you fall not under judgment."[1] By these words we are taught the danger of contracting a habit of careless swearing which may eventually lead us to swear falsely, and so fall under the sentence of eternal death. Swearing in "truth, judgment, and justice,"[2] as the prophet declares, is the only swearing that is justifiable. That is, we should swear only to what is true in a just cause, and with deliberation. But we should not be satisfied with merely shunning the vice of taking God's name in vain; we should excite a horror of it in our children and servants, and reprove it whenever we encounter it. If at times we inadvertently fall into it, we should impose upon ourselves some penance of a prayer, or an alms, not only to punish ourselves, but to impress on our minds the determination of avoiding it in the future.
All that has been said applies especially to blasphemy and perjury. Beware also of that vice known as cursing. The Name at whose mention "every knee in Heaven, on earth, and
