form but one family. Unfortunately, one not seldom finds in the present day Christians who commit sin boldly, and even with a sort of pride; but there are, thank God, other Christians, who dread nothing so much as sin.
Whence arises this difference? In the case of the latter, from the practice of mental prayer, in that of the former, from the thoughtless manner in which they live their daily life, and never reflect upon higher and eternal things. Truly it is not to be wondered at if a man who lives in this manner veers about like a weathercock with every wind that blows. He does not live quite like a Christian, nor quite like a heathen; he indeed believes in heaven and hell, but in a cold and careless manner.
How does it happen, on the other hand, that the true, earnest Christian stands as firm amid evil examples as an oak which has braved a hundred winters? Let us discover his secret, a secret more valuable by far than the secret of the alchemist. The true Christian also has his temptations; he has to fight with his own concupiscence, with the world, with the devil. But he is not careless and thoughtless; on the contrary, he is watchful and serious; in prayer he meditates upon religious truths and by the grace of God his
