in view, with a lively faith that he must shortly die, and enter into eternity. 'The just man liveth by faith,' says the Apostle (Gal. iii. ii). It is faith that makes the just live in the grace of God, and that gives life to their souls, by detaching them from earthly affections, and reminding them of the eternal goods which God holds out to those who love Him.
"St. Teresa used to say that all sins had their origin in a want of faith. Therefore, in order to overcome our passions and temptations, we must frequently revive our faith by saying: ' I believe in the life everlasting. I believe that after this life, which for me will quickly finish, there is an eternal life, either full of delights, or full of torments, which will be my lot, according to my merits or demerits.'
Raise your heart to God by meditation, by mental prayer. Only in this way will your hope, as well as your faith, be maintained and kept from degenerating into presumption or despair.
The sinner often resembles the ostrich which lives in the sandy deserts of Africa. When it is pursued it buries its head in the deep sand, that it may not perceive its pursuer, and imagines itself to be unseen; all too late it discovers its mistake, when the fatal bullet has inflicted a mortal wound. After a similar
