JULY 31.-On the Necessity of being humble in order to please God. It is, therefore, necessary that this virtue should precede, accompany, and follow all our actions, because the moment pride is mixed up with them, it destroys all their merit; moreover, we should fear this pride in proportion as we have merit and virtue ; for culpable actions are the source of other vices, and the most praiseworthy are the food of pride; other vices are linked only with disorder and shame, whilst this attaches itself but to glory and to virtues. II. Every thing infected with the leaven of pride is displeasing to God. If a faithful Christian, who has made great progress in piety, admits into his heart a sentiment of pride, a desire of pleasing men, and of gaining their esteem, a secret complacency in his own merit, he loses, in a moment, all the fruit of his past labours; he unhappily runs aground in the middle of his course, and all his virtue is dashed to pieces against this rock. St. Bernard compares a man who accumulates virtues, without humility, to a person carrying dust against the wind; the first blast will scatter it all. Whatever merit you may have acquired, always remember that "God resists the proud, and gives his grace to the humble.” AUGUST 1.—On the Relation between Christian Humility and the other Virtues. I. Faith, hope, and charity, which include our principal duties. to God, are sustained only by humility. Faith enlightens humble, docile, and submissive spirits, whilst pride obscures or rejects all its lights, according to this text :Thou hast concealed these mysteries from the wise and the prudent of the world, and thou hast revealed them to the humble?" Hope is the resource and consolation of the humble, who distrust themselves, and place all their confidence in God. Charity which consists in loving God, is equally the portion of the humble who know that every thing they possess comes from him, and that they subsist only by his bounty. II. Humility is also the support of these other virtues which include our duty to our neighbour. There have been always dissensions and complaints amongst the proud," says the wise man; they complain of every thing; nothing is denied to their fancy; they seek each other only to destroy and tear each other asunder. The humble, on the conrary, are satisfied with every thing; they complain of nothing; they do not seek after distinctions or preferences; they always imagine that they are treated more favourably than they deserve, and by this means they preserve peace with God, with their neighpour, and with themselves AUGUST 2.-On true Humility. 66 I. It does not consist of the exterior, or of words. "It is easy,' says St. Jerome, to bend the head, to incline the eyes, and to call one's self a sinner; but how often is not pride concealed under these deceitful appearances "" "There are some." says the wise mar, "who pretend to be humble, but their interior is full of deceit and fraud; they are serpents who creep on the earth, but if you touch them ever so slightly, even inadvertently, they are immediately swollen with rage and fury; their eyes sparkle, their wrath is enkindled, and they will give you a mortal wound for a blow, which has not even injured them. II. It consist of interior sentiments.. To despise ourselves outwardly, and to speak evil of ourselves. is not humility; but to suffer patiently the injuries and contempt of others, is genuine humility. Death touched the mighty genius with his wand E nrich'd with pow'r to teach, and charm mankind. ·00 O'R A NATIONAL PRAYER FROM REV. B. MURPHY'S SERMON, AT ST. PATRICK'S CHAPEL, LONDON. O God, at whose all-powerful word unnumbered planets ran through space unbounded, and verdure clothed the surface of my country, who bids me sympathize in all her sorrows, and hope that better days are yet reserved for her, if it be thy adorable wil that her privations be continued, at least assist her to preserve her faith. Let her candlestick be immoveable, and her lamp be trimmed, that her flight be not in winter, nor upon the Sabbathday, and that at thy second coming, thou mayest find faith upon the earth, and call many from the west to sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in thy kingdom. Convince the nations that we have a God; and shield from further wrongs thy western fold. Amidst our ruined shrines we hold thy faith, and, trusting in thy mercy, cry for help. Make her an impenetrable treasury for thy faith, and an hospitable asylum for its chiefs. Shield her from civil wars and alien swords. Dispose her rulers to promote with zeal her piety, her learning, and her peace. Send pastors equal to thy vineyard's wants, and enable them to carry over Gentile fields once more thy gospel's healing balm; and when the islands of the sea are moved, let faithful Ireland's pilot be her God. MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTION. THE following tribute to the memory of the late exemplary Mrs. Stuart who was miraculously cured in 1823, as witnessed by innumerable persons, and solemnly attested by his Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Murray, is about to be inscribed over her tomb in the convent chapel, Blanchardstown. In the Choir of this Chapel, Lie interred The Mortal Remains of the Much-Lamented SISTER MARY FRANCES DE SALES STUART, PRIORESS OF THE CONVENT OF THE INCARNATION, BLANCHARDSTOWN; Who departed this Life on 2d December, 1833, She was justly admired through Life, for Through the Powerful Efficacy of the Which She afterwards enjoyed for nearly Ten Years; During which Time She devoted Herself with Increased Ardour To the Service of God. Her Afflicted Friends dedicate this Tablet TO HER MEMORY, As a Mark of their Affection, and as a Monument of Divine Interposition. May She Rest in Peace, AMEN. BEAUTIFUL METAPHORS. He who seeks knowledge truly does not seek a coach whereon to rest a languid spirit; nor a terra firma for a variable mind, and wandering feet, to walk up and down with a fair prospect, nor a foot and commanding ground for strife and contention, nor a shop for self-interest; but a rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man.—Bacon. Seneca compares lessons to grains of seed. The quality of the fruit depends entirely on the soil in which they have been sown. Nature, says Pliny, has some flowers for pleasure; these last but for a day. She has trees for use which last for years, as if she intended to intimate that whatever is splendid passes away, and soon loses its lustre ; but what is useful lasts for a long time. A tomb is a monument situated on the confines of both worlds. The example of the good man directs the silent stream of concealed benevolence to the withered root of the widow's vineyard. LAITY'S DIRECTORY FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. July 27-SUNDAY, tenth after Pentecost, 2d oration of St. Pantelem, M. 3d a cunctis.-Green. July 28.-MONDAY. SS. Mazarius, and companions, MM. 2d oration a cunctis. 3d ad libitum.-Red. July 29.-TUESDAY. St. Martha, V. commem. of SS. Felix and companions, MM.Red.' July 30.-WEDNESDAY. St. Anacletus, P. and M. (from 13th inst commem. of SS. Abdon and Sennen, MM. 3d oration a cunctis -Red. In archdiocese of Dublin, St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland, (from 15th ult.) commem, as above.-White. In the D. of Kildare, SS. Abdon and Sennen, MM. 2d and 3d oration as on Monday.-Red. July 31.-THURSDAY. St. Ignatius, C.-White. August 1.-FRIDAY. St. Peter's chains, commem. of St. Paul, and of the Holy Maccabees, MM.. Creed. Pref of Apostles.-White. August 2-SATURDAY. Mass of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2d oration of St. Stephen, P. and M. 3d of the Holy Ghost.White. In the archdiocese of Dublin, St. Anacletus, B. and M. (from 13th ult.) 2d oration of St. Stephen, 3d a cunctis.—Red. ·00 NOTICE. THE Monthly Supplement for July, price One Penny, is this day published, containing the History of the Christian Church. When completed this will be found a most valuable work, embracing inore matter than any edition hitherto published, and at a considerable reduction în price. DUBLIN -Stereotyped, Printed and Published, by T. & J. COLDWELL, 50, Capei-street Sold also by the Catholic Book Society, 5, Essex-bridge; R. Coyne, 4, Capel-street. R. Grace and Son, 45, Capel-street; J. Coyne, 24, Cook-street; D. O'Brien, 2, Upper Abbey-street; Willmer and Smith, Liverpool; D. Kennedy, Glasgow; J. O'Donnell Edinburgh, &c. &c. THE No. 25. PUBLISHED WEEKLY, UNDER THE INSPECTION OF CATHOLIC DIVINES. DUBLIN, SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 1834. VOL. I. SCRIPTURAL ILLUSTRATIONS.-No. 1. In the beginning God created heaven and earth. 2. And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the waters. 3. And God said: Be light made. And light was made. 4. And God saw the light that it was good: and he divided the light from the darkness. 5. And he called the light Day, and the darkness Night: and there was evening and morning one day, |