Man is a traveller on earth

I. Seeing that on this earth so many miscreants live in prosperity, and so many Saints live in tribulations, the very Gentiles, by the sole aid of the light of nature, came to this conclusion — that, as there is a just God, there must be another life in which the wicked are punished and the good rewarded. But what the Gentiles learned by the light of reason, we Christians know by the light of Faith. We have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come (Heb. xiii. 14). This earth is not our country; it is for us a place of passage, from which we shall soon go to the house of eternity. Man shall go into the house of his eternity (Eccles. xii. 5). The house, then, dear reader, which you inhabit is not your home; it is a hospital, from which you will soon, and when you least expect, be dislodged. Remember that when the time of death has arrived, your dearest relatives will be the first to banish you from it; and what will be your true home? The home of your body will be a grave, in which it will remain till the day of Judgment; but your soul will go to the house of eternity — either to Heaven or to hell. St. Augustine tells you that you are a stranger, a traveller, a spectator. It would be foolishness in a traveller to spend all his patrimony in purchasing a villa, or a house in a country through which he is merely passing, and which he must leave in a few days. Reflect, says the Saint, that in this world you are only on a journey; fix not your affections on what you see; look and pass on, and labour to procure a good house, in which you will have to dwell forever.

Behold, then, O Lord, the home which I have deserved by the life I led. Alas! it is hell, in which, from the first sin I have committed, I ought to dwell, abandoned by Thee, and without having it ever in my power to love Thee. Blessed forever be Thy mercy, which has waited for me, and which now gives me time to repair the evil I have done. O my God, I will no longer abuse Thy patience. I am sorry above all things for having offended Thee, not so much because I have merited hell, as because I have outraged Thy infinite goodness. Never more, my God, never more will I rebel against Thee; I desire death rather than offend Thee.

II. Happy you, if you save your soul! Oh how delightful is Heaven! All the princely palaces of this world are but stables compared with the city of Paradise, which alone can be called the city of perfect beauty. There you will have nothing to desire; for you will be in the society of the Saints, of the divine Mother, and of Jesus Christ, and will be free from all fear of evil; in a word, you will live in a sea of delights, and in unceasing joy, which will last forever. Everlasting joy shall be upon their head! (Is. xxxv. 10). This joy shall be so great, that at every moment for all eternity it will appear new. But unhappy you, if you are lost! You will be confined in a sea of fire and of torments, in despair, abandoned by all, and without God. And for how long? Perhaps after the lapse of a hundred thousand years, your pains will have an end? A hundred and a thousand millions of years and ages will pass by, and your hell will always be at its commencement. What are a thousand years compared with eternity? Less than a day which is gone by. A thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is past (Ps. lxxxix. 4). Would you wish to know the house which will be your dwelling for eternity? It will be that which you merit, and which you choose for yourself by your works.

O my Sovereign Good! were I now in hell, I could never love Thee, nor couldst Thou love me. I love Thee, and wish to be loved by Thee; this I do not deserve, but Jesus merits it for me because He has offered Himself to Thee in sacrifice on the Cross, that Thou mightest be able to pardon and love me. Eternal Father, give me, then, for the sake of Thy Son, the grace to love Thee, and to love Thee with all my heart. I love Thee, O my Father, Who hast given me Thy Son. I love Thee, O Son of God, Who didst die for me. I love Thee, O Mother of Jesus! who, by thy intercession, hast obtained for me time for repentance. O Mary, obtain for me sorrow for my sins, the love of God, and holy perseverance.