Merrymaking

“ May we be whole-heartedjy, devoutly, righteously assimilated, assumed into Thee, that we may know no existence but in Thee ! Bless us that, knowing no separation, we may for ever dwell in union with and in Thee! Oh ! Beloved God! Blessed with peace, joy and holiness, may every heart become a holy shrine unto Thee ; may Thy mercy spread out and extend over the whole universe ; and, held together by sweet ties of eternal fellowship, may we realise Thy mercy, reveal Thy mercy — sense Thy mercy,spread Thy mercy — everywhere, all for Thy Glory ! ”

“ At the Kings' she daily saw all she wanted, for the children's older sisters were just out, and Meg caught frequent glimpses of dainty ball dresses and bouquets, heard lively gossip about theaters, concerts, sleighing parties, and merrymakings of all kinds, and saw money lavished on trifles which would have been so precious to her. Poor Meg seldom complained, but a sense of injustice made her feel bitter toward everyone sometimes, for she had not yet learned to know how rich she was in the blessings which alone can make life happy. ”

“ We have had a hard and bloody campaign, yet we ought rather to dwell upon the mercies we have received, than to repine because they are not greater. But man is a thankless creature; yet you, dear Murray, know, that the mercies of God are happily proportioned to our weakness. Retired to winter quarters, the social passions once more kindled into life. Love and friendship triumph over the heart, and the sweet pleasure of domestic happiness, call to remembrance my once happy circle of friends, in which you my dear Sir, appear in the first rank. ”

“ Do with them as to the world, as thou thinks fit—only, convey grace down to their posterity; let them be pleaders for thee, as I have pleaded for them at the throne of grace: this is all my desire, and would be my comfort to see. O Lord, come this day and smile upon my poor gift, and accept of them. I solemnly stand to all my former engagements, and make a solemn resignation of myself unto thee, and desire to close with thee on thine own terms. ”

“ It was placing herself at the mercy of a man—a loyal, honorable man to be sure—confiding to him not only her own peace, honor, and happiness, but the honor and happiness of her family, of her noble husband and loving sons. ”

“ But with how much greater demonstrations of kindness, are they both received by their compassionate Redeemer! The Ancient of days, who comes in the clouds of heaven, is their friend, their father, their bridegroom. He comes with irresistible power, and infinite glory. But they have nothing to fear from his majestic appearance. Those tremendous solemnities, which spread desolation and astonishment through the universe, serve only to inflame their love, and heighten their hopes. ”

“ There is no one, O my Lord, who can deal bountifully with me to whom I can turn my face, and none who can have compassion on me that I may crave his mercy. Cast me not out, I implore Thee, of the presence of Thy grace, neither do Thou withhold from me the outpourings of Thy generosity and bounty. Ordain for me, O my Lord, what Thou hast ordained for them that love Thee, and write down for me what Thou hast written down for Thy chosen ones. My gaze hath, at all times, been fixed on the horizon of Thy gracious providence, and mine eyes bent upon the court of Thy tender mercies. ”

“ But the greatest joy of all will be to prove yourself my better; to make me your faithful follower; knowing no dread lest as the years advance you should decline in honour in your household, but rather trusting that though your hair turn gray, yet in proportion as you come to be a better helpmate to myself and to the children, a better guardian of our home, so will your honour increase throughout the household as mistress, wife and mother, daily more dearly prized. ”

“ It is a pleasure to a good man, and he accounts it an honour, to show mercy to those with whom he has found no mercy. Yet this is not all. "They shall not only become suppliants to thee for their own interest, but they shall give honour to thee: They shall call thee, The city of the Lord; they shall at length be convinced that thou art a favourite of heaven, and the particular care of the divine providence." ”

“ And glorious peace upon these friends of mine!
[Pg 8]
[Pg 9]
Dear Lord, if some be rich, bid Thou them bear
Some joy this day to Sorrow and to Care.
If some be glad with living, bid them go
Afar or near and minister to Woe.
Bring love to every heart and let it fill
The cup of joy for each, and overspill,
And let the light of sympathy so shine
That none shall weep of all these friends of mine. ”

“ During my four weeks' sojourn in England I have had another lofty honor, a continuous honor, an honor which has flowed serenely along, without halt or obstruction, through all these twenty-six days, a most moving and pulse-stirring honor—the heartfelt grip of the hand, and the welcome that does not descend from the pale-gray matter of the brain, but rushes up with the red blood from the heart. It makes me proud and sometimes it makes me humble, too. ”

“ Ah, Lord, enlighten my heart, that I may understand thy boundless mercy, prize it highly when understood, and keep it always before my eyes for my guide and rule, until I am freed from the bonds of this wretched life, and my soul, bound only with the ties of thy bounty and so exquisite favours, may respond to them by loving thee with my whole heart, by dedicating itself entirely to thee, and by binding itself entirely to thy holy service and honour. ”

“ When by chance you have raised me to elysium by a friendly greeting, my pride is mingled with humility, and I depart as though God's blessing rested on me. Nor does the joy vanish without leaving a long track of light behind. ”

“ But, at least, those who go will remember that in their misery here they found gentle hearts to love and pity them, and generous hands to give them succour, and will plant in the new country their grateful tradition of the old. May Heaven's good mercy speed them. ”

“ Kind judgment of another's motives, patient bearing with another's temper, gentle sympathy with another's weakness, noble self-sacrifice for another's good, all these are signs of the life of mercy. Let me tell you, in ending, that mercy ever brings its sweet reward. Each act of lovingkindness comes back to us with abundant interest. ”

“ For I beheld the property of mercy, and I beheld the property of grace: which have two manners of working in one love. Mercy is a pitiful property which belongeth to the Motherhood in tender love; and grace is a worshipful property which belongeth to the royal Lordship in the same love. Mercy worketh: keeping, suffering, quickening, and healing; and all is tenderness of love. ”

“ The guest of honour, he thought ironically, feeling his vitals play host to that courteous warmth. [223] The guest of honour, always expelled. A spark falls into your soul. Shall you cherish it, shelter it to clear consuming flame; or shall you hurry to stamp it out? Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? The smell of burning cloth is mighty disagreeable. ”

“ When we meet our fellows and companions of our own time of life, knit with us in the tenderest bonds of human affection, and enjoy with them some of that good which God’s bounty allows us, let us rejoice in the thought that they and we have a mutual share in things better than all which this world has to give, and are heirs together of the same common salvation. ”

“ And now that your unions have been consecrated by God, my young friends, persevere in the honest, industrious, and God-fearing life that has secured you this good fortune, and never forget that you owe this just reward of courage in adversity and of dignity in poverty to a man imbued with the tenderest affection for his brother man; for, faithful to the spirit of a true Christian, he did not consider himself the master, but simply as the custodian and almoner of the wealth with which Heaven had blessed him. ”

“ Praise their virtues, their constancy, patience, fortitude; extol their chastity and abstinence; celebrate their obedience, poverty, and contempt of the world. For the more marks of virtue thou celebratest in them, the more miracles thou celebratest of my power and goodness.
If, therefore, thou wilt honour my friends who reign with me in glory, or venerate one of the saints whom thou most lovest as thy patron, and wouldst render them an acceptable service, praise God and give him thanks, for having chosen, from all eternity, St. N. to be his friend ”

“ O GREAT and glorious Saint, who loved your neighbour even more than yourself! if it be true, as it most certainly is, that charity never fails, and though commenced in this world, receives its increase and perfection in heaven, may I not hope, that being now raised to that seat of glory, you will make me feel the effects of that tender and generous charity which you exercised during your mortal life, and that you will not refuse me a place in your heart. ”

“ And when glory shall open upon our view, neither sorrow nor sin, shall again interrupt our joys for ever. I will echo your words, and say, ‘What manner of love is this, that we should be called the sons of God!’ We may look upon one another, and remember our former selves, and say, ‘What hath God wrought!’ ‘Not by works of righteousness which thou hast done, but according to his mercy he saved thee.’ Now then, my dear brother, let all the rest of our life be cheerfully devoted to God. ”

“ I am well known by now, and every farmer's boy who passes me exchanges greetings, sometimes with a half-hearted movement of the hand in the direction of the cap, but oftener with the smile of recognition which betokens comradeship. For our relations are on the most cordial footing of strict equality; we are all workmen, each after his kind, servants of one Master; and if God gives us grace to use our opportunities as we ought we may all enter, even now, into the joy of the Lord. ”

“ By these means we shall regain our brethren; we shall honour piety; we shall overthrow impiety and freethinking; we shall deprive the world of all occasion for those discourses, so common and so injurious to real virtue; and, after having used mercy toward our brethren, we shall with more confidence go to present ourselves before the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation, to ask mercy for ourselves. ”

“ Then, having been first just, and thoughtful of their neighbour's rights,—soon, generosity, or considerateness for their neighbour's distresses and wants, would follow of itself: for the door of heavenly influences once opened into the heart by "doing justly,"—the "loving mercy" would come quietly in unobserved, and the man would feel himself disposed to be kind and tender-hearted, ere he was aware. ”

“ We love to see you at all times consorting in amity and concord within the paradise of My good-pleasure, and to inhale from your acts the fragrance of friendliness and unity, of loving-kindness and fellowship. Thus counselleth you the All-Knowing, the Faithful. We shall always be with you; if We inhale the perfume of your fellowship, Our heart will assuredly rejoice, for naught else can satisfy Us. To this beareth witness every man of true understanding. ”

“ But in every change goodness and affection can find field for exertion and display. Among some these changes produced a devotion and sacrifice of self at once graceful and heroic. It was a sight for the lovers of the human race to enjoy; to behold, as in ancient times, the patriarchal modes in which the variety of kindred and friendship fulfilled their duteous and kindly offices. Youths, nobles of the land, performed for the sake of mother or sister, the services of menials with amiable cheerfulness. ”

“ The hope of your promotion cheers me. Let us do all we can to merit the blessings of a gracious Creator, and the good-fellowship of our fellow-creatures, and we shall not be very unhappy, although far distant from each other.’ The last morning I spent with my wife was a mixture of cheerfulness and grief. ”

“ What, madame, you carry your kindness so far as to wish to honour a poor outlaw like myself with a visit! This time I might say, like the ancient patriarchs, whom I resemble so little otherwise, that 'an angel has come into my house.' I well know that you like to do works of mercy; but, as things go nowadays, all good is difficult, and this like the rest. ”

“ Oh! rise up to the dignity of the Christian vocation to which you are called. Stir up within your hearts that fire of generosity which is never totally extinguished in the Catholic breast, and learn to sacrifice something for the love of God and for the salvation of your neighbor's soul. ”

“ Now, listen, darling! our engagement, our sweet and solemn engagement, is secret. You will never hear from me until we meet again; you may hear of me and not to my advantage. What matter? You love me; you cannot doubt me. I leave with you my honour: an honour never sullied. ”

“ Does he himself delight in worship? Certainly. Parents and benefactors are honored among us. But why is this honor given? Human nature has regard for mutual wants and, the bestowal of honor is due to the idea that we can be aided by a greater and more enduring power. No one wishes to aid another unless his own wants are satisfied in turn. ”

“ Make us sensible of the renewed obligations we are under to love thee supremely, and to be friendly to each other. May all our irregular passions be subdued, and may we daily increase in Faith, Hope, and Charity; but more especially in that Charity which is the bond of peace and the perfection of every virtue. ”