too late and without avail, because you will do it then only from the fear of punishment, and not from love of God ! Ah! Lord, behold — now, at this very moment, I turn to thee; I will not wait for death; now, and always I will love thee; I embrace thee, and in thy embrace will I die ! My Mother, Mary, let me die under thy protecting mantle; help me in my death ! Amen. [ Awaken your contrition , and make a firm resolution.]
MEDITATION FOR THURSDAY.
On the Last Judgment.
I. Consider how the soul, as soon as it has left the body, will be immediately taken before the tribunal of God to be judged. Your judge is Almighty God, offended and enraged with you. Your accusers are the devils, your enemies. You are to be judged for your sins. The judgment is one which cannot be recalled; the punishment is hell. There you have no companions, no parents, no friends; you will be alone there, you and your God. Then will you feel all the enormity of your sins, and you will no longer be able to excuse them as you have before. All the sins you have committed, in thought, word, or deed, will be examined; all the sins of indulgence, of omission, and of commission. [Here examine into the vast numbter of your sins] Everything will be weigher! in the great balance of divine justice, and if in anyone point you are found guilty, you will be eternally lost. My Jesus, thou who wilt be my judge, pardon me before thou judgest me. [Excite a tender sorrow for your sins , and make a firm resolution.]
II. Consider how the divine justice will judge all people in the valley of Jehosaphat, when, at the end of the world, their bodies will arise, that, together
