of time during which he could merit punishment by sin. A just soul in purgatory practises the most perfect faith and hope regarding the joys of heaven it has not yet seen; it hopes for salvation as firmly as if it had already gained it; it loves God above all things, although it feels the heavy weight of His chastising hand; it is fully resigned to God’s will in its severe torments; yet by all those virtues which it practises every moment it does not lessen or shorten its punishment, nor bring itself a step nearer to heaven. Why? Because it has already passed the term during which it could merit. “The dead know nothing more,” says the wise Ecclesiastes, “neither have they a reward any more.”[1] They receive their reward of what they have done during life, and it is according to that that God will pay them. But they have no further reward to expect for what they do after death. Hence, as my merits shall be in the last moment of my life so also shall my reward be; and after that moment I shall not have another to make a good confession, to awaken sorrow for my sins, to gain an indulgence or to acquire grace. If an angel were to come and tell us the day of our death, saying to each one in particular: you have still a year to live; you, half a year; you, three months; you, four weeks; you, five days; after that time shall be no more; how should we act during that, time? How carefully we should purify our conscience, if it accused us of any sin? How we should avoid all dangerous occasions! How diligently we should perform the duties of our state! In a word, how zealous we should become in the divine service! Why do we not do all this now, since we are not sure of a single moment in the day? Why do we put off our conversion to a future time, which perhaps we shall never see?
Conclusion and resolution. No, my God! quite different is the resolution I now make, as I did on a former occasion, in the words of Thy servant David: “And I said: Now have I begun.”[2] Now will I begin to make a good use of the time given to me; now will I scatter the precious seed, that I may reap a rich harvest; now will I begin to do what I have unfortunately not done yet, to serve Thee alone, O God! and serve Thee faithfully. Now, in the present time, I say; for to no purpose should I turn my sorrowful gaze to the past, of which nothing now remains to me but regret for the bad use I made of it. O accursed idleness! what a priceless treasure thou
