tal life is ended, in the words of the young man in the Gospel: "All these (the commandments) have I kept from my youth" (Matt. xix. 20).
Wherefore never agree with the fools who say: "The time of our life is short. Come, therefore, and let us enjoy the good things that are present, and let us speedily use the creatures as in youth. Let us crown ourselves with roses before they be withered."
No, never say: "When I am old I will think of God, work for Him, and serve Him. The time to do this has not yet come!" That would be a very presumptuous, foolhardy way of speaking, and one which might cause you bitter repentance at a later period.
5. Hear what St. John Chrysostom, an illustrious Doctor of the Church, said upon this subject to his audience in a sermon delivered with wonderful eloquence: "Since no one likes to have a decrepit old servant, how much more does God desire and look for the service of the young, in order that He may receive the first-fruits of life. Is it right that any one should spend his youth in the service of sin, and keep his feeble old age, and the dregs of his life for God? To act thus is to offer the pure gold to Satan, and the dross to God; to give the costly pearls to Satan, and to leave the empty shells for God; to bestow the pure wheaten flour upon Satan, and to give the chaff to God; to offer the earliest roses of spring to Satan, and to make
