Page:The Life Of Saint Gaetan Founder Of The Order Of Theatins.pdf/10

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PREFACE.

By promoting the frequentation of the Sacraments, and especially of the Holy Eucharist, so much attacked by heresy, he laid the foundation of solid and true devotion, and promoted the worship due to that holiest of sacraments.

The devotion of our saint to the Blessed Virgin was most filial. His confidence in God's providence was most striking, as in his life, and the rules he laid down for his congregation. To carry out more fully these pious ends, and spread the devotion so dear to him, our Saint founded the Congregation of Clerics Regular—called after him, Théatins.

By founding seminaries where the young aspirants to the ecclesiastical state were imbued with the spirit and zeal of their holy founder, the sons of St. Cajetan spread widely the good begun by the saint, and continue to do so down to our own time.

The good done by St. Cajetan was nurtured by prayer, and owes its success to the fervent devotion of the saint. Ours is an age in which even good people are led away by what catches the eye, attach all importance to external work, and undervalue or make no account of a life hidden with God in prayer, when holy souls, away from the distractions of a busy world, devote their lives not only to their own sanctification but also to that of