X.

He who is never satisfied with anything, satisfies no one.

XI.

Are there many who try to be of some little help or comfort

to the souls with whom they are brought in contact through life?

Poor souls, that, perhaps have no longer strength

or will to manifest the longing they experience,

and who languish for want of help,

without being aware they are perishing.

O, mingle sometimes with your earthly help

the blessed Name of God;

and if there remain one little spark of life in the soul,

that Name will re-kindle it,

and carry comfort and resignation;

even as air breathed into the mouth of any one apparently dead,

rushes into the lungs, and revives the sufferer,

if but one breath of life remains. 

Souls! Souls! I yearn for Souls!

• This is the cry of the SAVIOUR;

And for their sakes He died upon the CROSS,

And remains until eternity their Intercessor.

Souls! Souls! I must win Souls!

It is the cry of Satan;

And to obtain them he scatters gold to tempt them,

Multiplies their pleasures and vanities,

And gives the praise that only infatuates.

Souls ! Souls ! we long for Souls!

– Let this be our aim, readers and writers of these our “Paillettes”;

And for the sake of even one soul,

Let not fatigue, expense, or the criticism of the world deter us…

XII.

How few there are who would thus dare

To address GOD each night:

“LORD, deal with me to-morrow as I have this day

Dealt with others…

Those to whom I…

…was harsh, and from malice or to show my own superiority

Exposed their failings; others, to whom from pride or dislike I refused to speak,-

One I have avoided – another I cannot like because she displeases me –

I will not forgive –

To whom I will not show any kindness”…

And yet, let us never forget,

That sooner or later, 

God will do unto us even as we have done unto them.

XIII.

“GRANT me, O LORD”

Said a humble soul, 

“That I may pass unnoticed through the world”.

This should be the wish,

Or rather the aim of all true devotion.

Small virtues require the praise of man to sustain them,

Just as little children require encouragement

To walk or stand alone.

But true virtue goes quietly through the world,

Scattering good around,

And performing noble deeds,

Without even the knowledge

That what it does is heroic.

XIV.

S. CHANTAL, 

One day, was excusing herself to S. Francois de Sales

For having spoken hastily to some one,

On the plea that it was in the cause of justice.

The Saint replied,

“You have been more just than righteous;

But we should be more righteous than just”.

XV.

A DEVOUT woman once wrote thus:

“In my own family, I try to be as little in the way as possible,

Satisfied with everything,

And never to believe for a moment

That any one means unkindly towards me”.

“If people are friendly and kind to me,

I enjoy it; 

If they neglect me, or…

Leave me, I am always happy alone.

It all tends to my one aim,

Forgetfulness of self, in order to please GOD”.

XVI.

LEARNING is not without its effect upon the soul;

It either lends it wings,

To bear it up to GOD,

Or leaves behind it tiny sparks,

Which little by little, consume the whole being.

If you would ascertain all the good, or ill,

You have derived from all those hours devoted to historians,

Poets, novelists, or philosophers, put to yourself these questions;

Since acquiring this knowledge, am I wiser?

Am I better? 

Am I happier?

Wiser?

That is to say more self-controlled, less the slave of my passions,

Less irritated by small vexations,

Braver in bearing misfortunes,

More careful to live for eternity?

Better?

More forbearing towards others,

More forgiving, less uncharitable, 

More reticent in exposing the faults of others, 

more solicitious for the happiness of those around me?

Happier?

That would mean more contented with my station in life,

Striving to derive all possible benefits from it,

To beautify rather than to alter it?

Have I more faith in GOD,

More calmness and resignation in all the events of life?

If you cannot reply in the affirmative,

Then examine your heart thoroughly,

And you will find there, 

Stifling the good that GOD has implanted,

These three tyrants that have obtained dominion over you:

1. Pride,
2. Ambition,
3. Self-Conceit

From them have sprung:

Dissatisfaction and contempt of your life and its surroundings,

Restlessness, a longing for power and dominion over others,

Malice, habitual discontent, and incessant murmurings. 

Have you any…

Further doubts? Then inquire of those with whom you live.

Ah! If this be indeed the sad result, then,

Whatever may be your age, close, oh!

Close those books, and seek once more those two elements

Of happiness you ought never to have forsaken,

And which, had you made them the companions of your study,

would have kept you pure and good.

I refer to prayer and manual labour.

XVII.

LISTEN to the story of a simple shepherd,

Given in his own words:

“I forgot now who it was that once said to me;

Jean Baptiste, you are very poor?

True- If you fell ill, your wife and children would be destitute?

True.

And then I felt anxious and uneasy for the rest of the day.

“At Evensong, wiser thoughts came to me,

And I said to myself;

Jean Baptiste, for more than thirty years

You have lived in the world

You have never possessed anything,

Yet still you live on,

And have been provided each day with nourishment, 

Each night with repose.

Of trouble GOD has never sent you more than your share.

Of help, the means have never failed you.

To whom do you owe all of this?

To GOD.

Jean Baptiste, be no longer ungrateful,

And banish those anxious thoughts;

For what could ever induce you to think

That the Hand from which you have already received so much,

Would close against you when you grow old,

And have greater need of help?

I finished my prayer, and felt at peace.”

XVIII.

The work of the sower is given to each of us in this world,

And we fall short of our duty when

We let those with whom…