Nineteenth Day.
What an exalted opinion we should have of Christian piety! It inspires the Christian man and woman with lofty ideas, and prepares them for noble undertakings. These lessons of piety should be planted early in the hearts of the young, that they may take root and grow up to a magnificent fruit of mature virtue. Serve God as a loving and dutiful child, cherish a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and have recourse to her in all your wants, being sure that all your petitions will meet with a ready and hearty response. Never forget these three truths, which should be the main considerations of [pg 086] the true Christian on every occasion: First, That sin is the only evil which should be feared; Second, The grace of God is the real good for which we should strive with all our heart; Third, The salvation of the soul is the all-important business of our lives, for which we were created, and which should be looked after with that care which it deserves.
Prayer.
O most loving Jesus, etc., etc.
Twentieth Day.
The husband, as head of the family, owes to his wife fidelity, love, and support. Fidelity is that constancy of affection which he has promised at his marriage, and which must be preserved inviolable until death; it means that purity of soul and body which will not permit itself to be degraded by impurity and adultery. Conjugal fidelity is a great and holy duty, in which matrimony is held sacred. There you find peace, happiness, and the blessing of almighty God. Our Lord was very stringent upon this point, for He says: “Whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.”—Matt. v. 28. Whosoever then commits adultery transgresses a most important divine commandment. In the Old Law this crime was punished by stoning the guilty person to death, and in the primitive Church by a severe public penance of many years' duration. What fidelity does not the husband demand of the wife! With the same strictness is he obliged to be faithful to her whom he has chosen as his life companion.
Prayer.
O most loving Jesus, etc., etc.