effect on Judy I know not; but we might earnestly desire that all hearts could be softened by such simple means. At length came a day when Judy was summoned to Scotland to nurse her only brother, a factory-worker in a large town. Her visit was to be of indefinite length, for the poor man had met with a serious accident. On this errand of charity she went with cheerfulness, albeit she was greatly afraid of the sea and was loth to leave the pleasant, wind-swept hills and vales for the smoke and grime of cities. "It is I will be glad to be back among my own again," she said wistfully to Nell, as she tenderly hugged the children. The minister and his wife assisted Judy kindly in her preparations for the voyage. The minister was a young man, who, with his wife and two children, eked out a precarious existence on ten parishioners and a cow (supplemented by Greek and Latin tuitions, of unsteady value, in Dublin). "Is there anything further we can do for you, Judy?” said the young man, the day before she went away. "Nothing, sir, nothing," Judy replied gratefully, "except it 'ud be to keep an eye on them two crathurs" (referring to her son and his wife) "when I'm gone; and see that ould Kitty Mallin doesn't borry too many of the kitchen utensils off them." "And," she said to Peter afterwards, "be very keerful of the minister's cow." Indeed no one knew better than Judy what a valuable possession was the minister's cow. And thus, full of kindness for all, the poor old woman set out on her journey. EMILY DOWLING. AMEN CORNER XXXVIII-ON DELIGHTING IN THE LORD [The number of the IRISH MONTHLY for September, 1912, was the last that went to press from the hand of Father Matthew Russell, S.J. On the 12th of that month he went to appear before the Master whom he had served so long and faithfully, and from whom he assuredly was to hear the loving words: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of thy Lord." He had not waited till then to delight in the Lord. The following reflections, which he had left jotted down, were probably meant to find their way eventually, when they had been amplified and altered, into the department of the magazine in which they now are placed. We leave them as we found them, with the personal note at the conclusion, which makes them read like a preparation for his own death, and which reveals the humility, the hope, and the love with which he looked forward to that long-awaited meeting with his Saviour.] "DELIGHT in the Lord." Who is it that gives this strange command? God Himself, Who alone can ensure its observance. This is one of the inspired words of Scripture, the fourth verse of the thirty-sixth of the psalms of King David: Delectare in Domino, et dabit tibi petitiones cordis tui-" Delight in the Lord, and He will give thee the petitions of thy heart." "Delight in the Lord." How far that is removed from Calvinist gloom and Jansenist coldness and rigidity! Not only to believe in God, to adore God, to obey God, to serve Him, to fear Him, to love Him, but to delight in Him! Yet, after all, this is only the grateful retaliation of the creature, overwhelmed by the Creator's infinite condescension; for He Who gave that wonderful order, "Delight in the Lord," had made the still more wonderful confession, "My delight is to be with the children of men "-Deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum (Prov. viii. 31). Would that each of us could retort with truth: Deliciae meae esse cum Filio Dei-" My delight is to be with the Son of God Whose delight is to be with the sons of men." But how can one whose thoughts and words and deeds are such as mine are, pretend to delight in the Lord? Job (xxvii. 8) asked that question in a very forcible manner : What is the hope of the hypocrite, if through covetousness he take by violence and God deliver not his soul? Will God hear his cry when distress shall come upon him? Or can he delight himself in the Almighty and call upon God at all times?" If we are hypocrites, if we are not sincere and true before God, how can we pretend to take our delight in Him? When the soul of the Royal Prophet refused to be comforted, he remembered God and was delighted (Ps. lxxvi. 4). But this could not have been if his heart had not been right before God. Some French poet makes a child promise to keep his heart good and pure, so that God's eye may rest on it with pleasure, and God and he may smile when they look at each other: Afin que nous puissions sourire aim at being on We,"children of a larger growth," must similar terms with God-penitent sinners, indeed, prodigals, received back again to the peace and comfort of home, yet not only to peace but joy. Gaudium cum pace. Where is this combination of graces prayed for? Where no one would expect to see such a petition -at the end of the Directio Intentionis which priests are recommended to make before beginning to vest for Mass. This is the order of the graces which the priest is instructed to pray for when about to perform the greatest act of his priesthood: Gaudium cum pace, emendationem vitae, spatium verae poenitentiae, gratiam et consolationem sancti Spiritus, perseverantiam in bonis operibus [here I venture to add usque ad finem, ac tandem felicem mortem vitamque aeternam] tribuat nobis omnipotens et misericors Deus. Yes, omnipotens and misericors, for there is need of all of God's infinite power to bestow such graces on such creatures, as there is need of all His infinite mercy to wish to do it. "May the almighty and merciful God grant to us joy and peace, amendment of life, space for true penance, the grace and consolation of the Holy Spirit, perseverance in good works to the very end, and at last a happy death and life everlasting." Joy and peace. It might seem too good for us to have even peace in this troubled world, but joy, delight-to delight in the Lord. Strange that this glorious catalogue of graces to be implored for begins with joy. In this vale of tears we are bidden to rejoice. Always rejoice" is the shortest verse in all the Sacred Scriptures. Only two words-semper gaudete (1 Thes. v. 16). They occur in the beautiful ending of St. Paul's Epistle to the Thessalonians; and they are followed by those words," Pray without ceasing, in all things give thanks.' Those who are constant in prayer and thanksgiving will not find it hard to rejoice always and to delight in the Lord. Gaudium cum pace. Joy and peace. This authorised prayer of the Church goes on at once to tell us how we can secure true joy and true peace. There is no peace for the wicked," and even faults and shortcomings that could not be called wickedness will sadden the soul and rob it of peace. And, therefore, we pray at once for amendment of life. Emendationem vitae. If we would be happier, we must be holier; we must be less unworthy of being the children of our Immaculate Mother who is the "Cause of our joy," because she brought into the world Him who takes away the sins of the world. Sin in every form and in every degree is the dread kill-joy, the saddener of the world: Causa nostrae maestitiae-" cause of our sadness." Without sin there is no real sorrow; and the worst sorrow, the depth of misery, is for sin that is unrepenting. One help towards delighting in the Lord is to be devoted to our duty, to be enamoured of duty. No doubt the merits of a lifetime would be enormously increased if a man had discharged perfectly through long years duties which to the end remained very distasteful to him; but God seldom demands from a soul such a lifelong martyrdom as that. Happy are they who can make their plain duty their hobby, who take a great interest in their work. Our delight in the Lord might well be supposed to increase the nearer we approach the end of our earthly probation. My old friend, Judge Waters, said, one day towards the end: "It is a grand thing to be dying "-to see that the end was near after a long and happy life, in which he hoped that, with God's grace, he had acquitted himself fairly. St. Theresa used to be transported with joy when she said to herself, "I shall be judged by Him whom my soul loves." Even one whose love is mingled with more fear, who cannot say with such blessed assurance, "Lord, Thou knowest all things-Thou knowest that I love Thee "-one who is forced to put in a mitigating word, "I hope, I hope and pray, that Thou knowest that I love Thee "-even one of us, poor sinners, can rejoice and give thanks that we are not to be judged by even the most tender-hearted of human beings, by the most devoted of friends—ah, no! but by the almighty and all-merciful Lord Who died for our sake. "My Jesus, mercy!" I have said that thousands of times, and I have tried to make many others say it. Jesus, the name that is above every name, and then: My Jesus," claiming Him as my own, as Jesus Himself, in His agony, cried out, "My God, My God." My God, My God." "My Jesus, mercy!" Take pity on Your poor creature. You have loved me, too, even me, and You gave Yourself up to death for me! Tantus labor non sit cassus. Delight in the Lord and He will give thee the petitions of thy heart." My heart's petitions are to learn of the Heart of Jesus to be meek and humble of heart, and so to live and to die, that Jesus may be to the end my merciful Judge and my Saviour. My heart's petitions are an abundance of God's grace, an increase of faith, hope, and charity. I believe, O Lord; help my unbelief. Lord, Thou knowest all thingsThou knowest that I love Thee. In Thee, O Lord, I have hoped; let me not be confounded for ever. M. R. IN MEMORIAM : FATHER MATTHEW RUSSELL, S.J.* MANY a poet of the island blest Alike by grace and nature hath been heard With love so ardent, heaven itself was stirred Love chooseth still the humbler path he trod. B. R. * A sonnet-acrostic, written on hearing of Father Russell's death. |