die. Virgins are formed upon this model, withdrawing, as it were, the flesh from the flesh itself, in order to live a merely spiritual life. But whilst others are virgins only by doing violence to their inclinations, it must be said of the Saviour that His virginal purity is as natural to Him as whiteness is natural to the lily. Others are pure to a certain degree only; He alone is pure in an infinite degree of perfection. Others would not of themselves attain this sublime state; but He has in Himself the principle of purity. Purity in Him is not a privilege, but the necessary consequence of the hypostatic union; it is the ornament of a body deified, and more pure than all the spirits. Now, as He loves this virtue in Himself, so He loves it in all those who approach Him; and it ought to be the more perfect in those who draw nigher unto Him.

II. Christus virginis filius. St. Leo calls Jesus Christ the Son of virginity, and St. Ambrose tells us that He was born in a manner all virginal, both in eternity and in time. The bosom in which He has been eternally conceived is the divinity of His Father, and that in which He was formed in the fulness of time is the virginity of His Mother. Mary thinks of refusing to be the Mother of God, if this dignity can not be reconciled with her vow of perpetual virginity; and this it was which fixed upon her the choice of God. To show the esteem that He has of this virtue, by His eternal decree, Mary was to be holy, immaculate in her conception and in all her life; this was not enough, she was moreover to be a virgin. By this glorious quality she will be distinguished from all others; from generation to generation she will be called Virgin, the most holy Virgin, the Virgin of virgins. Her virginity is, so to say, the charm which caused the Son of God to come down into her bosom. Virginitate placuit. (St. Bern.) By this she merited her incomprehensible dignity as far as it could be merited. Tantae extitit puritatis, ut mater Domini esse mereretur. (St. H. ad Eust.) She is a virgin in body, a virgin in soul, a virgin by profession, and therefore the angel comes to salute her "full of grace," and to inform her of the great designs of God upon her person.

III. Christus virginum sponsus. Jesus did not become the King of virgins only by founding on earth a state of perfection unknown before the Gospel. He also became their Spouse, and this He clearly shows by the favors He has in store for them. Virgins have a special right to say with the spouse of the Canticle, "My beloved is mine, and I am His." They are more closely united to Jesus Christ than the other just, and Jesus Christ more united to them. They have left all things to follow Him, separated themselves from all that was most dear to them in the world, to

adhere to Him alone; and by this estrangement from creatures they have clothed themselves with a new kind of beauty so admirable that it ravishes the heart of the celestial Spouse. "Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear; and forget thy people and thy father's house," and renounce even lawful inclinations; "the king shall greatly desire thy beauty." (Ps. xliv. 12, 13.)

Who, next to Mary, was more beloved of Jesus Christ than St. Joseph? Who had a greater share in His divine caresses? But he was a virgin, and the guardian of Mary's virginity. Amongst the apostles, all of whom were honored with Our Lord's predilection, there was one who deserved to be called, and who in reality was, "the disciple whom Jesus loved." It was he who had made himself more perfect in purity. St. John, at the Last Supper, with the unreserved confidence of a friend, lays his head on the bosom of Jesus, and freely questions Him, when St. Peter himself dared not speak, and the secrets of heaven were then revealed to him; but all these favors were the reward of his virginity. Virgo permansit, et ideo plus amatur a Domino. (St. Hier.) For this, also, did Jesus dying commend to him His Blessed Mother. Matrem virginem virgini commendavit. (Ib.) As it were to signify that the loss of a Son, who is God, could be compensated for (if compensation were possible) only by the adoption of a son who was a virgin.

The Spouse of virgins ever conferred special privileges on those who were more remarkable for this virtue. St. Bernard, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Louis Gonzaga, St. Stanislaus, led on earth the life of angels. But the prerogatives of this heavenly virtue are not limited to this present life. Amongst all the elect, says St. John, those alone will be chosen to compose the cortège of the Lamb on whose brow will shine the halo of virginity. They will follow Him whithersoever He shall go; and they will sing a hymn which virgins only will be permitted to sing. For them there will be joys distinct from those of all the other saints. Gaudia a caeterorum omnium gaudiorum sorte distincta... gaudia propria virginum Christi. (St. Aug. de virg.) O priest, thank God for having called you to a profession so holy and happy.

Second Point.-Motives which incite us to love virginal purity. We have just considered the motive which most strongly impresses good priests, that is, the predilection of Jesus Christ for this virtue; but as it ought to be perfect in us, it is well to unite under one aspect the principal motives which recommend it to our love.

I. Its excellence. Virginity can be comprehended by none but generous souls. "All do not." For this reason it was not revealed

to men when the world was in its infancy. God made man could alone establish it on earth; and this He has done, not as a precept, but as a counsel; it was too exalted, says St. Bernard, to become the object of a commandment.

II. Its beauty. It is in the spiritual order what the verdure of meadows, the coloring of flowers, the luster of gold, the brilliancy of precious stones, are in the material order; but no, nothing amongst the things of earth can be compared to it. The amiable virtue (such is the name of purity) is beloved when present, regretted when lost; its crown shines so sweetly! Its triumph has eternity for its duration! "No price is worthy of a continent soul." (Ecclus. xxvi. 20.) "O how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory." () (Wisd. iv. 1.) "The memory thereof is immortal, because it is known both with God and with men." (lb.)

III. It is on earth an image, and an anticipation of the heavenly life. "Blessed state of the virgin!" says St. Bernard. He enjoys by anticipation the privileges of the resurrection; he lives in the world and is not defiled by its contagion; he is equal to the angels, by his dignity and nobleness! St. Ambrose says to the virgin: "Wonder not that angels fight for you, for you yourself fight under their standard, when you fight under that of virginity." Chastity makes angels. The heavenly spirits are the virgins of heaven; virgins are the angels of earth. The former are not clothed with flesh; the second triumph in the flesh.

Virginal purity does more than render us equal to angels; it gives us, as it were, pre-eminence over them. What is there to wonder at their being chaste? They are not, as are we, composed of flesh and blood, exposed to the violence of concupiscence. They have no need to eat or drink; they are not accessible to the allurements of seduction which assail us. It is more glorious to acquire the glory of angels by repeated victories than to possess it without any effort, as the angels do. That which for the one is a privilege of nature is for the other the result of many courageous efforts. IV. This virtue places us near to God. It reproduces within us the image of His incorruptibility. In order to find the first principle and the most perfect type thereof, you must ascend to the Most Holy Trinity. Here you will adore an infinitely fruitful virginity, and an infinitely virginal fecundity. Hence St. Gregory Nazianzen says, Prima virgo Trias est.

It clothes us with that respect and veneration which so powerfully contributes to the success of our apostolic labors. It is chiefly by virginal chastity that the good odor of our life embalms and rejoices the holy spouse of the Saviour. Sit odor vitae vestrae delectamentum Ecclesiae Christi. (Pont.) When men saw the

Catholic clergy dedicate themselves to a virtue so hard to be practised, in order the better to mitigate their sorrows and remedy their ills, they could not withhold their admiration of them, and the doctrine of salvation penetrated their minds, because of the esteem they had for those who preached it.

All this accounts for the concert of praise given to virginal chastity by the Doctors of the Church. They call it "the flower of religion," the riches of the Church, the honor of human nature, the character which consecrates the most illustrious portion of the flock of Jesus Christ. With it, conscience is in peace, the mind is enlightened, serenity illumines the countenance, joy is within the soul, death is tranquil, the promise of heaven is certain. virginity, thy riches are untold, the immortal crown is thine, and art not thou thyself a crown of great brilliancy? Virginity, temple of God, sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, precious pearl, known but to a few and found by even a smaller number! O continence, life of the angels, glorious diadem on the brow of the elect! Blessed is he who possesses thee, blessed he who, in order to preserve thee, accepts all the sacrifices which thou requirest; he will find in thee an inexhaustible source of delights. The language here quoted is that of St. Athanasius, St. Cyprian, St. Ephrem, St. Bernard, and St. Lawrence Justinian.

You will soon go to the altar! Oh if, instead of your own heart, you could bring thither the heart of Mary conceived without sin! But since Jesus Christ is the "purity of virgins," since His sacred blood which you are about to receive contains the fruitful germ of virginal purity, beseech Him to purify you through the virtue of this sacred blood, and to render your chastity unalterable.

Résumé of the Meditation.

First Point.-Love of Jesus Christ for virginity. He was a virgin. By uniting Himself to our nature, He adorned it with incomparable purity. Others are virgins only by doing violence to their inclinations; virginal purity was natural to the Saviour, as whiteness is natural to the lily. Jesus Christ the Son of a Virgin. St. Leo calls Him the Son of virginity; because of this virtue Mary was chosen to be His Mother. Jesus Christ the Spouse

of virgins. To them He grants the most precious favors. Virgins have left all to follow Him, and by this voluntary estrangement from creatures they have conquered His heart. Think of the admirable graces He bestowed upon St. Joseph, St. John, St. Bernard, St. Anthony of Padua! A halo of special brilliancy will shine around the brow of virgins in heaven.

Second Point.-Motives for loving virginal purity. Its excellence. The Word Incarnate alone could establish it on earth. Its beauty. In the spiritual order, it may be compared to the coloring of flowers, the brilliancy of gold in the material order; or rather, nothing amongst the things of earth can be compared to it. It is an image of heaven, likens men unto angels. It gives us a sort of pre-eminence over them. It raises us up to God, reproduces within us the image of His incorruptibility. This accounts for the concert of praise bestowed by the Holy Doctors upon virginal chastity. Jesu puritas virginum, miserere nobis.

MEDITATION XXI.

SACERDOTAL CHASTITY. SACREDNESS OF THE TIES WHICH OBLIGE US TO PRACTISE IT.

1.-The Obligation Contracted on the Day of our Ordination. 2.-Our Titles.

3.-The Functions We have to Perform.

First Point. The solemn pledge of our ordination. Recall to mind the moment in which you promised the Lord to live forever the life of a virgin. How powerful the emotion of your heart during the impressive ceremony! You advanced toward the altar, wearing not the clerical habit alone, as at preceding ordinations, but you were clothed with the alb, the symbol of innocence; it was the robe of the angels in the sepulcher of Jesus risen from the dead. "Angels in white." You stood before the throne of the Lamb. "Standing before the throne in presence of the Lamb." The sacred vestments placed upon your arm were as so many palms, emblems of the victories you had gained over the world and over yourself. "And they had palms in their hands." It was not now a paternal allocution that the consecrating pontiff addressed to you; he expressed a formal condition. "You are still free," he said, Hactenus liberi estis; but if you come forward you shall be devoted to a state of perpetual continency; return to the world shall be impossible. Think seriously, therefore, and if resolved to remain immovable in your holy determination, "in the name of the Lord advance." Si in sancto proposito perseverare placet, in nomine Domini, huc accedite! The condition is accepted, the step is taken, the threshold of the sanctuary is passed, the eternal promise is made. Instantly all the elect prostrate upon the pavement, like unto so many victims which received the sacrificial blow. They are indeed dead to the desires of the