7) Knowing, therefore, that this was to
be our portion, the Shepherd-Saviour of our souls must also teach us the
secret of pain and toil, and help us to bear our cross.

According, then, to our present state, suffering and sorrow are
inseparable from us, because we are born into the world with sin upon our
souls, and in the wake of sin follow all the evils to which the world is
heir. And, moreover, under existing conditions, it is necessary for our
future happiness that our earthly life be largely spent amidst toil and
pain and tears. It is only through these that we shall be able to atone
for the injuries sin has done, and hold in check the disorders of our
nature. The cross is before us and we cannot escape it. It is ready for us
when we enter the world, it follows us throughout the length of our days,
and finally bears us down in death to our graves. This does not mean that
life on earth is entirely made up of pain and sorrow, for the divine mercy
has mitigated even the stroke of sin, and has caused the world, in spite
of all its wounds, to bloom with many delights. Nevertheless, our sojourn
here below shall always be fraught with diverse ills, and we at last must
yield to death. In spite of all the world can afford us, in spite of its
pleasures and joys, its sunshine and pleasing pastimes, real, though
fitful and fast-flying as they are; in spite of health and wealth and fame
and honor; in spite of all the goods that life contains, it still is ever
true that we live in a region of tears, and that death and sorrow are sure
to follow upon the footsteps of joy and mirth. It must be so, for the
stains of sin are indelibly upon the world; and not until the final
renovation comes can life on earth be made entirely happy.

All this our Saviour knew when He chose our human nature and embraced a
life of labor and sorrow. His divine foreknowledge took in our lives, and
the lives of all our kind, until the end of all shall be. Our infant
tears, our trials and pains of body, the ceaseless pangs of mind and heart
that pursue us throughout life, were all before Him as in a mirror, and He
must needs instruct and assist us to fight this battle and walk this way
of earth, lest all should perish before the journey's end. Since we were
to suffer, then He would suffer also; since our lives were to be amidst
labors and trials, then He would labor and travail also; since we were to
feel the sting of pain, be subject to heat and cold, be i