ays doing His holy Will, as we see
it and know it, to the best of our ability. Christ issues the clarion
call to all Christians, to take up their cross daily and follow Him.
He who always does his best, and, obeying the dictates of conscience,
walks by faith and charity in all his actions before God, and conducts
himself in all circumstances of life according to the principles of
faith and reason, is living up to the Divine call, and striving after
perfection.

"But are there any such persons in the world?" some one may ask. "They
say that there is nothing perfect under the sun, and this time-honored
adage, no doubt, applies to persons as well as to things." It is true
that very few are perfect in the sense that they sojourn in the world,
unmoved, like the angels, by the least ruffling of passion. But there
are many, very many, pure, holy souls, who aim constantly at
perfection, and who attain to it substantially; for day by day, year
in and year out, they keep themselves from the guilt of serious sin,
and delighting to carry out God's will in all their actions,
frequently draw nigh the Tabernacle to commune in heavenly raptures
with their Love "behind the trellis."

Nor is the number of these elect souls limited to any one calling or
profession, for they are found in the seclusion of home, in the
crowded mart, in the stress of business and professional life. When
the week-day Mass is over in the parish church, and the little band of
devout worshippers descend from the church steps, would one not say
that there is a look of heavenly peace upon their countenances, a
peace that overflows to their features from the deep well-springs of
charity within? No legitimate walk of life, then, is alien to
perfection. All Christians are urged to it; and many attain to it.
They use the things of this world "as though they used them not,"
their hearts are free from undue attachment to the possessions of
earth, and they go through life as pilgrims to their final home; and
should God be pleased to reward their constancy by sending them trials
and sufferings, they will come forth from the ordeal like pure,
refined gold.

[1] While this text refers primarily to the perfection of forgiving
enemies, it is applied also by commentators to perfection in general,
for the reason that it is closely connected with the preceding and
following exhortation of Our Lord to many and various virtues. And
even if the text were limited expressly to o