te of life. In my opinion, a Flemish and
French translation would also be profitable to our college students in
Belgium.

Devotedly yours in Our Lord and Mary Immaculate,
A. Vermeersch.

TO THE THOUSANDS
OF TRUE-HEARTED BOYS AND GIRLS
HE HAS BEEN BLESSED TO KNOW
OF WHOM
SOME ARE GONE TO HEAVEN
AND MANY ARE BATTLING FOR THE RIGHT
IN THE SANCTUARY
THE CLOISTER OR THE WORLD
AND WITH ALL OF WHOM
HE HOPES ONE DAY TO BE REUNITED
FOREVERMORE
IN GOD'S OWN COURTS
THIS LITTLE BOOK
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
BY THE AUTHOR

PREFACE

In this little book the writer has aimed to present, in brief and
simple form, sound principles which may assist the young in deciding
their future course of life. The subject of vocation, as it is called,
has suffered much, during the last two or three centuries, at the
hands of rigorist authors, who so hedged the approach to religious
life with difficulties and restrictions, as to frighten or repel many
aspiring hearts from it.

Great stress was laid by these writers on the special interior
attraction, by which God was supposed always to manifest His call, so
that no one might legitimately enter the state of perfection, unless
he felt this unmistakable impulse from within. And on the other hand,
given this evidence of the Divine predilection, to disregard it was a
sinful preferring of one's own will to God's, which, in all
likelihood, would be attended with grave consequences for this world
and the next.

Spiritual writers of the last decade have been rereading the Fathers
and great Theologians upon this subject, and as a result the cobwebs
of misconception are being swept away. The Reverend A. Vermeersch,
S.J., of Louvain, deserves the gratitude of all for his lucid and
convincing treatment of religious vocation, in his "De Religiosis
Institutis et Personis" (Vol. II, Supplement III; also Vol. I, P. 4,
C. I), where he clearly shows from Scripture, the writings of the
Fathers and leading theologians, the true nature of the invitation to
the evangelical life. The reader is also referred to the article on
"Vocation," by the same author, in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Another document throwing light on the subject, is the Decree of July
15, 1912, framed by a special commission of Cardinals appointed to
examine the work of Canon Joseph Lahitton on "La Vocation
Sacerdotale." This Decree, approved by the Holy Father, contains the
fo