esult that
after taking the habit, he was too happy to dream of ever laying it
aside.

However, it is not wrong, but highly prudent, for any one to consider
whether he has the courage and constancy to persevere. Religious life
is not a pathway of roses. It is meant only for true men and valiant
women, not for soft, languid characters, nor for fickle minds, which
change as a weather vane. Marriage also is a serious step, for it
brings much "tribulation of the flesh," and so he who would enter on
it must earnestly consider whether he can live up to the obligations
it entails. But because marriage has many cares and responsibilities,
is that a prohibitive reason against embracing it? A soldier's life,
too, is hard, and a farmer's; in fact, all pursuits and vocations in
this world have their sombre side. But he who would win success in any
career must be ready "with a heart for any fate" to meet and overcome
all the trials and hardships that await him.

On one occasion Our Lord made use of the following parable (Luke xiv:
28): "Which of you having a mind to build a tower, doth not first sit
down and reckon the charges that are necessary, whether he have
wherewithal to finish it: lest after he hath laid the foundation, and
is not able to finish it, all that see it begin to mock him, saying,
'This man began to build and was not able to finish'?" This parable
Our Lord seems to apply to those who have the call to the Faith, and
He concludes with the words, "So likewise every one of you that doth
not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be my disciple."

But His advice is also applicable to one who contemplates a closer
following of Christ by the pathway of the counsels. Certainly, by all
means, deliberate before taking any step of importance in this world.
Never act on inconsiderate impulse in any matter of moment, but weigh
carefully the obligations you are to assume, and consider whether you
have sufficient strength of character to persevere in any good work
you are undertaking.

Still, when all is said and done, it remains true that timidity is not
prudence, nor cowardice caution. Nothing great was ever accomplished
in this world without courage. Prudence and caution may be overdone,
and easily degenerate into sloth and inactivity. In a battle he who
hesitates is lost, and life is the sharpest of conflicts. Had Columbus
wavered, he would not have discovered America. Close followers of
Christ must be brave and noble s