s glorious garden to contemplate the beauty
of the flowers which He has planted and beautified by His grace.
Every saint is like a flower, beautiful in proportion to the amount
of grace he received, and in proportion, also, to the amount of his
own free co-operation with this grace. Some received the grace of the
apostleship, and all, except one, corresponded with that grace.
Others received the grace of martyrdom; others received the grace of
the priesthood; others the grace of trampling under foot the honors
and pleasures of this world, by consecrating themselves to God in
religious communities; while others, again, received the grace of
becoming saints, while living in the world. Thus every one, by
corresponding with his own grace, which gave him a supernatural
strength, reached the glory to which he is entitled. No one in the
whole of heaven can say that he enjoys its happiness by his own
natural endeavors; for, without the grace of God, we cannot even have
a good thought, nor pronounce the name of Jesus, so as to deserve a
supernatural reward. Hence, the highest in heaven must say, with St.
Paul: "By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace in me hath
not been void: but I have labored more abundantly than all they: yet
not I, but the grace of God with me."*

* 1 Cor. xv. 10.

It is by the aid of this grace that the blessed have reached the
glory of heaven; it is by this all-powerful grace that they have
deserved the unfading crown, whereof St. Paul speaks so boldly and
confidently, when he says: "I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there is
laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord, the just Judge,
will render to me at that day; and not to me only, but to them also,
who love His coming."* This is the glorious crown we are now to
consider; and first of all, in Jesus Christ, who, in His human
nature, is elevated and glorified far above all, in heaven.

* 2 Tim. iv. 7.

Jesus is the Son of God; but He is also "the Son of Man." As God, His
glory is from everlasting to everlasting. It had no beginning, and it
shall have no end. As its source is in His very essence, it can
neither be increased nor diminished. But it is far different with the
glory of the human nature which He assumed. That had a beginning, and
could be increased, and, as a matter of fact, was increased, until He
exalted it above all that is not God, in heaven. Let us now
contem