A Book of Seriousness from Catholic Sources
Selected by D.J. Scannell O' Neill, 1911


The Two Worlds

Unveil, O Lord, and on us shine
In glory and in grace:
This gaudy world grows pale before
The beauty of Thy face.

Till Thou art seen, it seems to be
A sort of fairy ground,
Where suns unsetting light the sky
And flowers and fruits abound.

But when Thy keener, purer beam
Is poured upon our sight,
It loses all its power to charm,
And what was day is night.

CARDINAL NEWMAN.

Through Peace to Light

I do not ask, O Lord, that life may be
A pleasant road;
I do not ask Thou would'st take from me
Aught of its load.

I do not ask that flowers should always spring
Beneath my feet;
I know too well the poison and the sting
Of things too sweet.

For one thing only, Lord, I plead,
Lead me aright
Though strength should falter, and though
Heart should bleed -
Through peace to light.

I do not ask, O Lord, that Thou should'st shed
Full radiance here;
Give but a ray of peace, O Lord, that I may tread
Without a fear.

ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER.

Knowing the time: that is now the hour for us to awake from sleep. For now our salvation is near than when we first believed. The night is far spent, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. As in the day let us walk becomingly.

ROM. 13. 11-13

Blessed Master of my life, save me this day from the spirit of idleness, discouragement, ambition, and from all vain and frivolous talk. Grant me, I pray Thee, a spirit of temperance, humility, patience, purity, and love. O, my one Lord and King, give me grace to see my offenses, and not to judge or blame my brother, for Thine own sake, who art blessed forever. Amen.

ST. EPHREM

Oh dear!!
There's nothing left for me to do!

Odd,

You can hope for a better poem tomorrow!

Every day is a gift I receive from Heaven, let me enjoy today that which it bestows on me; it belongs not more to others than to me, and tomorrow belongs to no one.

ABBE DE MAUCROIX

Only from day to day
The life of a wise man runs;
What matter if seasons far away
Have glooms or have double suns?

Like a tide our work should be -
Each later wave the best;
Today is a king in disguise.
Today is the special test.

Like a sawyer's work is life:
The present makes the flaw,
And the only field for strife
Is the inch before the saw.

JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY

Every one is made for his day; he does the work in his day; what he does is not the work of any other day, but of his own day.

CARDINAL NEWMAN

Every day is a fresh beginning;
Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain,
And, spite of old sorrow and older sinning,
And puzzles forecasted and possible pain,
Take heart with the day, and begin again.

THE AVE MARIA

Live the true life of man today. Not yesterday's life only, lest you become a murmurer, nor tomorrow's lest you become a visionary; but the life of today, with happy yesterday's and confident tomorrows.

FATHER FABER

Each day is like a furrow lying before us; our thoughts, desires, and actions are the seed that each minute we drop into it, without seeming to perceive it. The furrow finished, we begin upon another, then another, and again another; each day presents a fresh one, and so on to the end of life sowing, ever sowing. And all we have sown springs up, grows and bears fruit, almost unknown to us, even if by chance we cast a backward glance we fail to recognize our work.

GOLD DUST

Sow with a generous hand;
Pause not for toil or pain;
Sow and look onward, upward;
You shall reap in joy the harvest
You have sown today in tears.

ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER

We should find great peace if we would imbue ourselves with this thought, that we are here solely to accomplish the Will of God; that that Will is accomplished from day to day; and the he who dies leaving his work unfinished is just as far advanced in the eyes of Supreme Justice as he who has leisure to accomplish it fully.

FREDERIC OZANAM.

Ah, that is just what I needed to hear if I do say so myself.

One day is the same as another. Prayer, worldly business, calls to be devout, charitable, and faithful; these are the duties that each hour brings in its turn, and if I am faithful in their fulfillment, God will always be ready to help me, and then what signifies a little weariness, pain or misfortune?

GOLD DUST.

You will always be glad in the evening, if you have spent the day profitably.

THOMAS a KEMPIS.