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perfection of God Himself, in Whom there is nor spot nor wrinkle. He
will not be satisfied with us, so long as low aims, imperfect motives,
disfigure our souls and stain our conduct.

As St. Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, God chose us before
the foundation of the world to be "holy and unspotted in His sight."
(Eph. i: 4.) In fact, St. Paul, whenever he addresses the Christians,
calls them "saints" because every Christian man, woman and child, is
expected to be holy, holy in the grace of God, in conduct, in thought
and act, at every time and place. Every Christian must be sacred, a
shrine wherein dwells the Divinity, and whose doors must be closed to
everything profane. "Know you not, that your members are the temple of
the Holy Ghost, who is in you, whom you have from God; and you are not
your own?" (I Cor. vi: 19.) Your soul, then, my child, is holy,
consecrate to God, and into it must enter nothing defiled, nothing
savoring of the world, its maxims and principles. Keep your soul pure
as the roseate dawn, clear as starlight and bright as the sun.

"Every one of you," said Christ Himself, "who doth not renounce all
that he possesseth, cannot be my disciple." (Luke xiv: 33.) This seems
a hard doctrine, for who would be able to give up all he has, parents,
home and possessions? There are occasions when the love of God and the
love of creatures come into conflict; and when this occurs the true
disciple of Christ will not hesitate. He will fearlessly sacrifice
everything, even life itself, rather than forsake his Creator. The
martyrs did this. St. Agnes gave up suitor, home and wealth, and laid
down her innocent young life, to become the spouse of Christ. The boy
Pancratius faced the panther in the arena, and the yells of a
bloodthirsty mob, rather than abjure his faith; and so won a martyr's
crown.

Perfection then is our destiny. In heaven we shall attain to it, and
in this life we should begin to practice it. If we would have God's
love in its fulness, if we would always be worthy to nestle in His
bosom, to feel the arms of His affection drawn close about us, we must
never sully our conscience with the least taint of sin. For all the
world we would not offend our parents, and God is to us in place of
father and mother and all. He is the infinitely perfect; He is love
and beauty and tenderness itself, and His absorbing desire is to
reproduce similar qualities in us.

But how are we to be perfect? By alw