loves and succors all;" or, "Doubt not; trust in God,
He will provide." Hence his heart enjoyed a peace which no sufferings
could molest, and which did not desert him even when he lay under the
stroke of apoplexy that terminated in his death. For his hope was based
upon the Catholic principle, that God, who destined him for an eternal
kingdom, would not refuse the succors necessary to attain it. Still,
though his hopes, through the merits of our Lord's blessed passion, knew
no bounds, yet was he tremblingly sensible of the guilt of sin, and the
awful character of God's judgments; whence were derived that intense
grief with which sin inspired him, and that astonishing humility which
led him to bewail unceasingly his want of correspondence to divine
grace, to proclaim himself everywhere a sinner, and implore the prayers
of others.

To complete the crown of theological virtues, charity in both its
branches pre-eminently characterized our saint. This divine virtue
burned so warmly in his heart, as to be transfused through his features,
over which it spread a superhuman and celestial glow, and gave to his
discourse a melting tenderness. "Were there neither heaven nor hell," he
would say, "still would I ever wish to love God, who is a father so
deserving of our love." Or: {516} "Let us love our Lord, love him verily
and indeed, for the love of God is a great treasure. Blessed is he that
loveth God."

Our saint, who so ardently loved God, whom he saw not, was not without
bowels of tenderness for his neighbor, whom he beheld. It was the
constant practice of his life to feed the poor; and when he was
superior, he ordered that no beggar should be dismissed from the convent
gate without relief: in time of scarcity he devoted to their necessities
his own portion, and even that of the community, relying upon Providence
to supply their wants; and when he was only a private monk, he earnestly
recommended this charity to the superiors.

But it was towards the sick that his charity displayed itself. He used
to attend the infirm in his convent with unwearied assiduity; nor was he
less anxious to serve those who were without, but generously sought them
out, and visited them, even during the most inclement seasons. And as
God maketh his sun to shine upon the wicked as well as the good, so our
saint would not exclude even his enemies from the boundless range of his
charity. For one who had insulted him he once labored strenuously to
proc