sus Christ, then he
will be more than happy--he will be blessed: then he will be a
blessing to himself, and a blessing to every one whom he meets:
then all vain longing, and selfishness, and pride, and ambition, and
covetousness, and peevishness and disappointment, will vanish out of
his heart, and he will work manfully and contentedly where God has
placed him--cheerful and open-hearted, civil and patient, always
thinking about others, and not about himself; trying to be about his
Master's business, which is doing good; and always finding too, that
his Master Christ sets him some good work to do day by day, and
gives him strength to do it. And how can a man get that blessed and
noble state of mind? By prayer and practice. You must ask for
strength from God: but then you must believe that He answers your
prayer, and gives you that strength; and therefore you must try and
use it. There is no more use in praying without practising than
there is in practising without praying. You cannot learn to walk
without walking: no more can you learn to do good without trying to
do good.

Ask, then, of God, grace and help to do good: Pray to Him this very
day to take all selfishness and meanness out of your hearts, and to
give you instead His Holy Spirit of Love and Charity, which alone
can make you noble in His sight; and try this day, try every day of
your lives, to do some good to those around you. Oh make a rule,
and pray to God to help you to keep it, never, if possible, to lie
down at night without being able to say, 'I have made one human
being at least a little wiser, or a little happier, or a little
better this day.' You will find it easier than you think, and
pleasanter: easier, because if you wish to do God's work, God will
surely find you work to do; and pleasanter, because in return for
the little trouble it may cost you, or the little choking of foolish
vulgar pride it may cost you, you will have a peace of mind, a quiet
of temper, a cheerfulness and hopefulness about yourself and all
around you, such as you never felt before; and over and above that,
if you look for a reward in the life to come, recollect this--what
we have to hope for in the life to come is, to enter into the joy of
our Lord. And how did He fulfil that joy, but by humbling Himself,
and taking the form of a slave, and coming not to be ministered to
but to minister, and to give His whole life, even to the death upon
the cross, a ransom for