GRAINS OF GOLD

New Zealand Tablet, 2 September 1909, Page 1

GRAINS OF GOLD

SOMETIME, SOMEWHERE. Sometime, somewhere, in the eternal plan, Will^come a good to offset every ill, As Nature's book is balanced so to man • A balance perfect come there must and will : This then our solace, -when the way is dark - * And only sorrows we are called to share As came God's sunshine to the storm-tossed Ark 'Twill come to us sometime, somewhere. Sometime, somewhere, in this world or" the next, And in some way, a perfect equipoise "Will come to souls by troubles now perplexed, And all our griefs find compensating joys; Go on, brave heart, in doing what you can Life's burdens as they come to fully "bear — Feaf^not ! the justice that is due a man " ." ~ Will all be yours sometime, somewhere. From the cradle to the end of "life's stormy voyage, since God's mercy and good ever accompany us, we ought never to forget the presence of God. He that has once begun to taste how sweet it is to live united to God, and devoted to His service and love, cannot, without doing great violence to himself, break off so delightful an exercise. — Aloysius Gonzaga. Oak, tall and stately, yet mostly sterile, thou art^ symbol of pride and arrogance. So unlike those small trees laden with fruit, like saintly souls, the fruit of whose virtues lower them in their humility; unnoticed by the world, but dear to the sight of God ! God lets men have their playthings like the children they are, but they may learn to distinguish them from true possessions. If they were not learning that, he takes them from them, .and tries the other way; for lack of them and its misery, they will, perhaps, seek the true. Truth itself has assured us that we cannot serve two masters. Nevertheless, there are persons who think otherwise ; who discover no difficulty in what our Redeemer declares to be impossible; who endeavor to assimilate the vicious maxims of the world with the sublime truths of the Gospel. Broken friendship, like china, may. be repaired, but the < break will always show. And it is a bit of real truth and wisdom. Friendship is a precious thing — too precious a treasure to be carelessly broken or thrown away." The wond handles the word ' friend ' lightly ; its real, true, deeper meaning is forgotten, and the acquaintance of an hour or the chance comer is designated by the term, which in itse)f bears a wealth of meaning. We have never more than we can bear. - The present hour we «are always able to endure. As our day, so is our strength. If the trials of many years were gathered into one, they would overwhelm us; therefore, in pity of our little strength, God sends first one, then another, then removes both and lays on a third heavier, perhaps, than either- btvt all is so wisely measured to our strength that the bruised reed is never broken. Each one is sent to teach us something, and altogether they have a lesson which is beyond the power of any one to teach alone.— Cardinal Manning.