_POINT II._ Consider the words: “_And in order to attain the end for which he was created_.” How do the other things aid man to attain his end? In various ways. Some things need only be considered to raise man’s heart to God and prompt him to reverence the Divine Majesty. “The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declares the work of his hands,” etc. (Ps. 18). Other creatures are for the use of man, as food, drink, clothing, etc. Others are to be endured, that he may practise submission to God’s holy will; such as excessive heat and cold, sickness, death, etc. Others are to be abstained from, as was the forbidden fruit in Paradise. Everything thus becomes for man a stepping stone to Heaven. _POINT III._ “_Whence it follows that man must make use of them in so far as they help him to attain his end; and in the same way he ought to withdraw himself from them in as far as they hinder him from it._” Consider how this rule may be observed or violated. For instance, (a) In our use of food and drink. The relish attached to the use of them is good as a means to promote our health; but under its influence excess is often committed, by which health may be injured, disease contracted and life shortened. Am I always blameless in this respect? (b) Sleep may be excessive and lead to the neglect of duty. (c) The study of nature, of the sciences and the fine arts may greatly promote the glory of God and indirectly the good of souls, and it may be wrong to neglect it; but it may also be abused; it is only a means, and must not be made an end in itself, to the neglect of our true end. (d) Such too is the reading of literature or of the news of the day. (e) Such is our intercourse with superiors, our brethren and outsiders. The bee gathers honey, the spider poison from the same plant. _Colloquy_, asking grace to use all things wisely. CONSIDERATION On the End of the Religious Life I When we consider the conduct of men generally, we see at a glance that the lives of vast numbers of them are not in conformity with the truths we have been studying; and we are reminded of the words of Christ: “Wide is the gate and broad the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are that go in thereat. How narrow is the gate and straight the way that leadeth to life, and few there are that find it” (St. Matth. vii, 13, 14). Of course the way of salvation, owing to His preaching and His merits, is now much wider than when He spoke those words; but yet it appears to be, through men’s own fault, much narrower than it should be. What is the condition of religious in this respect? It is well worth while to examine what is the effect of our religious vocation on the most important of all our interests, the attaining of the end for which we were created. Now it is clear that the religious life offers many great advantages for that purpose.