Such prayer is suggested in various parts of the “Book of Wisdom,” to which we referred before; for instance, “Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne, and cast me not off from among thy children. For I am thy servant and the son of thy handmaid, a weak man and of short time, and falling short of the understanding of judgment and laws. For if one be perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded” (ix, 4-6). _Colloquy._ An earnest petition for grace to renew and increase our interior spirit. MEDITATION III The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by Faith _1st Prelude._ Recall the words of Christ: “Amen, amen, I say unto you, He that believeth in me hath everlasting life” (St. John vi, 47). _2nd Prelude._ Ask earnestly for an intense spirit of faith. _POINT I. Consider the value of faith in the sight of God._ 1. It is one of the theological virtues, which are infused into our hearts by the Holy Ghost: and thus, coming from God they have a Divine efficacy. Therefore whatever action is prompted by faith has supernatural merit, that is deserves an eternal reward. Hence the teaching of Christ: “He that believeth in me hath everlasting life.” 2. This value of faith is praised most highly by St. Paul, who devotes to its praise the whole eleventh chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews, showing how all the Saints of the Old Law were sanctified by their belief in the promised Redeemer. 3. On the part of man, faith is the sacrifice of his highest faculty, his understanding, to his sovereign Lord. By it we resign our own judgment to accept in its place the word of God. 4. It is also the exercise of the virtue of humility, by which we acknowledge the weakness of our intellect. Now we know that “God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble” (St. James iv, 6). _POINT II. See how faith sanctifies our daily life_: 1. It keeps before us the Divine presence wherever we be; as a sponge plunged into the sea has water all around it and within the pores of its substance, so we are in God; “For in him we live and move and be” (Acts xvii, 28). Aie, God is still more intimately present to us than the water is to the sponge, for He penetrates every particle of our substance. 2. Faith reveals to us the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, with body and soul, humanity and Divinity, teaching us to adore Him, to offer Him as our sacrifice and receive Him as our food. 3. Faith makes us recognize the voice of God in the words of our rules and the directions of our superiors, and thus it makes the details of our religious life full of merit. 4. Faith pierces the guise of misery and frailty, and makes us recognize in every human being the hidden presence of Him who will say at the judgment: “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me” (St. Matth. xxv, 40).