_POINT I. Consider the vast amount of good done by those buried there_, the fruit produced in countless souls by their labors in missions, churches, colleges, parochial schools, retreats given, sermons delivered, confessions heard, the last sacraments administered, the sick visited, youths prepared for the priesthood and the religious life, etc., etc. All these results are still spreading farther and wider, like the ripples on a pond and last from generation to generation. And by their faithful observance of rules, the labors borne, the sufferings endured, the penance practiced, their acts of charity, humility, piety, etc., they have also accumulated immense rewards for themselves. _POINT II. Consider the heavenly reward now enjoyed_ by their souls in company with the Saints and the Blessed, with Jesus, Mary and Joseph. How light appear to them now their former sacrifices. How fully they now realize the meaning of these words of St. Paul: “The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us” (Rom. viii, 18). Think also of the multitudes of souls who are now in bliss with them, and who owe their salvation to the labors and prayers of those of our brethren whose remains lie in this sacred ground. _POINT III. Consider how little is known now of their individual endowments._ To most of the present generation of our younger members few of the names upon those tombstones recall any former memories. All that is now appreciated by their successors is the grand cause for which they lived and died. Their bodily forms, their more or less extensive knowledge, their wit, their poetic power, their eloquence, their taste for music, their talent for mathematics, even the distinguished offices they held, the great services they rendered to the Society and to the Church at large, all, or at least most of this is forgotten by the present generation. And so will be the distinctions which you may acquire during your lifetime to the generations to come. Only that which pleases the eye of God is of real and lasting value. Reflect whether you are not too much in love with temporal distinctions. Resolve to make a thorough self-examination during the three days before you, weighing all concerns in the balance of eternity. _Colloquy._ Ask light and grace to make an excellent retreat. MEDITATION II The Field Ripe for the Harvest _1st Prelude._ Imagine you hear Christ say: “Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that he send forth laborers into his harvest” (St. Matth. ix, 38). _2nd Prelude._ Ask grace to renew your spirit of zeal for souls.