Sunday Corner.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIV, Issue 33, 18 December 1896, Page 17

Sunday Corner.

HYMN. TO MY GUARDIAN ANGEL. Sweet angel-friend, Thou art by my side From morn to eventide, 0 guardian dear ! I humbly ask of thee, Oh ! deign my guide to be Through life so drear. Sweet angel-friend, Who o'er my bed at night Dost spread thy pinions white, 0 guardian fair 1 Dear angel, keep my heart E'en spotless as thou art, In thy blest care. Sweet angel-friend, If sickness be my lot, Then do thou leave me not, 0 guardian kind 1 But rather aid me still, That I may do God'B will With tranquil mind. Sweet angel-friend, Lead me throughout life's way, Nor let my footsteps stray, O guardian sweet 1 But bring me safe at last, All pain and sorrow past, To Jesus' feet. J. R. (E. de M.) in Edinburgh Catholic Herald. \ How often do we sigh for opportunities of doing good, whilst we neglect the openings of Providence in little things, which would lead to the accomplishment of most important results I Dr. Johnson iised to say : " He who waits to do a great deal of good at once will never do any." Good is done by degrees. However small in proportion the benefit which follows individual attempts to do good, a great deal may be thus accomplished by perseverance, even in the midst of discouragements and disappointments. — Crabbe. Test of Character. — The supreme test of character, that which measures its power for self and the world, is the prayer, " Not my will but Thine be done." Life, then, is not always renunciation, but consecration, and is too holy a thing to be held in check, to be kept from attainment by trifles. Man sees life from the heights of divinity. Lesser heights mark the distance between growth and attainment ; they measure the distance between the. real self and the ideal towards which every true man struggles. The great tests are met by the power accumulated in overcoming th« trifles borne in each day's battle. Sincerity. — Flat contradiction, severe criticism, fault-finding, and condemnation, the omission of gentle and pleasing attentions curt manners, blunt speeches, unkind allusions, are continually excused on the plea of sincerity. " I said what I thought," and " I never pretend to what I do not feel," are common assertions supposed to justify all manner of rude and ill-natured words and actions. Yet one who unites sincerity with kind feeling is never heard to utter such language. His sympathies are too keen to allow him to hurt another needlessly, and it never occurs to him that it is insincere to offer such courteous attentions as express a general feeling of goodwill, even though he may not be drawn by any bonds of affection.