Readings from Fr. John Furniss

[Shin]

VI. HOW GOD TAKES CARE OF THE LITTLE CHILD'S SOUL.

The Child while a Baby.

THEY were going to build a new school near London. The son of the Queen of England, the Prince of Wales, came there to lay the first stone of the school. There were great crowds there that day. Many thousands of people came there to look at the son of the Queen of England.

But see, there is a baby. It has just been baptized. Now it is a son of God! It is a child of God who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Surely all the eight hundred millions of people who are on the earth ought to come round that infant; they ought to lift up their hands in wonder, and say, is it true? can it be that this infant is -- a son of God?

The poor baby is weak and helpless; it needs somebody to be kind to it and help it. God knows this, and he has sent his angels from heaven to be with it in all its ways. To one of the angels he said: "My dear angel, you shall be the angel guardian of that little child. Be with it always; never leave it; and pray for it day and night." Then the angel guardian came to the baby. He was so glad to see it, and he blessed it. He always stops with it, and takes such care of it.

Besides this, God spoke to his own Mother. He said: "Mary, my dear Mother, see that little baby. I want you to be a very kind mother to it, and love it, and take care of it, as you took care of me when I was a baby." And now Mary is taking care of this infant, just as she took care of the infant Jesus.

VII. The Child wants strength.

THE baby is older. It can understand things. But it wants strength against temptation. God has sent some one from heaven to strengthen it. Whom has God sent? is it an angel? No, God has sent some one greater than an angel. He has sent the Holy Ghost, the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, to strengthen the child and make it a strong and perfect Christian in the sacrament of confirmation.

The Child wants food.

The poor child wants food for its soul. God has looked through all the earth, but he cannot find any food which he thinks good enough for the child. Then he looks through heaven, and there he can only find one thing good enough for the child. But it is the most precious of all things, it is the most precious Body and Blood of Jesus Christ himself. O, the wonder! while God and his angel were looking at ti, the child received at the altar the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, in the holy Eucharist.

The Child wants a Cure.

OH! what a misfortune has happened. The devil or some bad company came to the child and tempted it. The child did not go away from the temptation, nor say Jesus and Mary help me. It committed a sin. Its soul is hurt very much, perhaps it is even dead. God is sorry to see it. He loses no time. he has sent some one to cure it. The priest is ready. The child is sorry for offending God. It has confessed the sin. The priest has forgiven the sin. The child feels quite joyful again.

The Child Dies.

SICKNESS has come on the child. It is dying! It feels so sad and sorrowful. Every thing round it looks like darkness. But God has sent the priest to it. The priest has annointed it with the holy oil of Extreme Unction. The child feels quite changed. The sorrow is gone out of its heart. The darkness is changed into light. The child feels quite happy, and ready to die. It says, O my God, thy will be done. While the priest was annointing it, God told the angels that if it had been better for the child to live, the holy oil of Extreme Unction should have cured it. But perhaps God saw that if the child lived longer it would commit sin. So the child is dead.

VIII. -- The Child's Soul goes into Heaven.

THE child has been judged! and Jesus has said that it should go to heaven. Now the little child is standing at the gates of heaven. The gates are opened, and the little child has gone into that paradise of joys that never end. Happy child! The angels wonder when they see the child, it looks so very, very beautiful. They clothe it with a dress whiter than snow, and more shining and bright than the sun. Now the angel guardian has taken the little child by the hand, and led it through the choirs of bright angels, up to the throne of God. God looks so kindly on the little child, and he says, "My dear little child, I am so glad to see you, come and sit down on the beautiful throne where I sit myself." -- Apoc. iii. When the little child was seated on the throne of God, He spoke to it again and said, "My dear child, look at all that I have in heaven and on earth, I will give it all to you: all is yours." Then when God had given to the child all that he has, his greatness, and wisdom, and power, and every thing, the child seemed more than ever to be the very image and likeness of God. now the angels began to sing hymns of thanksgiving, because God had been so good to the little child. When the child heard the music of the angels, and saw all that God had given to it, and how good God is, and how beautiful, its heart was almost bursting with joy. Then its angel guardian came over to it, and whispered in its ear, and told it that it would have all this joy in heaven every day, for ever and ever!

The Child that was seen in Heaven.

MARINA DE ESCOBAR saw in a vision among the saints in heaven, Marina Hermandez, her niece, who had died in her fifth year. When Marina was dying, she had said with her last breath, "I am going to heaven to bless and praise God, in the choir of angels." When her aunt saw her in heaven she said, "Ah, my little darling, how well I know you." The little saint answered, "Dear aunt, I am doing in heaven what I said I should do when I died."

S. Aloysius died when he was young. After his death, S. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi saw him in heaven. She says that the glory and beauty of his soul in heaven were so great that she could not have thought that there was such great glory in heaven!

[Shin]

"I am going to heaven to bless and praise God, in the choir of angels."

[Shin]

But see, there is a baby. It has just been baptized. Now it is a son of God! It is a child of God who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Surely all the eight hundred millions of people who are on the earth ought to come round that infant; they ought to lift up their hands in wonder, and say, is it true? can it be that this infant is -- a son of God?

 

[Patricia]

ave a soul to perish," -- II Kings xiv. 14: and he tries so much to convert them.

He knocks at the door of a sinner's heart, and says: "Poor sinner, why will you go to Hell? Be converted to me and by my friend. I am your Creator. I cannot tell how much I love you. Do you not remember that I died on the cross to save you? So change your life, and be good. you will find it so easy to be good; and you will be so happy; and after you have been good for a little time, I will come and take you to Heaven. For as I live, says Almighty God, I desire not the death of a sinner, but that he should be converted and live."

Then the wicked sinners says, "No, Almighty God, I do not want to be converted; Go away from me." Then God does not get angBut above all, God has great pity on poor sinners, "neither will he hry with the sinner, and send him to Hell as he deserves; but he is very sorry for the poor sinner, and says: "I must have patience with this poor creature, for he is very blind, and does not know what is for his good; so I will go away now and after some time I will come back again."

Then the Almighty God goes away, and after a time he comes back again, and he whispers into the sinner's heart, and says: "My dear sinner, have pity on your poor soul. The time of your death is drawing very near. You are standing on the brink of Hell. I cannot bear to think of your losing your soul forever. I should be so sorry. It breaks my heart to think that after a little time, all must be over for you, and I shall never be able to love you any more." So God comes to the sinner again, and again, and again. Then God says, "This poor sinner will not listen to me, although he knows that I love him so much: so I will try some other way. I will send him some pain, and perhaps then he will be converted; or I will send his angel guardian to put good thoughts into his heart; or, I will send the priest to talk to him. I will bid every creature to speak to his heart to convert him. The thunder, and lightning, and wars, and famines, and earthquakes, and disease, and death, and pains, and sorrows, shall tell him of the torments of Hell. The trees of the Earth, and the beasts of the fields, and the birds of the air, which do my will, shall give him an example that he may do my will. His hands and feet, which serve him, shall teach him to serve me. Sometimes when he is talking with others, he shall hear words that are not meant for him; but I mean them for him, to strike into his heart and awaken him out of the sleep of death."

When God sees that the sinner is always obstinate, and that he is obliged to call him out of the world without repenting, it is more bitter to him than if he had to die on the cross again. So God has mercy and pity on his poor creatures. II Esdras x. 17. "Thou art a forgiving God, gracious, and merciful, long-suffering and full of compassion."

It is wonderful to see what care God takes of his creatures. Will a mother forget her own dear little child? If she does, God will not forget you.

Reading this to my catechism class next wednesday! Pray for the children in Rel. Ed that their souls may receive graces listening to the beautiful writings of Fr. John Furniss.

[martin]

Fr. Furniss writings are so simplistic that even the chidren will understand.
You should pray to Fr. Furniss before you read Patricia that his words will inspire their little hearts.

[Shin]

IX. HOW GOD TELLS THINGS TO LITTLE CHILDREN.

How the Blessed Virgin speaks to Children.

IN the year 1846, two little children called Maximin and Melany, were minding some cows on the mountains of La Salette in France. About the middle of the day the saw near them a bright dazzling light. This light was far brighter than the sun, and of a different color. In the midst of the light they saw a lady. She had on a white dress, covered with pearls and roses. There was a small chain round her neck, on which hung a cross, and a crown of white roses on her head. Her shoes were white, with roses round them of all colors. Her face was so dazzling that they could not look at it long. She was crying: the tears ran down from her eyes, and went out like sparks in the air. This lady was the Blessed Virgin Mary. She rose up with her arms crossed, and spoke these words to the children: "Come near to me, my children, be not afraid; I am come here to tell you great news, and you will make it known to all my people. If they will not be good, I shall be forced to let go the hand of my Son Jesus, to punish them. His hand is so strong and so heavy that I cannot keep it back any longer. I am obliged to pray to him without stopping, that his punishments may not come upon the people. They do not keep the Sunday holy. They are always swearing by the name of my Son. These two things make the hand of my Son so heavy." She then said to the children, "You must be sure to say your morning and evening prayers well. When you cannot do better, at least say one Our Father and Hail Mary. But when you have time say more."

O, the wonderful love of Mary for the children! She had a message to send to the people. She did not choose Prophets, or Apostles, or Bishops to take this message, but she chose two poor little simple children, because she remembered that Jesus was once a child, and she knows how much he loves the children.

X. The Children find out the Saint.

ABOUT one hundred years since, there was living in Rome a poor beggar. His clothes were rags, his dinner an old dry crust. He had made himself poor for the love of Jesus. He was a very holy man, and when he died, his death was precious in the sight of God. He died the death of a saint. Scarcely anybody know that he was a saint, for when he was alive he had concealed all his good works as much as he could. but when people try to make themselves little in the eyes of others, God tries to make them great, for "he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." -- Matt. xxiii. So God wishes that the hidden sanctity of this good man should be known to all the world. If it had pleased God, he might have employed the bishops of his Church to make known his sanctity, but it pleased him rather that the tongues of little children should make it known to the world. The morning after he died some children happened to come into the street where he had lived, and all at once they began to cry out: "The saint is dead, the saint is dead." These children scarcely knew why they were crying out these words, but it was God who put this cry into their hearts. The cry of these little children went from street to street, and from town to town; and so by the tongues of little children the world knew that there was another saint in heaven. The name of this blessed man was Benedict Joseph Labre.

XI. The Three Stone Figures.

In the town of Barcelona, in one of the streets, there is a nurse and a child, and a man looking at the child. The nurse and the child and the man are all made of stone. Those who go through the street sometimes stop and look at them, and they wonder what is the meaning of it. In the year 1289, there was a man in this town who was doing great penances for his sins. He seldom went out of his house except to the church. He fasted every day and, said a great many prayers. When people try to be good and holy, they are almost sure to be teased. So it happened to this good man. They treated him as if he was a wild beast, and locked him up in a stable along with the horses. One day a little child opened the stable door and went in. He looked at the man, and knew that he was doing penance for his sins. The child, like an angel, had looked into his soul. So the people put up in the street the likeness in stone of the man and the child and its nurse. This likeness in stone has been standing there for more than six hundred years.

The Children Martyrs. -- The Babies of Bethlehem.

ONE day there was a great crying in the town of Bethlehem. Many hundreds of poor babies had been killed. A cruel king, called Herod, wanted to kill the infant Jesus, but he did not know which of the babies was the infant Jesus. So he commanded the soldiers to kill all the babies. Then there was great weeping and lamentation in Bethlehem. The mothers would not be consoled, because their babies had been killed. But in the misfortunes which Providence sends, there is a blessing. Those mothers were very sorrowful when they saw their babies dead, for they knew not that death was a blessing for those babies. Because they died for the sake of the infant Jesus, they are happy for ever with Jesus in Heaven.

[Shin]

Reading this to my catechism class next wednesday! Pray for the children in Rel. Ed that their souls may receive graces listening to the beautiful writings of Fr. John Furniss.

I'm so glad to hear about your catechism class benefiting from Fr. Furniss!

[Shin]

So God wishes that the hidden sanctity of this good man should be known to all the world. If it had pleased God, he might have employed the bishops of his Church to make known his sanctity, but it pleased him rather that the tongues of little children should make it known to the world. The morning after he died some children happened to come into the street where he had lived, and all at once they began to cry out: "The saint is dead, the saint is dead." These children scarcely knew why they were crying out these words, but it was God who put this cry into their hearts. The cry of these little children went from street to street, and from town to town; and so by the tongues of little children the world knew that there was another saint in heaven. The name of this blessed man was Benedict Joseph Labre.

I think about how the hearts of the children are simpler and so simpler to reach to speak such words, than ours, and so how often I think God must reach through our own built up encrusted hearts through the words of a child.

Child Jesus pray for us!

[Shin]

XII. The Children and the Holy Cross.

THE real cross on which Jesus died was buried in the earth at Jerusalem by some bad people. Then nobody knew where the holy cross was. After one hundred and eighty years St. Helen went to Jerusalem and found out the place where the holy cross was buried. They took spades and dug very deep into the earth. After digging for a long time, at last they found three crosses. They found also the words Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, on a, board lying a little way off the crosses. When they found the three crosses they knew that one of them must be the cross of Jesus, another of the good thief, and another of the bad thief. But they could not tell which of the three was the cross of Jesus. At that time there was a woman in Jerusalem lying very sick. Macarius, the bishop, prayed to Almighty God to find out which was the true cross

When he took the crosses to the house of the sick woman he put one cross into her hand, but nothing happened. When he put another cross into her hand, still nothing happened. But the moment he put the third cross into her hand, she was cured of her sickness. Then they knew that this was the real cross on which Jesus died. St. Helen had a very grand church built. She put the holy cross in a silver case, and left it in this church. A great many years after this, some people, called the Saracens came to Jerusalem, and took away the holy cross from the Christians. When the people all over the world heard that the holy cross had been taken away, there was great sorrow and mourning. They said to one another, "Let us try to get back the Holy Cross." Many thousands of people went to Jerusalem to try and get back the holy cross. The children also loved the holy cross, and you will now hear how they also went to try to get back the holy cross.

The Children set off to seek the Holy Cross.

THERE was a little shepherd boy living in the village of Cloies, in France. He said that he had seen Jesus Christ, who told him to let the people know that they must try to get back the Holy Cross. He went through all the towns and villages singing these words: Lord Jesus, help us to get back the Holy Cross. These words pierced the hearts of those who heard him, as if they had been the words of God himself. Great numbers of children joined him. In Paris alone, fifteen thousand children not twelve years old, went along with him. As they went along on the journey, the people everywhere were very good and kind to these poor children. Pope Innocent heard about it, and he said: "These children make us ashamed of ourselves. While we sleep they set of with joy to get back the Holy Cross." After they had travelled a long way they came at last to a town on the sea-side. This town was called Marseilles. When they had come to this town, they went into ships, and went over the sea for more than two thousand miles, till they came to Jerusalem. As soon as they came there the bad people who had taken away the Holy Cross, got hold of a great many of the children. They told the children that if they did not deny their religion they should be killed. But the good children would not deny their religion, so they were killed and they died a very happy death, because they died for the love of Jesus.

XIII. Other Children set off to get back the Holy Cross.

In Germany twenty thousand children got ready to set off. Each of them had a cross on his shoulder, and carried in his hand a stick to walk with, and a bag to hold some bread in. A little boy called Nicolas, not yet ten years old, went at the head of them. On the road many died of hunger and cold. Some of them suffered many pains, and were obliged to turn back home. They were very sorry, not for the pains they had to suffer, but because they could not keep up with the others and go to Jerusalem and get back the Holy Cross. The others went on their journey, and when they came to the sea, they got into ships and set off to Jerusalem. Two ships full of these poor children sunk down in the water of the sea, and they were all drowned. Pope Gregory IX. heard of it, and he ordered the bodies of the drowned children to be taken out of the water. He had a church built called the Church of the New Holy Innocents. He ordered that the bodies of the children should be kept in this church like the relics of the martyrs, because they had given their lives for the faith of Jesus.

A Lesson for the Children.

THESE children took a long journey of three or four thousand miles to go to Jerusalem and get back the holy cross. Every child, as soon as it is born, must set off on a long journey, and his journey is not to Jerusalem, but to -- Heaven! And the road to heaven is, to be good and keep out of bad company, and say your prayers. The cross was very holy because Jesus had died on it. But still it was only wood, like any other wood. But you my little child are going to get, not the wood of the cross, but in the Holy Communion you will get the true and real body of Jesus that was nailed to the cross.

[Shin]

"Then, my little ones, pray every day to Almighty God, and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, that you may love God very much."

 

[Patricia]

Fr Furniss's writings will make excellent reading for my 7 and 9 year old girls.

[Shin]

XVII. The Boy who forgot his Dinner.

WHEN St. Peter of Alcantara was a child, he loved very much to say his prayers. One day, it was dinner time, and the dinner was quite ready. The father and mother of Peter were at the dinner-table, and his brothers and sisters were there, only the little Peter himself was not there. The father said, "Where is Peter?" nobody could tell where he was; they searched all through the house, but they could not find the child anywhere; they thought that perhaps he might be playing outside of the house, so they went and looked for him, but they could not see him anywhere. At last, they thought perhaps he might be in the chapel, so they went to the chapel. There they found the good child on his knees, with his hands joined, looking up to heaven, and saying his prayers! He had forgotten his dinner, he was thinking only about his prayers, so he became a very great saint. Did you ever forget your dinner or your breakfast for your prayers? Perhaps you even thought so much about your breakfast that you eat it before you had had said any prayers at all!

XVIII. In the Chapel.

WHEN F. Sarnelli was a boy, he loved very much to be at his prayers in the church, so if anybody came to the house to ask tor him, the servant always answered, "you will find him in the chapel."

When F. Blasuoci was a little baby, not a day old, he was seen to lift up his little arms and fold them on his breast like a cross.

How many Prayers some Children said.

BLESSED Bonaventura, from the time that she was seven years old, said every day a hundred Our Fathers and a hundred Hail Marys, in honor of the Blessed Trinity, a hundred Our Fathers and Hail Marys in honor of the Angels, a hundred in honor of the Patriarchs, a hundred in honor of the Martyrs, a hundred in honor of the Confessors, a hundred in honor of the holy Virgins. Every day also she said a thousand Hail Marys in honor of the Blessed Virgin. She fasted three days in every week; when she was twelve years old, she put on sackcloth and wore it for six years and a half.

XIX. The Infant's first Words.

THE very first words that St. Rose of Viterbo learnt to say were the holy names Jesus, Mary, and the same of St. John the Baptist, whose picture was in the house. When she was only two years old, she used to go to the church of St. Francis; she would kneel down before Jesus in the blessed sacrament, and adore him. She listened to sermons and instructions, and said them by heart afterwards. When she was seven years old, she used to stop day and night praying in her little room, which was so small that it could hold only a bed and a little altar. She did not go out except to hear holy mass, at the next church, called Mary on the Hill.

XX. Meditation for Children.

WHEN Marina de Escobar was only three years old, people often heard her saying, "I love God more than my father and mother, and more than all things else." She used to hide herself in the house and in the fields. When they asked her why did she hide herself, she said, "I want to find God, who is my life." When she was a little girl, she said she did not know what was meant by meditation; but that she loved to think about what Jesus did for us. This was really meditation, so she used to make a, meditation - without knowing it. The children will find in this book a meditation which it will be very good for them to read every day.

XXI. Four years old.

WHEN St. Catherine Ricci was only four years old, she used often to go to some part of the house where she could be silent and quiet, and say her prayers. There she used to say the Our Father and Hail Mary, and think about the sufferings of Jesus Christ. When she was thinking on the death of Jesus on the cross, sho would stretch out her arms in the form of a cross. Many times she saw her Angel Guardian. He taught her how to pray, and especially how to say the Rosary. When she grew older she was sent to a convent. She never wished to give over praying; very often her aunt, who lived there, had to go and let her know is was bed-time or dinner-time.

The Child's Question.

VEN. MARGARET, when a little child, always felt great joy when she heard the word prayer. But it seemed to her that she did not know what prayer was. Sometimes she asked people to tell her what prayer was; they only laughed at her. Then she asked God to teach her how to pray. God made known to her that she must kneel before him with great respect, and be very sorry for her sins, and tell him all that she wanted, and think about Jesus dying on the cross. She made her first communion with great devotion when she was nine years old.

XXII. What are the Prayers of Children worth?

THE following words were preached by Monsgn. Dupanloup, Bishop of Orleans, in Paris, April 4, 1860: "What has saved the Church on earth? What has given the Church confidence in the midst of persecutions? lt is this: The Church has the little children on her side. She has with her millions of little children, stammering out their innocent prayers. Poor Church of Christ! thou hast for thy defenders, not a million of soldiers, but millions of little children, who lift up their innocent hands for thee!" If you want to be quite certain of the power there is in the prayer of a child, open the Holy Scripture, and read Psalm viii. -- Out of the mouths of infants thou hast perfected praise.

[Shin]

Doesn't the story of Ven. Marina de Escobar so touch the heart?

And Blessed Bonaventura she certainly is inspiring!

[George]

Doesn't the story of Ven. Marina de Escobar so touch the heart?

And Blessed Bonaventura she certainly is inspiring!

I find these stories very inspirational. They make you want to pray even more.

[Shin]

"I want to find God, who is my life."

I want to find God, who is my life!

   

[Shin]

The Boy Dying of Thirst.

GEN. XXI. -- Agar was wandering in the sandy deserts of Arabia with her little boy Ismael. She had with her a bottle of water for him to drink, for there was no other water in the deserts. When the water in the bottle was finished, she put the little boy under one of the trees and went a great way off from him, for she said, l will not see the boy die of thirst. Then she sat down and lifted up her voice, and began to cry for the poor, dying boy. Then an angel of God called to Agar from heaven and said: "What art thou doing, Agar? Fear not, for God hath heard the voice of the boy. Arise, take up the boy." and God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water, and went and filled the bottle, and gave the boy to drink. So God heard the voice, not of the mother, but of the child, and he gave them water to drink. So God hears the prayers of children.

XXIII. The Children Pray for the People.

THERE was a town called Bethulia. One day the chapel there was full of children. What was the matter? The soldiers were on their road to this town. They were coming to kill the people. The people knew that God hears the prayers of children, for they had read in the Holy Scriptures, "That out of the mouths of infants comes forth perfect praise of God." So they made all the children come into the chapel, and bow their heads down to the ground, and pray for the people. God heard the prayers of the children, and he made the cruel soldiers go away, and the people were saved by the prayers of the children.

XXIV. The Obedient Child.

THERE was a very old priest, called Eli, and a good child, called Samuel, who lived with the priest. Almighty God wanted to say something to the priest, but he liked better to say it to the child, and let the child tell the priest. So one night, when the child was asleep, God called the child by his name, Samuel. The child awoke, and heard somebody calling his name, but he did not know that it was God who called him. He thought to himself, perhaps it is the priest who calls me. He got up directly, and went to the priest, and said: "Please, your reverence, I heard somebody calling my name, and I thought perhaps it was your reverence who called me." Then the priest said: “No my child, I did not call you; go back again and sleep." So the obedient child went back to sleep. But after a little while the child heard the same voice calling him again and again. Each time he went to the priest, and at last the priest said: "Perhaps, my child, it is the voice of God which calls you, so, if you hear it again, say: "Speak, O Lord, for thy servant heareth." After a little while, when the child heard the voice again, he said as the priest had told him: "Speak, O Lord, for thy servant heareth." Then God spoke to the child and commanded him to tell the priest what he had heard. So God loves to speak to good children who are obedient; and as God spoke to the child Samuel, he will speak to you also, my child, if you are obedient. You will not hear his voice with your ears, as the child Samuel did, but you will hear it in your heart.

XXV. The Child that Converted its Father.

ABOUT four years since, there was a little boy six years old, living in a large town. He was very sickly. His father was a drunkard. One evening he was going home from the children's mission. When he came home he opened the door, and he saw his father sitting in a chair drunk! The little boy went over to his father and climbed up on his knees. He joined his hands together and said: "Father. I want to say something to you." The father said: "Well, what is it?" The child said: "Father, I feel very poorly, and I think I shall die soon. God is good. I think when I am dead he will take my soul into heaven." "Well," said the father, "what then?" "When I come into heaven," said the child," l shall be very sorry to do it, but I must go to Almighty God, and tell him that you go to the public house and ruin us all." God must have put these words on the tongue of the child! As soon as the child had spoken, the father did not answer one word, but he quietly took the child off his knees and set him down on the ground. The father walked out of the house -- he went in haste till he came to the chapel. Next morning he went down on his knees and made his confession. Front that day he never got drunk any more, nor did he ever put his foot in a public-house again. Besides being obedient to your parents or masters, you should try not to get angry with your companions if they do something which vexes you.

XXVI. The Boy who was Angry.

WHEN St. Philip Neri was a little boy he was reading to one of his sisters. While he was doing this, his eldest sister, Catherine, came up to him and tried to stop his reading, and tease him. Almost without thinking, he pushed her away. Afterwards, when he thought of it, he was very sorry, and cried for his fault. One of the worst faults children can commit is going into bad company.

Temptation. -- The Child and the Devil.

WHEN S. Joseph Calasanctius was a little boy five years old, he heard someone speaking about the devil, the enemy of God. He did not know who the devil was, but he thought the devil would look like a man. So he ran through all the rooms of the house to find him and drive him away. Another day he got together a good many children. They all got sticks in their hands, and went about looking for the devil to drive him out of the world. These sticks were only made of wood. The stick which really sends the devil away is the beautiful prayer, Jesus and Mary help me.