If there is one truth which comes home to a convert with special force it is this, aut pati aut mori, we must either suffer or perish. Every spiritual writer and every convert must often echo the great truth, ‘no cross, no crown.’ Per crucem ad lucem, la bonne souffrance, durch Leiden Freude—it runs through the tongues of Christendom. Our Blessed Lady thus spoke to St. Bridget ‘To alleviate the first of your troubles. I offer you three subjects of consolation : firstly, the necessity of suffering, imposed upon all who dwell upon earth. Consider that the animals, who, when they die, become extinct, are themselves subject to great sufferings, but your soul will live for ever.’