Life of St John Vianney.pdf - the Catholic Kingdom!

"s<WeTEMPERANCE. 97there are some who always want to wash themselves whenthe weather is hot, and who are always seeking thingswhich are soft to the touch ;lastly, to temper our wholebody, that poor machine of ours not to let itgo loose,like a runaway horse without bit or bridle, but to restrainand tame it. There are some who are lost in their bed ;they are content to lie awake, that they may feel howcomfortable they are. This is not like the saints. I don tknow how we are to get beside them. But mark this : ifwe are saved, we shall have to stay an immense time inpurgatory, while they flew straightto heaven to see thegood God. That great saint, Charles Borromeo, had agrand cardinal s bed in his room for every one to see ;but by the side of it he had one made of fagots, whichnobody saw ; and this was the one he used. He neverwarmed himself; and it was remarked, by those whocame to see him, that he kept himself in a position inwhich he could not feel the fire.Such were the saints.They lived for heaven, and not for earth ;they werealtogether heavenly, and we are altogether earthly.Oh, how I love those little mortifications which are seenby no one, such as to rise a quarter of an hour earlier, orto rise a few moments in the night for prayer ! Butsome people think of nothing but sleep.There was a hermit once who made a royal palacefor himself in a hollow tree ;he lined it with thorns, andhung three heavy stones over his head, so that whicheverway he moved he was sure to hurt himself, either againstthe thorns or the stones : and we think of nothing but tofind good beds, in which we may sleep well at our ease.may abstain from warming ourselves ; if seateduncomfortably, we may refrain from changing our posi-;ion ; if walking in the garden, we may deny ourselvesH