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

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

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13.07.2015 Views

"We98 THE CURj OF ARS.the pleasure of eating some fruit which we like ;or attable we may abstainfrom some dish more savoury thanthe rest ;we may refuse to look at something attractiveor curious, especially in the streets of a great city.Thereis a gentleman who sometimes comes here, who wears twopairs of spectacles, to prevent him from seeing any thing.But there are some heads which are always in motion,some eyes which are always in the air. When we arewalking in the streets, let us fix our eyes on our Lonlbearing His cross before us ;on the Blessed Virgin, whoislooking at us ;on our guardian angel, who is at ourside. How beautiful is this interior life ! it unites uswith the good God. And so, when the devil sees thata soul is striving to attain to it, he endeavours to turnit aside by suggestinga thousand chimeras to the imagination. A good Christian pays no heed to him, butadvances farther and farther in perfection, like a fishwhich plunges deeper and deeper in the water.want to get to heaven, but quite at our ease,without putting any kind of constraint upon ourselves.This was not the way with the saints. They sought tomortify themselves in every possible way ; and in themidst of all these austerities they enjoyed infinite sweetness. How happy are those who love the good God !they do not lose a single opportunity of doing good.Misers employ every means to increase their treasure ;they do the same with regard to the riches of heaventhey are always amassing more and more. We shall besurprised, at the day of judgment, to see souls so rich."On Hope.* My children, we are going to speak of hope. This iswhat constitutes the happiness of man upon earth.There

""HOPE. 99are some in this world who have too much hope, and otherswho have too little. Some say, I will commit this sinagain ; it will not cost me more to confess four sins thanthree. This is as if a child*were to say to his father, 1am going to give you four blows ; it will cost me no morethan to give you one. I shall ask pardon for them alltogether. This is the way we treat the good God. Wesay, I shall amuse myself this year ; I shall go to dancesand taverns ; and next year I will be converted. WhenI want to return to the good God, He will receive me ;is not so hard as the priests make out. No the ;goodGod is not hard, but He is just. Do you think that Hewill accommodate Himself to all your fancies ? Do yousuppose that when you have despised Him allyourHe lifewill come and throw Himself on your neck ? Oh, no,no ! There is a measure of grace and a measure of sin,after which God withdraws Himself. What should yousay of a father who should treat a good child and anaughty one exactly alike ? You would say, That fatheris not just. Well, neither would God be just if He wereto make no difference between those who serve Him andthose who offend Him.My children, there is so little faith now in the world,that men either hope too much or else despair. Somesay, I have sinned too deeply ; the good God cannot pardon me. My children, this is a grievous blasphemy ; itis to set bounds to the infinite mercy of God. You mayhave committed sin enough for the perdition of a wholeparish but if you confess and ; repent of it, and would notcommit it again, the good God has forgiven it.There was once a priest who was preaching uponhope and the mercy of God. He encouraged others, butwas himself in despair. After the sermon a young manHe

&quot;We98 THE CURj OF ARS.<strong>the</strong> pleasure <strong>of</strong> eating some fruit which we like ;or attable we may abstainfrom some dish more savoury than<strong>the</strong> rest ;we may refuse to look at something attractiveor curious, especially in <strong>the</strong> streets <strong>of</strong> a great city.Thereis a gentleman who sometimes comes here, who wears twopairs <strong>of</strong> spectacles, to prevent him from seeing any thing.But <strong>the</strong>re are some heads which are always in motion,some eyes which are always in <strong>the</strong> air. When we arewalking in <strong>the</strong> streets, let us fix our eyes on our Lonlbearing His cross before us ;on <strong>the</strong> Blessed Virgin, whoislooking at us ;on our guardian angel, who is at ourside. How beautiful is this interior life ! it unites uswith <strong>the</strong> good God. And so, when <strong>the</strong> devil sees thata soul is striving to attain to it, he endeavours to turnit aside by suggestinga thousand chimeras to <strong>the</strong> imagination. A good Christian pays no heed to him, butadvances far<strong>the</strong>r and far<strong>the</strong>r in perfection, like a fishwhich plunges deeper and deeper in <strong>the</strong> water.want to get to heaven, but quite at our ease,without putting any kind <strong>of</strong> constraint upon ourselves.This was not <strong>the</strong> way with <strong>the</strong> saints. They sought tomortify <strong>the</strong>mselves in every possible way ; and in <strong>the</strong>midst <strong>of</strong> all <strong>the</strong>se austerities <strong>the</strong>y enjoyed infinite sweetness. How happy are those who love <strong>the</strong> good God !<strong>the</strong>y do not lose a single opportunity <strong>of</strong> doing good.Misers employ every means to increase <strong>the</strong>ir treasure ;<strong>the</strong>y do <strong>the</strong> same with regard to <strong>the</strong> riches <strong>of</strong> heaven<strong>the</strong>y are always amassing more and more. We shall besurprised, at <strong>the</strong> day <strong>of</strong> judgment, to see souls so rich.&quot;On Hope.* My children, we are going to speak <strong>of</strong> hope. This iswhat constitutes <strong>the</strong> happiness <strong>of</strong> man upon earth.There

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