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

10 .THE CURi OF ARS.Paul; such was the school in which Jean Marie Vianne?was trained for the interior life; the solitary communingwith God, in which he was enabled hereafter to persevereunder the overwhelming pressure of his life-long labourfor souls. To him, in those evil days, that life was aspecial blessing. The daily Sacrifice was taken away ;the church-bells were silent, except when forced"to send aroundThe bloody tocsin s madd ningsound."But under the free sky, by the light of the silent stars,the lonely boy conversed with God, and learned of Himthat heavenly wisdom by which he was hereafter to makemany wise unto salvation. And already, even at thatearly age, he was beginning to exercise his ministry forthe souls of others. There is at a little distance from thevillage of Dard illy a lovely little valley, which, from thenumber of those birds which congregate there, is calledChante-merle (the thrush s song); this was the youngshepherd s most frequent haunt, thither he loved to leadhis ass and three sheep. His young companions, who allloved him well, used to hail his approach, as he appearedamong them with a staff in one hand and his inseparableimage of the Blessed Virgin pressed to his bosom withthe other. On a little hillock, by the side of an old willow,which is still to be seen there, he placed his dear Madonnaupon an altar of turf, and having knelt to pay his homageto her, he invited the other shepherd-boys to do the same.Never was he so happy as when he saw them all kneelingaround his beloved image ; then, having recited a HailMary with fervent devotion, he would rise and gravelyaddress his young companions, who listened with devoutattention, upon the devotion to the Blessed Virgin.Sometimes, indeed, they would get tired of listening, and