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

"188 THE CUR* OF ARS.A letter from the castle, dated the 16th of September, continues the narrative :I wrote to you of the flight of our holy cure on theclay when it took place. Since then we have almost lostjthe hope we at first cherished of keeping him with us, andhave strong reasons for believing that the gift of God,which we have enjoyed for so many years past, will not berestored to us. The Bishop desires, at any cost, to keephim in the diocese, and will not refuse the petition madeto him to give him anything but a parish to govern.Thepoor Saint hopes to escape the concourse and the kind ofcelebrity which pursues him here. His humility does notallow him to see that it would be the same everywhere.There would be no solitude nor repose for him, except atLa Trappe or the Grande Chartreuse. It is believed, however, that he will resist the interior voice which seems tccall him thither, from the fear of displeasing his Bishop.I could write you pages on the subject of the sudden andnocturnal departure of our Saint, flying from the peoplewho pursued him, clinging to his cassock, and imploring alast benediction.His heart was torn; yet he pursued hisHedight with a rapidity which exhausted his strength.was several times so much out of breath as to be obligedto sit down by the roadside. At last, assisted by Pertinant,and leaning upon his stick, he arrived, without strength orvoice, after seven hours walking, at his brother s house.His first care was to send back a good young man, whohad overtaken him in his flight,to that good M. des Garets,who must be very uneasy. But not a word as to his plans,nor any kind of explanation. The good M. des Garets,reversing the parable of the lost sheep, had set off without delay in search of his pastor. After a journey c tenleagues, he learned on his arrival at Dardilly that M