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

""When""HIS MORTIFICATION. 249whole being ; heart, mind, and sensed were all alikebrought under its dominion.In this path,"he used to say, the first step is everytiling. Mortification has a sweetness which, when wehave once tasted it, we can never bear to be without.We feel that we must drain the cup to the dregs. Thereis but one way of giving ourselvesto God in the way ofself-renunciation and sacrifice, and that is, to give ourselves wholly, without keeping any thing back. Thelittle we try to keep is good for nothing out to embarrassus, and afford food for suffering."Of the austerity of his fasting, and the severity of hisbodily sufferings, both from ill-health and by the directinfliction of the spirits of darkness, we have already hadample evidence. To these he added other severe corporalpenances, iron chains, heavy and sharp disciplines, and,perhaps more afflictive still, the perpetual self-restraint bywhich he closed every avenue to the most innocent enjoyment of the senses, and refused to avail himself of themost ordinary alleviations of pain and discomfort. Hehad imposed, as a rule, upon himself never to smell aflower, never to drink when parched with thirst, never tobrush off a fly,never to appear to be conscious of an unpleasant smell, never to express disgust at any repulsivesight) never to complain of any thing whatever whichaffected him personally, never to sit down, never to leanagainst any thing when kneeling. He had a greatshrinking from cold, but would never take any means topreserve himself from it. He told the Abb6 Tailhadesthat once, during a severe winter, both his feet froze.I leave the confessional," said he, I amobliged to look for my legs, and touch them, to find outwhether I have got any. I cannot stand ; and, to leave