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

"When""""WeEXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE. 263a poor man iskept amused while the soldiers are comingto take him. When they come, he cries and struggles invain ; they seize him for all his resistance.men die, they are often like a bar of iron allcovered with rust, which must be put into the fire.Poor sinners are frozen like snakes in winter.itsThe slanderer is like the caterpillar, which leavesslime upon the flowers.What would you say of a man who should cultivatehis neighbour s field, and leave his own untilled ? This isjust what you do. You are continually turning up yourneighbour s conscience, and leaving your own fallow.Oh, when death comes, how much shall we repent ofhaving thought so much of others and so little of ourselves ;for it is of ourselves, and not of others, that weshall have to render an account ! Let us think of ourselves, of our conscience, which we should look at continually, as we look at our hands to see if they are clean.have always two secretaries : the devil, whowrites down our bad actions to accuse us ;and our goodangel, who writes down our good actions to justify us atthe day of judgment. When all our actions shall be presented to us, how few will there be, even among the bestof them, really pleasing to God So !many imperfections,somany thoughts of self-love, of human satisfaction, ofsensual pleasure, of selfishness, will be found mixed witlithem !They have a fair appearance ; but it is only anappearance like those fruits which look :ripe and mellowbecause the worm has touched them."He would often, though with great reserve and discretion, make use of recent events or personal allusionsto illustrate some truth, or enforce the practice of &om*rduty. Thus :