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

""The""""280 THE CUR^ OF ABS.religious understood ; he wept, asked pardon, and neve?again dared to complain. Peopleof the world are indespair when they meet with crosses ; good Christiansweep when they have none. The Christian lives in themidst of crosses, as the fish in the water."Weought to run after crosses,as the miser aftermoney. Nothing else will give us confidence in the dayof judgment.The good God wishes that we should never lose sightof the Cross ;therefore He places itevery where, alongthe road, on the heights, in the market-place, that at thesight of it we may say to ourselves, See how God hasloved us !Cross embraces the world ;it is planted at thefour corners of the universe ;there is a piece for every one.If any one said to you, 11 wish very much to growrich ;what must I do ?you would answer, You mustwork. Well to :go to Heaven we must suffer. OurLord shows us the way in the person of Simon the Chanaauite: He calls His friends to bear His Cross afterHim.Crosses are, on the road to Heaven, like a fine stonebridge over a river. Christians who do not suffer passthat river by a frail bridge>a line of wire, which isalwaysready to break under their feet.He who loves not the Cross may perhaps be saved,but it will be with great difficulty: he will be but a littlestar in the firmament of Heaven. He who has fought andsuffered for his God will shine like a glorious sun.Crossestransformed into the flames of love are likea bundle of briers which are thrown into the fire and consumed to ashes. The briers are hard, but the ashes are soft."Oh, what sweetness do those souls experience in suf-