Life of St John Vianney.pdf - the Catholic Kingdom!
Life of St John Vianney.pdf - the Catholic Kingdom! Life of St John Vianney.pdf - the Catholic Kingdom!
"""A""298 THE CURit OF ARS.he was being stoned, saw Heaven open .over his head.St. Paul was ravished thither, and declared that he f,ouldgive no idea of what he had seen there. St. Teresa hada sight of Heaven, and ever after, as she tells us herself,every thing on earth seemed but as mire and dirt toher."But we, alas, we are all earthly We ! creep alongon the earth, and know not how to rise above it. We aretoo dull, too heavy.Earth is a bridge for crossing the water."A bad Christian cannot understand that brighthope of Heaven which consoles and animates the goodChristian. All that constitutes the happiness of theSaints seems hard and irksome to him.Consider, my children, these consoling thoughts:With whom shall we live in Heaven ? With God, who isour Father ;with Jesus Christ, who is our Brother ;withthe Blessed Virgin, who is our Mother ;with the angelsand saints, who are our friends.*king said sorrowfully in his last moments : MustI, then, leave my kingdom, to go to a country where 1know no one ? This was because he had never thoughtof the happiness of Heaven. We must make friendsthere now, that we may find them after death ;and weshall not be afraid, like this king, that we shall know noone there."The extraordinary gift of illumination with whichM. Vianney was endowed shone forth preeminently inhis direction of souls.It seemed,"says M. Monnin,that in the mind ofthis humble priest there was a type of truth ; a latentbut infallible criterion ; a key which openedto him thedoor of the most securely and carefully closed hearts ; a
""flIS ILLUMINATION. 299clue which guided him through the labyrinth of themost intricate consciences ;a chord which vibrated inunison with all that is right and just, and with whichevery thing wrong or false jarred discordantly."In the words of Mgr. Devie, the Cure of Ars wasnot learned, but he was enlightened. The most lucidintellect does no more than receive the rays of light.With many men the light which they receive from Heaven is obscured by the shadow which the image of selfcasts upon their soul. Liberty and purity of heart areindispensable conditions of illumination.Every passion, says St. Thomas Aquinas, injures (in so fur as it affects the soul) the rectitude of thejudgment, and its faculty of giving good counsel. Aman under the influence of any passion whatever alwayssees objects as either greater or less than they are inreality.There was neither pride, ambition, nor avarice inthe heart of M. Vianney ;and consequently there wasneither tenacity nor feebleness in his mind. He wasnot beguiled by the flickering light of the imagination,nor subject to the tyranny of the senses. He had thatclearness and exactness of vision which comes frompurity of intention, and which the Holy Ghost Himselfinfuses before time has bestowed the teaching of experience. In all his judgments reason was his law, andthe will of God his guiding light.To him accordinglywere brought for solution questions of every kind anddegree, from the most intricate case of casuistry to thesimplest detail of daily life ;from the foundation of amonastery, or the inauguration of some new work ofexpansive charity, to the marriage of a daughter or thehiring of a servant.
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""flIS ILLUMINATION. 299clue which guided him through <strong>the</strong> labyrinth <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>most intricate consciences ;a chord which vibrated inunison with all that is right and just, and with whichevery thing wrong or false jarred discordantly."In <strong>the</strong> words <strong>of</strong> Mgr. Devie, <strong>the</strong> Cure <strong>of</strong> Ars wasnot learned, but he was enlightened. The most lucidintellect does no more than receive <strong>the</strong> rays <strong>of</strong> light.With many men <strong>the</strong> light which <strong>the</strong>y receive from Heaven is obscured by <strong>the</strong> shadow which <strong>the</strong> image <strong>of</strong> selfcasts upon <strong>the</strong>ir soul. Liberty and purity <strong>of</strong> heart areindispensable conditions <strong>of</strong> illumination.Every passion, says <strong>St</strong>. Thomas Aquinas, injures (in so fur as it affects <strong>the</strong> soul) <strong>the</strong> rectitude <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>judgment, and its faculty <strong>of</strong> giving good counsel. Aman under <strong>the</strong> influence <strong>of</strong> any passion whatever alwayssees objects as ei<strong>the</strong>r greater or less than <strong>the</strong>y are inreality.There was nei<strong>the</strong>r pride, ambition, nor avarice in<strong>the</strong> heart <strong>of</strong> M. <strong>Vianney</strong> ;and consequently <strong>the</strong>re wasnei<strong>the</strong>r tenacity nor feebleness in his mind. He wasnot beguiled by <strong>the</strong> flickering light <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> imagination,nor subject to <strong>the</strong> tyranny <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> senses. He had thatclearness and exactness <strong>of</strong> vision which comes frompurity <strong>of</strong> intention, and which <strong>the</strong> Holy Ghost Himselfinfuses before time has bestowed <strong>the</strong> teaching <strong>of</strong> experience. In all his judgments reason was his law, and<strong>the</strong> will <strong>of</strong> God his guiding light.To him accordinglywere brought for solution questions <strong>of</strong> every kind anddegree, from <strong>the</strong> most intricate case <strong>of</strong> casuistry to <strong>the</strong>simplest detail <strong>of</strong> daily life ;from <strong>the</strong> foundation <strong>of</strong> amonastery, or <strong>the</strong> inauguration <strong>of</strong> some new work <strong>of</strong>expansive charity, to <strong>the</strong> marriage <strong>of</strong> a daughter or <strong>the</strong>hiring <strong>of</strong> a servant.
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