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

"A"The316 THE CURE OF ARS.who waits, like the paralytic in the Gospel, for his cure.He spends his life in quarrelling with St. Philomena,and making it up again, according as his soul ascendsor descends in the scale of resignation. On the whole,however, he is a model of conformity to the will of God,and a rare example of the power of faith to sweeten andrender endurable the bitterest trials. This good manhas always been, and stfll is, convinced that M. Vianney*wanted but the will to cure him ;his humility, he usedto say, spoils his charity. M. Vianney often went to seehim on his poor bed. He exhorted him, cheered him,made him laugh ; for poor Michel was always ready tolaugh ; but he never gave him the faintest hopeof recovery. On the contrary, when spoken to of the hopesand desires of his obstinate client, he always said, Hedoes not want his legs to go to heaven. He will gothere without them, and perhaps he would not have gotthere with them.religious was sent to Ars by his superior, whoexceedingly desired his cure. The holy cure said to him,My friend, we must will what God wills. He wills tosanctify you by patience. You will see, at the hour ofthis illnessdeath, that you will have saved more souls by than by all the works jf zeal which you could have accomplished in health.superior was not to be discouraged, and twopears afterwards the invalid returned by his orders toArs. No, no, said M. Vianney, once more *; you willremain in this state ; you are doing more good in it ; youare more useful to your congregation you are saving a;greater number of souls. The companion of the religiousobserved that the superior had great need of him ;whenM. le Cure made a gesture, indicating that God has no