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

"SERMON OP THE BISHOP OF BELLET. 339of God, in the service of souls,fourteen, sixteen, eighteen hours in the confessional, interrupted only by hiscatechetical instruction that instruction which was soeloquent a sermon. The mere sight of the saintly cure\when his words were inaudible, preached, touched, converted. And how was the remainder of his time employed? In frequent communication with his belovedparishioners, in visiting the sick, in long and ferventprayers, in pious reading ; in one word, his whole daywas spent in acts directly to the glory and service ofGod. And this day, thus devoted to God, was continually recommenced, Sunday and week-day, night andday, without respite or relaxation.*Euge, serve bone et fidelis, quia in pauca fuisti fidelis !Courage, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful in little things O my ! God, permit me this word ;it was not only in little things that the Cure of Ars wasThy faithful and devoted servant. Let it be said toThy glory, my God ;for his life was a new miracle ofThy power and of Thy love to; Thee, indeed, all thisis doubtless little, very little, infinitely little, but to us,weak mortals, this life was a miracle, a glorious, a continual miracle. Through how many years, through howmany centuries may we look back ere we find the life ofthus continuanother priest, thus fruitfully, thus holily,ally occupied, employed, lavished in the service of God ?And that service of God was accomplished with all theperfection and fidelity due to the sanctity of the Masterwhom we serve. Euge, serve lone et fidelis! Courage,good and faithful servant !Good,for a Christian, for apriest, is sacrifice, mortification, the Cross ; goodis themoan of natural sorrow turned into the sigh of expiationand love. Sacrifice is an act of love, and at the same