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

""HeCATECHETICAL INSTRUCTIONS. 77the capacity of each, and her probable future need, toread, write, sew, and knit.For their spiritual benefit, M. Vianney began thatcourse of daily catechetical instruction which in after yearswas listened to with breathless attention by pilgrims ofall classes and degrees from France, Germany, Belgium,and England. came every day at the mid-dayAngelus, after the dinner of the community, when thesingle room had been swept which served forrefectory,schoolroom, and workroom, and, leaning against theend of one of the tables, spoke to the poor orphans foran hour together of the chief truths of the faith, and thefear and love of Almighty God." The principal subjects of these instructions were the happiness of servingGod, the beauty of holiness, the frightful deformity ofeven the slightest faults, the duty of shunning the occasions of sin, of resisting temptation, of frequenting theSacraments, prayer, the nothingness of this world, thedignity of the soul, reverence and love for all men, andcompassion for the poor.He denounced with especial energy sins against holypurity.In order to understand the full horror of these sins,which the devils tempt us to commit, but which they donot commit themselves, we must know what it is to be aChristian, a Christian, created to the image of God !a Christian, the child of God, the brother of God, theheir of God ! a Christian, the object of the complacencyof the Three Divine Persons ! a Christian, whose bodyis the temple of the Holy Ghost : this is what is dishonoured by sin. We were created to reign one day inheaven ;and if we are so miserable as to fall into this sin,we become the abode of devils. Our Lord has said that