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

"My"<82 THE CUR^ OF ARS.thing which brings suffering and distress upon us. See,my children, a person in a state of sin isalways unhappy.He may do what he will, but he isweary and disgustedwith every thing;while he who is at peace with Godisalways content, always joyful. O blessed life ! andblessed death !children, we are afraid of death, and no wonder. It is sin which makes us fear death ; it is sin whichmakes death fearful and terrible ; it is sin which affrightsthe sinner at the moment of that last dreadful passage.And, my God, there is cause enough for fear. To thinkthat he is accursed accursed of God I The thoughtmakes one tremble. Accursed of God and 1why ? Whydo men run the risk of being accursed of God ? For ablasphemy, an evil thought, a bottle of wine, a momentof pleasure. For a moment s pleasure, to lose God, thesoul, and heaven for ever ! We shall see our father, ourmother, our sister, our neighbour, who dwelt so near to us,ascend to heaven, body and soul ; while we shall descendbody ard soul into hell, there to burn for ever and ever.The devils will seize hold of us. Ail the devils whosecounsels we have followed will come to torment us.My children, if you were to see a man preparing alarge pile,heaping fagots one upon another, and he wereto tell you, * I am making ready a fire to burn myself,what would you think of him ? And ifyou were to seethis same man approach the pile when lighted, and throwhimself into the flames, what would you think of him ?We do the same when we commit sin. It is not Godwho casts us into hell ; we throw ourselves into itbyour sins. The lost will say, I have lost God, my soul,and heaven, by my fault, by my fault, by my grievousfault/ He will spring upward from the furnace, only to