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 It is  then  that  the  sensualist  thinks  more  of  his  health than of  his  pleasures;  it  is  then  that  the  miser  dreams  not of his  riches,  but  sighs  for  the  treasure  of  health;  then that the  ambitious  man  throws  aside  his  vanity  and  builds no more  castles  in  the  air. The gormandiser  sobers  down at the  sight  of  death,  the  envious  and  vindictive  proclaim a truce;  for  the  pains  of  the  body  soften  the  bitterness  of the  mind.

Is it  not,  then,  a  wonderful  blessing  that  Almighty  God should allow  the  infirmities  of  the  body  to  arrest  the impetuosity of  our  passions?

Rev. Pere Nouet,  SJ.

''Meditations.

That illness  has  been  your  salvation. You have  suffered, but  your  life  has  not  been  in  danger. This is  what the Lord  has  said,  "  I  will  strike  him,  and  I  will  cure  him."

He has  struck  you,  your  illness  has  awakened  your faith, and  that  has  been  your  cure.

St. Ambrose.

''From his Epistles.