Page:HalfHoursWithTheSaints.djvu/82



Father Houdry and Father  Claude  de  la  Colombiere.

"This is  the  confidence  which  we  have  towards  God:  that  whatsoever  we  shall ask  according  to  His  will,  He  heareth  us." — i John  v.  14.

[The Rev.  Father  Vincent  Houdry  was  born  in  Tours  on  the 22d of  January  1630,  on  the  Feast  of  St.  Vincent  of  Saragosa,  hence his name.

At an  early  age  he  manifested  a  taste  for  study  and  piety,  and  at the  age  of  thirteen,  in  1644,  he  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus. During the thirty  years  of  his  ministry  Pere  Houdry  distinguished  himself  as an  eloquent  preacher. His last  years  were  passed  in  the  library  in the  midst  of  books. Besides being  the  author  of  several  learned  works, he will  be  best  known  as  the  editor  of  that  stupendous  monument  of industry,  "La  Bibliothlque  des  Prtdicateurs?  and  from  this  work many  extracts  have  been  culled  and  translated.

He died  at  the  College  of  Louis  le  Grand,  in  Paris,  on  the  29th  of March  1729,  aged  ninety-eight  years  and  three  months. Although he was  continually  reading  and  writing,  he  never  had  occasion  to  make use of  spectacles. His age  and  example  would  lead  us  to  believe, that longevity  of  life  is  in  favour  of  the  learned  and  industrious.]

FULL confidence  in  the  goodness  of  Almighty  God  is  one of the  sure  marks  of  predestination.

The most  criminal,  corrupt,  or  wicked  man  who  sincerely wishes  to  do  penance  for  his  past  sins,  will  find  that confidence in  God  is  an  efficacious  and  sovereign  remedy for all  his  miseries.

Let him  be  penitent,  let  him  persevere  in  hope,  he,  eventually, will  be  saved. God has  said  it,  God  has  promised  it;