Page:The sermons of the Curé of Ars - Vianney, tr. Morrissy - 1960.djvu/32

 tell you what I ought to tell you, and then you will do what you wish about it. . ..

I would say further, my brethren, that whoever wants to please both the world and God leads one of the most unhappy of lives. You shall seec how. Here is someone who gives himself up to the pleasures of the world or develops some evil habit. How great is his fear when he comes to fulfill his religious duties; that is, when he says his prayers, when he goes to Confession, or wants to go to Holy Communion! He does not want to be seen by those with whom he has been dancing and passing nights at the cabarets, where he has been giving himself over to many kinds of licentiousness. Has he come to the stage when he is going to deceive his confessor by hiding the worst of his actions and thus obtain permission to go to Holy Communion, or rather, to commit a sacrilege? He would prefer to go to Holy Communion before or after Mass, that is to say, when there is no one present. Yet he is quite happy to be seen by the good people who know nothing about his evil life and among whom he would like to arouse good opinions about himself. In front of devout people he talks about religion. When he is with those who have no religion, he will talk only about the pleasures of the world. He would blush to fulfill his religious practices in front of his companions or those boys and girls who share his evil ways. ...

This is so true that one day someone asked me to allow him to go to Holy Communion in the sacristy so that no one would see him. Is it possible, my brethren, that one could think upon such horrible behavior without shuddering?

But we shall proceed further and you will see the embarrassment of these poor people who want to follow the world without—outwardly at any rate—leaving God. Here is Easter approaching. They must go to Confession. It is not, of course, that they want to go or that they feel any urge or need to receive the Sacrament of Penance. They would be only too pleased if Easter came around about once every thirty years.