- 179 - by depriving him of sleep, an effort that they kept up all his life. It was only in his last few years that he seems to have no longer been disturbed at night. The similarity between these two men becomes even more striking when we compare the Divine aid they received from the good spirits. In this respect their experiences were identical. • Their lofty Divine gifts were bestowed on both only after they had been severely tried in battle with the Powers of Evil and their human instruments. Everyone who wishes to work as an instrument of God for the salvation of his fellow human beings, and to acquire the Divine powers necessary for the purpose, must fight this battle. Christ himself had to fight this battle. His public activities, giving proof of the Divine power residing within him, began only after he had been subjected for 40 days and 40 nights to the terrible assaults of the demons, and had resisted them successfully. The servant is not above the master. The reclamation of souls through the outpouring of a spirit of repentance and an inner mending of ways took the same course in Blumhardt’s parish as in Vianey’s, and, in both parishes, spread by degrees to the most distant regions. The first effect of spirits of repentance upon people’s hearts is to awaken within them alarm over the sins and transgressions in their lives, and over the consequent separation from God. The inner alarm about themselves felt by people who have been touched by the spirit of repentance is so great that they find no rest until they have revealed their inmost souls to a faithful servant of God and have heard his judgment. They are irresistibly urged on by an unseen power, until they feel the Divine presence in their hearts and have the assurance contained therein that their sins have been forgiven. The sensation of happiness that then fills their hearts is beyond the power of human words to describe. Let the reader consult the biographies of these two men to learn more about the inner feelings of these converts. Vianey could tell at the first glance which souls did not require his help. He would ask them in a friendly way not to take up his time, occasionally telling them: “Go home and don’t worry. You don’t need me.” • The healing of ailing souls that could not cope for themselves was the main object of the curate of Ars. The healing of physical ailments was in his eyes of much less importance. Vianey gave information to many about the lot of their departed dear ones in the Beyond, whenever he thought it conducive to their spiritual welfare. He was able also to see into the future by clairvoyance, and so it might be said that while during his lifetime nothing aroused so much interest as his battles with the evil spirits, after his death all the world began to speak of his predictions. These, in almost every case, related to the well-being of individuals and not to the public good. To some of those who had reformed he predicted the imminence of their death; in other cases, he told third parties of the imminent death of a relative, so that they might be prepared for the event. He also saw, in spirit, images of events in the distant future that concerned persons with whom he was engaged in conversation. One day, noticing a man in the crowd that was waiting for him, he said: “Get back to Lyons as fast as you can. Your house is on fire!” And so it was. On another occasion Vianey sent a peasant woman who had just confessed her sins home at once, telling her that a snake had crept into her house. The woman hastened home and
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