SERMONS OF THE CURE OF ARS - EXCERPTS

 THE DREADFUL STATE OF THE LUKEWARM SOUL

 HAVE YOU RELIGION IN YOUR HEART?

 LOST WORKS

 WE ARE WRETCHED CREATURES

 ROUTINE FOLLOWERS

 THE WORLD IS EVERYTHING AND GOD IS NOTHING!

 FOLLOW ONE MASTER ONLY

 THEY ARE FOR THE WORLD

 WE ARE EXTRAORDINARILY BLIND

 NOT LIKE THE OTHERS

 THE EVIL TONGUES

 A PUBLIC PLAGUE

 YOUR HEART IS BUT A MASS OF PRIDE

 THE TONGUE OF THE SCANDAL-MONGER

 OH, EVERYONE SAYS SO!

 ST. NICHOLAS AND THE THREE GIRLS

 THE SEWER OF HELL

 A CURSE WILL FALL

 ARE YOUR AFFAIRS GOING BETTER?

 BAD COMPANY

 ANGER DOES NOT TRAVEL ALONE

 HOW DEATH WILL REVEAL THIEVES!

 IF YOU KNOW HOW TO GIVE, YOU MUST KNOW HOW TO PAY BACK

 WINE IS HIS GOD

 THE DUTIES OF THE PREGNANT WOMAN

 THE DUTIES OF THE MOTHER

 THE DUTIES OF PARENTS

 YOU WILL ANSWER FOR THEIR SOULS

 TO THEIR SHAME IT MUST BE SAID

 GETTING TO KNOW THE RIGHT PEOPLE

 YOU NO LONGER CONTROL THEM

 HE WILL HELP US

 WE MUST EXPECT TEMPTATION

 WE ARE NOTHING IN OURSELVES

 BEWARE IF YOU HAVE NO TEMPTATIONS

 THE BAD DEATH

 HIS PRAYER IS A LIE

 HOW BLIND THE SINNER IS!

 PRISONERS OF SIN

 YOU CAN BECOME A GOOD TREE

 WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

 ANNUAL CONFESSIONS

 REPAIRING THE WRONG DONE

 RENOUNCE SIN FOR GOOD AND ALL

 MERIT ABSOLUTION

 PRAYER COMMANDS ALL

 YOU HAVE NOT THE TIME

 I COME ON BEHALF OF GOD

 YOU SHOULD COME EARLIER

 IT IS NECESSARY TO BE CONVERTED

 HAVE A CLEAN FACE

 MODEL YOUR DEATH

 ON THAT OF JESUS CHRIST

 IF MAN KNEW HIS RELIGION

 THOUGHTS ON THE WAY TO CHURCH

 YOU ARE SURPRISED, BUT NOT I!

 WHEN YOU GO BACK HOME

 CLEAR YOUR MINDS

 WE ARE KEEPING A FEAST

 BE RELIGIOUS OR BE DAMNED!

 YOUR PRAYERS ARE ONLY AN INSULT

 PURITY IS NOT KNOWN

 THE SERVICE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN

 OUR INCONSISTENCY

 LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOUR

 WHO HAS CHARITY?

 PRAYING, FASTING, AND PLEASING OURSELVES

 DO YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY?

 THE GIFT OF EVERY DAY

 THE PUBLIC CROSSES

 THE CROSSES WHICH ARE WORN

 HARVEST CROSSES

 THE ARMED CROSSES

 THE BELOVED CROSSES

THE TONGUE OF THE SCANDAL-MONGER

Anyone who is unfortunate enough to come under the tongue of the scandalmonger is like a grain of corn under the grinding stone in a mill: he is torn, crushed, entirely destroyed. People like these will fasten onto you intentions that you never had; they will poison all your actions and your movements. If you have enough piety to wish to fulfil your religious duties, you are only a hypocrite, an angel in the church and a demon in the house. If you do any good or charitable works, they will think that this is just through pride and so that you may gain notice. If you are not worldly and not interested in worldly affairs, you are said to be odd and singular and to have no spirit. If you look after your own affairs carefully, you are nothing but a miser. Let me go further, my dear brethren, and say that the tongue of the scandalmonger is like the worm which gnaws at the good fruit -- that is, the best actions that people do -- and tries to turn all to bad account.

The tongue of the scandalmonger is a grub which taints the most beautiful of the flowers and upon them leaves behind it the disgusting trace of is own slime.