Of libel and the wind
(COGD) - There was a man who went around the neighborhood cursing the parish priest and spreading libel about him. Finally, he felt sorry and went to the priest asking him to forgive his wrongdoings. He said that he was prepared to do anything to make up for his sin. The priest told him to tear up a pillow and let down fly with the wind. It sounded weird but easy to do.
The man returned to the priest.
The priest said, “Now, go and collect all the down. Although your repentance and willingness to correct the evil that you've done are sincere, you cannot make up for the damage that you've done with your words, just like you can't collect all the down from a torn pillow.”
This story is from the life of St. Jean Marie Vianney, the patron
ReplyDeletesaint of Roman Catholic priests. It was told me in french by my Grand mother when I was a small child growing up in Maine. No problem here, but just saying we should give credit where credit is due!