August 4 St. John Vianney

 

St. John Vianney (Third Order)

1786-1859

August 4

A diocesan priest and Secular Franciscan who humbly accepted an assignment to a village of indifferent Catholics is today the patron of all diocesan priests!

            Remembered today simply as the Cure of Ars, Jean Marie-Baptiste Vianney was born three years before the start of the French Revolution to devout farming parents in Dardilly. Because of the revolutionary anti-Catholic fervor, the Vianney family had to attend Mass in secret.

            Studies were never easy for John. His early education was cut short by the need for his work on the family farm. When he wanted to become a priest, his father was opposed but eventually consented. In 1809, John was drafted to serve in Napoleon’s army. He deserted the next year and hid in Le Noes, a mountain town.  That same year Napoleon granted amnesty to all military deserters, so John resumed his studies and was ordained in 1815.

            In 1818, he was assigned to the village of Ars, where religious practice was very weak. Diocesan priests considered such an assignment a punishment. His solitary prayer before the Blessed Sacrament helped convince the villagers that John was not like the two previous pastors who had left the priesthood. His asceticism, which could not be completely concealed, also helped win the people over. At the beginning of the week, he would boil a pot of potatoes; that was his main food for the week.

            Neglect of Sunday Mass and of catechetical instruction were corrected within a few years. The excessive drinking of which Ars had become famous gradually subsided. The people grew to love their pastor. In fact, the first time John was assigned to another town, the parishioners persuaded the bishop to let him stay!

            John eventually spent 16-18 hours a day hearing confessions. As many as 20,000 people came in a single year to visit Ars and to confess to him. Broken by his work and his penances, John died on August 4, 1859. He was canonized in 1925.

QUOTE: John Vianney once said, “I have been privileged to give great gifts from my empty hands.”

COMMENT: John’s works of penance helped keep his priorities clear. Lesser men might have tried to attribute such confessional fame to themselves. But John Vianney, too, regularly confessed his sins. The practice helped him to see more clearly the truth about God, himself and others—in short, to be humble. Because of this, God could accomplish great things through him.

 

from McCloskey, Patrick. Franciscan Saint of the Day. St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1981.