St. John Marie Vianney, spent 40 years as the pastor of the village of Ars, a remote place where he was sent because he was such a poor student as a seminarian and where he would not cause any trouble. Though he struggled with Latin, he had a keen sense of right and wrong and the gift to read hearts. The people of Ars had drifted from their faith, but seeing the fervor of their pastor, his prayerfulness, his fastings and outreach to them, they realized they had a saint among them and mended their ways...His reputation in the confessional reached all over France and Europe and people flocked to Ars, keeping the Cure in the confessional 16 hours a day in the summertime. Even on his deathbed, he heard confessions and gave absolution.
His simple life and his zeal for souls remain an outstanding model for parish priests and for all of us. Discouragement, fatigue and onslaughts of the Evil One made him at time want to run away from Ars, but God intervened and he returned to continue his arduous ministry. He is an example of how God uses the weak, those despised by the world, and the tempted to work marvels that can only be attributed to him. May the Cure of Ars be an inspiration to us as we face our own inconveniences and trials. St. John Marie Vianney, pray for us!
Bro. Rene.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment