St. John Marie Vianney: Winning souls to God
August 4 is still two days away. But I cannot help but get excited to feature one of the greatest and most anticipated feast day of the year, the feast day of Saint John Marie Vianney, the Priest of Ars, the Patron Saint of Diocesan Clergy.
Ever since his boyhood St John Marie Vianney have already showed exceptional devotion to the Blessed Mother and an indication of God’s calling to priesthood. While he was shepherding, he will take a rest just to have time to pray.
He entered the seminary but was cut short when recruited by the French authorities as a soldier in a war against Spain. He missed the ship he was to board and went back to the seminary. He was considered a deserter. Shortly his mother died and he was principally blamed by his father because of bringing trouble to the family with his desertion. His brother however replaced him in the army and he went to study in the seminary.
He was a slow learner and was not endowed academically and he got poor grades. His superiors debated whether to finally graduate because his mediocre academic performance. They feared once Vianney will become a priest, parishioners will be lost from the faith. He was finally ordained priest.
Mindful of his weak academics, he was assigned to a remote place where people care less about God. He was assigned in a place called Ars. Upon his arrival, the Church was dilapidated and when he heard mass, only two elderly women attended. He delivered a homily which moved the two women to tears. In his next mass, the attendance doubled, there were already four of them. With his perseverance and dedication however, his parishioners came flocking in his masses until finally people, even those who are not from his parish attended his masses to hear his sermons.
Later he became a renowned confessor, and people feel at peace after his confessions. He hears confession from 1 in the morning till the late hours of the evening. He was diligent in his confession until on July of 1859 he went down due to sheer exhaustion. He died peacefully on August 4, 1859.
On 3 October, 1874 Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney was proclaimed Venerable by Pius IX and on 8 January, 1905, he was enrolled among the Blessed. Pope Pius X proposed him as a model to the parochial clergy.
St. John Marie Vianney is the best example of what has St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians has written: (1 Corinthians 1: 25-29)
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble; 2728 and God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are: 29 that no flesh should boast before God. but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;
