Saint John Vianney

*picture from http://thepinoycatholic.blogspot.com

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint John Vianney. He was an amazing saint who lived a life of extreme mortification. He was renowned as a wonderful confessor.

Interesting facts about Saint John Vianney:

•  born May 8, 1786
• died August 4, 1859
• seventy-three years old
• also known as the Curé d'Ars (priest of Ars)
• the devil bothered and attacked him almost every night, occasionally injuring him
• the devil told Saint John Vianney: "If there were three such priests as you, my kingdom would be ruined."
• Saint John Vianney once said: "Oh! The grappin (his nickname for the devil) and myself? We are almost chums."
• the last ten years of his life, he spent 16-18 hours in a confessional
• by 1855, there were 20,000 pilgrims who came to visit him and seek his guidance each year
• had a strong devotion to Mary and Saint Philomena
• 300 priests and 6,000 people attended his funeral
• he is incorruptible - his body is still intact and not decomposed
• his incorrupt body is on display above the main altar in the Basilica at Ars in France
• patron saint of priests

 

*picture from www.christtotheworld.blogspot.com

Quotes by Saint John Vianney:

• Prayer is nothing else but union with God. In this intimate union, God and the soul are fused together like two bits of wax that no one can ever pull apart. This union of God with a tiny creature is a lovely thing. It is a happiness beyond understanding.
• If we really understood the Mass, we would die of joy.
• My little children, your hearts are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer, we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the souls and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun.
• I wish I could lose myself and never find myself except in God! 
• You cannot please both God and the world at the same time. They are utterly opposed to each other in their thoughts, their desires, and their actions.
• When we go before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our hearts; our good God will open His. We shall go to Him; He will come to us; the one to ask, the other to receive. It will be like a breath from one to the other.
• If we could comprehend all the good things contained in Holy Communion, nothing more would be wanting to content the heart of man. The miser would run no more after his treasures, or the ambitious after glory; each would shake off the dust of the earth, leave the world, and fly away towards heaven.
• All the good works in the world are not equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because they are the works of men; but the Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison for it is but the sacrifice of man to God; but the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man.