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Title: The Life of Blessed John B. Marie Vianney, Curé of Ars
With a Novena and Litany to this Zealous Worker in the Vineyard of the Lord
Author: Anonymous
Release Date: January 7, 2010 [eBook #30879]
Language: English
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[Image: Portrait of Blessed John Vianney]
Blessed John B. Marie Vianney
CURE OF ARS
THE LIFE OF THE BLESSED JOHN B. MARIE VIANNEY
CURE OF ARS.
With a Novena and Litany to This Zealous Worker
in The Vineyard of the Lord.
Compiled from Approved Sources.
New York:
Joseph Schaefer,
9 Barclay Street.
Nihil obstat:
THOMAS B. COTTER, PH.D.,
Censor.
Imprimatur
JOHN M. FARLEY,
Archbishop of New York.
October 22, 1910.
Copyrighted, 1911, by Joseph Schaefer.
PREFACE.
Spiritual reading has always been encouraged by our Holy Mother
Church, because it strengthens our faith and stimulates us to be more
devout in the practice of our religion. The materialistic tone and
trend of most modern literature, however, makes the reading and
dissemination of Catholic books all the more urgent and necessary at
the present time.
The mind is moulded largely by reading and good minds were never more
needed than to-day, to combat the effects of the mental poison, which
is daily absorbed by young and old through the medium of degrading
literature. True, there are issued good books and periodicals which
are not strictly religious in tone, but which, nevertheless, have a
salutary influence upon the reader's mind. Their number, however, is
comparatively small.
Good spiritual reading should not be made merely an infrequent
departure from the reading of every day literature, but should be
indulged in regularly and systematically by the Catholic laity in
general.
Good books play an important part in fostering the early evidences of
vocation. The youth, under their influence, voluntarily moves nearer
to the goal of his aspirations, unforced by the caprice of the
thoughtless or over-enthusiastic parents. Numerous little incidents
are associated with the life of Blessed Jean Baptist Vianney, which
will help to develop the germ of sacerdotal vocation.
The young seminarian will find Vianney's life to be a genuine
exhortation which will operate to fortify him in the face of trials
and temptation.
The priest himself, who aims to acquire all the graces which may bless
the priesthood, may justly take pleasure in imitating the virtues,
zeal, piety and charity of the humble cure of Ars.
The little volume describes in simple language the life of a man, who,
in our own time, earned by his holiness, acts of self-sacrifice,
self-abnegation and miracles, wrought through the intervention of God,
the blessings of beatification.
Vianney's life may be read with profit by everyone. The descriptions
of his toils and sufferings in behalf of his fellow-men, and his
efforts to save souls, cannot fail to inspire the reader with
uplifting thoughts.
ALBERT A. LINGS.
CONTENTS.
Introduction
Chapter I.--Childhood and Youth of the Saintly Cure
" II.--The Good Pastor
" III.--The "House of Providence" and the Tribulations
" IV.--Pilgrimage to Ars
" V.--Miracles wrought by the Cure of Ars
" VI.--The Interior Life of the Blessed Cure
" VII.--Death and Beatification of the Blessed Cure
Litany and Prayer in honor of Blessed John B. Marie Vianney
Novena
INTRODUCTION.
ON January 8, 1905, John Baptist Marie Vianney, that most humble of
country curates, was admitted by our Holy Father, Pope Pius X, into
the glorious ranks of the beatified of the Catholic Church. And in
very truth that devoted guardian of souls had well merited the exalted
distinction thus conferred; for, during the forty-two years of his
holy life, countless thousands had come under the influence of his
active and untiring zeal, and were guided by him in the way of their
salvation.
The fame of the gentle "Cure of Ars" has long since passed the
boundaries of his native land, and the fact that his name has been
officially promulgated for veneration is sufficient reason for
presenting this noble personality to the attention of the Catholics of
English speaking countries. We do this with the greater pleasure,
since in thus seeking to promote the honor of the blessed cure we are
at one with our Holy Father, who constantly keeps his statue before
him upon his desk in the Vatican palace.
Thereby Pius X, himself, manifests his high regard for the blessed one
and confirms the words pronounced shortly before the beatification of
the former humble cure. Upon that occasion the Holy Father said: "We
can hardly give befitting expression to the joy of our soul whilst we
make public the solemn decree which affirms the validity of the
miracles worked by God through the intercession of the venerable John
Baptist Vianney. For our part, during the many years that we have
exercised the pastoral office with affectionate solicitude, nothing
more agreeable has taken place, or could occur, than to behold this
venerable cure elevated to the number of the blessed in the Catholic
Church."
Vianney was a truly apostolic guardian of souls. And because he lived
so near our own time, the history of his life-work becomes all the
more valuable and interesting. The present sketch, designed only as an
outline, is necessarily brief and gives but a meagre description of
the virtues, the mortifications, the zeal and the ceaseless activities
of the blessed cure. Those desiring a more extended history of the
life of this great man are referred to the work of the Abbe Alfred
Monnin, his friend and fellow laborer. [*]
Brief and unassuming, however, as this present narration may be, we
put it forth in the hope that it may contribute, in some degree, to
make known the merits of this distinguished servant of God, and in
order that those who read it may be prompted to follow the counsels
and imitate the example of his saintly life.
[*] Life of the Cure d'Ars, Burns & Oates, London. For sale by Joseph
Schaefer, 9 Barclay St., New York City.
CHAPTER I.
CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF THE SAINTLY CURE.
JEAN Baptist Marie Vianney, afterwards to become famous as the cure of
Ars, was born May 8th, 1786, at Dardilly, in the South of France, not
far from the City of Lyons, and was the fourth child of humble country
folks.
His father, Mathieu Vianney, and his mother, Marie Beluse, possessed
some land adjoining their simple dwelling. Despite the fact that they
were not rich they practiced the greatest hospitality toward the poor
and needy. With joyful wonder the youthful Jean beheld, evening after
evening, a number of poor and needy wayfarers entertained at the
family meal. Not infrequently the elder Vianney would bestow his own
share upon some belated arrival. This noble example made a profound
impression upon the boy's pious disposition. Of his own accord he
would go out to greet the needy travelers, opening the door for them
and otherwise assisting them, and would even carry their torn garments
to his mother, in order that she might mend them. By other kindly
service he showed his sympathy with the poor and distressed who made
their way to his father's house.
Jean had inbibed a love of piety with his mother's milk. The names of
Jesus and Mary were the very first words to pass his baby lips. The
first movement of his little hands, taught him by his mother, was to
make the sign of the cross. Even as a child of four or five years Jean
would retire to a place of solitude where, as the record says, "he
spoke with the angel guardian."
As he grew up he occupied himself with the work of the farm, minding
the cattle and doing other humble work. When in after years his name
was mentioned with pious admiration by numberless Christians, Father
Vianney was wont to recall his early years, saying: "How happy was I,
when I only had to care for my three sheep and my donkey. Then indeed
I could pray to God according to my heart's desire."
Just as the boy arrived at the age of reason the churches of France,
in consequence of the outbreak of the Revolution, were closed, and the
priests banished. This was a severe trial for so devout a child, for
at that early age he was sensible of the high importance of the
Apostolic teaching, and in his eagerness to promote the love of God he
gathered the village children about him and preached impressive
sermons to them in his simple but earnest way.
The young missionary became acquainted in those evil days with many
worthy priests, men who counted the threats and fury of the
revolutionary heroes as nothing, when it was a question of saving
souls and so unnoticed the fervent desire took possession of the boy's
soul that he might one day be a priest and work for the glory of God
and the salvation of souls. It was during those darkest hours for the
Church in France, that Jean, with a number of other children, met in
private to be prepared for the reception of his First Holy Communion.
With what holy rapture did he approach the table of the Lord. That
event was ever held in cherished remembrance by all who participated
in it.
Many years elapsed from the day the youth received his First Holy
Communion to that other day when he began his studies for the
priesthood. Divine Providence willed, first of all, that his piety
should be trained under the guidance of his good and worthy parents.
His daily work was divided between prayer and work, or, to speak more
correctly, his work was a continuous prayer. The life of his Divine
Master, with its miracles and sufferings, supplied him with
inexhaustible material for meditation. At the close of the day's work
and in the company of his mother and sister Catherine, he read the
Holy Scriptures and the lives of the Saints.
Being an extremely diligent and painstaking worker, and because of his
uniform meekness of character, he was a great favorite at home as well
as among his companions outside. Even upon boys who took no pains to
be good, Jean's purity of heart made such an impression that they
would cease their disedifying conversation whenever he approached.
Meanwhile Jean had hoped and prayed that he might become a priest, but
he completed his seventeenth year without having yet begun his
education so necessary to the fulfillment of his desire. Such a result
seemed to be all the more impossible of accomplishment inasmuch as his
father declared point-blank that he had no money to spare for his
son's education.
In 1805, however, a ray of light appeared. The churches were re-opened
following the conclusion of the concordat, and the Rev. Father Bailey,
one of the zealous missionaries of the period, was appointed pastor of
Ecully, a village adjacent to Dardilly. One of his early works wras
the establishment of a seminary for the education of youth for the
priesthood. With his father's approval, Jean, then 19 years old,
presented himself to Father Bailey. The latter had been aware for a
long time of the young man's great piety, received him most kindly and
admitted him as a student.
Thus it came about that Jean sat in class with boys much younger than
he was. Had he been under instruction sooner it would not have been so
very hard for him to learn, as he had a fair capacity for ordinary
studies. But because he was only beginning at an age when most youths
have already mastered the rudiments, his studies occasioned him much
trouble; he was slow to learn and what he did learn he retained only
imperfectly. The study of Latin was for him particularly difficult.
In his need he turned to the Blessed Virgin and to St. Francis Regis,
the Apostle of Vivarais, to whom he had been devoted since childhood.
He undertook a pilgrimage to the latter's tomb at Louvesc to beseech
his help. His faithful confidence was rewarded and from that time on
he experienced fewer difficulties in his studies. When, in after
years, Jean was appointed pastor at Ars, he gratefully remembered the
saint's assistance and brought his statue into the parish church and
zealously promoted devotion to him.
Hardly had Jean begun his studies when an unfortunate obstacle arose.
Napoleon I, at that time holding the destiny of France in his hands,
needed troops for his Spanish campaign. These were raised by
conscription, and notwithstanding the pleadings of his relatives and
of several influential persons, Jean was drawn for military service.
The sorrow which he experienced at this sudden interruption in his
studies was so acute that he became seriously ill and had to be taken
to the hospital, first at Lyons and later at Roanne, the troops
meantime having departed for the Pyrenees. As a matter of fact it came
about that after a long absence from home, Jean was enabled to return
to his native village without having performed any actual military
services.
In 1812, after close application to his studies, Jean was so far
advanced as to be permitted to commence the study of philosophy at
Verrieres. He was now in his twenty-seventh year, and there found
himself one of two hundred pupils, all younger than he. Another bitter
trial now awaited him, for, a few weeks afterwards, he was declared
disqualified to take the course in philosophy in the Latin tongue, and
with six other students he had to attend this course in the French
language.
Not infrequently he was made the butt of his fellow students'
ridicule, yet he was never aroused to anger. Instead, these annoyances
only served to increase his acts of devotion. Still greater trials,
however, were in store for him. Before being admitted into the great
seminary of Lyons to make his preparation for Holy Orders, he was
required to submit to an examination in philosophy. This took place in
the presence of the archbishop and his council. When the questions,
presented in Latin, were put to him his memory wholly failed, and in
sheer confusion he could answer nothing, so overawed was he by the
presence of the distinguished visitors. Accordingly, he alone of all
the candidates was dismissed as unfit to enter the seminary. Imagine
how hard a blow this must have been to Jean. All his work of the
preceding eight years appeared to have been unsuccessful.
In that time of trial Vianney's confidence in God remained unshaken
and he was rewarded by finding a friend in the person of his old
pastor, Father Bailey, who, better acquainted with the character and
qualifications of his protege, induced the authorities to examine Jean
privately the following day. This examination was held before the
vicar-general of the archdiocese and the regent of the theological
seminary, and was so satisfactory that Jean was now permitted to enter
the seminary for the course of theology, in 1814.
As an inmate of the seminary his career was remarkable more for the
piety of his life than for the brilliancy of his intellect. The
regent, however, who recognized Vianney's sterling worth, gave him for
his room-mate a fellow student of marked ability who took pains to
assist Vianney in his studies, and thus aided, Jean advanced toward
the time of his ordination. At that time, 1814, there was a great need
of priests and, for this reason, it was planned that Vianney, with
other alumni should receive subdeacon's orders in the approaching
month of July. But the authorities hesitated. How could they admit to
the higher orders one so poorly qualified? This question the
vicar-general saw fit to settle for himself, and, after examining
Vianney thoroughly, he announced with complacency: "You know as much
as many a country pastor."
The vicar-general, however, had previously conferred with the superior
of the seminary and had asked him: "Is young Vianney pious? Is he
devoted to the Blessed Virgin?" The authorities were able to assure
him fully upon these points. "Then," said the vicar-general, "I will
receive him. Divine grace will do the rest." Thus, on July 2d, 1814,
Vianney received subdeacon's orders and about twelve month's later
those of deacon. In August, of the year 1815, he was raised to the
dignity of the priesthood by the bishop of Grenoble, representing the
archbishop of Lyons, who was at that time in Rome.
Vianney was then twenty-nine years old. The bishop had expressed the
hope that the newly ordained would prove to be an efficient laborer in
the Master's vineyard. Divine Providence, however, had much more than
this in store for the newly consecrated priest, for he was to become a
model, whom Holy Church was one day to present to the entire clergy of
the Catholic world for imitation.
The Blessed Vianney, in his humility, constantly realized and lamented
his imperfections. The sublime ideals of the priesthood and in
particular those of a pastor charged with the care of souls living in
the world, were ever present to him. Later in life he declared that a
true pastor should ever be guided by two principles: (1), he should
never permit himself to think that he can accomplish nothing in his
parish, no matter for how long a time his efforts may have appeared
unfruitful and, (2), he should never consider that he has done enough,
no matter how much he may have accomplished.
In order to perfect himself Father Vianney took another course in
moral theology from the pious and experienced Father Bailey. To him
Jean Baptist Vianney was appointed vicar. He lived with him in the
parish house and took a zealous part in his pastor's practices and
mortifications. They read the breviary together and, during the day,
frequently united in expressions of ardent love to the good God.
Together they spent hours at a time in adoration before the
Tabernacle. In company with his pastor, Father Vianney took his scanty
meal, and his little income passed entirely into the hands of the
poor. Articles of clothing which had been given to him for his own use
went the same way. He was literally possessed of nothing except the
clothes which he wore. With his worthy pastor he made daily visits to
the poor and needy of the village and neighborhood, comforting and
relieving them as much as possible. It took only a short time for his
old friend and pastor, Father Bailey, to realize that he was
entertaining a saint.
In December, 1817, Father Bailey was taken from his parishioners by
death. It was generally hoped that Vicar Vianney would be his
successor, but God had other designs. Before the question was settled,
death had removed the pastor of the little village of Ars who had only
recently taken charge. Thereupon, the vicar-general of the archdiocese
sent Father Vianney there, saying, as he wished him Godspeed: "My
friend, you are going to a small parish where very little of the love
of God can be seen. You are now to enkindle the flame of Divine
charity there!"
Most assuredly the vicar-general, in speaking thus, did not dream that
in a few decades the little village of Ars would become a glowing
hearth of Divine love, spreading its warmth over the entire country.
CHAPTER II.
THE GOOD PASTOR.
WHEN Jean Baptist Vianney entered his parish on that winter evening in
February, 1818, he quickly realized the religious indifference
prevailing there and the contrast in this respect to the kindly and
religiously inclined Ecully. Upon his arrival, no one came forward to
bid him welcome. The very atmosphere of the neighborhood seemed cold
and repellant.
The people of that place, while not positively bad, were for the most
part indifferent in the matter of their eternal welfare. Daily Mass
was attended by only two or three elderly women. For the most trivial
excuse, men neglected Sunday Mass. Not one of them attended Vespers,
although at the same time the cafes of the village were crowded. Even
the most devout of the women approached the Sacraments but rarely,
while the men, through human pride, neglected to make their Easter
duty. In fact, one of their number begged the pastor to give him Holy
Communion in the sacristy, so that no one might see him.
Servile work of every kind was done on Sunday, and at harvest time the
carts and wagons were in use during the entire day "carting souls to
hell," as Father Vianney not inaptly expressed it.
Not in a day were these conditions changed. Such a result required
many years of effort. In time, however, Divine grace triumphed and the
almost unknown parish of Ars became the glorious model for the whole
of France. The spirit of religion was revived, public worship
restored, the Lord's day unusually respected and observed. The parish
formed, as it were, one large-family, in which each member vied with
the other in the service of God.
What had the young pastor done to thus transform his parish? He did
nothing that any other country pastor may not attempt to do. As his
parishioners did not come to him, he went to them in their homes. He
was not satisfied with one formal visit but called repeatedly upon his
people, as their spiritual or temporal needs seemed to require. He
timed his visits for the most part when the family were assembled for
the noonday meal. He would enter the living room or stand at the
threshold and chat in a friendly manner with the members of the
household. Although invited to partake of of their hospitality he
never accepted the least refreshment, not even a drink of water. He
talked with them about their every day life, their cares and
anxieties, their hopes and disappointments.
The people soon perceived that Father Vianney was one of themselves
and thus they learned to confide in him and to ask his advice in their
temporal affairs. Then, whenever occasion presented, with great
aptitude he turned the conversation to things supernatural. At the
same time he was never insistent. His manner was always affable, never
impatient, never reproving; even when he might justly have given
reproof. This gentleness in his manner, which, was only the reflex of
the charity in his heart, soon won over his people, who now looked
forward to his visits and considered themselves highly honored when he
called.
We have already had occasion to notice his defective memory, and how
in consequence he was so greatly impeded in the prosecution of his
studies. This drawback made itself particularly felt when he came to
prepare his sermons. Many a sleepless night did the poor man devote to
the preparation of the discourses to be given to his people. But his
industry, strengthened by the Divine assistance, conquered, so that,
while he never possessed the gift of oratory, he spoke easily,
earnestly and convincingly, and when, in after years, the pilgrims
poured in to Ars, sometimes as many as 20,000 in a single year, he was
able to give his daily instruction from the pulpit without any special
preparation and without the embarrassment which he had experienced at
the beginning of his priestly career.
In order to make the practice of religion more attractive for his
parishioners, he sought to beautify and decorate the little parish
church. In this work he was greatly aided by Mademoiselle d'Ars,
sister of the Vicomte d'Ars, who himself generously provided the
little church with new vestments and altar vessels.
With the co-operation of his parishioners, who, day by day were
learning to appreciate their pastor's solid piety, he built two
chapels as an addition to the parish church. One of these he dedicated
to St. Philomena, a youthful martyr, whose relics were recovered at
Rome in the beginning of the nineteenth century; the other was placed
under the invocation of St. John the Baptist, and in it stood the
confessional of the cure of Ars, the "Mercy Seat," as it were, of the
Almighty, at which untold thousands of souls were reconciled to their
Creator.
Despite the fact that the number of his friends and co-workers
steadily increased, thus evidencing the fruitfulness of his labors,
Father Vianney in truth looked to God alone for success in his
undertakings. He realized that he was engaged with the evil spirit in
a conflict for the souls of his people and he had read in Holy Writ
these words of Jesus Christ: "But this kind (of evil spirit) is not
cast out except by prayer and fasting." (Matthew XVII, 20.)
Upon one occasion he recalled these words to a fellow priest who was
lamenting that he could obtain no results in his parish, although he
had done all in his power to rouse his people from their indifference.
Father Vianney said to him: "You have done all in your power? Are you
so sure of it? Did you fast and give alms? Did you pray?"
By these questions Father Vianney indicated what were the practices of
his own life, which enabled him to obtain results little short of
miraculous. His charity was boundless. The food, clothing and other
supplies, which the generous Mademoiselle d'Ars sent for the rectory,
as a rule, promptly found their way to the poor and needy. Father
Vianney actually kept for himself only what was barely sufficient to
ward off starvation. Even this modicum was frequently given away, when
a poor man came and asked for food.
One evening when Mr. Mandy, the Maire of Ars, came to visit the cure,
he found him pale as death and apparently exhausted. Greatly alarmed,
he exclaimed: "Are you ill, Father Vianney?" "Oh, my good friend," the
latter replied, "you are just in time, I have nothing left to eat."
For three days Father Vianney had had no provisions whatever in the
house, having bestowed the last of his potatoes upon a poor mendicant.
He partook daily of but one meal and that consisted generally of
boiled potatoes, which he was accustomed to cook in a quantity
sufficient to last through the week, so that oftentimes by Friday or
Saturday what remained had become mouldy. When his relatives came to
see him, or if he had other visitors, he took pains to have a plain
meal provided for them. Under no consideration would he allow any
mention to be made of his mortification and self-denial.
As with food so also Father Vianney deprived himself of the various
articles of clothing with which he had been supplied. Being accosted
on his way home by a poor man whose feet were bare and sore, he
divested himself of his own shoes and stockings, gave them to the
mendicant, and returned home barefoot.
Vianney was wont to declare jestingly that he had never left his
overcoat anywhere. As a matter of fact he did not possess one, thus
fulfilling literally our Lord's words: "He that hath two coats, let
him give to him that hath none!" [*] His colleagues were often
displeased at his poverty-stricken appearance and regarded his shabby
clothes as a reflection upon their dignity. These faultfinders could
easily have learned that the patched garments of the hero of brotherly
love commanded the respect of all who knew Vianney's real character.
Wherever he appeared he was received with the utmost respect and
cordially greeted by all.
[*] Luke III, 11.
He offered up to God all his mortifications for the welfare of his
people, increasing these exercises habitually as Easter approached,
and whenever it was a question of touching the heart of a hardened
sinner. He joined prayer to fasting. At two o'clock in the morning he
arose and said the night-office of the breviary. At four o'clock he
entered the church to visit our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and then
said his Mass. After Mass he gave instruction in catechism and heard
confessions. So steadily was he occupied in this work that he seldom
left the church until noon-time. He devoted the afternoons to visiting
the sick and spent the rest of the day in the church, where, to the
edification of all, he held evening devotions in public.
What could the Lord refuse to such self-sacrificing love? Vianney
himself used to say: "I obtained from Him everything that I wanted!"
The progress in the spiritual condition of the congregation at Ars
necessarily became known in the surrounding country and Father
Vianney's fellow priests of other parishes begged him to help them in
the pulpit and confessional. These requests Father Vianney never
refused, so that, in the space of two years, he became the real
apostle of the cathedral circuit. So great was the success of his
spiritual labors that the faithful who desired his assistance no
longer waited until he should come again to their parishes, but
themselves visited him at Ars. Soon the high road to Ars was filled
with pedestrians and vehicles carrying a great number of visitors, and
this procession of pilgrims increased when reports were spread of the
miracles which took place at Ars.
CHAPTER III.
THE "HOUSE OF PROVIDENCE" AND THE TRIBULATIONS.
IN 1825, seven years after Father Vianney had been appointed to the
parish at Ars, he resolved upon a new and important undertaking. He
wanted to bring together in one home all the neglected poor and orphan
children of Ars and the surrounding country, and to provide at one and
the same time for both their physical and spiritual needs. Facing the
village green there stood a desirable house, which he would gladly
have acquired for this purpose. One day he received from an anonymous
donor a considerable sum of money for charitable purposes. He
immediately betook himself to the owner of the house in question, and
without much difficulty was enabled to purchase it. And this was the
beginning of the "House of Providence."
As directresses for this home he selected two young women of the
parish and placed them in charge, but without imposing upon them any
religious vows. The home soon sheltered many little ones, either
neglected or homeless, who were fed, clothed and cared for, and whose
instruction in the catechism Vianney took upon himself daily. By
degrees the grown up parishioners came to assist at these
instructions, which took the place of those which had been held in the
parish church.
This home was maintained by Father Vianney for twenty-five years. For
its financial support he made use of the alms given to him, and it
frequently happened that sums of money to be used in charity were
transmitted to him most unexpectedly and at times when the home was in
greatest need. Relief sometimes came in a manner which excludes the
idea of human intervention. Among other incidents observed by many
witnesses it is related that one day there was no flour for the day's
supply of bread and no money with which to purchase any. Everyone whom
Father Vianney approached upon this subject seemed either to be unable
or unwilling to relieve him, so that the cure imagined himself almost
forsaken.
Never before had he felt so miserable. Then he remembered St. Francis
Regis and deciding to seek heavenly intercession, he took the relics
of the saint and carried them to the store-room, concealing them under
the remnant of grain that lay there. Next day the caretakers of the
home came and again reminded the pastor that there was nothing left to
eat in the house. Father Vianney, weeping, exclaimed: "Then we must
send our poor children away!" Nevertheless he betook himself with one
of the care-takers to the store-room and, with great anxiety, opened
the door, when, behold the store-room which had been empty was found
to be filled with grain.
It was on such an occasion as this that Father Vianney's sanctity
manifested itself. Instead of welcoming this public miracle with
joyful satisfaction he felt on the contrary, deeply humiliated,
because of his having previously given way to discouragement. He
hastened to the children of the home and exclaimed in self-accusation
"Behold, dear children, I mistrusted the good God. I was about to send
you all away, and for this He has well punished me!"
The report of this miraculous supply of food was quickly circulated.
The whole congregation visited the store-room; everyone could convince
himself of the truth of the matter. Later, Bishop Devie, of Belley,
inquired personally into the matter and found the facts to be as above
stated.
Now, great graces in the lives of holy persons are never bestowed
without great trials, and the good cure was no exception to this rule.
During the ten years of his ministry he had suffered from suspicion,
distrust and calumny. His enemies had criticised his actions and had
held him up to derision. He had even been threatened with violence.
Among those who attacked him were some of his own colleagues in the
ministry, who were greatly angered because their parishioners flocked
in numbers to Ars to ask advice and counsel of one whom they had
called the inexperienced and ignorant priest. Of course Father
Vianney's own behavior gave no little reason for their disparaging
opinion of him, for, in his humility, he had several times declared
himself to be a worthless and incapable servant of God, an opinion
which undoubtedly he sincerely held.
These aspersions from his colleagues were disseminated among the
people, so that many of the faithful, influenced by the mistaken
opinion of their spiritual leaders, took upon themselves the liberty
of defaming their pastor. Some went further and wrote and left at his
door notice containing coarse and dishonorable remarks. To such an
extent had these ideas progressed that some persons attributed the
furrows with which penitential works had seamed the brow of the humble
priest to an immoral mode living.
With touching patience and resignation Father Vianney bore those years
of bitterness. His zeal never relaxed for a day, and the interior
agony which he suffered was not observable in any of his pastoral
duties. At that time he frequently repeated those memorable and
beautiful words: "We can do more for God when we perform our duties
faithfully, without interior gladness and a certain relish in
fulfilling them."
The profound repose of his inner life will appear still more admirable
to those who learn what cunning snares were prepared for him at the
same time by the arch enemy of the human race.
When news of the diabolical visitations to which Father Vianney was
frequently exposed, reached his colleagues, they laughed aloud. They
declared that he was a dreamer, whose brain was disordered.
With his accustomed composure the humbled cure bore the derision of
his colleagues, and of the faithful who agreed with them. Far from
being weakminded, as his associates represented him to be, Father
Vianney at first refused to believe that it was the powers of evil
that were persecuting him and depriving him of his night's rest in
order to render him unfit for his pastoral duties. When the nocturnal
rappings became more pronounced, he begged some courageous men of the
parish to assist him in discovering the evildoers or thieves, as he at
first considered them, whose purpose he thought was to carry off some
of the costly articles which had been presented for the parish church.
Those men came to keep watch with him, and for many nights in
succession they heard the same sounds which Father Vianney had heard,
without seeing any person or thing to account for them. Like their
pastor they were much wrought up over the strange occurrences.
One winter's night, however, when the rappings upon the front door
were louder than usual, the cure sprang from his bed and hurried to
the courtyard, believing that he might find traces of the marauder in
the freshly fallen snow. But there were no foot prints to be seen.
Then Father Vianney no longer doubted that it was Satan that was
persecuting him and this conviction removed all sentiments of fear
from his soul, for he knew well how to combat the enemy of God.
These violent satanic assaults were kept up against Father Vianney for
the space of thirty-five years. That a man so tortured and deprived
continually of his needed rest, so enfeebled by the mortifications
which he imposed on himself, did not die earlier than his
seventy-fourth year, seems almost more miraculous than the
inexhaustible activity of his life.
Meanwhile his enemies had advanced a step further in their efforts to
render this zealous pastor's position precarious. They calumniated him
to the bishop of the diocese of Belley, to which Ars now belonged,
saying that their pastor was unfit to be entrusted with the care of
souls. The bishop, however, would not condemn the poor priest without
a hearing. He sent his vicar-general to Ars and informed Father
Vianney that in future he must submit to the episcopal jurisdiction
all difficult cases of conscience coming before him as well as the
decision he has passed upon them himself. The investigation was
welcomed by Father Vianney, and he very soon submitted over two
hundred cases. Bishop Devie, of Belley, examined these himself and
found that the decisions reached upon the difficult points (excepting
only two cases in which his opinion differed), were correct. From that
moment he would not suffer anyone to speak, of the cure of Ars as an
incapable pastor. About this time, moreover, the bishop personally
visited Father Vianney at his house in Ars, and found there a zealous
and holy man, instead of the ridiculous figure which the cure's
enemies had made him out to be. Speaking one day to his assembled
clergy, in regard to the cure of Ars, he said: "Gentlemen, would that
you all had a trifle of the foolishness about which you make so merry.
It would not prejudice your intelligence in the least!"
Yet, far more than the protection thus afforded by the bishop, did the
unalterable humility and amiability of Father Vianney bring these
opponents to reason. In the course of a few years this noble character
ceased to have any enemies among the clergy. Laymen likewise stopped
their calumnies, even if they did not cease their ridicule altogether.
But God had prepared a new trial for His servant. We have already told
how Father Vianney had founded and under great difficulties had
carried on the home for neglected children called the "The
Providence." The time had come when this useful institution was to be
taken from his control. The board of education had found fault with
the home as being neither a regular school nor a hospital. The clergy
criticised its management by lay persons, until at last the bishop was
prevailed upon to put the institution in charge of a religious order,
and the cure, although sore at heart, subscribed to the deed of
surrender in November, 1847. Thereupon the Sisters of St. Joseph from
Bourg were put in charge of the institution, which came to be known as
a "Free School for Girls." Soon it became evident that this blow, hard
as it was, but in which Father Vianney as ever beheld the finger of
God, turned out to his profit, for all the powers of his body and mind
henceforth were devoted to the single purpose of the conversion of
sinners, who kept coming to Ars in ever increasing numbers.
Before we speak further on this point, we must draw attention to an
event that took place in the year 1843. In May of that year, Father
Vianney became ill as a result of overwork. So serious was his
condition that he received the last Sacraments. There was universal
sorrow in the village and the church was constantly filled with
parishioners who prayed that he might be spared. But the physicians
gave no hope. One of them as he touched the cold hand of the
motionless figure, exclaimed aloud: "He has only a few moments to
live."
The dying man heard plainly the verdict pronounced over him and at
that same moment, as he afterwards declared, he was seized with such
terror of the supreme judgment of God, that he besought the
intercession of the Blessed Virgin and of St. Philomena, and he
implored the Almighty through them to vouchsafe to postpone the awful
moment of his appearance before Him. His prayers were heard.
To the great astonishment of those present the vitality of the man,
sick apparently unto death, returned and, on May 19th, Father Vianney
was able to be carried into the church amidst the rejoicings of his
children, and there he prayed at length before the Tabernacle. But at
this time he made a resolution which, earlier, he could not have
carried into effect. His bishop, seeing the great amount of work which
had to be performed at Ars, had sent him an assistant priest, to whom,
in his humility, Vianney considered himself subordinate and, knowing
that there was some one now to take his place, he decided to retire
from his pastoral work and to spend the rest of his "poor life," as he
called it, in some remote monastery. To carry out this purpose he
planned to flee from Ars under cover of the darkness and mist. But his
project was betrayed by his friends at the "Providence" to whom he was
obliged to give necessary instructions regarding the future care of
the children. Great excitement immediately prevailed among the
parishioners and the many visitors, and they quietly surrounded the
rectory in order to prevent his escape. The pastor, however, managed
to elude them and made his way through a path in the garden which had
been overlooked and hastened to his birth-place at Dardilly.
Thereupon the sheep went in search of their shepherd, but as soon as
they discovered him in his home he fled farther away, they still
following him. At last, moved by the distress which his departure had
caused and the appeals made to him by the inhabitants of Ars to return
to them, he concluded that it was the holy will of God that he should
return and resume the heavy burden of his pastorate, from which he had
hoped to be relieved. All thought they had surely won him back, but
later on the Blessed Vianney made two other efforts to lay down his
pastoral cares and to retire into a monastery, there to work out his
own salvation. But God granted the fervent petition of the people of
Ars and caused these plans to come to naught.
CHAPTER IV.
PILGRIMAGES TO ARS.
NOT only to the villagers, but in a greater degree to the pilgrims who
journeyed to Ars, Father Vianney's departure would have been
particularly disappointing. As early as the period between 1825 and
1830, these remarkable pilgrimages had taken place. So great was the
multitude of people who kept coming that increased traveling
accomodations had to be arranged between Ars and the outlying country
places.
The pilgrims arrived from every province of France; others came from
Belgium and England; some from America. At Ars one met bishops and
cardinals, prefects of state, university professors, rich merchants,
bankers, men and women of ancient and noble lineage, side by side with
an innumerable army of priests and religious. As yet the newspapers
had not published any account of the wonders accomplished there. Only
by word of mouth was the fame of the cure made known, and this
unending procession of pilgrims was merely the result of the personal
experience of those who had already come under Father Vianney's
influence.
With ever increasing wonder the new arrivals observed the great power
which that humble priest exercised over souls. Every day in the aisle
of the church two rows of men, numbering from sixty to a hundred,
awaited their turn to go to confession in the little sacristy. If the
question were put as to how long they had been waiting there the
answer sometimes was: "since two o'clock in the morning," or, "since
midnight, as soon as the cure had opened the church." The stranger
would learn with astonishment that men from the highest walks of life
had frequently waited patiently a whole day and night, not in order to
assist at some great ceremony, but to submit themselves humbly to the
guidance of the cure in the matter of the welfare of their souls.
The church was equally crowded elsewhere, and it was no unusual thing
to find two hundred women or more waiting their turn to confess their
sins. The spectacle of those men and women absorbed in prayer
continued from hour to hour and from day to day. As a rule Father
Vianney heard confessions daily for sixteen and even eighteen hours
and this almost superhuman practice continued for a period of thirty
years.
At seven or eight o'clock in the morning the cure said Mass and gave
Holy Communion. After Mass he blessed the articles of devotion
presented to him at the altar rail, as well as the little children
that were brought to him. At eleven o'clock he moved through the
crowded ranks of those present and, ascending the pulpit, he delivered
a plain but impressive sermon on the truths of holy faith. He who
formerly could preach a sermon only under the greatest difficulty, now
manifested an imperturbable calm and assurance, for the Divine grace
so noticeably inspired his addresses that in many cases, according to
the evidence of the different pilgrims themselves, it so happened that
his words touched the very ones who, up to that time, had remained in
their sins, and, his affecting appeal to them to consider the awful
state of their souls, removed the last obstacle to their reconciling
themselves to God.
At first, indeed, Father Vianney was greatly distressed when
circumstances necessitated his preaching without special preparation;
yet, as in this he saw only the will of God, he abandoned himself with
complete resignation to the Divine plans, and thus became, although he
had no suspicion of it himself, a most eloquent apostle. In his
sermons he was accustomed to recall the scenes of his early life as a
farmer lad, and he employed the analogies and arguments drawn from
external nature and, according to his own statements, it was evident
that there was nothing in the visible world that had not reminded him
of God and of eternity. Besides these expressive comparisons, Father
Vianney's sermons frequently described incidents drawn from his
personal experience.
Thus, one day, speaking of lukewarm Christians, he said: "You there
behold a tepid soul, which for the most paltry excuse starts to gossip
while praying. Does this soul really offer to God the day's work? Does
it return Him thanks and glorify Him? Without doubt the lips will
speak the words, but for the most part no thought is given to what is
said. The soul never ceases to busy itself with the things that are
only of this world."
"Again," said he, "we notice a man in church, turning his hat round
and round in his hand. Or, we observe in her home a woman, who said
grace while cutting bread for the children or while putting wood on
the fire, or she interrupts her prayers to call the help."
As a man of the people, Father Vianney knew that in order to hold
their attention nothing was so serviceable as to give them a faithful
portrayal of every day life. In his discourses he always reverted to
the fundamental truths of faith and placed vividly before his auditors
for their consideration, the four last things. Ever and anon he would
return to the necessity of man's loving God; that this love ought to
be as natural to men as song was to the bird. It was impossible for
him to preach without referring to the unspeakable joys which arise in
the soul of man through a self-sacrificing love of God.
As soon as the sermon was at an end the people hastened to the village
green, where the good cure was accustomed to pass on the way to the
"Providence" and to his home, delaying on the way to give advice and
consolation to those who applied to him. Everyone called him "Father,"
a title readily admitted by all who observed his kindly manner and
still, kinder speech. Father Vianney moved, slowly through the surging
throng and, although he was gentleness itself, yet unabashed and
obtrusive persons were now and again brought to reason by a quiet
though firm answer.
Many an ingenious reply has been recorded of the good cure. A young
girl who, from spiritual laziness, had submitted the question of her
vocation to the good cure, asked him in a loud tone: "Father, what is
my vocation to be?" To which he replied: "My child, your vocation is
to get to heaven."
At a glance Father Vianney could recognize innocent souls. It was
often observed how he would say suddenly to certain individuals: "Dear
child, just go home; you have no need of me." Yet sixteen to eighteen
hours daily hardly sufficed to allow him to attend to the distressed
souls who knelt in his confessional, since for these above all God had
sent the cure of Ars.
Here we arrive naturally at the important subject of the conversions
that took place at Ars. Time and again the noble priest would say:
"Let us pray for the conversion of sinners!" He declared that prayer
for this purpose was one of the most pleasing that could be offered to
the good God. Without cessation he himself prayed with this intention
and took upon himself all kinds of mortification. His petitions
ascended to the throne of God, who, during the thirty years of the
cure's life at Ars, was pleased to send innumerable sinners to Ars to
be reconciled. Many of these sank at his feet already prepared, for
they had heard from others that it was sweet and easy to confess one's
sins to the saintly priest and under his guidance, to repent of them
with their whole heart.
On one occasion a driver knocked loudly at the door of the cure's
house at midnight and asked that his confession be heard at once.
Without hesitation, Father Vianney arose and went with him into the
church. After he had reconciled him to God Vianney embraced him
cordially and gave him some warm clothing, as he noticed the man was
suffering from the cold.
With many sinners the workings of grace were decidedly slower. Some
had come to Ars out of curiosity, others to unmask the cure, as they
thought to do, and to make merry over the "gullible crowd" as the
pilgrims were called. But, after closely observing the holy priest for
one or two days, they lost all desire to compare him to a "town
crier," and it was not long before they joined the crowds waiting for
confession.
With still another class it required a direct call of grace. Like St.
Vincent Ferrer, Father Vianney had received from God the gift of being
able to read clearly into the conscience of a sinner. Hence almost
every day it happened that one would see him come suddenly out of the
sacristy and advance straight towards a person who had only just
entered the church. With a kind and earnest look he would lead him at
once to his confessional. Many such penitents acknowledged later that
Father Vianney, without more ado, would mention their sins to them
beforehand, reminding them especially of those shameful matters in
their past life which they might have been tempted to conceal. Thereby
he not infrequently removed the last obstacle to complete
reconciliation with God.
Among others the following incident is well attested. A certain man,
thirty-two; years of age, went to Ars in company with a friend,
intending to ridicule Father Vianney. The man had with him his hunting
dog, having planned to enjoy the pleasures of the chase in the
neighboring fields. At the very moment when the cure was passing
across the village square and through the kneeling multitudes, the two
friends appeared on the scene. Presently Father Vianney found himself
face to face with the curious sportsman pushing through the crowd.
After a hasty glance at the dog running at his side, the cure, without
further ceremony, said to its owner: "Sir, it were to be desired that
your soul were as beautiful as your hound!" The man shamefacedly
lowered his head and, shortly after, moved by divine grace, made his
confession with copious tears and that same year adopted the life of a
religious, in which he persevered until death.
Upon another occasion, among the curious spectators in the church at
Ars was a highly educated freethinker, a mocker at religion, of the
Voltaire stamp. To please his wife he had accompanied her to Ars, in
order, as he expressed it, to have a look at "the old buffoon." With a
scornful air he surveyed the crowd praying devoutly in the little
church. Suddenly the cure stepped out of the confessional, advanced
towards the new arrival, and, with an imposing movement of the hand,
requested him to go into the sacristy.
Astonished and confused the unbeliever followed the priest. There
Father Vianney sought to bring him to his knees. The latter declared
that he had no idea of going to confession, and that he did not
believe in it. Father Vianney looked him squarely in the eyes, and
under that piercing glance the freethinker sank upon his knees. Then
Father Vianney described to him his past life, with surprising
accuracy and drew from him the admission that all he had told him was
true. The light of faith was forthwith rekindled in the soul of the
sinner, who, strongly affected, cried out with violent sobs: "My God,
I believe; I adore Thee; I love Thee; and beg of Thee forgiveness!"
Father Vianney dismissed him with the words; "Dear friend, hold
yourself prepared; the good God will call you to Himself very soon!"
And so it was. Two years later a stroke of apoplexy brought to a
sudden end the convert's life.
Besides reconciling sinners with God the indefatigable cure was
frequently engaged in the important work of directing souls to the
knowledge and attainment of their vocation and in giving other counsel
valuable in their spiritual life. Seeking such advice there flocked to
Ars, from all parts, bishops and pastors, leaders of religious
communities, fathers and mothers of families, young men and young
girls in great numbers, all eager to obtain the advice of the good
priest. The latter gave his decisions promptly, for he never allowed
himself to forget that sinners were waiting for him at his
confessional. Many who thus applied declared that Father Vianney,
after listening to the first few words, was able to give his advice
upon the matter at issue with the fullest intelligence.
Upon one occasion a pastor in the diocese of Autun, presented to the
cure for his opinion a very difficult case in moral theology,
involving a question of restitution. He received from him such a
prompt answer, removing all doubt that, astounded, he asked the cure
where he had studied his theology? With a motion of the hand, which
conveyed an advice rather than an answer, Father Vianney pointed
silently to his prie-dieu.
We have referred to the great number of persons who applied to
the cure for advice concerning the religious vocation, but it
would be a mistake to suppose that the cure advised young persons
indiscriminately to embrace the priesthood or the monastic life. Such
was not the case; on the contrary the cure dissuaded many from
entering the cloister, although the parties themselves felt strongly
attracted to it. In this respect the story of Miss A. C. is
instructive.
That lady wished to enter a convent. Her father, who had large
property interests in the South of France, wanted her to marry a young
man who would become his successor. They agreed to ask Father
Vianney's advice and to follow it. This was in the year 1858, a few
months before the death of the blessed cure. Father Vianney listened
with his accustomed kindness to the young girl's recital, reflected a
moment and then exclaimed to the surprised young lady: "My dear child,
you ought to marry!" When she referred to her desire to enter a
convent, the cure interrupted her, and said again: "Get married, and
prove to all that your piety is genuine." Miss C. obeyed and, as the
wife of the young man who had asked her hand, was very happy.
At another time a pastor came to him saying that he desired to become
a Dominican. Father Vianney exclaimed: "No, my friend, this desire is
unfounded; stay where you are." The pastor suggested that as a friar
preacher he could be more successful. The blessed cure replied
immediately: "Where you are placed there is always more to do than you
can really accomplish!"
More than once the result shows how imprudent it was to disregard the
counsels of that enlightened man. A certain Felix B. from Coblone,
came to Ars on Sept. 8th, 1854, the feast of the Nativity of the
Blessed Virgin. As Father Vianney was passing through the throng,
which on that day was very great, he noticed the young man, and walked
straight towards him. Felix made known to him forthwith his desire of
entering a Trappist monastery. "Very well, dear friend," said Father
Vianney, "carry out your intention and God will bless you!"
When Felix returned home he felt so faint hearted at the thought of
entering an order of such strict observance that he postponed for two
years his plan of adopting the monastic life. At last, in 1856, as the
call to the life of a religious dominated him, he entered the
community of the "Christian Brothers."
But this did not bring him the happiness which he had anticipated. He
remained in this congregation for six years, all the while in a state
of unrest and discontent. The more he reflected upon his condition the
more vividly there stood before his spiritual gaze the image of the
cure of Ars (who, meanwhile, had died), and he recalled the advice he
had received but had not followed.
After a hard struggle with his own stubborn nature, Felix sought
release from the community to which he was attached and asked to be
permitted to enter a Trappist monastery which had recently been
founded in the arch-diocese. This was accordingly arranged. From that
day all unrest vanished and the Trappist monk found peace and
contentment in the life to which he had been advised by the cure of
Ars.
CHAPTER V.
MIRACLES WROUGHT BY THE CURE OF ARS.
INNUMERABLE were the miracles worked by the holy man whose history we
are relating. They resemble in their marvellous scope and variety,
those of the Divine Master, who foretold the accomplishment of wonders
greater than His own in the ministry of His faithful servants. The
account of the upbuilding of the House of Providence has given us an
insight into the power of the holy man who reproduced the scriptural
story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. We have there
seen that often many persons were fed when the larder and the granary
were empty. Another phase of the miraculous power of blessed Vianney's
prayer to obtain help in time of need, the results of which often gave
proof of supernatural intervention, is seen in a good work very dear
to him, familiarly known in France as "Fondements." These "Fondements"
referred to the establishment of a fund for the perpetual offering of
the Holy Sacrifice for some desired end. Blessed Vianney established
one thousand annual Masses. The "Fondements" represented a capital of
40,000 francs. Not only did it effect a spiritual good, but going out
to needy priests it created in itself a continuous and generous
contribution to charity. Some of the miraculous interventions of
Providence that touched his heart most deeply are found in his efforts
in this direction.
We shall cite but one. A member of the household of Providence relates
it: "Once when Father Vianney desired to make a "Fondement" in his
church in honor of the heart of Mary, he prayed: O, my mother! if this
work is agreeable to thee, procure for me the funds to do it. That
same day, after the catechism, he said to us: "I have found 200 francs
in my drawer. How good God is!" "Well," exclaimed Jeanne Marie Chaney,
"since it is miraculous silver, we must keep some of it." "Yes!"
replied the cure, "it is celestial money." Jeanne Marie kept four of
the five franc pieces, replacing them by others. She regretted she had
not done the same with all the pieces. When, a little later, he wished
to increase this "Fondement" Father Vianney prayed again in the same
vein, adding, however, the request that the 200 francs must be given
to him that evening, or the gift would not be considered an answer to
his petition. It was but a little while later, when a benefactor
approached him with an offering of 300 francs. His prayer was
answered. He took only the sum which he had prayed for." It was in the
unceasing war that he waged against the desecration of the Lord's day
that his people beheld frequently their saintly pastor's power over
the elements. We shall cite an instance:
One Sunday in July there was a full harvest, the wheat bending to the
earth. During the High Mass a violent wind arose and threatening
clouds gathered; a destructive tempest was apparently about to break.
The holy priest entered the pulpit, forbade his people to touch their
crops that day, and promised them a continuation of good weather
sufficient for the gathering in of the harvest. His prediction was
verified; the storm passed over and no rain fell for twelve days.
In the depths of human souls miracles abounded in Ars. For the
conversion of sinners the holy cure lived; for them he entered upon
his thorny way of heroic penance. His whole life was characterized by
prayer, penance and self-abnegation. All counted as nothing if he
could win the conversion of his parish, dreaming not of a world to be
won from beyond its borders.
His first great conversion was that of a woman prominent in the
Jansenist sect for her attachment to error and the indiscreet ardor of
her proselytism. She was present during Vespers, in the church of Ars,
on a feast of the Blessed Virgin, in the early days of the cure's
pastorate. To the surprise of all, she entered the confessional after
the service. The words of the holy confessor in the sacred tribunal
finished the work that his very aspect alone had begun. Her conversion
was thorough and lasting. She withdrew from her former associates and
took up her abode in the little village of Ars.
Another miracle of grace, chosen from many, is the following, briefly
told:
A learned geologist was led to visit Ars. As a boy he had made his
First Communion during the reign of terror. Left an orphan at the age
of twelve years he was adopted by an army officer, whom he accompanied
to Egypt. His religious experiences had been varied, for he had tested
Mohamedanism, Judaism, Protestantism and had been a disciple of
Chanel, Pere Enfantine and Cabet. On his first visit to Ars he sat
facing the door through which the cure would come to say Mass. His own
words tell the result:
"His eyes met mine. It was but a look, yet it penetrated to the depths
of my heart, I felt myself crushed under his gaze." After the Mass
this man was drawn by an invisible and irresistible force into the
sacristy, where stood the confessional. The grace of a return to the
faith of his youth was given to him. He died in holy sentiments two
years afterwards.
Such spiritual marvels, worked by the Blessed Vianney, were of
frequent occurrence. He wept when sinners refused to weep, and they
left his feet like other Augustines, to comfort the mother bowed down
with sorrow because of their sins. One young man, long lost to his
God, had been induced to go to Ars, before leaving for the army. The
holy priest singled him, out among the crowd, and beckoned to the
young man, who was seized with a sudden trembling. The sacristy door
closed upon them and a miracle was wrought there and then on one who
had lost his faith, his honor and his home. He came out in tears,
remained at Ars to make a retreat, and entered an austere religious
order to end his days in heroic penance.
Such are the types of miracles of the spiritual order, the dearest to
him, worked by the holy pastor of Ars, whose worst reproach to the
hardened sinner was: "What a pity it is! At the hour of death God will
say to you: "Why have you offended Me. I who have loved you so much.""
The power to lay bare the hidden sins which the cure's unknown
penitent concealed from him, stands forth prominently in his life
story and wrought many conversions. So, too, that other power, which
divined the future misuse of recovery and sent back the pilgrim,
helped, not bodily, but with the healing of patience and resignation,
under some long borne affliction. Again, the similar power to see the
future augmentation of holiness in a soul under physical affliction
and God's will that no cure be wrought; and still another, to see some
impending cross awaiting at home a pilgrim, of whom humanly speaking,
he knew nothing, and to hasten his departure; or to know by interior
sight alone, a cure wrought at a distance. Surely miraculous gifts and
all were possessed by the holy cure.
BODILY ILLS MIRACULOUSLY CURED.
Through Father Vianney were affected cures of the mentally afflicted,
of paralytics from birth or accident, of sufferers from cancer and
bronchial affection. There are those whose tongue had never spoken,
whose ear had never heard, whose eye had never seen until the holy
cure's word had gone forth: "Make a novena to St. Philomena; I will
pray with you."
A nervous malady racked the being of Mademoiselle Zoe Pradille and
deprived her of the power of walking, of kneeling, of reading and
listening to reading and of eating without excruciating pain. Expert
medical treatment was secured at home and a thorough test was made of
health resorts, all without avail, until at last the pilgrimage was
made to Ars and the novena was said, resulting in a complete cure as
attested to by a physician who had known the case well for six years
out of the eight which the patient had suffered.
A house, during its course of removal, fell and buried under the ruins
a little child and her grandmother. The mother of the little one
escaped and ran about distracted, while the fruitless search went on.
Some one ran to make the accident known to Father Vianney. He knelt
first in prayer, then hastened to the spot, blessed the ruins, and
stood by encouraging the workmen, who were making the search. The
grandmother was rescued unharmed. The child was found after a longer
imprisonment in the ruins. She showed not the slightest sign of
injury.
A member of the cure's household gave an old cap that the cure had
worn to a poor woman, as an alms. The beautiful thought came to her:
"The holy cure is a saint. If I have faith, my child will be cured."
The boy had an abscess on the head. She put the cap on him. That
evening, when she uncovered him to dress the wound, she found that the
sore had disappeared. The child had been cured.
"To-day," one wrote from Ars, "we have had a very remarkable cure. It
is of a young nun from the Alps whose tongue had been completely
paralyzed for three years, after her recovery from typhoid fever. She
could converse only by writing on a slate. The day on which she
finished her novena, just as she was about to make her thanksgiving
after Holy Communion, she felt that her tongue was articulating the
acts. She now can speak. I have seen and heard her." The cure of her
home parish and the physician who attended her in her convent,
testified to her recovery.
One of the remarkable cures, instantly and publicly effected in
presence of all the pilgrims, was that of a young man from Pud de Dome
who could walk only with difficulty and with the aid of crutches.
"My Father, do you think I will leave my crutches here?" was his
oft-repeated question during the novena. On the feast of the
assumption he intercepted the holy priest as he came from the
sacristy into the crowded church for the evening exercises and again
put the question.
"Yes, my friend, if you have faith," was the reply. Instantly the
power was given to the young man to walk unaided, and he hastened to
St. Philomena's chapel to leave his crutches there. His gratitude was
the life-long consecration of himself to God in the institute of the
Brothers of the Holy Family.
Miracles of this kind caused the priest considerable embarrassment. He
sought to hide from the public eye the marvelous results of his
God-given power manifested daily in his parish, His "dear little St.
Philomena," who never failed him in his hour of need, heard many
plaints from him in which he charged her with working the marvels that
were effected through his ministry. Such was the humility of the
"wonder-worker" of our own age.
The gift of a medal of St. Philomena was often the preliminary
manifestation of miraculous power. This gift was followed by a request
that a novena be made to the saint, Father Vianney promising to pray
also. The result was frequently the desired miracle, which was in
reality the outcome of the cure's powerful pleading with God.
Nevertheless, it could easily be laid at the door of his "dear little
saint." This was especially so on occasions when the sufferers were
not brought to the village or when the cures did not take place until
the afflicted ones were far distant from the ordinary scene of the
miracles.
A noteworthy instance, in which the good God seemed, as it were, to
play into Vianney's hands at times, by allowing St. Philomena to have
the full credit of the miracle, was that of the poor wandering
musician. He came to the holy cure begging the latter to heal his lame
child. After persuading this man to go to confession he blessed him
and sent him home, making him promise to mend his evil ways and to
cease carrying on an abuse against which the priest waged a relentless
war, namely, the village dances, which were held on Sundays and
festivals.
When the musician entered his home, he broke his violin and cast the
pieces into the fire, to the great dismay of his wife, who saw their
family means of sustenance consumed. But his lame child, crying out
with joy, leaped across the room to welcome his father. The child was
completely cured.
Father Vianney's tenderness was once deeply stirred at the sight of a
mother bearing on her back a paralyzed boy of eight years, a cripple
from birth. The cure was apparently turning a deaf ear to the mother's
repeated appeals for the cure of her child, content with giving them a
glance of pity and sympathy and a blessing. Yet, as the result seems
to show, his soul must have spoken some word to the soul of the child,
audible to none other. At night the mother left the church with a
disappointed heart.
While undressing her little son, in a lodging near by, the boy told
her she must go out early in the morning to buy him a pair of new
shoes. "For," said he, "Father Vianney promised that I would walk
to-morrow." Not a word had been spoken to the child, but his mother did
his bidding, and put the new shoes on him. The miracle, delayed in the
crowded church, was wrought at the moment in the lowly lodging room.
The child, crippled from birth, ran to the church, crying: "I am
cured, I am cured."
The miraculous power of the cure's sanctity which, during thirty
years, attracted considerable attention, could have been welcomed by
him for one reason alone, that it helped so much in the aim of his
life--the conversion of sinners. That it was the reward not only of
his simple faith but of the heroic and unceasing penance which he
performed in order to secure the salvation of souls, seems implied in
words of his own.
A friend in the priesthood once said to him, when a much needed sum of
money had come in an astonishing way: "Tell me, Father Vianney, the
way to work miracles." The holy man, with a serious air, replied: "My
friend, there is nothing which disconcerts the devil so much, and
attracts the graces of God, more than fasting and prayerful
watchings." His life, it may be truly said, was one incessant prayer
and vigil. A simple peasant has beautifully said: "It is not
astonishing that he works miracles. He is a servant of God. God obeys
his servants." "They tell us of marvelous things that took place
here," said a pilgrim who but echoed the words of many, "but the grand
miracle of Ars is the life, so penitent and laborious, of the cure." No
miracles showed more clearly his extraordinary gifts and graces than
the power which his spirit possessed over his poor emaciated body; and
no miracle was greater than his absolute control over his physical
state when he seemed on the verge of dissolution, a control that
enabled him to bear the over-powering burden of his incessant labors
for souls, without sinking under the load. A miracle alone can explain
this extraordinary existence.
CHAPTER VI.
THE INTERIOR LIFE OF THE BLESSED CURE.
IN the preceding chapters we have recounted many things both edifying
and interesting in the external life of the pious cure. But for a
better knowledge of his noble personality we must look into his inner
life. Many readers of these lines have doubtless asked themselves how
the cure, in his unremitting labors for others, could have bestowed
the necessary care upon his own soul.
Let it be understood that the very moment when the cure seemed to have
any leisure for himself, he was more actively engaged in the business
of his own spiritual welfare. Then were displayed those beautiful
virtues which showed him to be an example of charity and meekness, of
voluntary sacrifice and humility. The very glow from his clear eyes
revealed the genuine piety by which he was animated. To all who
approached him, Father Vianney showed a befitting attention and
respect. Indeed, with increasing years, he was even more affable than
before.
And yet to what trials was not his patience subjected? Almost daily,
as he passed through the village square, people would crowd about him,
tug at his soutane and ask questions, which were oftimes trivial, if
not foolish. Father Vianney never met importunate persons with so much
as a harsh word or a frown. His unchanging kindness toward all earned
for him in his life-time the title of the "Good Cure." He was ever
considerate of his co-workers, striving to spare them every irksome
duty. In order to show his affection he distributed among them his
personal belongings, including crosses, medals and relics, which he
dearly prized.
For many years before his death he possessed absolutely nothing. He
had sold his furniture, books, etc., and had given the proceeds to the
poor. The purchasers generally were glad to have him use the articles
for which they had given him the money.
Lenient as Father Vianney was towards others, he was correspondingly
severe with himself. He was extremely hard upon his own body, which he
referred to as his "corpse." After his superiors had prohibited some
of the rigorous mortifications to which he was accustomed, he devised
other forms of self-denial in respect to his daily food.
During the last decade of his life he was required, by order of his
superiors, to take, every morning, at least a cup of milk and a roll.
Brother Jerome, who waited upon him, observed that the cure, with his
usual desire to practice penance, first ate the dry bread and then
drank the milk.
For many years Father Vianney suffered from violent pains which
frequently compelled him to shorten his addresses in the pulpit and
sometimes even caused him to collapse. If, on such occasions, he were
questioned about his illness his only answer was: "Yes, I am suffering
a little." Terrible indeed must have been his torture when we consider
that his emaciated body, racked with pain, was confined for sixteen or
seventeen hours a day, during so many years, in the narrow space of
the confessional.
In the winter he suffered greatly from the cold. The north-west wind
blowing over the bleak region of the Jura mountains, whistled through
the door of the church, which could not be kept closed owing to the
constant stream of penitents passing in and out. In summer, conditions
were worse, if that were possible, for on account of the location of
his confessional, only the air from the farther side could reach it
and that was heated and stifling because of the many persons who were
gathered there. Frequently, when Father Vianney left the confessional,
he was unable to stand erect, being obliged to support himself by
leaning against the seats or pillars of the church.
After a day of such work and suffering he was surely entitled to a
full night's rest. But no, he often said that with one hour of sound
sleep he found himself quite refreshed. Even this one hour, however,
was hardly ever allowed him. Like one grievously sick he breathed
painfully as he lay on his miserable couch of straw. A cough
unceasingly racked his body. He arose every night four or five times,
in the hope of getting some relief by walking up and down. When at
last thoroughly exhausted he slept only for a short time. When the
hour for rising had come, this poor, feeble septuagenarian with a
heroic effort tore himself away from the rest which he had hardly
enjoyed and began the work of another day as long and as trying as
that which had gone before.
To these corporal sufferings was added spiritual anguish of the
bitterest kind. In his own life the cure was a saint, chaste,
magnanimous and faithful, and yet, day after day, he had to listen in
the confessional to an endless recital of sins against those virtues.
Loving God as he did, with his whole soul, he could not but suffer
when listening to the recital of most grievous offences committed
against the Divine Majesty. His heart was torn thereby and not
infrequently his anguish manifested itself in a flood of tears.
One day while giving instructions in catechism, he cried out: "There
is no one in the world more unhappy than the guardian of souls. How
does he spend his time? In hearing how the good God has been offended
and His love rejected! Like St. Peter the poor priest is ever to be
found in the court of Pilate. The Divine Saviour is always before his
gaze, derided, scorned and reviled. Some sinners are spitting upon His
countenance, others rain blows upon His defenceless head; still others
crown Him with thorns and scourge Him until the blood flows. He is
buffeted about, thrown on the ground and trampled upon. He is
crucified and His heart is transpierced. Alas! had I known what it
meant to be a confessor, instead of going to a seminary I would rather
have fled to a Trappist Monastery."
It would have been some consolation and encouragement if the poor
cure's humility had allowed him to rejoice at the tremendous success
of his spiritual labors. But no matter what wonderful effects his
ministry produced, he always regarded himself as most incapable of
discharging his priestly duties as they should be performed. With
unaffected sympathy did he speak of his "poor soul," his "poor corpse"
his "poor sins" and his "poor misery," praying that God in His
goodness would bear with them. Without his humility, Father Vianney
undoubtedly would not have become a saint. How otherwise could he have
withstood for years the enthusiastic veneration of the thousands who
were the witnesses of his holy life.
One day, when Bishop Devie, of Belley, in the ardor of conversation,
gave him the title of the "holy cure," Father Vianney in despair
ejaculated: "Oh, what a misfortune for me! Your reverence even is
deceived in me." He was more than surprised when, in August, in the
year 1855, he was nominated a "Knight of the Legion of Honor." Of
course he never wore the badge nor availed himself in any way of the
distinction. Against the onrush of a multitude of corporal and
spiritual anxieties and cares he sought consolation in prayer.
It has remained almost completely a secret what supernatural
consolations were vouchsafed to the blessed cure. On that subject he
always preserved a strict silence. He prayed practically throughout
the whole night, for his sufferings, as mentioned above, allowed him
only a few minutes rest at a time. What he recommended to others in
the catechism lessons, he himself constantly practiced. He was wont to
say, for instance: "See now, dear children, should you wake up during
the night, go quickly in spirit before the tabernacle and say to our
Saviour: "Here am I, O Lord, I adore Thee, I praise Thee, I thank
Thee, I love Thee and with the Angels let me keep Thee company.""
During the day all his spare time was devoted to prayer. In visiting
the sick his thoughts were always with God. But his prayers were of
the most simple kind. He favored simplicity in every action.
In the church, before the Blessed Sacrament, the pious cure's sense of
the Real Presence was so vivid that a colleague, who noticed his
radiant look, regarded him with astonishment, thinking Father Vianney
with his corporal eyes, beheld some one there. This intuition of the
Divine Presence the pious man referred to, one day, saying: "That is
faith when we speak to God as a fellow man!"
Despite the ardor of his desire for God's blissful vision, he had to
struggle for many decades in the exile of this life, persevering in
work and prayer. Only when his venerable age and increasing
infirmities disabled him from further laboring in the conversion of
sinners, did our Divine Lord see fit to take this soul to Himself. The
cure was then in his seventy-fourth year.
CHAPTER VII.
DEATH AND BEATIFICATION OF THE BLESSED CURE.
IT was in the summer of 1859, that the venerable cure showed that his
energies were nearly spent. He was then heard repeatedly to exclaim:
"Alas, the sinners will kill the sinner."
On Friday, July 29th, after having as usual spent from sixteen to
seventeen hours in the confessional, he returned to the rectory
completely exhausted. He sank into a chair saying: "I can do no more."
The priest who saw him, immediately put him to bed. On the following
morning his illness was so pronounced that a fatal termination was
feared. In the village and among the numerous visitors to Ars the
greatest sorrow was felt. For three days the church was crowded with
the faithful, praying that their cure might not be taken from them.
The cure did not join his prayers to those of his people for he felt
that his last hour was approaching. On Friday evening he received the
last sacraments. He shed tears of love when the Holy Viaticum was
brought to him and as Extreme Unction was being administered. For the
last time he blessed all who were present as well as his whole parish.
On Wednesday morning he smilingly acknowledged the greeting of his
bishop, who had hurried to his bedside. On Thursday, Aug. 4th, at two
o'clock in the morning, while his friend and assistant, the Abbe
Monnin, was saying the prayers for the dying and had just uttered the
words: "May the holy Angels of God come forth to meet him and conduct
him into the city of the Heavenly Jerusalem," the loving soul left his
frail body to be received, as we may devoutly hope, into the presence
of the Divine Master, whom he had served so long and so faithfully.
The demise of the good cure was immediately made known to the
sorrowing community. On Saturday of that week the interment took
place. Almost six thousand persons, many of whom came from afar,
attended the funeral. Three hundred priests accompanied the remains to
the grave. The bishop of Belley, in his eulogy, selected his text from
the office of the feast of the Saints and Confessors: "Well done, thou
good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord." All
present understood the sentiments which prompted the selection of that
particular text and trusted that their hope would not be disappointed.
Rarely has a process of beatification been set in motion so quickly as
was that of John Baptist Vianney. Hardly forty-five years had elapsed
since the remains of the deceased were laid at rest, under the pulpit
of his parish church, when the Holy See announced its decision
permitting the beatification process to be introduced.
As early as Oct, 3d, 1874, Pope Pius IX, after examining the various
writings and biographical notices relating to the deceased and
published by reliable contemporaries, conferred on the humble cure the
title "Venerable Servant of God." On June 21st, 1896, Pope Leo XIII,
presiding, the last session of the commission took place, which was to
pronounce upon the saintly merits of the venerable cure. The favorable
conclusion which everyone expected was announced by Cardinal Parocchi.
On Aug. 1st, of that year, Pope Leo XIII, issued a decree reciting the
honors paid to the humble cure of Ars and his own personal admiration
for his exalted virtue.
Seven years later, in 1903, the same Pope called a session of the
commission to consider the testimony and reports relative to the
miracles which had taken place at the tomb of the departed. This
session, however, was not held, for on the day which had been
appointed the venerable pope lay at the point of death and soon after,
viz., on July 20th, of that year, the Catholic world had to mourn the
passing away of its spiritual head.
The happy distinction, however, of being able to glorify the humble
country curate had been reserved by God for one who himself had been
formerly a plain country curate. On Aug. 4th, 1903, at the very hour,
when at Ars they were celebrating a solemn High Mass on the
forty-fourth anniversary of the death of John Baptist Vianney, another
solemn ceremony was taking place at Rome, viz., the election of the
former village cure of Salzano, later Cardinal Sarto, patriarch of
Venice, to the Papacy, who chose for himself the title of Pius X.
As early as Jan. 26th, 1904, the new supreme pontiff presided at that
session of the cardinals over which his illustrious predecessor had
intended to preside. Two cases in particular were presented for
examination. One was a question of the sudden cure of the youthful
Adelaide Joly, and the other, that of little Leo Roussat. The latter,
after a violent attack of epilepsy, in the year 1862, had to be
carried to the grave of the late cure. One of his arms hung crippled
at his side; his power of speech was gone, and his breathing so
difficult that he was unable to retain the saliva in his mouth. After
a short time spent in prayer at the grave of the cure he was removed.
The hand formerly crippled was now able to give alms to the poor and
the boy recovered the use of his limbs and walked about. At the
conclusion of the novena he was able to speak without further trouble.
In Feb., 1861, the girl Adelaide, owing to a malignant swelling of the
arm, had been given up as incurable by the doctors in the Lyons
hospital. Then one of her relatives who possessed a piece of linen,
which had belonged to the cure of Ars, laid it upon the affected arm.
In prayer they besought the intercession of the venerable servant of
God to obtain relief for the suffering girl. To the astonishment of
the doctors the swelling was suddenly reduced in a few hours and the
arm was restored to its normal condition.
After the counsel of cardinals had pronounced a favorable opinion in
respect to the miraculous nature of these cures, a papal decree, dated
Feb. 21st, 1904, declared these facts sufficiently established to
justify the beatification of the venerable man.
The Holy Father himself gave unrestrained expression to the joy which
he felt when he was enabled to admit into the ranks of the blessed one
who, according to his own words, had been for many years a shining
example to him.
LITANY AND PRAYER
IN HONOR OF
Blessed John B. Marie Vianney.
CURE OF ARS.
(FOR PRIVATE DEVOTION.)
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Blessed John Marie, pray for us.
B. J. M., endowed with grace from thine infancy, pray for us.
B. J. M., model of filial piety, pray for us.
B. J. M., devoted servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for
us.
B. J. M., spotless lily of purity, pray for us.
B. J. M., faithful imitator of the sufferings of Christ, pray for us.
B. J. M., abyss of humility, pray for us.
B. J. M., seraphim in prayer, pray for us.
B. J. M., faithful adorer of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us.
B. J. M., ardent lover of holy poverty, pray for us.
B. J. M., tender friend of the poor, pray for us.
B. J. M., penetrated with the fear of God's judgment, pray for us.
B. J. M., fortified by Divine visions, pray for us.
B. J. M., who wast tormented by the evil spirit, pray for us.
B. J. M., perfect model of sacerdotal virtue, pray for us.
B, J. M., firm and prudent pastor, pray for us.
B. J. M., inflamed by zeal, pray for us.
B. J. M., faithful attendant on the sick, pray for us.
B. J. M., indefatigable catechist, pray for us.
B. J. M., who didst preach in words of fire, pray for us.
B. J. M., wise director of souls, pray for us.
B. J. M., specially gifted with the spirit of counsel, pray for us.
B. J. M., enlightened by light from Heaven, pray for us.
B. J. M., formidable to Satan, pray for us.
B. J. M., compassionate with every misery, pray for us.
B. J. M., providence of the orphans, pray for us.
B. J. M., favored with the gift of miracles, pray for us.
B. J. M., who didst reconcile so many sinners with God, pray for us.
B. J. M., who didst confirm so many of the just in the way of virtue,
pray for us.
B. J. M., who didst taste the sweetness of death, pray for us.
B. J. M., who dost now rejoice in the glory of Heaven, pray for us.
B. J. M., helpful to all those who invoke thee, pray for us.
B. J. M., patron of the clergy, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us,
O Lord.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
_V._ Pray for us, Blessed John Marie,
_R._ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
LET US PRAY.
Almighty and merciful God, who didst make the Blessed John Marie
admirable in his pastoral zeal and in his constant love of penance,
grant us the grace, we implore Thee, to win for Christ, by his example
and intercession, the souls of our brethren, and to attain with them
everlasting glory.--O, Bl. John Marie, incomparable laborer in the
field confided to thee, obtain for the Church the realization of
Jesus' desire. The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few. Pray
to the Master of the harvest to send faithful laborers into His
vineyard. O, Bl. John Marie! Intercede for the clergy. May thy
patronage, and thy prayer multiply the real vocations to the
priesthood. May the Holy Ghost grant thee emulators; may He give us
Saints! Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
NOVENA
IN HONOR OF
BLESSED JOHN BAPTIST VIANNEY.
FIRST DAY.--FAITH.
On this first day of the novena we shall consider the faith of this
holy man. A lively faith is necessary in order to please God. We
believe every word which God has spoken by His Holy Church. We must
practise this faith also in works. Faith without works is dead.
Without works it would be only an empty assertion that we believe. In
a firm unflinching faith Blessed Vianney lived and died and became a
saint.
PRAYER FOR FAITH.
Pour into my soul, O God, through the intercession of the Blessed
Vianney, pastor of Ars, a deep lively heartfelt faith! That faith will
be my salvation, as it was the salvation of all the saints who are now
in Heaven. Amen.
[Then is said the Litany to the Blessed Vianney and the prayer. In
these days of frequent Communion, it were well if Holy Communion could
be received at the beginning of the novena and also at the end. Better
still, if it could be received every day during the novena.]
SECOND DAY.--CHRISTIAN HOPE.
Consider the blessings of Christian hope. It is a trust in God, in His
Providence, a lively, filial, trustful submission to the will of God,
knowing that God will ordain things to His greater glory and to our
spiritual benefit. What consolation is found in a Christian hope! How
sweet it is! We cannot be disappointed if we trust in God, Who cannot
deceive. Hope is our spiritual life and the principle of our active
perseverance in it. How dreary is the world without hope! How glorious
life becomes with hope! God puts hope into our hearts.
PRAYER FOR HOPE.
Give me, O Lord, that hope which raised the spirit of Blessed Vianney,
that hope which gave him patience in long suffering. He did all with
the hope that Thy glory would be enhanced. Infuse into my heart the
desire to do good work for Thy sake.
[Here say the litany and prayer to the Blessed Vianney.]
THIRD DAY.--THE LOVE OF GOD.
On the third day we shall consider the love of God. We must love God
above all things, live in love, continue in love unto the end. Love
the Son of God, Jesus Christ, love the Church, the Spouse of our Lord.
The love of God will bring us to Heaven. God will give us everything
if we love Him. It is so reasonable to love God; in fact, man is a
fool if he does not love God. It is our religion, our happiness and
our supreme blessing. It is our very Heaven, here upon earth. The
happiness of Heaven, commenced in this world even imperfectly, will be
continued for all eternity, if we persevere to the end.
PRAYER FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.
O my God, I love Thee with my whole heart, and above all things
because Thou, O God, art the Sovereign Good and for Thine own infinite
perfections art most worthy of all love.
[Litany and prayer to the Blessed Vianney.]
FOURTH DAY.--THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOR.
This day will be given to the consideration of the love which we
should have for our neighbor. Let us impress the love of our neighbor
deeply on our mind. It is so very important. It is second only to the
love of God. You cannot do anything pleasing to God unless you do it
out of a motive for the love of God or for our neighbor. Those have
been the greatest human beings who loved God above all things and
their neighbor as themselves.
PRAYER TO OBTAIN THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOR.
My dear Jesus, lover of all mankind, teach me to love my neighbor as
Thou didst love even Thine enemies. Blessed Vianney was Thy faithful
follower in the practice of this virtue. He loved the souls of men.
Let me also imbibe, from a devotion to him, the same love for souls.
[Litany and prayers to Blessed Vianney.]
FIFTH DAY.--HUMILITY.
The great virtue of our blessed saint was humility. Let us try to
imitate and understand this virtue. We will find some good souls who
never think much of themselves. They want to be always in the
background. They do not want to be considered at all. Nevertheless
they are always doing good. These are precious in the sight of God.
PRAYER FOR HUMILITY.
O sweet and humble Jesus, give me also the precious virtue of
humility, which Thou didst give so abundantly to Thy servant Vianney,
so that I also may be pleasing in Thy sight and pleasing before man.
No virtue is so attractive as humility. Thou, O Lord, exaltest the
humble. To be great in Thy sight and approved by Thee is the object of
my desire.
[Litany and prayers to Blessed Vianney.]
SIXTH DAY.--LOVE OF POVERTY.
Love of poverty is an active sincere love. The lack of possessions,
the desire not to have any, giving to the poor what we have, or what
we do not need, is poverty. Practice self-denial. Save to give to the
poor, to build hospitals, orphan asylums, churches. Have Masses said
for the poor suffering souls in Purgatory.
PRAYER FOR POVERTY.
Thou hast said, O Lord, "Blessed is he who understands the poor." Let
me have that knowledge. It is the practical way to show my love for my
neighbor in distress. Let me also, like Thyself, be a good Samaritan,
doing good and relieving want. Not only should I be poor in spirit,
but I must also love to be poor in fact, for the poor are the brethren
of Christ.
[Litany and prayers to Blessed Vianney.]
SEVENTH DAY.--MORTIFICATION.
This day shall be devoted to the virtue of mortification. Put away the
comforts of eating and drinking, the extravagance of living, personal
luxuries. Live simply and like a poor man. Be simple in dress, but be
well dressed. Be abstemious at your table. Especially guard against
over indulgence in drink. Abstemiousness in drink is a very
commendable virtue. Deny yourself many things that are unnecessary. Do
not yield to all the promptings of the appetite. Be temperate.
PRAYER TO OBTAIN THE GRACE OF MORTIFICATION.
Thou hast commanded the mortification of the flesh from the beginning,
O Lord. From the beginning, the desires of the flesh have been the
bane of a good life. When shall Thy grace, O Lord, inspire me with
some degree of that firmness and faithful adherence to Thee. Suffer
not my heart to be overcome by that inconstancy which is so natural to
it, nor allow my life to be a perpetual succession of evil practices
and infidelities. Grant that my heart may be all Thine, at all times
and forever. And that by mortification I may merit eternal happiness.
[Litany and prayers to Blessed Vianney.]
EIGHTH DAY.--PRAYER.
We must pray all the time. Every act must be a prayer. The spirit of
prayer must be in our whole Christian life. We must pray if we want to
do anything great in the spiritual life. A life without prayer is a
most barren period of time. Prayer is the intimate converse with God.
Our Saint was always intimately united to God in prayer. Blessed
Vianney never ceased praying.
PRAYER FOR A TRUE SPIRIT OF DEVOTION.
How sweet, O Lord, to breathe only Thy love and to say to Thee with my
whole heart: My God and my all! Grant that words may enter into my
soul! do then, impress them upon my mind and my heart so that I may
understand and practice them. Let me be devoted to prayer. Make it a
delight to converse with Thee. Let me pray for everything I need and
before every undertaking, so that with prayer every work may begin and
with prayer be happily ended. Thou art my Saviour. May I possess Thee
in prayer here on earth and mayest Thou be my portion for all eternity
in Heaven.
[Litany and prayers to Blessed Vianney.]
NINTH DAY.--DEVOTION TO MARY.
On the last day of the novena we must try to learn and begin to
cultivate a devotion, which appeals to the heart of every Catholic,
that is, the devotion to the Mother of God. What is a Catholic life
without love to Mary! How dark and dreary is a life without the
spiritual consolation of the Communion of the Saints! In short, have a
great devotion to Mary. Pray to her with confidence like one that has
a right to be heard and a right to address her. Love Mary with the
sincerest affection. Let not a day pass without having said a prayer
to her. Say your beads every day. Wear the scapular in her honor. Go
to Confession and Holy Communion on her feast days. Perform many
little acts of religion from the motive of love to the Blessed Virgin.
PRAYER TO MARY.
My dear Saviour, Jesus Christ, Son of the Virgin Mary, grant me the
grace to love Thy mother. This grace is such a distinction, a grace of
salvation, which I must have by all means. Hail holy queen, Mother of
Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor
banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning
and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn thou, most gracious
advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after our exile show
unto us the fruit of thy blessed womb, O most loving, most pious and
sweet virgin Mary. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be
worthy of the promises of Christ.
[Litany and prayers to Blessed Vianney.]
PRAYER TO BLESSED VIANNEY.
I thank Thee, my God, for the grace of this novena to Thy blessed
servant, Vianney. I beg of Thee, first, that I may learn the singular
virtues of this blessed man--his piety, mortification, poverty, love
of God and our neighbor. Let me become, in this way, a useful member
of the human family. I have, O Lord, prayed to Thy blessed servant
Vianney, that he may pray for me and my intention. (Here mention the
intention.)
Many graces have been known to have been granted to those who have
prayed with this spirit. Even miracles have been wrought by Thee, O
God, in approval of this devotion. Encouraged by the merits of the
life of the Blessed Vianney, I beg Thee, O Lord, to obtain for me the
grace and favor of this novena, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
_Conclusion of the Novena._
***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF BLESSED JOHN B. MARIE
VIANNEY, CURé OF ARS***
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