Today I'm honoring a favorite saint of mine, John Vianney. If only there were some modern day Vianneys! He's the patron saint of parish priests even though he barely made it out of the seminary. His professors and fellow classmates thought that he was dumb. He failed most of his classes and had the toughest time with Latin, yet he never despaired. No one found anything remarkable about the man. He had profound humility and devotion to Our Lady.
John was sent to a parish that had abandoned its faith. Only the elderly women attended mass.
This courageous man never gave up on his flock. He knelt before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament begging for the conversion of his parish. He drew people to mass with his simple words of truth in his sermons. A great multitude of people came to listen to him, even those from other parishes.
Other priests were jealous of him and rebuked him. To their surprise John not only accepted their criticisms but thanked them for their corrections. He called them his dear colleagues and refered to himself as a sinful man who needed their direction. John was also hated by the bartenders of Ars, France who noticed that they were losing business because of him. Satan himself beat and harassed him, for he was losing souls because of him. Vianney saw visions of Mary and could tell when a penitent was hiding something from him in the confessional, but these spiritual gifts didn't make him a saint, the way he lived his life did. He spent at least eighteen hours a day hearing confessions. Imagine what the priests of today would do if such a thing were to happen!
Priests of our contemporary world look to St. John Vianney as an example. He was hated by the world for challenging it but he wasn't afraid to live by the truth of the Catholic faith. Those of you that have trouble with your own stubborn parish that refuses to convert, he had trouble with his too. It didn't just convert over night. He made sacrifices for them and prayed for them. He never lost hope in them. Vianney knew the power of prayer and lived it out. He called people to conversion and repentance. Vianney wasn't afraid to discuss turning away from sin. If he didn't then he wouldn't have spent all of those hours listening to confessions. What if there were a hundred St. John Vianneys? The world would belong only to God.
All of you who are not priests support these ordained men. I've heard it said on EWTN that twelve men changed the world two thousand years ago and twelve men can change the world today. Those twelve men were the Apostles. Those twelve men were priests. Pray for the sanctification of these men and dedicate to God all of your thoughts, words, and actions for them, for even St. Therese offered every beating of her heart for souls, dedicating everything she could to God.
I'd like to take the time to announce that Luke Films, the same organization that brought us the hit, "Therese" is thinking about making a movie about St. John Vianney, but they need financial assistance. Go to http://www.lukefilms.com/ to find out more about this company and how you can help. Prayers are especially needed for them now.
