Dear Parishioners,

Today is the feast day of the patron saint of all priests: St. John Vianney. St. John lived in France in the mid-19th century. He desired from a young age to be a priest and had to struggle greatly with his learning. Since he was considered to be simple. he was assigned to a backwater parish in Ars. The people of Ars were lax, disillusioned and worldly. They had just been through the Revolution and then the Napoleonic wars. So, there were plenty of people who were skeptical of the Church and clergy. Many wanted to live worldly and sinful lives. St. John recognized a great need for the sacrament of reconciliation to cure this slothfulness towards God. So, he offered confession for 14 hours a day (sometimes more), preached strict sermons to instruct people of a godly way of life and otherwise lived simply. He gained a lot of attention because of his manifest holiness and many people, in and outside Ars were attracted to his Masses and desired to receive absolution from him. Many miracles were attributed to him including prophecy, healing, multiplying flour for a starving family and having an incorrupt heart after death. He humbly attributed all his miracles to St. Philomena. He was so holy that he was also tortured nightly by the Devil, who was known to toss him across the room and light his bed on fire while he slept. John Vianney did not take these threats seriously because to him it was a sign that he was doing the right thing.

St. John Vianney is just one out of many examples of the power of God and how true the faith is. In closing, I would like to share with you some of my favorite quotes from him:
There is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us.

The Lord is more anxious to forgive our sins than a woman is to carry her baby out of a burning building.

Through prayer we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the souls and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun. A pure soul is like a fine pearl. As long as it is hidden in the shell, at the bottom of the sea, no one thinks of admiring it. But if you bring it into the sunshine, this pearl will shine and attract all eyes. Thus the pure soul, which is hidden from the eyes of the world, will one day shine before the Angels in the sunshine of eternity.

It is the cross which gives peace to the world; it is the cross which ought to bring peace to our hearts. All our miseries come of our not loving the cross. It is the fear of crosses which gives weight to the cross.

God Bless!

Fr. Carter