{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_30879/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_30879","id":"gutenberg_30879","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30879","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: French Literature","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Vianney, Jean-Baptiste-Marie, Saint, 1786-1859"],"text":"E-text prepared by Michael Gray\n\n\n\nNote: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this\n      file which includes the original illustration.\n      See 30879-h.htm or 30879-h.zip:\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/30879/pg30879-images.html)\n      or\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30879/30879-h.zip)\n\n\n\n\n\n[Image: Portrait of Blessed John Vianney]\nBlessed John B. Marie Vianney\nCURE OF ARS\n\n\nTHE LIFE OF THE BLESSED JOHN B. MARIE VIANNEY\nCURE OF ARS.\n\nWith a Novena and Litany to This Zealous Worker\nin The Vineyard of the Lord.\n\nCompiled from Approved Sources.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNew York:\nJoseph Schaefer,\n9 Barclay Street.\n\nNihil obstat:\n          THOMAS B. COTTER, PH.D.,\n                           Censor.\n\nImprimatur\n           JOHN M. FARLEY,\n                     Archbishop of New York.\nOctober 22, 1910.\n\nCopyrighted, 1911, by Joseph Schaefer.\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\nSpiritual reading has always been encouraged by our Holy Mother\nChurch, because it strengthens our faith and stimulates us to be more\ndevout in the practice of our religion. The materialistic tone and\ntrend of most modern literature, however, makes the reading and\ndissemination of Catholic books all the more urgent and necessary at\nthe present time.\n\nThe mind is moulded largely by reading and good minds were never more\nneeded than to-day, to combat the effects of the mental poison, which\nis daily absorbed by young and old through the medium of degrading\nliterature. True, there are issued good books and periodicals which\nare not strictly religious in tone, but which, nevertheless, have a\nsalutary influence upon the reader's mind. Their number, however, is\ncomparatively small.\n\nGood spiritual reading should not be made merely an infrequent\ndeparture from the reading of every day literature, but should be\nindulged in regularly and systematically by the Catholic laity in\ngeneral.\n\nGood books play an important part in fostering the early evidences of\nvocation. The youth, under their influence, voluntarily moves nearer\nto the goal of his aspirations, unforced by the caprice of the\nthoughtless or over-enthusiastic parents. Numerous little incidents\nare associated with the life of Blessed Jean Baptist Vianney, which\nwill help to develop the germ of sacerdotal vocation.\n\nThe young seminarian will find Vianney's life to be a genuine\nexhortation which will operate to fortify him in the face of trials\nand temptation.\n\nThe priest himself, who aims to acquire all the graces which may bless\nthe priesthood, may justly take pleasure in imitating the virtues,\nzeal, piety and charity of the humble cure of Ars.\n\nThe little volume describes in simple language the life of a man, who,\nin our own time, earned by his holiness, acts of self-sacrifice,\nself-abnegation and miracles, wrought through the intervention of God,\nthe blessings of beatification.\n\nVianney's life may be read with profit by everyone. The descriptions\nof his toils and sufferings in behalf of his fellow-men, and his\nefforts to save souls, cannot fail to inspire the reader with\nuplifting thoughts.\n\n                               ALBERT A. LINGS.\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\nIntroduction\nChapter   I.--Childhood and Youth of the Saintly Cure\n   \"     II.--The Good Pastor\n   \"    III.--The \"House of Providence\" and the Tribulations\n   \"     IV.--Pilgrimage to Ars\n   \"      V.--Miracles wrought by the Cure of Ars\n   \"     VI.--The Interior Life of the Blessed Cure\n   \"    VII.--Death and Beatification of the Blessed Cure\nLitany and Prayer in honor of Blessed John B. Marie Vianney\nNovena\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\nON January 8, 1905, John Baptist Marie Vianney, that most humble of\ncountry curates, was admitted by our Holy Father, Pope Pius X, into\nthe glorious ranks of the beatified of the Catholic Church. And in\nvery truth that devoted guardian of souls had well merited the exalted\ndistinction thus conferred; for, during the forty-two years of his\nholy life, countless thousands had come under the influence of his\nactive and untiring zeal, and were guided by him in the way of their\nsalvation.\n\nThe fame of the gentle \"Cure of Ars\" has long since passed the\nboundaries of his native land, and the fact that his name has been\nofficially promulgated for veneration is sufficient reason for\npresenting this noble personality to the attention of the Catholics of\nEnglish speaking countries. We do this with the greater pleasure,\nsince in thus seeking to promote the honor of the blessed cure we are\nat one with our Holy Father, who constantly keeps his statue before\nhim upon his desk in the Vatican palace.\n\nThereby Pius X, himself, manifests his high regard for the blessed one\nand confirms the words pronounced shortly before the beatification of\nthe former humble cure. Upon that occasion the Holy Father said: \"We\ncan hardly give befitting expression to the joy of our soul whilst we\nmake public the solemn decree which affirms the validity of the\nmiracles worked by God through the intercession of the venerable John\nBaptist Vianney. For our part, during the many years that we have\nexercised the pastoral office with affectionate solicitude, nothing\nmore agreeable has taken place, or could occur, than to behold this\nvenerable cure elevated to the number of the blessed in the Catholic\nChurch.\"\n\nVianney was a truly apostolic guardian of souls. And because he lived\nso near our own time, the history of his life-work becomes all the\nmore valuable and interesting. The present sketch, designed only as an\noutline, is necessarily brief and gives but a meagre description of\nthe virtues, the mortifications, the zeal and the ceaseless activities\nof the blessed cure. Those desiring a more extended history of the\nlife of this great man are referred to the work of the Abbe Alfred\nMonnin, his friend and fellow laborer. [*]\n\nBrief and unassuming, however, as this present narration may be, we\nput it forth in the hope that it may contribute, in some degree, to\nmake known the merits of this distinguished servant of God, and in\norder that those who read it may be prompted to follow the counsels\nand imitate the example of his saintly life.\n\n\n[*] Life of the Cure d'Ars, Burns & Oates, London. For sale by Joseph\nSchaefer, 9 Barclay St., New York City.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\nCHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF THE SAINTLY CURE.\n\nJEAN Baptist Marie Vianney, afterwards to become famous as the cure of\nArs, was born May 8th, 1786, at Dardilly, in the South of France, not\nfar from the City of Lyons, and was the fourth child of humble country\nfolks.\n\nHis father, Mathieu Vianney, and his mother, Marie Beluse, possessed\nsome land adjoining their simple dwelling. Despite the fact that they\nwere not rich they practiced the greatest hospitality toward the poor\nand needy. With joyful wonder the youthful Jean beheld, evening after\nevening, a number of poor and needy wayfarers entertained at the\nfamily meal. Not infrequently the elder Vianney would bestow his own\nshare upon some belated arrival. This noble example made a profound\nimpression upon the boy's pious disposition. Of his own accord he\nwould go out to greet the needy travelers, opening the door for them\nand otherwise assisting them, and would even carry their torn garments\nto his mother, in order that she might mend them. By other kindly\nservice he showed his sympathy with the poor and distressed who made\ntheir way to his father's house.\n\nJean had inbibed a love of piety with his mother's milk. The names of\nJesus and Mary were the very first words to pass his baby lips. The\nfirst movement of his little hands, taught him by his mother, was to\nmake the sign of the cross. Even as a child of four or five years Jean\nwould retire to a place of solitude where, as the record says, \"he\nspoke with the angel guardian.\"\n\nAs he grew up he occupied himself with the work of the farm, minding\nthe cattle and doing other humble work. When in after years his name\nwas mentioned with pious admiration by numberless Christians, Father\nVianney was wont to recall his early years, saying: \"How happy was I,\nwhen I only had to care for my three sheep and my donkey. Then indeed\nI could pray to God according to my heart's desire.\"\n\nJust as the boy arrived at the age of reason the churches of France,\nin consequence of the outbreak of the Revolution, were closed, and the\npriests banished. This was a severe trial for so devout a child, for\nat that early age he was sensible of the high importance of the\nApostolic teaching, and in his eagerness to promote the love of God he\ngathered the village children about him and preached impressive\nsermons to them in his simple but earnest way.\n\nThe young missionary became acquainted in those evil days with many\nworthy priests, men who counted the threats and fury of the\nrevolutionary heroes as nothing, when it was a question of saving\nsouls and so unnoticed the fervent desire took possession of the boy's\nsoul that he might one day be a priest and work for the glory of God\nand the salvation of souls. It was during those darkest hours for the\nChurch in France, that Jean, with a number of other children, met in\nprivate to be prepared for the reception of his First Holy Communion.\nWith what holy rapture did he approach the table of the Lord. That\nevent was ever held in cherished remembrance by all who participated\nin it.\n\nMany years elapsed from the day the youth received his First Holy\nCommunion to that other day when he began his studies for the\npriesthood. Divine Providence willed, first of all, that his piety\nshould be trained under the guidance of his good and worthy parents.\nHis daily work was divided between prayer and work, or, to speak more\ncorrectly, his work was a continuous prayer. The life of his Divine\nMaster, with its miracles and sufferings, supplied him with\ninexhaustible material for meditation. At the close of the day's work\nand in the company of his mother and sister Catherine, he read the\nHoly Scriptures and the lives of the Saints.\n\nBeing an extremely diligent and painstaking worker, and because of his\nuniform meekness of character, he was a great favorite at home as well\nas among his companions outside. Even upon boys who took no pains to\nbe good, Jean's purity of heart made such an impression that they\nwould cease their disedifying conversation whenever he approached.\n\nMeanwhile Jean had hoped and prayed that he might become a priest, but\nhe completed his seventeenth year without having yet begun his\neducation so necessary to the fulfillment of his desire. Such a result\nseemed to be all the more impossible of accomplishment inasmuch as his\nfather declared point-blank that he had no money to spare for his\nson's education.\n\nIn 1805, however, a ray of light appeared. The churches were re-opened\nfollowing the conclusion of the concordat, and the Rev. Father Bailey,\none of the zealous missionaries of the period, was appointed pastor of\nEcully, a village adjacent to Dardilly. One of his early works wras\nthe establishment of a seminary for the education of youth for the\npriesthood. With his father's approval, Jean, then 19 years old,\npresented himself to Father Bailey. The latter had been aware for a\nlong time of the young man's great piety, received him most kindly and\nadmitted him as a student.\n\nThus it came about that Jean sat in class with boys much younger than\nhe was. Had he been under instruction sooner it would not have been so\nvery hard for him to learn, as he had a fair capacity for ordinary\nstudies. But because he was only beginning at an age when most youths\nhave already mastered the rudiments, his studies occasioned him much\ntrouble; he was slow to learn and what he did learn he retained only\nimperfectly. The study of Latin was for him particularly difficult.\n\nIn his need he turned to the Blessed Virgin and to St. Francis Regis,\nthe Apostle of Vivarais, to whom he had been devoted since childhood.\nHe undertook a pilgrimage to the latter's tomb at Louvesc to beseech\nhis help. His faithful confidence was rewarded and from that time on\nhe experienced fewer difficulties in his studies. When, in after\nyears, Jean was appointed pastor at Ars, he gratefully remembered the\nsaint's assistance and brought his statue into the parish church and\nzealously promoted devotion to him.\n\nHardly had Jean begun his studies when an unfortunate obstacle arose.\nNapoleon I, at that time holding the destiny of France in his hands,\nneeded troops for his Spanish campaign. These were raised by\nconscription, and notwithstanding the pleadings of his relatives and\nof several influential persons, Jean was drawn for military service.\nThe sorrow which he experienced at this sudden interruption in his\nstudies was so acute that he became seriously ill and had to be taken\nto the hospital, first at Lyons and later at Roanne, the troops\nmeantime having departed for the Pyrenees. As a matter of fact it came\nabout that after a long absence from home, Jean was enabled to return\nto his native village without having performed any actual military\nservices.\n\nIn 1812, after close application to his studies, Jean was so far\nadvanced as to be permitted to commence the study of philosophy at\nVerrieres. He was now in his twenty-seventh year, and there found\nhimself one of two hundred pupils, all younger than he. Another bitter\ntrial now awaited him, for, a few weeks afterwards, he was declared\ndisqualified to take the course in philosophy in the Latin tongue, and\nwith six other students he had to attend this course in the French\nlanguage.\n\nNot infrequently he was made the butt of his fellow students'\nridicule, yet he was never aroused to anger. Instead, these annoyances\nonly served to increase his acts of devotion. Still greater trials,\nhowever, were in store for him. Before being admitted into the great\nseminary of Lyons to make his preparation for Holy Orders, he was\nrequired to submit to an examination in philosophy. This took place in\nthe presence of the archbishop and his council. When the questions,\npresented in Latin, were put to him his memory wholly failed, and in\nsheer confusion he could answer nothing, so overawed was he by the\npresence of the distinguished visitors. Accordingly, he alone of all\nthe candidates was dismissed as unfit to enter the seminary. Imagine\nhow hard a blow this must have been to Jean. All his work of the\npreceding eight years appeared to have been unsuccessful.\n\nIn that time of trial Vianney's confidence in God remained unshaken\nand he was rewarded by finding a friend in the person of his old\npastor, Father Bailey, who, better acquainted with the character and\nqualifications of his protege, induced the authorities to examine Jean\nprivately the following day. This examination was held before the\nvicar-general of the archdiocese and the regent of the theological\nseminary, and was so satisfactory that Jean was now permitted to enter\nthe seminary for the course of theology, in 1814.\n\nAs an inmate of the seminary his career was remarkable more for the\npiety of his life than for the brilliancy of his intellect. The\nregent, however, who recognized Vianney's sterling worth, gave him for\nhis room-mate a fellow student of marked ability who took pains to\nassist Vianney in his studies, and thus aided, Jean advanced toward\nthe time of his ordination. At that time, 1814, there was a great need\nof priests and, for this reason, it was planned that Vianney, with\nother alumni should receive subdeacon's orders in the approaching\nmonth of July. But the authorities hesitated. How could they admit to\nthe higher orders one so poorly qualified? This question the\nvicar-general saw fit to settle for himself, and, after examining\nVianney thoroughly, he announced with complacency: \"You know as much\nas many a country pastor.\"\n\nThe vicar-general, however, had previously conferred with the superior\nof the seminary and had asked him: \"Is young Vianney pious? Is he\ndevoted to the Blessed Virgin?\" The authorities were able to assure\nhim fully upon these points. \"Then,\" said the vicar-general, \"I will\nreceive him. Divine grace will do the rest.\" Thus, on July 2d, 1814,\nVianney received subdeacon's orders and about twelve month's later\nthose of deacon. In August, of the year 1815, he was raised to the\ndignity of the priesthood by the bishop of Grenoble, representing the\narchbishop of Lyons, who was at that time in Rome.\n\nVianney was then twenty-nine years old. The bishop had expressed the\nhope that the newly ordained would prove to be an efficient laborer in\nthe Master's vineyard. Divine Providence, however, had much more than\nthis in store for the newly consecrated priest, for he was to become a\nmodel, whom Holy Church was one day to present to the entire clergy of\nthe Catholic world for imitation.\n\nThe Blessed Vianney, in his humility, constantly realized and lamented\nhis imperfections. The sublime ideals of the priesthood and in\nparticular those of a pastor charged with the care of souls living in\nthe world, were ever present to him. Later in life he declared that a\ntrue pastor should ever be guided by two principles: (1), he should\nnever permit himself to think that he can accomplish nothing in his\nparish, no matter for how long a time his efforts may have appeared\nunfruitful and, (2), he should never consider that he has done enough,\nno matter how much he may have accomplished.\n\nIn order to perfect himself Father Vianney took another course in\nmoral theology from the pious and experienced Father Bailey. To him\nJean Baptist Vianney was appointed vicar. He lived with him in the\nparish house and took a zealous part in his pastor's practices and\nmortifications. They read the breviary together and, during the day,\nfrequently united in expressions of ardent love to the good God.\nTogether they spent hours at a time in adoration before the\nTabernacle. In company with his pastor, Father Vianney took his scanty\nmeal, and his little income passed entirely into the hands of the\npoor. Articles of clothing which had been given to him for his own use\nwent the same way. He was literally possessed of nothing except the\nclothes which he wore. With his worthy pastor he made daily visits to\nthe poor and needy of the village and neighborhood, comforting and\nrelieving them as much as possible. It took only a short time for his\nold friend and pastor, Father Bailey, to realize that he was\nentertaining a saint.\n\nIn December, 1817, Father Bailey was taken from his parishioners by\ndeath. It was generally hoped that Vicar Vianney would be his\nsuccessor, but God had other designs. Before the question was settled,\ndeath had removed the pastor of the little village of Ars who had only\nrecently taken charge. Thereupon, the vicar-general of the archdiocese\nsent Father Vianney there, saying, as he wished him Godspeed: \"My\nfriend, you are going to a small parish where very little of the love\nof God can be seen. You are now to enkindle the flame of Divine\ncharity there!\"\n\nMost assuredly the vicar-general, in speaking thus, did not dream that\nin a few decades the little village of Ars would become a glowing\nhearth of Divine love, spreading its warmth over the entire country.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\nTHE GOOD PASTOR.\n\nWHEN Jean Baptist Vianney entered his parish on that winter evening in\nFebruary, 1818, he quickly realized the religious indifference\nprevailing there and the contrast in this respect to the kindly and\nreligiously inclined Ecully. Upon his arrival, no one came forward to\nbid him welcome. The very atmosphere of the neighborhood seemed cold\nand repellant.\n\nThe people of that place, while not positively bad, were for the most\npart indifferent in the matter of their eternal welfare. Daily Mass\nwas attended by only two or three elderly women. For the most trivial\nexcuse, men neglected Sunday Mass. Not one of them attended Vespers,\nalthough at the same time the cafes of the village were crowded. Even\nthe most devout of the women approached the Sacraments but rarely,\nwhile the men, through human pride, neglected to make their Easter\nduty. In fact, one of their number begged the pastor to give him Holy\nCommunion in the sacristy, so that no one might see him.\n\nServile work of every kind was done on Sunday, and at harvest time the\ncarts and wagons were in use during the entire day \"carting souls to\nhell,\" as Father Vianney not inaptly expressed it.\n\nNot in a day were these conditions changed. Such a result required\nmany years of effort. In time, however, Divine grace triumphed and the\nalmost unknown parish of Ars became the glorious model for the whole\nof France. The spirit of religion was revived, public worship\nrestored, the Lord's day unusually respected and observed. The parish\nformed, as it were, one large-family, in which each member vied with\nthe other in the service of God.\n\nWhat had the young pastor done to thus transform his parish? He did\nnothing that any other country pastor may not attempt to do. As his\nparishioners did not come to him, he went to them in their homes. He\nwas not satisfied with one formal visit but called repeatedly upon his\npeople, as their spiritual or temporal needs seemed to require. He\ntimed his visits for the most part when the family were assembled for\nthe noonday meal. He would enter the living room or stand at the\nthreshold and chat in a friendly manner with the members of the\nhousehold. Although invited to partake of of their hospitality he\nnever accepted the least refreshment, not even a drink of water. He\ntalked with them about their every day life, their cares and\nanxieties, their hopes and disappointments.\n\nThe people soon perceived that Father Vianney was one of themselves\nand thus they learned to confide in him and to ask his advice in their\ntemporal affairs. Then, whenever occasion presented, with great\naptitude he turned the conversation to things supernatural. At the\nsame time he was never insistent. His manner was always affable, never\nimpatient, never reproving; even when he might justly have given\nreproof. This gentleness in his manner, which, was only the reflex of\nthe charity in his heart, soon won over his people, who now looked\nforward to his visits and considered themselves highly honored when he\ncalled.\n\nWe have already had occasion to notice his defective memory, and how\nin consequence he was so greatly impeded in the prosecution of his\nstudies. This drawback made itself particularly felt when he came to\nprepare his sermons. Many a sleepless night did the poor man devote to\nthe preparation of the discourses to be given to his people. But his\nindustry, strengthened by the Divine assistance, conquered, so that,\nwhile he never possessed the gift of oratory, he spoke easily,\nearnestly and convincingly, and when, in after years, the pilgrims\npoured in to Ars, sometimes as many as 20,000 in a single year, he was\nable to give his daily instruction from the pulpit without any special\npreparation and without the embarrassment which he had experienced at\nthe beginning of his priestly career.\n\nIn order to make the practice of religion more attractive for his\nparishioners, he sought to beautify and decorate the little parish\nchurch. In this work he was greatly aided by Mademoiselle d'Ars,\nsister of the Vicomte d'Ars, who himself generously provided the\nlittle church with new vestments and altar vessels.\n\nWith the co-operation of his parishioners, who, day by day were\nlearning to appreciate their pastor's solid piety, he built two\nchapels as an addition to the parish church. One of these he dedicated\nto St. Philomena, a youthful martyr, whose relics were recovered at\nRome in the beginning of the nineteenth century; the other was placed\nunder the invocation of St. John the Baptist, and in it stood the\nconfessional of the cure of Ars, the \"Mercy Seat,\" as it were, of the\nAlmighty, at which untold thousands of souls were reconciled to their\nCreator.\n\nDespite the fact that the number of his friends and co-workers\nsteadily increased, thus evidencing the fruitfulness of his labors,\nFather Vianney in truth looked to God alone for success in his\nundertakings. He realized that he was engaged with the evil spirit in\na conflict for the souls of his people and he had read in Holy Writ\nthese words of Jesus Christ: \"But this kind (of evil spirit) is not\ncast out except by prayer and fasting.\" (Matthew XVII, 20.)\n\nUpon one occasion he recalled these words to a fellow priest who was\nlamenting that he could obtain no results in his parish, although he\nhad done all in his power to rouse his people from their indifference.\nFather Vianney said to him: \"You have done all in your power? Are you\nso sure of it? Did you fast and give alms? Did you pray?\"\n\nBy these questions Father Vianney indicated what were the practices of\nhis own life, which enabled him to obtain results little short of\nmiraculous. His charity was boundless. The food, clothing and other\nsupplies, which the generous Mademoiselle d'Ars sent for the rectory,\nas a rule, promptly found their way to the poor and needy. Father\nVianney actually kept for himself only what was barely sufficient to\nward off starvation. Even this modicum was frequently given away, when\na poor man came and asked for food.\n\nOne evening when Mr. Mandy, the Maire of Ars, came to visit the cure,\nhe found him pale as death and apparently exhausted. Greatly alarmed,\nhe exclaimed: \"Are you ill, Father Vianney?\" \"Oh, my good friend,\" the\nlatter replied, \"you are just in time, I have nothing left to eat.\"\nFor three days Father Vianney had had no provisions whatever in the\nhouse, having bestowed the last of his potatoes upon a poor mendicant.\nHe partook daily of but one meal and that consisted generally of\nboiled potatoes, which he was accustomed to cook in a quantity\nsufficient to last through the week, so that oftentimes by Friday or\nSaturday what remained had become mouldy. When his relatives came to\nsee him, or if he had other visitors, he took pains to have a plain\nmeal provided for them. Under no consideration would he allow any\nmention to be made of his mortification and self-denial.\n\nAs with food so also Father Vianney deprived himself of the various\narticles of clothing with which he had been supplied. Being accosted\non his way home by a poor man whose feet were bare and sore, he\ndivested himself of his own shoes and stockings, gave them to the\nmendicant, and returned home barefoot.\n\nVianney was wont to declare jestingly that he had never left his\novercoat anywhere. As a matter of fact he did not possess one, thus\nfulfilling literally our Lord's words: \"He that hath two coats, let\nhim give to him that hath none!\" [*] His colleagues were often\ndispleased at his poverty-stricken appearance and regarded his shabby\nclothes as a reflection upon their dignity. These faultfinders could\neasily have learned that the patched garments of the hero of brotherly\nlove commanded the respect of all who knew Vianney's real character.\nWherever he appeared he was received with the utmost respect and\ncordially greeted by all.\n\n[*] Luke III, 11.\n\nHe offered up to God all his mortifications for the welfare of his\npeople, increasing these exercises habitually as Easter approached,\nand whenever it was a question of touching the heart of a hardened\nsinner. He joined prayer to fasting. At two o'clock in the morning he\narose and said the night-office of the breviary. At four o'clock he\nentered the church to visit our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and then\nsaid his Mass. After Mass he gave instruction in catechism and heard\nconfessions. So steadily was he occupied in this work that he seldom\nleft the church until noon-time. He devoted the afternoons to visiting\nthe sick and spent the rest of the day in the church, where, to the\nedification of all, he held evening devotions in public.\n\nWhat could the Lord refuse to such self-sacrificing love? Vianney\nhimself used to say: \"I obtained from Him everything that I wanted!\"\n\nThe progress in the spiritual condition of the congregation at Ars\nnecessarily became known in the surrounding country and Father\nVianney's fellow priests of other parishes begged him to help them in\nthe pulpit and confessional. These requests Father Vianney never\nrefused, so that, in the space of two years, he became the real\napostle of the cathedral circuit. So great was the success of his\nspiritual labors that the faithful who desired his assistance no\nlonger waited until he should come again to their parishes, but\nthemselves visited him at Ars. Soon the high road to Ars was filled\nwith pedestrians and vehicles carrying a great number of visitors, and\nthis procession of pilgrims increased when reports were spread of the\nmiracles which took place at Ars.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\nTHE \"HOUSE OF PROVIDENCE\" AND THE TRIBULATIONS.\n\nIN 1825, seven years after Father Vianney had been appointed to the\nparish at Ars, he resolved upon a new and important undertaking. He\nwanted to bring together in one home all the neglected poor and orphan\nchildren of Ars and the surrounding country, and to provide at one and\nthe same time for both their physical and spiritual needs. Facing the\nvillage green there stood a desirable house, which he would gladly\nhave acquired for this purpose. One day he received from an anonymous\ndonor a considerable sum of money for charitable purposes. He\nimmediately betook himself to the owner of the house in question, and\nwithout much difficulty was enabled to purchase it. And this was the\nbeginning of the \"House of Providence.\"\n\nAs directresses for this home he selected two young women of the\nparish and placed them in charge, but without imposing upon them any\nreligious vows. The home soon sheltered many little ones, either\nneglected or homeless, who were fed, clothed and cared for, and whose\ninstruction in the catechism Vianney took upon himself daily. By\ndegrees the grown up parishioners came to assist at these\ninstructions, which took the place of those which had been held in the\nparish church.\n\nThis home was maintained by Father Vianney for twenty-five years. For\nits financial support he made use of the alms given to him, and it\nfrequently happened that sums of money to be used in charity were\ntransmitted to him most unexpectedly and at times when the home was in\ngreatest need. Relief sometimes came in a manner which excludes the\nidea of human intervention. Among other incidents observed by many\nwitnesses it is related that one day there was no flour for the day's\nsupply of bread and no money with which to purchase any. Everyone whom\nFather Vianney approached upon this subject seemed either to be unable\nor unwilling to relieve him, so that the cure imagined himself almost\nforsaken.\n\nNever before had he felt so miserable. Then he remembered St. Francis\nRegis and deciding to seek heavenly intercession, he took the relics\nof the saint and carried them to the store-room, concealing them under\nthe remnant of grain that lay there. Next day the caretakers of the\nhome came and again reminded the pastor that there was nothing left to\neat in the house. Father Vianney, weeping, exclaimed: \"Then we must\nsend our poor children away!\" Nevertheless he betook himself with one\nof the care-takers to the store-room and, with great anxiety, opened\nthe door, when, behold the store-room which had been empty was found\nto be filled with grain.\n\nIt was on such an occasion as this that Father Vianney's sanctity\nmanifested itself. Instead of welcoming this public miracle with\njoyful satisfaction he felt on the contrary, deeply humiliated,\nbecause of his having previously given way to discouragement. He\nhastened to the children of the home and exclaimed in self-accusation\n\"Behold, dear children, I mistrusted the good God. I was about to send\nyou all away, and for this He has well punished me!\"\n\nThe report of this miraculous supply of food was quickly circulated.\nThe whole congregation visited the store-room; everyone could convince\nhimself of the truth of the matter. Later, Bishop Devie, of Belley,\ninquired personally into the matter and found the facts to be as above\nstated.\n\nNow, great graces in the lives of holy persons are never bestowed\nwithout great trials, and the good cure was no exception to this rule.\nDuring the ten years of his ministry he had suffered from suspicion,\ndistrust and calumny. His enemies had criticised his actions and had\nheld him up to derision. He had even been threatened with violence.\nAmong those who attacked him were some of his own colleagues in the\nministry, who were greatly angered because their parishioners flocked\nin numbers to Ars to ask advice and counsel of one whom they had\ncalled the inexperienced and ignorant priest. Of course Father\nVianney's own behavior gave no little reason for their disparaging\nopinion of him, for, in his humility, he had several times declared\nhimself to be a worthless and incapable servant of God, an opinion\nwhich undoubtedly he sincerely held.\n\nThese aspersions from his colleagues were disseminated among the\npeople, so that many of the faithful, influenced by the mistaken\nopinion of their spiritual leaders, took upon themselves the liberty\nof defaming their pastor. Some went further and wrote and left at his\ndoor notice containing coarse and dishonorable remarks. To such an\nextent had these ideas progressed that some persons attributed the\nfurrows with which penitential works had seamed the brow of the humble\npriest to an immoral mode living.\n\nWith touching patience and resignation Father Vianney bore those years\nof bitterness. His zeal never relaxed for a day, and the interior\nagony which he suffered was not observable in any of his pastoral\nduties. At that time he frequently repeated those memorable and\nbeautiful words: \"We can do more for God when we perform our duties\nfaithfully, without interior gladness and a certain relish in\nfulfilling them.\"\n\nThe profound repose of his inner life will appear still more admirable\nto those who learn what cunning snares were prepared for him at the\nsame time by the arch enemy of the human race.\n\nWhen news of the diabolical visitations to which Father Vianney was\nfrequently exposed, reached his colleagues, they laughed aloud. They\ndeclared that he was a dreamer, whose brain was disordered.\n\nWith his accustomed composure the humbled cure bore the derision of\nhis colleagues, and of the faithful who agreed with them. Far from\nbeing weakminded, as his associates represented him to be, Father\nVianney at first refused to believe that it was the powers of evil\nthat were persecuting him and depriving him of his night's rest in\norder to render him unfit for his pastoral duties. When the nocturnal\nrappings became more pronounced, he begged some courageous men of the\nparish to assist him in discovering the evildoers or thieves, as he at\nfirst considered them, whose purpose he thought was to carry off some\nof the costly articles which had been presented for the parish church.\nThose men came to keep watch with him, and for many nights in\nsuccession they heard the same sounds which Father Vianney had heard,\nwithout seeing any person or thing to account for them. Like their\npastor they were much wrought up over the strange occurrences.\n\nOne winter's night, however, when the rappings upon the front door\nwere louder than usual, the cure sprang from his bed and hurried to\nthe courtyard, believing that he might find traces of the marauder in\nthe freshly fallen snow. But there were no foot prints to be seen.\nThen Father Vianney no longer doubted that it was Satan that was\npersecuting him and this conviction removed all sentiments of fear\nfrom his soul, for he knew well how to combat the enemy of God.\n\nThese violent satanic assaults were kept up against Father Vianney for\nthe space of thirty-five years. That a man so tortured and deprived\ncontinually of his needed rest, so enfeebled by the mortifications\nwhich he imposed on himself, did not die earlier than his\nseventy-fourth year, seems almost more miraculous than the\ninexhaustible activity of his life.\n\nMeanwhile his enemies had advanced a step further in their efforts to\nrender this zealous pastor's position precarious. They calumniated him\nto the bishop of the diocese of Belley, to which Ars now belonged,\nsaying that their pastor was unfit to be entrusted with the care of\nsouls. The bishop, however, would not condemn the poor priest without\na hearing. He sent his vicar-general to Ars and informed Father\nVianney that in future he must submit to the episcopal jurisdiction\nall difficult cases of conscience coming before him as well as the\ndecision he has passed upon them himself. The investigation was\nwelcomed by Father Vianney, and he very soon submitted over two\nhundred cases. Bishop Devie, of Belley, examined these himself and\nfound that the decisions reached upon the difficult points (excepting\nonly two cases in which his opinion differed), were correct. From that\nmoment he would not suffer anyone to speak, of the cure of Ars as an\nincapable pastor. About this time, moreover, the bishop personally\nvisited Father Vianney at his house in Ars, and found there a zealous\nand holy man, instead of the ridiculous figure which the cure's\nenemies had made him out to be. Speaking one day to his assembled\nclergy, in regard to the cure of Ars, he said: \"Gentlemen, would that\nyou all had a trifle of the foolishness about which you make so merry.\nIt would not prejudice your intelligence in the least!\"\n\nYet, far more than the protection thus afforded by the bishop, did the\nunalterable humility and amiability of Father Vianney bring these\nopponents to reason. In the course of a few years this noble character\nceased to have any enemies among the clergy. Laymen likewise stopped\ntheir calumnies, even if they did not cease their ridicule altogether.\n\nBut God had prepared a new trial for His servant. We have already told\nhow Father Vianney had founded and under great difficulties had\ncarried on the home for neglected children called the \"The\nProvidence.\" The time had come when this useful institution was to be\ntaken from his control. The board of education had found fault with\nthe home as being neither a regular school nor a hospital. The clergy\ncriticised its management by lay persons, until at last the bishop was\nprevailed upon to put the institution in charge of a religious order,\nand the cure, although sore at heart, subscribed to the deed of\nsurrender in November, 1847. Thereupon the Sisters of St. Joseph from\nBourg were put in charge of the institution, which came to be known as\na \"Free School for Girls.\" Soon it became evident that this blow, hard\nas it was, but in which Father Vianney as ever beheld the finger of\nGod, turned out to his profit, for all the powers of his body and mind\nhenceforth were devoted to the single purpose of the conversion of\nsinners, who kept coming to Ars in ever increasing numbers.\n\nBefore we speak further on this point, we must draw attention to an\nevent that took place in the year 1843. In May of that year, Father\nVianney became ill as a result of overwork. So serious was his\ncondition that he received the last Sacraments. There was universal\nsorrow in the village and the church was constantly filled with\nparishioners who prayed that he might be spared. But the physicians\ngave no hope. One of them as he touched the cold hand of the\nmotionless figure, exclaimed aloud: \"He has only a few moments to\nlive.\"\n\nThe dying man heard plainly the verdict pronounced over him and at\nthat same moment, as he afterwards declared, he was seized with such\nterror of the supreme judgment of God, that he besought the\nintercession of the Blessed Virgin and of St. Philomena, and he\nimplored the Almighty through them to vouchsafe to postpone the awful\nmoment of his appearance before Him. His prayers were heard.\n\nTo the great astonishment of those present the vitality of the man,\nsick apparently unto death, returned and, on May 19th, Father Vianney\nwas able to be carried into the church amidst the rejoicings of his\nchildren, and there he prayed at length before the Tabernacle. But at\nthis time he made a resolution which, earlier, he could not have\ncarried into effect. His bishop, seeing the great amount of work which\nhad to be performed at Ars, had sent him an assistant priest, to whom,\nin his humility, Vianney considered himself subordinate and, knowing\nthat there was some one now to take his place, he decided to retire\nfrom his pastoral work and to spend the rest of his \"poor life,\" as he\ncalled it, in some remote monastery. To carry out this purpose he\nplanned to flee from Ars under cover of the darkness and mist. But his\nproject was betrayed by his friends at the \"Providence\" to whom he was\nobliged to give necessary instructions regarding the future care of\nthe children. Great excitement immediately prevailed among the\nparishioners and the many visitors, and they quietly surrounded the\nrectory in order to prevent his escape. The pastor, however, managed\nto elude them and made his way through a path in the garden which had\nbeen overlooked and hastened to his birth-place at Dardilly.\n\nThereupon the sheep went in search of their shepherd, but as soon as\nthey discovered him in his home he fled farther away, they still\nfollowing him. At last, moved by the distress which his departure had\ncaused and the appeals made to him by the inhabitants of Ars to return\nto them, he concluded that it was the holy will of God that he should\nreturn and resume the heavy burden of his pastorate, from which he had\nhoped to be relieved. All thought they had surely won him back, but\nlater on the Blessed Vianney made two other efforts to lay down his\npastoral cares and to retire into a monastery, there to work out his\nown salvation. But God granted the fervent petition of the people of\nArs and caused these plans to come to naught.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\nPILGRIMAGES TO ARS.\n\nNOT only to the villagers, but in a greater degree to the pilgrims who\njourneyed to Ars, Father Vianney's departure would have been\nparticularly disappointing. As early as the period between 1825 and\n1830, these remarkable pilgrimages had taken place. So great was the\nmultitude of people who kept coming that increased traveling\naccomodations had to be arranged between Ars and the outlying country\nplaces.\n\nThe pilgrims arrived from every province of France; others came from\nBelgium and England; some from America. At Ars one met bishops and\ncardinals, prefects of state, university professors, rich merchants,\nbankers, men and women of ancient and noble lineage, side by side with\nan innumerable army of priests and religious. As yet the newspapers\nhad not published any account of the wonders accomplished there. Only\nby word of mouth was the fame of the cure made known, and this\nunending procession of pilgrims was merely the result of the personal\nexperience of those who had already come under Father Vianney's\ninfluence.\n\nWith ever increasing wonder the new arrivals observed the great power\nwhich that humble priest exercised over souls. Every day in the aisle\nof the church two rows of men, numbering from sixty to a hundred,\nawaited their turn to go to confession in the little sacristy. If the\nquestion were put as to how long they had been waiting there the\nanswer sometimes was: \"since two o'clock in the morning,\" or, \"since\nmidnight, as soon as the cure had opened the church.\" The stranger\nwould learn with astonishment that men from the highest walks of life\nhad frequently waited patiently a whole day and night, not in order to\nassist at some great ceremony, but to submit themselves humbly to the\nguidance of the cure in the matter of the welfare of their souls.\n\nThe church was equally crowded elsewhere, and it was no unusual thing\nto find two hundred women or more waiting their turn to confess their\nsins. The spectacle of those men and women absorbed in prayer\ncontinued from hour to hour and from day to day. As a rule Father\nVianney heard confessions daily for sixteen and even eighteen hours\nand this almost superhuman practice continued for a period of thirty\nyears.\n\nAt seven or eight o'clock in the morning the cure said Mass and gave\nHoly Communion. After Mass he blessed the articles of devotion\npresented to him at the altar rail, as well as the little children\nthat were brought to him. At eleven o'clock he moved through the\ncrowded ranks of those present and, ascending the pulpit, he delivered\na plain but impressive sermon on the truths of holy faith. He who\nformerly could preach a sermon only under the greatest difficulty, now\nmanifested an imperturbable calm and assurance, for the Divine grace\nso noticeably inspired his addresses that in many cases, according to\nthe evidence of the different pilgrims themselves, it so happened that\nhis words touched the very ones who, up to that time, had remained in\ntheir sins, and, his affecting appeal to them to consider the awful\nstate of their souls, removed the last obstacle to their reconciling\nthemselves to God.\n\nAt first, indeed, Father Vianney was greatly distressed when\ncircumstances necessitated his preaching without special preparation;\nyet, as in this he saw only the will of God, he abandoned himself with\ncomplete resignation to the Divine plans, and thus became, although he\nhad no suspicion of it himself, a most eloquent apostle. In his\nsermons he was accustomed to recall the scenes of his early life as a\nfarmer lad, and he employed the analogies and arguments drawn from\nexternal nature and, according to his own statements, it was evident\nthat there was nothing in the visible world that had not reminded him\nof God and of eternity. Besides these expressive comparisons, Father\nVianney's sermons frequently described incidents drawn from his\npersonal experience.\n\nThus, one day, speaking of lukewarm Christians, he said: \"You there\nbehold a tepid soul, which for the most paltry excuse starts to gossip\nwhile praying. Does this soul really offer to God the day's work? Does\nit return Him thanks and glorify Him? Without doubt the lips will\nspeak the words, but for the most part no thought is given to what is\nsaid. The soul never ceases to busy itself with the things that are\nonly of this world.\"\n\n\"Again,\" said he, \"we notice a man in church, turning his hat round\nand round in his hand. Or, we observe in her home a woman, who said\ngrace while cutting bread for the children or while putting wood on\nthe fire, or she interrupts her prayers to call the help.\"\n\nAs a man of the people, Father Vianney knew that in order to hold\ntheir attention nothing was so serviceable as to give them a faithful\nportrayal of every day life. In his discourses he always reverted to\nthe fundamental truths of faith and placed vividly before his auditors\nfor their consideration, the four last things. Ever and anon he would\nreturn to the necessity of man's loving God; that this love ought to\nbe as natural to men as song was to the bird. It was impossible for\nhim to preach without referring to the unspeakable joys which arise in\nthe soul of man through a self-sacrificing love of God.\n\nAs soon as the sermon was at an end the people hastened to the village\ngreen, where the good cure was accustomed to pass on the way to the\n\"Providence\" and to his home, delaying on the way to give advice and\nconsolation to those who applied to him. Everyone called him \"Father,\"\na title readily admitted by all who observed his kindly manner and\nstill, kinder speech. Father Vianney moved, slowly through the surging\nthrong and, although he was gentleness itself, yet unabashed and\nobtrusive persons were now and again brought to reason by a quiet\nthough firm answer.\n\nMany an ingenious reply has been recorded of the good cure. A young\ngirl who, from spiritual laziness, had submitted the question of her\nvocation to the good cure, asked him in a loud tone: \"Father, what is\nmy vocation to be?\" To which he replied: \"My child, your vocation is\nto get to heaven.\"\n\nAt a glance Father Vianney could recognize innocent souls. It was\noften observed how he would say suddenly to certain individuals: \"Dear\nchild, just go home; you have no need of me.\" Yet sixteen to eighteen\nhours daily hardly sufficed to allow him to attend to the distressed\nsouls who knelt in his confessional, since for these above all God had\nsent the cure of Ars.\n\nHere we arrive naturally at the important subject of the conversions\nthat took place at Ars. Time and again the noble priest would say:\n\"Let us pray for the conversion of sinners!\" He declared that prayer\nfor this purpose was one of the most pleasing that could be offered to\nthe good God. Without cessation he himself prayed with this intention\nand took upon himself all kinds of mortification. His petitions\nascended to the throne of God, who, during the thirty years of the\ncure's life at Ars, was pleased to send innumerable sinners to Ars to\nbe reconciled. Many of these sank at his feet already prepared, for\nthey had heard from others that it was sweet and easy to confess one's\nsins to the saintly priest and under his guidance, to repent of them\nwith their whole heart.\n\nOn one occasion a driver knocked loudly at the door of the cure's\nhouse at midnight and asked that his confession be heard at once.\nWithout hesitation, Father Vianney arose and went with him into the\nchurch. After he had reconciled him to God Vianney embraced him\ncordially and gave him some warm clothing, as he noticed the man was\nsuffering from the cold.\n\nWith many sinners the workings of grace were decidedly slower. Some\nhad come to Ars out of curiosity, others to unmask the cure, as they\nthought to do, and to make merry over the \"gullible crowd\" as the\npilgrims were called. But, after closely observing the holy priest for\none or two days, they lost all desire to compare him to a \"town\ncrier,\" and it was not long before they joined the crowds waiting for\nconfession.\n\nWith still another class it required a direct call of grace. Like St.\nVincent Ferrer, Father Vianney had received from God the gift of being\nable to read clearly into the conscience of a sinner. Hence almost\nevery day it happened that one would see him come suddenly out of the\nsacristy and advance straight towards a person who had only just\nentered the church. With a kind and earnest look he would lead him at\nonce to his confessional. Many such penitents acknowledged later that\nFather Vianney, without more ado, would mention their sins to them\nbeforehand, reminding them especially of those shameful matters in\ntheir past life which they might have been tempted to conceal. Thereby\nhe not infrequently removed the last obstacle to complete\nreconciliation with God.\n\nAmong others the following incident is well attested. A certain man,\nthirty-two; years of age, went to Ars in company with a friend,\nintending to ridicule Father Vianney. The man had with him his hunting\ndog, having planned to enjoy the pleasures of the chase in the\nneighboring fields. At the very moment when the cure was passing\nacross the village square and through the kneeling multitudes, the two\nfriends appeared on the scene. Presently Father Vianney found himself\nface to face with the curious sportsman pushing through the crowd.\nAfter a hasty glance at the dog running at his side, the cure, without\nfurther ceremony, said to its owner: \"Sir, it were to be desired that\nyour soul were as beautiful as your hound!\" The man shamefacedly\nlowered his head and, shortly after, moved by divine grace, made his\nconfession with copious tears and that same year adopted the life of a\nreligious, in which he persevered until death.\n\nUpon another occasion, among the curious spectators in the church at\nArs was a highly educated freethinker, a mocker at religion, of the\nVoltaire stamp. To please his wife he had accompanied her to Ars, in\norder, as he expressed it, to have a look at \"the old buffoon.\" With a\nscornful air he surveyed the crowd praying devoutly in the little\nchurch. Suddenly the cure stepped out of the confessional, advanced\ntowards the new arrival, and, with an imposing movement of the hand,\nrequested him to go into the sacristy.\n\nAstonished and confused the unbeliever followed the priest. There\nFather Vianney sought to bring him to his knees. The latter declared\nthat he had no idea of going to confession, and that he did not\nbelieve in it. Father Vianney looked him squarely in the eyes, and\nunder that piercing glance the freethinker sank upon his knees. Then\nFather Vianney described to him his past life, with surprising\naccuracy and drew from him the admission that all he had told him was\ntrue. The light of faith was forthwith rekindled in the soul of the\nsinner, who, strongly affected, cried out with violent sobs: \"My God,\nI believe; I adore Thee; I love Thee; and beg of Thee forgiveness!\"\n\nFather Vianney dismissed him with the words; \"Dear friend, hold\nyourself prepared; the good God will call you to Himself very soon!\"\nAnd so it was. Two years later a stroke of apoplexy brought to a\nsudden end the convert's life.\n\nBesides reconciling sinners with God the indefatigable cure was\nfrequently engaged in the important work of directing souls to the\nknowledge and attainment of their vocation and in giving other counsel\nvaluable in their spiritual life. Seeking such advice there flocked to\nArs, from all parts, bishops and pastors, leaders of religious\ncommunities, fathers and mothers of families, young men and young\ngirls in great numbers, all eager to obtain the advice of the good\npriest. The latter gave his decisions promptly, for he never allowed\nhimself to forget that sinners were waiting for him at his\nconfessional. Many who thus applied declared that Father Vianney,\nafter listening to the first few words, was able to give his advice\nupon the matter at issue with the fullest intelligence.\n\nUpon one occasion a pastor in the diocese of Autun, presented to the\ncure for his opinion a very difficult case in moral theology,\ninvolving a question of restitution. He received from him such a\nprompt answer, removing all doubt that, astounded, he asked the cure\nwhere he had studied his theology? With a motion of the hand, which\nconveyed an advice rather than an answer, Father Vianney pointed\nsilently to his prie-dieu.\n\nWe have referred to the great number of persons who applied to\nthe cure for advice concerning the religious vocation, but it\nwould be a mistake to suppose that the cure advised young persons\nindiscriminately to embrace the priesthood or the monastic life. Such\nwas not the case; on the contrary the cure dissuaded many from\nentering the cloister, although the parties themselves felt strongly\nattracted to it. In this respect the story of Miss A. C. is\ninstructive.\n\nThat lady wished to enter a convent. Her father, who had large\nproperty interests in the South of France, wanted her to marry a young\nman who would become his successor. They agreed to ask Father\nVianney's advice and to follow it. This was in the year 1858, a few\nmonths before the death of the blessed cure. Father Vianney listened\nwith his accustomed kindness to the young girl's recital, reflected a\nmoment and then exclaimed to the surprised young lady: \"My dear child,\nyou ought to marry!\" When she referred to her desire to enter a\nconvent, the cure interrupted her, and said again: \"Get married, and\nprove to all that your piety is genuine.\" Miss C. obeyed and, as the\nwife of the young man who had asked her hand, was very happy.\n\nAt another time a pastor came to him saying that he desired to become\na Dominican. Father Vianney exclaimed: \"No, my friend, this desire is\nunfounded; stay where you are.\" The pastor suggested that as a friar\npreacher he could be more successful. The blessed cure replied\nimmediately: \"Where you are placed there is always more to do than you\ncan really accomplish!\"\n\nMore than once the result shows how imprudent it was to disregard the\ncounsels of that enlightened man. A certain Felix B. from Coblone,\ncame to Ars on Sept. 8th, 1854, the feast of the Nativity of the\nBlessed Virgin. As Father Vianney was passing through the throng,\nwhich on that day was very great, he noticed the young man, and walked\nstraight towards him. Felix made known to him forthwith his desire of\nentering a Trappist monastery. \"Very well, dear friend,\" said Father\nVianney, \"carry out your intention and God will bless you!\"\n\nWhen Felix returned home he felt so faint hearted at the thought of\nentering an order of such strict observance that he postponed for two\nyears his plan of adopting the monastic life. At last, in 1856, as the\ncall to the life of a religious dominated him, he entered the\ncommunity of the \"Christian Brothers.\"\n\nBut this did not bring him the happiness which he had anticipated. He\nremained in this congregation for six years, all the while in a state\nof unrest and discontent. The more he reflected upon his condition the\nmore vividly there stood before his spiritual gaze the image of the\ncure of Ars (who, meanwhile, had died), and he recalled the advice he\nhad received but had not followed.\n\nAfter a hard struggle with his own stubborn nature, Felix sought\nrelease from the community to which he was attached and asked to be\npermitted to enter a Trappist monastery which had recently been\nfounded in the arch-diocese. This was accordingly arranged. From that\nday all unrest vanished and the Trappist monk found peace and\ncontentment in the life to which he had been advised by the cure of\nArs.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\nMIRACLES WROUGHT BY THE CURE OF ARS.\n\nINNUMERABLE were the miracles worked by the holy man whose history we\nare relating. They resemble in their marvellous scope and variety,\nthose of the Divine Master, who foretold the accomplishment of wonders\ngreater than His own in the ministry of His faithful servants. The\naccount of the upbuilding of the House of Providence has given us an\ninsight into the power of the holy man who reproduced the scriptural\nstory of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. We have there\nseen that often many persons were fed when the larder and the granary\nwere empty. Another phase of the miraculous power of blessed Vianney's\nprayer to obtain help in time of need, the results of which often gave\nproof of supernatural intervention, is seen in a good work very dear\nto him, familiarly known in France as \"Fondements.\" These \"Fondements\"\nreferred to the establishment of a fund for the perpetual offering of\nthe Holy Sacrifice for some desired end. Blessed Vianney established\none thousand annual Masses. The \"Fondements\" represented a capital of\n40,000 francs. Not only did it effect a spiritual good, but going out\nto needy priests it created in itself a continuous and generous\ncontribution to charity. Some of the miraculous interventions of\nProvidence that touched his heart most deeply are found in his efforts\nin this direction.\n\nWe shall cite but one. A member of the household of Providence relates\nit: \"Once when Father Vianney desired to make a \"Fondement\" in his\nchurch in honor of the heart of Mary, he prayed: O, my mother! if this\nwork is agreeable to thee, procure for me the funds to do it. That\nsame day, after the catechism, he said to us: \"I have found 200 francs\nin my drawer. How good God is!\" \"Well,\" exclaimed Jeanne Marie Chaney,\n\"since it is miraculous silver, we must keep some of it.\" \"Yes!\"\nreplied the cure, \"it is celestial money.\" Jeanne Marie kept four of\nthe five franc pieces, replacing them by others. She regretted she had\nnot done the same with all the pieces. When, a little later, he wished\nto increase this \"Fondement\" Father Vianney prayed again in the same\nvein, adding, however, the request that the 200 francs must be given\nto him that evening, or the gift would not be considered an answer to\nhis petition. It was but a little while later, when a benefactor\napproached him with an offering of 300 francs. His prayer was\nanswered. He took only the sum which he had prayed for.\" It was in the\nunceasing war that he waged against the desecration of the Lord's day\nthat his people beheld frequently their saintly pastor's power over\nthe elements. We shall cite an instance:\n\nOne Sunday in July there was a full harvest, the wheat bending to the\nearth. During the High Mass a violent wind arose and threatening\nclouds gathered; a destructive tempest was apparently about to break.\nThe holy priest entered the pulpit, forbade his people to touch their\ncrops that day, and promised them a continuation of good weather\nsufficient for the gathering in of the harvest. His prediction was\nverified; the storm passed over and no rain fell for twelve days.\n\nIn the depths of human souls miracles abounded in Ars. For the\nconversion of sinners the holy cure lived; for them he entered upon\nhis thorny way of heroic penance. His whole life was characterized by\nprayer, penance and self-abnegation. All counted as nothing if he\ncould win the conversion of his parish, dreaming not of a world to be\nwon from beyond its borders.\n\nHis first great conversion was that of a woman prominent in the\nJansenist sect for her attachment to error and the indiscreet ardor of\nher proselytism. She was present during Vespers, in the church of Ars,\non a feast of the Blessed Virgin, in the early days of the cure's\npastorate. To the surprise of all, she entered the confessional after\nthe service. The words of the holy confessor in the sacred tribunal\nfinished the work that his very aspect alone had begun. Her conversion\nwas thorough and lasting. She withdrew from her former associates and\ntook up her abode in the little village of Ars.\n\nAnother miracle of grace, chosen from many, is the following, briefly\ntold:\n\nA learned geologist was led to visit Ars. As a boy he had made his\nFirst Communion during the reign of terror. Left an orphan at the age\nof twelve years he was adopted by an army officer, whom he accompanied\nto Egypt. His religious experiences had been varied, for he had tested\nMohamedanism, Judaism, Protestantism and had been a disciple of\nChanel, Pere Enfantine and Cabet. On his first visit to Ars he sat\nfacing the door through which the cure would come to say Mass. His own\nwords tell the result:\n\n\"His eyes met mine. It was but a look, yet it penetrated to the depths\nof my heart, I felt myself crushed under his gaze.\" After the Mass\nthis man was drawn by an invisible and irresistible force into the\nsacristy, where stood the confessional. The grace of a return to the\nfaith of his youth was given to him. He died in holy sentiments two\nyears afterwards.\n\nSuch spiritual marvels, worked by the Blessed Vianney, were of\nfrequent occurrence. He wept when sinners refused to weep, and they\nleft his feet like other Augustines, to comfort the mother bowed down\nwith sorrow because of their sins. One young man, long lost to his\nGod, had been induced to go to Ars, before leaving for the army. The\nholy priest singled him, out among the crowd, and beckoned to the\nyoung man, who was seized with a sudden trembling. The sacristy door\nclosed upon them and a miracle was wrought there and then on one who\nhad lost his faith, his honor and his home. He came out in tears,\nremained at Ars to make a retreat, and entered an austere religious\norder to end his days in heroic penance.\n\nSuch are the types of miracles of the spiritual order, the dearest to\nhim, worked by the holy pastor of Ars, whose worst reproach to the\nhardened sinner was: \"What a pity it is! At the hour of death God will\nsay to you: \"Why have you offended Me. I who have loved you so much.\"\"\n\nThe power to lay bare the hidden sins which the cure's unknown\npenitent concealed from him, stands forth prominently in his life\nstory and wrought many conversions. So, too, that other power, which\ndivined the future misuse of recovery and sent back the pilgrim,\nhelped, not bodily, but with the healing of patience and resignation,\nunder some long borne affliction. Again, the similar power to see the\nfuture augmentation of holiness in a soul under physical affliction\nand God's will that no cure be wrought; and still another, to see some\nimpending cross awaiting at home a pilgrim, of whom humanly speaking,\nhe knew nothing, and to hasten his departure; or to know by interior\nsight alone, a cure wrought at a distance. Surely miraculous gifts and\nall were possessed by the holy cure.\n\nBODILY ILLS MIRACULOUSLY CURED.\n\nThrough Father Vianney were affected cures of the mentally afflicted,\nof paralytics from birth or accident, of sufferers from cancer and\nbronchial affection. There are those whose tongue had never spoken,\nwhose ear had never heard, whose eye had never seen until the holy\ncure's word had gone forth: \"Make a novena to St. Philomena; I will\npray with you.\"\n\nA nervous malady racked the being of Mademoiselle Zoe Pradille and\ndeprived her of the power of walking, of kneeling, of reading and\nlistening to reading and of eating without excruciating pain. Expert\nmedical treatment was secured at home and a thorough test was made of\nhealth resorts, all without avail, until at last the pilgrimage was\nmade to Ars and the novena was said, resulting in a complete cure as\nattested to by a physician who had known the case well for six years\nout of the eight which the patient had suffered.\n\nA house, during its course of removal, fell and buried under the ruins\na little child and her grandmother. The mother of the little one\nescaped and ran about distracted, while the fruitless search went on.\nSome one ran to make the accident known to Father Vianney. He knelt\nfirst in prayer, then hastened to the spot, blessed the ruins, and\nstood by encouraging the workmen, who were making the search. The\ngrandmother was rescued unharmed. The child was found after a longer\nimprisonment in the ruins. She showed not the slightest sign of\ninjury.\n\nA member of the cure's household gave an old cap that the cure had\nworn to a poor woman, as an alms. The beautiful thought came to her:\n\"The holy cure is a saint. If I have faith, my child will be cured.\"\nThe boy had an abscess on the head. She put the cap on him. That\nevening, when she uncovered him to dress the wound, she found that the\nsore had disappeared. The child had been cured.\n\n\"To-day,\" one wrote from Ars, \"we have had a very remarkable cure. It\nis of a young nun from the Alps whose tongue had been completely\nparalyzed for three years, after her recovery from typhoid fever. She\ncould converse only by writing on a slate. The day on which she\nfinished her novena, just as she was about to make her thanksgiving\nafter Holy Communion, she felt that her tongue was articulating the\nacts. She now can speak. I have seen and heard her.\" The cure of her\nhome parish and the physician who attended her in her convent,\ntestified to her recovery.\n\nOne of the remarkable cures, instantly and publicly effected in\npresence of all the pilgrims, was that of a young man from Pud de Dome\nwho could walk only with difficulty and with the aid of crutches.\n\n\"My Father, do you think I will leave my crutches here?\" was his\noft-repeated question during the novena. On the feast of the\nassumption he intercepted the holy priest as he came from the\nsacristy into the crowded church for the evening exercises and again\nput the question.\n\n\"Yes, my friend, if you have faith,\" was the reply. Instantly the\npower was given to the young man to walk unaided, and he hastened to\nSt. Philomena's chapel to leave his crutches there. His gratitude was\nthe life-long consecration of himself to God in the institute of the\nBrothers of the Holy Family.\n\nMiracles of this kind caused the priest considerable embarrassment. He\nsought to hide from the public eye the marvelous results of his\nGod-given power manifested daily in his parish, His \"dear little St.\nPhilomena,\" who never failed him in his hour of need, heard many\nplaints from him in which he charged her with working the marvels that\nwere effected through his ministry. Such was the humility of the\n\"wonder-worker\" of our own age.\n\nThe gift of a medal of St. Philomena was often the preliminary\nmanifestation of miraculous power. This gift was followed by a request\nthat a novena be made to the saint, Father Vianney promising to pray\nalso. The result was frequently the desired miracle, which was in\nreality the outcome of the cure's powerful pleading with God.\nNevertheless, it could easily be laid at the door of his \"dear little\nsaint.\" This was especially so on occasions when the sufferers were\nnot brought to the village or when the cures did not take place until\nthe afflicted ones were far distant from the ordinary scene of the\nmiracles.\n\nA noteworthy instance, in which the good God seemed, as it were, to\nplay into Vianney's hands at times, by allowing St. Philomena to have\nthe full credit of the miracle, was that of the poor wandering\nmusician. He came to the holy cure begging the latter to heal his lame\nchild. After persuading this man to go to confession he blessed him\nand sent him home, making him promise to mend his evil ways and to\ncease carrying on an abuse against which the priest waged a relentless\nwar, namely, the village dances, which were held on Sundays and\nfestivals.\n\nWhen the musician entered his home, he broke his violin and cast the\npieces into the fire, to the great dismay of his wife, who saw their\nfamily means of sustenance consumed. But his lame child, crying out\nwith joy, leaped across the room to welcome his father. The child was\ncompletely cured.\n\nFather Vianney's tenderness was once deeply stirred at the sight of a\nmother bearing on her back a paralyzed boy of eight years, a cripple\nfrom birth. The cure was apparently turning a deaf ear to the mother's\nrepeated appeals for the cure of her child, content with giving them a\nglance of pity and sympathy and a blessing. Yet, as the result seems\nto show, his soul must have spoken some word to the soul of the child,\naudible to none other. At night the mother left the church with a\ndisappointed heart.\n\nWhile undressing her little son, in a lodging near by, the boy told\nher she must go out early in the morning to buy him a pair of new\nshoes. \"For,\" said he, \"Father Vianney promised that I would walk\nto-morrow.\" Not a word had been spoken to the child, but his mother did\nhis bidding, and put the new shoes on him. The miracle, delayed in the\ncrowded church, was wrought at the moment in the lowly lodging room.\nThe child, crippled from birth, ran to the church, crying: \"I am\ncured, I am cured.\"\n\nThe miraculous power of the cure's sanctity which, during thirty\nyears, attracted considerable attention, could have been welcomed by\nhim for one reason alone, that it helped so much in the aim of his\nlife--the conversion of sinners. That it was the reward not only of\nhis simple faith but of the heroic and unceasing penance which he\nperformed in order to secure the salvation of souls, seems implied in\nwords of his own.\n\nA friend in the priesthood once said to him, when a much needed sum of\nmoney had come in an astonishing way: \"Tell me, Father Vianney, the\nway to work miracles.\" The holy man, with a serious air, replied: \"My\nfriend, there is nothing which disconcerts the devil so much, and\nattracts the graces of God, more than fasting and prayerful\nwatchings.\" His life, it may be truly said, was one incessant prayer\nand vigil. A simple peasant has beautifully said: \"It is not\nastonishing that he works miracles. He is a servant of God. God obeys\nhis servants.\" \"They tell us of marvelous things that took place\nhere,\" said a pilgrim who but echoed the words of many, \"but the grand\nmiracle of Ars is the life, so penitent and laborious, of the cure.\" No\nmiracles showed more clearly his extraordinary gifts and graces than\nthe power which his spirit possessed over his poor emaciated body; and\nno miracle was greater than his absolute control over his physical\nstate when he seemed on the verge of dissolution, a control that\nenabled him to bear the over-powering burden of his incessant labors\nfor souls, without sinking under the load. A miracle alone can explain\nthis extraordinary existence.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\nTHE INTERIOR LIFE OF THE BLESSED CURE.\n\nIN the preceding chapters we have recounted many things both edifying\nand interesting in the external life of the pious cure. But for a\nbetter knowledge of his noble personality we must look into his inner\nlife. Many readers of these lines have doubtless asked themselves how\nthe cure, in his unremitting labors for others, could have bestowed\nthe necessary care upon his own soul.\n\nLet it be understood that the very moment when the cure seemed to have\nany leisure for himself, he was more actively engaged in the business\nof his own spiritual welfare. Then were displayed those beautiful\nvirtues which showed him to be an example of charity and meekness, of\nvoluntary sacrifice and humility. The very glow from his clear eyes\nrevealed the genuine piety by which he was animated. To all who\napproached him, Father Vianney showed a befitting attention and\nrespect. Indeed, with increasing years, he was even more affable than\nbefore.\n\nAnd yet to what trials was not his patience subjected? Almost daily,\nas he passed through the village square, people would crowd about him,\ntug at his soutane and ask questions, which were oftimes trivial, if\nnot foolish. Father Vianney never met importunate persons with so much\nas a harsh word or a frown. His unchanging kindness toward all earned\nfor him in his life-time the title of the \"Good Cure.\" He was ever\nconsiderate of his co-workers, striving to spare them every irksome\nduty. In order to show his affection he distributed among them his\npersonal belongings, including crosses, medals and relics, which he\ndearly prized.\n\nFor many years before his death he possessed absolutely nothing. He\nhad sold his furniture, books, etc., and had given the proceeds to the\npoor. The purchasers generally were glad to have him use the articles\nfor which they had given him the money.\n\nLenient as Father Vianney was towards others, he was correspondingly\nsevere with himself. He was extremely hard upon his own body, which he\nreferred to as his \"corpse.\" After his superiors had prohibited some\nof the rigorous mortifications to which he was accustomed, he devised\nother forms of self-denial in respect to his daily food.\n\nDuring the last decade of his life he was required, by order of his\nsuperiors, to take, every morning, at least a cup of milk and a roll.\nBrother Jerome, who waited upon him, observed that the cure, with his\nusual desire to practice penance, first ate the dry bread and then\ndrank the milk.\n\nFor many years Father Vianney suffered from violent pains which\nfrequently compelled him to shorten his addresses in the pulpit and\nsometimes even caused him to collapse. If, on such occasions, he were\nquestioned about his illness his only answer was: \"Yes, I am suffering\na little.\" Terrible indeed must have been his torture when we consider\nthat his emaciated body, racked with pain, was confined for sixteen or\nseventeen hours a day, during so many years, in the narrow space of\nthe confessional.\n\nIn the winter he suffered greatly from the cold. The north-west wind\nblowing over the bleak region of the Jura mountains, whistled through\nthe door of the church, which could not be kept closed owing to the\nconstant stream of penitents passing in and out. In summer, conditions\nwere worse, if that were possible, for on account of the location of\nhis confessional, only the air from the farther side could reach it\nand that was heated and stifling because of the many persons who were\ngathered there. Frequently, when Father Vianney left the confessional,\nhe was unable to stand erect, being obliged to support himself by\nleaning against the seats or pillars of the church.\n\nAfter a day of such work and suffering he was surely entitled to a\nfull night's rest. But no, he often said that with one hour of sound\nsleep he found himself quite refreshed. Even this one hour, however,\nwas hardly ever allowed him. Like one grievously sick he breathed\npainfully as he lay on his miserable couch of straw. A cough\nunceasingly racked his body. He arose every night four or five times,\nin the hope of getting some relief by walking up and down. When at\nlast thoroughly exhausted he slept only for a short time. When the\nhour for rising had come, this poor, feeble septuagenarian with a\nheroic effort tore himself away from the rest which he had hardly\nenjoyed and began the work of another day as long and as trying as\nthat which had gone before.\n\nTo these corporal sufferings was added spiritual anguish of the\nbitterest kind. In his own life the cure was a saint, chaste,\nmagnanimous and faithful, and yet, day after day, he had to listen in\nthe confessional to an endless recital of sins against those virtues.\nLoving God as he did, with his whole soul, he could not but suffer\nwhen listening to the recital of most grievous offences committed\nagainst the Divine Majesty. His heart was torn thereby and not\ninfrequently his anguish manifested itself in a flood of tears.\n\nOne day while giving instructions in catechism, he cried out: \"There\nis no one in the world more unhappy than the guardian of souls. How\ndoes he spend his time? In hearing how the good God has been offended\nand His love rejected! Like St. Peter the poor priest is ever to be\nfound in the court of Pilate. The Divine Saviour is always before his\ngaze, derided, scorned and reviled. Some sinners are spitting upon His\ncountenance, others rain blows upon His defenceless head; still others\ncrown Him with thorns and scourge Him until the blood flows. He is\nbuffeted about, thrown on the ground and trampled upon. He is\ncrucified and His heart is transpierced. Alas! had I known what it\nmeant to be a confessor, instead of going to a seminary I would rather\nhave fled to a Trappist Monastery.\"\n\nIt would have been some consolation and encouragement if the poor\ncure's humility had allowed him to rejoice at the tremendous success\nof his spiritual labors. But no matter what wonderful effects his\nministry produced, he always regarded himself as most incapable of\ndischarging his priestly duties as they should be performed. With\nunaffected sympathy did he speak of his \"poor soul,\" his \"poor corpse\"\nhis \"poor sins\" and his \"poor misery,\" praying that God in His\ngoodness would bear with them. Without his humility, Father Vianney\nundoubtedly would not have become a saint. How otherwise could he have\nwithstood for years the enthusiastic veneration of the thousands who\nwere the witnesses of his holy life.\n\nOne day, when Bishop Devie, of Belley, in the ardor of conversation,\ngave him the title of the \"holy cure,\" Father Vianney in despair\nejaculated: \"Oh, what a misfortune for me! Your reverence even is\ndeceived in me.\" He was more than surprised when, in August, in the\nyear 1855, he was nominated a \"Knight of the Legion of Honor.\" Of\ncourse he never wore the badge nor availed himself in any way of the\ndistinction. Against the onrush of a multitude of corporal and\nspiritual anxieties and cares he sought consolation in prayer.\n\nIt has remained almost completely a secret what supernatural\nconsolations were vouchsafed to the blessed cure. On that subject he\nalways preserved a strict silence. He prayed practically throughout\nthe whole night, for his sufferings, as mentioned above, allowed him\nonly a few minutes rest at a time. What he recommended to others in\nthe catechism lessons, he himself constantly practiced. He was wont to\nsay, for instance: \"See now, dear children, should you wake up during\nthe night, go quickly in spirit before the tabernacle and say to our\nSaviour: \"Here am I, O Lord, I adore Thee, I praise Thee, I thank\nThee, I love Thee and with the Angels let me keep Thee company.\"\"\n\nDuring the day all his spare time was devoted to prayer. In visiting\nthe sick his thoughts were always with God. But his prayers were of\nthe most simple kind. He favored simplicity in every action.\n\nIn the church, before the Blessed Sacrament, the pious cure's sense of\nthe Real Presence was so vivid that a colleague, who noticed his\nradiant look, regarded him with astonishment, thinking Father Vianney\nwith his corporal eyes, beheld some one there. This intuition of the\nDivine Presence the pious man referred to, one day, saying: \"That is\nfaith when we speak to God as a fellow man!\"\n\nDespite the ardor of his desire for God's blissful vision, he had to\nstruggle for many decades in the exile of this life, persevering in\nwork and prayer. Only when his venerable age and increasing\ninfirmities disabled him from further laboring in the conversion of\nsinners, did our Divine Lord see fit to take this soul to Himself. The\ncure was then in his seventy-fourth year.\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\nDEATH AND BEATIFICATION OF THE BLESSED CURE.\n\nIT was in the summer of 1859, that the venerable cure showed that his\nenergies were nearly spent. He was then heard repeatedly to exclaim:\n\"Alas, the sinners will kill the sinner.\"\n\nOn Friday, July 29th, after having as usual spent from sixteen to\nseventeen hours in the confessional, he returned to the rectory\ncompletely exhausted. He sank into a chair saying: \"I can do no more.\"\nThe priest who saw him, immediately put him to bed. On the following\nmorning his illness was so pronounced that a fatal termination was\nfeared. In the village and among the numerous visitors to Ars the\ngreatest sorrow was felt. For three days the church was crowded with\nthe faithful, praying that their cure might not be taken from them.\n\nThe cure did not join his prayers to those of his people for he felt\nthat his last hour was approaching. On Friday evening he received the\nlast sacraments. He shed tears of love when the Holy Viaticum was\nbrought to him and as Extreme Unction was being administered. For the\nlast time he blessed all who were present as well as his whole parish.\nOn Wednesday morning he smilingly acknowledged the greeting of his\nbishop, who had hurried to his bedside. On Thursday, Aug. 4th, at two\no'clock in the morning, while his friend and assistant, the Abbe\nMonnin, was saying the prayers for the dying and had just uttered the\nwords: \"May the holy Angels of God come forth to meet him and conduct\nhim into the city of the Heavenly Jerusalem,\" the loving soul left his\nfrail body to be received, as we may devoutly hope, into the presence\nof the Divine Master, whom he had served so long and so faithfully.\n\nThe demise of the good cure was immediately made known to the\nsorrowing community. On Saturday of that week the interment took\nplace. Almost six thousand persons, many of whom came from afar,\nattended the funeral. Three hundred priests accompanied the remains to\nthe grave. The bishop of Belley, in his eulogy, selected his text from\nthe office of the feast of the Saints and Confessors: \"Well done, thou\ngood and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord.\" All\npresent understood the sentiments which prompted the selection of that\nparticular text and trusted that their hope would not be disappointed.\n\nRarely has a process of beatification been set in motion so quickly as\nwas that of John Baptist Vianney. Hardly forty-five years had elapsed\nsince the remains of the deceased were laid at rest, under the pulpit\nof his parish church, when the Holy See announced its decision\npermitting the beatification process to be introduced.\n\nAs early as Oct, 3d, 1874, Pope Pius IX, after examining the various\nwritings and biographical notices relating to the deceased and\npublished by reliable contemporaries, conferred on the humble cure the\ntitle \"Venerable Servant of God.\" On June 21st, 1896, Pope Leo XIII,\npresiding, the last session of the commission took place, which was to\npronounce upon the saintly merits of the venerable cure. The favorable\nconclusion which everyone expected was announced by Cardinal Parocchi.\nOn Aug. 1st, of that year, Pope Leo XIII, issued a decree reciting the\nhonors paid to the humble cure of Ars and his own personal admiration\nfor his exalted virtue.\n\nSeven years later, in 1903, the same Pope called a session of the\ncommission to consider the testimony and reports relative to the\nmiracles which had taken place at the tomb of the departed. This\nsession, however, was not held, for on the day which had been\nappointed the venerable pope lay at the point of death and soon after,\nviz., on July 20th, of that year, the Catholic world had to mourn the\npassing away of its spiritual head.\n\nThe happy distinction, however, of being able to glorify the humble\ncountry curate had been reserved by God for one who himself had been\nformerly a plain country curate. On Aug. 4th, 1903, at the very hour,\nwhen at Ars they were celebrating a solemn High Mass on the\nforty-fourth anniversary of the death of John Baptist Vianney, another\nsolemn ceremony was taking place at Rome, viz., the election of the\nformer village cure of Salzano, later Cardinal Sarto, patriarch of\nVenice, to the Papacy, who chose for himself the title of Pius X.\n\nAs early as Jan. 26th, 1904, the new supreme pontiff presided at that\nsession of the cardinals over which his illustrious predecessor had\nintended to preside. Two cases in particular were presented for\nexamination. One was a question of the sudden cure of the youthful\nAdelaide Joly, and the other, that of little Leo Roussat. The latter,\nafter a violent attack of epilepsy, in the year 1862, had to be\ncarried to the grave of the late cure. One of his arms hung crippled\nat his side; his power of speech was gone, and his breathing so\ndifficult that he was unable to retain the saliva in his mouth. After\na short time spent in prayer at the grave of the cure he was removed.\nThe hand formerly crippled was now able to give alms to the poor and\nthe boy recovered the use of his limbs and walked about. At the\nconclusion of the novena he was able to speak without further trouble.\n\nIn Feb., 1861, the girl Adelaide, owing to a malignant swelling of the\narm, had been given up as incurable by the doctors in the Lyons\nhospital. Then one of her relatives who possessed a piece of linen,\nwhich had belonged to the cure of Ars, laid it upon the affected arm.\nIn prayer they besought the intercession of the venerable servant of\nGod to obtain relief for the suffering girl. To the astonishment of\nthe doctors the swelling was suddenly reduced in a few hours and the\narm was restored to its normal condition.\n\nAfter the counsel of cardinals had pronounced a favorable opinion in\nrespect to the miraculous nature of these cures, a papal decree, dated\nFeb. 21st, 1904, declared these facts sufficiently established to\njustify the beatification of the venerable man.\n\nThe Holy Father himself gave unrestrained expression to the joy which\nhe felt when he was enabled to admit into the ranks of the blessed one\nwho, according to his own words, had been for many years a shining\nexample to him.\n\n\n\nLITANY AND PRAYER\nIN HONOR OF\nBlessed John B. Marie Vianney.\nCURE OF ARS.\n\n(FOR PRIVATE DEVOTION.)\n\nLord, have mercy on us.\nChrist, have mercy on us.\nLord, have mercy on us.\nChrist, hear us.\nChrist, graciously hear us.\nGod the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.\nGod the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.\nGod the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.\nHoly Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.\nHoly Mary, pray for us.\nBlessed John Marie, pray for us.\nB. J. M., endowed with grace from thine infancy, pray for us.\nB. J. M., model of filial piety, pray for us.\nB. J. M., devoted servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for\nus.\nB. J. M., spotless lily of purity, pray for us.\nB. J. M., faithful imitator of the sufferings of Christ, pray for us.\nB. J. M., abyss of humility, pray for us.\nB. J. M., seraphim in prayer, pray for us.\nB. J. M., faithful adorer of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us.\nB. J. M., ardent lover of holy poverty, pray for us.\nB. J. M., tender friend of the poor, pray for us.\nB. J. M., penetrated with the fear of God's judgment, pray for us.\nB. J. M., fortified by Divine visions, pray for us.\nB. J. M., who wast tormented by the evil spirit, pray for us.\nB. J. M., perfect model of sacerdotal virtue, pray for us.\nB, J. M., firm and prudent pastor, pray for us.\nB. J. M., inflamed by zeal, pray for us.\nB. J. M., faithful attendant on the sick, pray for us.\nB. J. M., indefatigable catechist, pray for us.\nB. J. M., who didst preach in words of fire, pray for us.\nB. J. M., wise director of souls, pray for us.\nB. J. M., specially gifted with the spirit of counsel, pray for us.\nB. J. M., enlightened by light from Heaven, pray for us.\nB. J. M., formidable to Satan, pray for us.\nB. J. M., compassionate with every misery, pray for us.\nB. J. M., providence of the orphans, pray for us.\nB. J. M., favored with the gift of miracles, pray for us.\nB. J. M., who didst reconcile so many sinners with God, pray for us.\nB. J. M., who didst confirm so many of the just in the way of virtue,\npray for us.\nB. J. M., who didst taste the sweetness of death, pray for us.\nB. J. M., who dost now rejoice in the glory of Heaven, pray for us.\nB. J. M., helpful to all those who invoke thee, pray for us.\nB. J. M., patron of the clergy, pray for us.\nLamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.\nLamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Hear us, O Lord.\nLamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us,\nO Lord.\nChrist, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.\n_V._ Pray for us, Blessed John Marie,\n_R._ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.\n\nLET US PRAY.\n\nAlmighty and merciful God, who didst make the Blessed John Marie\nadmirable in his pastoral zeal and in his constant love of penance,\ngrant us the grace, we implore Thee, to win for Christ, by his example\nand intercession, the souls of our brethren, and to attain with them\neverlasting glory.--O, Bl. John Marie, incomparable laborer in the\nfield confided to thee, obtain for the Church the realization of\nJesus' desire. The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few. Pray\nto the Master of the harvest to send faithful laborers into His\nvineyard. O, Bl. John Marie! Intercede for the clergy. May thy\npatronage, and thy prayer multiply the real vocations to the\npriesthood. May the Holy Ghost grant thee emulators; may He give us\nSaints! Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.\n\n\n\nNOVENA\nIN HONOR OF\nBLESSED JOHN BAPTIST VIANNEY.\n\n\nFIRST DAY.--FAITH.\n\nOn this first day of the novena we shall consider the faith of this\nholy man. A lively faith is necessary in order to please God. We\nbelieve every word which God has spoken by His Holy Church. We must\npractise this faith also in works. Faith without works is dead.\nWithout works it would be only an empty assertion that we believe. In\na firm unflinching faith Blessed Vianney lived and died and became a\nsaint.\n\nPRAYER FOR FAITH.\n\nPour into my soul, O God, through the intercession of the Blessed\nVianney, pastor of Ars, a deep lively heartfelt faith! That faith will\nbe my salvation, as it was the salvation of all the saints who are now\nin Heaven. Amen.\n\n[Then is said the Litany to the Blessed Vianney and the prayer. In\nthese days of frequent Communion, it were well if Holy Communion could\nbe received at the beginning of the novena and also at the end. Better\nstill, if it could be received every day during the novena.]\n\n\nSECOND DAY.--CHRISTIAN HOPE.\n\nConsider the blessings of Christian hope. It is a trust in God, in His\nProvidence, a lively, filial, trustful submission to the will of God,\nknowing that God will ordain things to His greater glory and to our\nspiritual benefit. What consolation is found in a Christian hope! How\nsweet it is! We cannot be disappointed if we trust in God, Who cannot\ndeceive. Hope is our spiritual life and the principle of our active\nperseverance in it. How dreary is the world without hope! How glorious\nlife becomes with hope! God puts hope into our hearts.\n\nPRAYER FOR HOPE.\n\nGive me, O Lord, that hope which raised the spirit of Blessed Vianney,\nthat hope which gave him patience in long suffering. He did all with\nthe hope that Thy glory would be enhanced. Infuse into my heart the\ndesire to do good work for Thy sake.\n\n[Here say the litany and prayer to the Blessed Vianney.]\n\n\nTHIRD DAY.--THE LOVE OF GOD.\n\nOn the third day we shall consider the love of God. We must love God\nabove all things, live in love, continue in love unto the end. Love\nthe Son of God, Jesus Christ, love the Church, the Spouse of our Lord.\nThe love of God will bring us to Heaven. God will give us everything\nif we love Him. It is so reasonable to love God; in fact, man is a\nfool if he does not love God. It is our religion, our happiness and\nour supreme blessing. It is our very Heaven, here upon earth. The\nhappiness of Heaven, commenced in this world even imperfectly, will be\ncontinued for all eternity, if we persevere to the end.\n\nPRAYER FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.\n\nO my God, I love Thee with my whole heart, and above all things\nbecause Thou, O God, art the Sovereign Good and for Thine own infinite\nperfections art most worthy of all love.\n\n[Litany and prayer to the Blessed Vianney.]\n\n\nFOURTH DAY.--THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOR.\n\nThis day will be given to the consideration of the love which we\nshould have for our neighbor. Let us impress the love of our neighbor\ndeeply on our mind. It is so very important. It is second only to the\nlove of God. You cannot do anything pleasing to God unless you do it\nout of a motive for the love of God or for our neighbor. Those have\nbeen the greatest human beings who loved God above all things and\ntheir neighbor as themselves.\n\nPRAYER TO OBTAIN THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOR.\n\nMy dear Jesus, lover of all mankind, teach me to love my neighbor as\nThou didst love even Thine enemies. Blessed Vianney was Thy faithful\nfollower in the practice of this virtue. He loved the souls of men.\nLet me also imbibe, from a devotion to him, the same love for souls.\n\n[Litany and prayers to Blessed Vianney.]\n\n\nFIFTH DAY.--HUMILITY.\n\nThe great virtue of our blessed saint was humility. Let us try to\nimitate and understand this virtue. We will find some good souls who\nnever think much of themselves. They want to be always in the\nbackground. They do not want to be considered at all. Nevertheless\nthey are always doing good. These are precious in the sight of God.\n\nPRAYER FOR HUMILITY.\n\nO sweet and humble Jesus, give me also the precious virtue of\nhumility, which Thou didst give so abundantly to Thy servant Vianney,\nso that I also may be pleasing in Thy sight and pleasing before man.\nNo virtue is so attractive as humility. Thou, O Lord, exaltest the\nhumble. To be great in Thy sight and approved by Thee is the object of\nmy desire.\n\n[Litany and prayers to Blessed Vianney.]\n\n\nSIXTH DAY.--LOVE OF POVERTY.\n\nLove of poverty is an active sincere love. The lack of possessions,\nthe desire not to have any, giving to the poor what we have, or what\nwe do not need, is poverty. Practice self-denial. Save to give to the\npoor, to build hospitals, orphan asylums, churches. Have Masses said\nfor the poor suffering souls in Purgatory.\n\nPRAYER FOR POVERTY.\n\nThou hast said, O Lord, \"Blessed is he who understands the poor.\" Let\nme have that knowledge. It is the practical way to show my love for my\nneighbor in distress. Let me also, like Thyself, be a good Samaritan,\ndoing good and relieving want. Not only should I be poor in spirit,\nbut I must also love to be poor in fact, for the poor are the brethren\nof Christ.\n\n[Litany and prayers to Blessed Vianney.]\n\n\nSEVENTH DAY.--MORTIFICATION.\n\nThis day shall be devoted to the virtue of mortification. Put away the\ncomforts of eating and drinking, the extravagance of living, personal\nluxuries. Live simply and like a poor man. Be simple in dress, but be\nwell dressed. Be abstemious at your table. Especially guard against\nover indulgence in drink. Abstemiousness in drink is a very\ncommendable virtue. Deny yourself many things that are unnecessary. Do\nnot yield to all the promptings of the appetite. Be temperate.\n\nPRAYER TO OBTAIN THE GRACE OF MORTIFICATION.\n\nThou hast commanded the mortification of the flesh from the beginning,\nO Lord. From the beginning, the desires of the flesh have been the\nbane of a good life. When shall Thy grace, O Lord, inspire me with\nsome degree of that firmness and faithful adherence to Thee. Suffer\nnot my heart to be overcome by that inconstancy which is so natural to\nit, nor allow my life to be a perpetual succession of evil practices\nand infidelities. Grant that my heart may be all Thine, at all times\nand forever. And that by mortification I may merit eternal happiness.\n\n[Litany and prayers to Blessed Vianney.]\n\n\nEIGHTH DAY.--PRAYER.\n\nWe must pray all the time. Every act must be a prayer. The spirit of\nprayer must be in our whole Christian life. We must pray if we want to\ndo anything great in the spiritual life. A life without prayer is a\nmost barren period of time. Prayer is the intimate converse with God.\nOur Saint was always intimately united to God in prayer. Blessed\nVianney never ceased praying.\n\nPRAYER FOR A TRUE SPIRIT OF DEVOTION.\n\nHow sweet, O Lord, to breathe only Thy love and to say to Thee with my\nwhole heart: My God and my all! Grant that words may enter into my\nsoul! do then, impress them upon my mind and my heart so that I may\nunderstand and practice them. Let me be devoted to prayer. Make it a\ndelight to converse with Thee. Let me pray for everything I need and\nbefore every undertaking, so that with prayer every work may begin and\nwith prayer be happily ended. Thou art my Saviour. May I possess Thee\nin prayer here on earth and mayest Thou be my portion for all eternity\nin Heaven.\n\n[Litany and prayers to Blessed Vianney.]\n\n\nNINTH DAY.--DEVOTION TO MARY.\n\nOn the last day of the novena we must try to learn and begin to\ncultivate a devotion, which appeals to the heart of every Catholic,\nthat is, the devotion to the Mother of God. What is a Catholic life\nwithout love to Mary! How dark and dreary is a life without the\nspiritual consolation of the Communion of the Saints! In short, have a\ngreat devotion to Mary. Pray to her with confidence like one that has\na right to be heard and a right to address her. Love Mary with the\nsincerest affection. Let not a day pass without having said a prayer\nto her. Say your beads every day. Wear the scapular in her honor. Go\nto Confession and Holy Communion on her feast days. Perform many\nlittle acts of religion from the motive of love to the Blessed Virgin.\n\nPRAYER TO MARY.\n\nMy dear Saviour, Jesus Christ, Son of the Virgin Mary, grant me the\ngrace to love Thy mother. This grace is such a distinction, a grace of\nsalvation, which I must have by all means. Hail holy queen, Mother of\nMercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor\nbanished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning\nand weeping in this valley of tears. Turn thou, most gracious\nadvocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after our exile show\nunto us the fruit of thy blessed womb, O most loving, most pious and\nsweet virgin Mary. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be\nworthy of the promises of Christ.\n\n[Litany and prayers to Blessed Vianney.]\n\n\nPRAYER TO BLESSED VIANNEY.\n\nI thank Thee, my God, for the grace of this novena to Thy blessed\nservant, Vianney. I beg of Thee, first, that I may learn the singular\nvirtues of this blessed man--his piety, mortification, poverty, love\nof God and our neighbor. Let me become, in this way, a useful member\nof the human family. I have, O Lord, prayed to Thy blessed servant\nVianney, that he may pray for me and my intention. (Here mention the\nintention.)\n\nMany graces have been known to have been granted to those who have\nprayed with this spirit. Even miracles have been wrought by Thee, O\nGod, in approval of this devotion. Encouraged by the merits of the\nlife of the Blessed Vianney, I beg Thee, O Lord, to obtain for me the\ngrace and favor of this novena, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.\n\n_Conclusion of the Novena._","title":"The Life of Blessed John B. Marie Vianney, Cur\u00e9 of Ars: With a Novena and Litany to this Zealous Worker in the Vineyard of the Lord","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":17407}