Jean-Marie Vianney
1786-1859 19th century Feast day: August 4
Perseverance in an obscure post, and the certainty that prayer is our happiness.
Who was Jean-Marie Vianney?
A struggling seminarian judged barely capable, in 1818 he was sent to a village of two hundred and thirty souls, Ars, which he never left. For thirty years he spent up to seventeen hours a day in the confessional, besieged by thousands of pilgrims, exhausted, three times tempted to flee to solitude. His catechism talks, written down by those close to him, preserve his simple, burning speech.
In their own words
Prayer is nothing other than union with God.
Man is a beggar who needs to ask God for everything.
I love you, O my God, and my only desire is to love you until the last breath of my life.