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White Double EVER SINCE THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS vanished from men’s view, the heaven of holy Church has been illumined through the centuries by the shining light of countless Saints; and even as the brightness of the stars increases as the night advances, so, as we recede from the blessed days of His mortal life, Our Lord sends into the world Saint after Saint whose lives seem to shine with ever-increasing lustre. Less than a century ago a tiny village of provincial France was for many years the hub of the religious life of the whole country. Between 1818...

A few weeks ago, when I began this miniseries on St. John Vianney as a confessor, I asked why so many men and women from throughout France made enormous sacrifices to get to the barely accessible hamlet of Ars to go to confession. I replied at the time with the words of one of the several hundred thousand reconciled sinners who had made such a pilgrimage: they came to Ars because there was something truly special about the confessor. They believed they were encountering “God in a man,” someone whose radiant holiness gave them a glimpse of the irresistible beauty...

Last week we saw the heroic charity of St. John Vianney, who sought to treat others with the same limitless love with which Christ loves. He was never content to give merely “something” to those in need. He sacrificed his entire personal property, as well as his pants, shoes, shirts, food and all that people gave him in order to give adequate alms to those who needed help. When his cassock “shuttle pocket” did not have a sou left, he routinely begged and borrowed. His love for the poor was as profound as his love for sinners, for whom...

Came across this on our diocesan website today - I saw Leonardo Defilippis perform The Gospel of John awhile back at a nearby parish church - it was awesome! It was a word-for-word recitation of the Gospel of John, with him doing costume changes and 'becoming' various people in the Gospel. It just bowled me over - I thought I'd pass along the info that he's now touring as Vianney. (I'm not connected in any way to the production - it was just amazing and I expect the new production will be also)

St. John Mary Vianney was born in France in 1786. His childhood coincided with the terrible French revolution. He was devout even as a boy and quietly taught other children their prayers. He would be ordained a priest in 1815 but struggled mightily through seminary and was a poor student. He had a very difficult time with Latin. There was even talk among his superiors if he should be ordained or, if ordained, be allowed to hear confessions. They decided to ordain him but gave him one of the least desirable of assignments: to the little town of Ars. The...

(AP) MERRICK, N.Y. In life, St. John Vianney was a revered 19th-century French clergyman who was said to be blessed with the ability to read the hearts of worshippers. In death, his own heart has became an object of worship. For reasons unknown, Vianney's body never decayed after death, and his heart and body have been encased in separate glass reliquaries in France for more than a century. The heart is being brought to the U.S. for the first time this weekend in what the pastor of the Long Island church hosting the relic calls a "historical moment for our...

HOMILY by St. Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney, the Curé of Ars CHARITY "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart." —Matt. xxii. 37. SYNOPSIS.—Charity a most necessary virtue. It is a virtue by reason of which we love God and our neighbor. The love of God necessary for our salvation; we must be ready to abandon everything for the love of God. Examples: the Saints, the Martyrs. The love of our neighbor. Who is our neighbor? All men, even our enemies. How do we know if we have true charity? The qualities of charity. When charity enters...