St. John Vianney is of the greatest and most beloved saints of the nineteenth century.
He was born May 8, 1786 in Dardilly, France.
In 1790, when the anticlerical Terror phase of the French Revolution forced priests to work in secrecy or face execution, young Vianney believed the priests were heroes.
He continued to believe in the bravery of priests and received his First Communion catechism instructions in private by two nuns who lost their convents to the Revolution.
Unfortunately, in 1809, John was drafted into Napoleon Bonaparte’s armies. He had been studying as an ecclesiastical student, which was a protected title and would normally have excepted him from military services, but Napoleon had withdrawn the exemption in some dioceses as he required more soldiers.
Two days into his service, John fell ill and required hospitalization. As his troop continued, he stopped in at a church where he prayed. There he met a young man who volunteered to return him to his group, but instead led him deep into the mountains where military deserters met. John lived with them for one year and two months.
He joined his heroes as a priest August 12, 1815 in the Couvent des Minimes de Grenoble. Three years later, Fr. John Vianney was appointed parish priest of the Ars parish.
Fr. Vianney spent much time in confession and often delivered homilies against blasphemy and dancing. Finally, if parishioners did not give up dancing, he refused them absolution.
He spent eleven to twelve hours each day working to reconcile people with God. In the summer months, he often worked 16-hour days and refused to retire.
His fame spread until people began to travel to him in 1827. Within thirty years, it is said he received up to 20,000 pilgrims each year.
He died in 1859. St. John Vianney was canonized on May 31, 1925.
St. John Vianney is perhaps not specially identified with the Holy Spirit in the way that, say, someone like Philip Neri is. But the section of his catechism on the Holy Spirit makes for a stimulating Pentecost mediation. St. John Vianney seemed to have a vivid grasp of the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives as Christians that his writings on this topic are still quoted today. To take just one example: “Take in one hand a sponge full of water, and in the other a little pebble; press them equally. Nothing will come out of the pebble, but out of the sponge will come abundance of water. The sponge is the soul filled with the Holy Spirit, and the stone is the cold and hard heart which is not inhabited by the Holy Spirit.”
Prayer of St. John Vianney
I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life.
I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You.
I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally…
My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath.