St. Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, a parish priest in a small town in France, became world famous and, after his death, was declared the patron saint of parish priests around the world. Pope John XXIII marked the 100th anniversary of his death with an encyclical on the priesthood, and Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed the Year for Priests in 2009 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Vianney’s death. So what did this extraordinary parish priest have to say to laypeople about how to pray? Listen to this talk to find out!
St. John Vianney on Prayer
Dear Deacon Joe,
I am very happy to finally have found your blog. I heard you speak on the Terry and Jesse show and was impressed with your knowledge of our Faith and your articulate explanations. Having been a litigation lawyer obviously prepared you quite well.
In my humble opinion, any person who, after being exposed to the New Testament and the Old Testament in Christian Church services, then goes on to read about the history of Christianity from the Resurrection to the Church Fathers and then note the continuity of the Papacy from St Peter down to Pope Francis, cannot but be struck by the obvious fact that the Eastern Orthodox Catholic /Roman Catholic Church is the Church founded by God the Son Jesus Christ and that the Holy Trinity continues to nourish us spiritually and physically through His Real Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist.In addition , we have the Mother of God herself, Our Lady, and all the Angels and Saints and the Holy Souls in Purgatory who can and will…if asked… help us in our travails/travels here on earth.
Now, who wouldn’t want to belong to such a Church? Good grief!! it would be the height of foolishness and /or pride not to.!
Hi Joe,
Thanks for bringing to light these words of wisdom from St. John Vianney. Wondering if the traits of the lukewarm soul stem from the capital sin of acedia (sloth). Of is something more or less happening too? The mole looking down to his hole in the earth calls to mind the sloth dragging itself from one minute to another through life–though St. John Vianney would not see this as “life.” His words are a sweet read. One wonders at his use of the sense of honey, sweetness to describe his joy in the Lord. I tend to suspect St. John never tasted much of those materials except as spiritual gifts from God.
On a side note relating to laziness/sloth/acedia – The lectures are full of great and fervent info but require an hour. Most of us have habituated to the 5-10 minute reads. Of course there is more to be gleaned in the lecture and more good words to be had. Thanks again.