Thought of the Day — The Curé d'Ars on Prayer

St. John Vianney, the Cure d' Ars

Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney (1786 – 1859) was a French parish priest assigned to Ars, a town of 230 inhabitants (hence his designation as the Curé d'Ars.) He became internationally known for his priestly work because of the spiritual transformation of the community. People traveled for miles to attend his Masses, hear him preach, and go to confession. Vianney was canonized by Pope Pius XI and is the patron saint of parish priests. St. John Vianney is remembered for extolling the sacrament of confession as indispensable to a life of virtue, for his personal piety, mortification, and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

This collection of St. John Vianney quotations on prayer reflect his lifelong dedication to knowing and making known the ways of God and the mind of Christ.

Man has a noble task: That of prayer and love. To pray and love, that is the happiness of man on earth.

Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.

Never forget that it is at the beginning of each day that God has the necessary grace for the day ready for us. He knows exactly what opportunities we shall have to sin, and will give us everything we need if we ask him then. That is why the devil does all he can to prevent us from saying our morning prayers or to make us say them badly.

Prayer is nothing else than union with God. When the heart is pure and united with God it is consoled and filled with sweetness; it is dazzled by a marvelous light.

What souls we can convert by our prayers. The one who saves a soul from hell saves this soul and his own as well.

When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun. 

There are those who lose themselves in prayer, like fish in water, because they are absorbed in God. There is no division in their hearts. How I love those noble souls.

More on St. John Vianney here. There is an excellent novena in his honor here.

St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, Pray for us and for all priests!