August 4th is the feast of St John Vianney (also known as the Curé d’Ars) who died in 1859. He had very little education and was not good at school. When it came to being ordained as a priest he decided to learn one scripture passage only and this, on the day of his exam, turned out to be the passage that the examiners asked about. It may seem that he would not make a good priest but he is, in fact, the Patron Saint of Parish Priests today. He possessed a rare gift in that, when hearing someone’s confession he could name their sins and give them advice about their lives even before they told him the nature of their sins. This caused him to become very popular and people traveled vast distances and waited for days to see Fr John Vianney for the Sacrament of Confession. 

Through love and obedience the Curé d’Ars was able to help many people reconstruct their lives and their relationship with God. Is it possible that God would choose to use us to lead others towards him, even through the ordinary activities of our lives?

Prayer:

Lord, may we, like St John Vianney and Mary Magdalene be faithful disciples and witnesses to the life-giving power of your death and resurrection.

Mary Magdalene

Pray for us

Amen