The Eucharist and St John Vianney

As Pope Benedict closes the Year of St Paul, he is preparing to open the Year of the Priest. So as we near the end of our series on saints and the Eucharist it is good to reflect on the life and thought of St John Vianney, the patron of parish priests. In his early years he seemed an unlikely candidate for this honour. He was born at Dardilly near Lyons in 1786 and early in life expressed his desire to be a priest. His primary education was sketchy and his greatest difficulty was in understanding Latin. His problems increased when he was drawn into conscription into Napoleon’s troops. This was solved when his brother volunteered to take his place and he thankfully returned to the seminary. There, despite his serious limitations, his teachers never doubted his vocation and he continued to struggle until his ordination in 1815.
Three years later he was made parish priest of Ars, a remote village where he spent the rest of his life. A few years later he founded the “Providence”, an institution for destitute girls which became a model of its kind throughout France. His catechetical instructions to children were so popular and they drew crowds of adults to the church every day.
The Curé was best known, however, for his spiritual direction and gift as a confessor. Again people flocked to his church and confessional where he often spent up to 18 hours a day. Penitents ranged from bishops and religious to sinners and the sick and all were helped by his care and his sanctity.
The Curé d’Ars gave great emphasis to the Holy Eucharist in his preaching and teaching. For him it was the great gift of love in which Jesus laid down His life for His friends. Instituted as it was in a celebration meal of friends, it was the vulnerability of Jesus in the Host which Father Vianney emphasised. For him it was almost a repetition of the Passion in which Jesus was exposed to the
ruelty and contempt of the crowd. Catholics therefore were called to the utmost respect, reverence and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament as a sign of their faith. His instructions to children in particular were very strong on this point. All his life the Eucharist was for him the adored Master who, before all others, had a right to his homage.
His extremely austere way of life was probably detrimental to his health but he continued in his exhausting ministry until he died in 1859. He was canonised in 1925 when he had already been proposed as a model for parish priests.