The priest and doctor of Philosophy José María Montiu de Nuix offers readers of Exaudi this article on the figure of Saint John Mary Vianney, holy Curé of Ars, confessor, whose heart, he says, “was the love of the heart of Jesus, through which came merciful forgiveness.”
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Walking down a large corridor in the vicariate of Rome, I was struck by the fact that there was only one painting there. This large painting represented Saint John Mary Baptist Vianney (1786-1859), the holy Curé of Ars. But why? But what is going on here? Is it possible? I see clearly! Incredible! Among so many wonderful and magnificent characters who adorn and embellish with great splendor the history of the holy mother Church, he alone has been chosen. This is impressive! It is striking that he alone has been chosen as the patron of all the countless parish priests of this immense Cosmos. The conclusion is obvious: the heart of this poor village priest must have been brilliant in many carats. His life must have been very exemplary, very worthy of imitation. Without a doubt, among the most important and precious things in his life was his heroic and loving dedication to the confessional. This explains everything! Three cheers for this holy priest!
The concrete description, with four strokes, of what his work in the confessional was like during the day will already serve to give us a very good idea of what his priesthood was like and the immense value of his soul and his holiness.
Flocks of people came to the village of Ars to confess with him, even during the harsh winter cold. This holy priest, every day from November to March, spent at least eleven or twelve hours in the confessional. During the last year of his life, the number of pilgrims who came to meet him would reach one hundred thousand to one hundred and twenty thousand.
People went on pilgrimage to Ars to confess to the saint or for other spiritual reasons. What most pilgrims wanted was to speak intimately with him in the confessional. The saint did not disappoint them. During the long days, he would confess for sixteen or even eighteen hours. In this way he achieved many conversions. One day Prosper de Garets asked him how many sinners he had converted in a year. He replied: more than seven hundred.
The Curé of Ars, with his work in the confessional, showed that he had a father’s heart; he bandaged and cured, in a maternal way, the wounds of the sheep. This priest, who confessed a lot, said that he lived only for poor sinners. These poor people touched his heart. He said: “the priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.” The heart of the Curé of Ars was the love of the heart of Jesus, through which merciful forgiveness came. He was, in short, a pastor according to the merciful heart of the good Jesus. In his heart burned the sacred flame of a great merciful love. It is therefore understandable that the town of Ars has become one of the main centres of pilgrimage in the world.
The Curé of Ars, together with the Italian Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, one of the greatest saints of the twentieth century, and Saint Leopold Mandic, both Capuchins, has a magnificent, phenomenal significance, he represents a great light for the faithful and priests, for the whole world today. Indeed: in these three great merciful confessors, who spent so many hours caring for penitents, is the finger of God. The Holy Spirit acts through these saints like an archer who shoots an arrow, which shows us, above all opposing ideology, with the genius of the blessed simplicity of its straight, transparent path, the most limpid and crystalline path, which leads to the most accurate and precise target, to the purest truth. In a word, the life of the Curé of Ars is that: that is the truth of the priesthood! All this represents nothing more than an echo of what the Holy Father Francis has proclaimed so many times, and for which we must be very grateful: the priest must be merciful, mercy has a very prominent place in the sacrament of confession. This sacrament, as Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer said, is the sacrament of peace and joy.
