QUOTATION: Prayer

We do not have to talk very much in order to pray well.  We know that God is there in his holy tabernacle; let us open our hearts to him; let us rejoice in his presence: this is the best prayer.

--St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: Agreement

The saints were so completely dead to themselves they cared very little whether others agreed with them or not.

--St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: The Servant is Not Greater Than the Master

A good Religious complained one day: 'O Lord, what have I done to be treated thus?' Our Lord answered him: 'And I, what had I done when I was led to Calvary?'

--St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: The Humble Person

A humble person, whether he is laughed at or esteemed, or praised, or blamed, whether he is honored or despised, whether people pay attention to him or pass him by, it is all the same to him.

--St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: Temptation

The devil only tempts those souls that wish to abandon sin and those that are in a state of grace. The others belong to him; he has no need to tempt them.

St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: Lying

Nothing is more unworthy of a Christian, whose life should be an imitation of God who is the soul of Honor and Truth itself, than to think one thing and say another.

--St Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: Temptations

Offer your temptations for the conversion of sinners. When the devil sees you doing this, he is beside himself with rage and makes off, because then the temptation is turned against himself.

--St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: Obedience

Yes, dear brethren, we may safely say that the Saints found all their happiness in keeping the commandments, and that they would sooner have endured martyrdom than to transgress them: and did not the martyrs suffer tortures and death, just because they would not transgress the commandments of God? What shame for us then, dear brethren, when at the judgment day we will face these martyrs; we who so often are prompted in our actions by even the mere thought of "What will the world say?"

--St. Jean Vianney, the Cure of Ars

QUOTATION: Righteous Anger

There is also a holy anger, which arises from the holy zeal with which we may defend the affairs of our God and our Religion...Of this kind is the anger of a pastor whose heart is filled with zeal for the salvation of his flock and for the honor of his God. Woe to the priest who remains silent, when he sees his God dishonored, and souls erring from the right path!

--St. Jean Vianney, the Cure of Ars

QUOATION: Humility in One's Opinion

A humble person, if his opinion is asked, gives it in all simplicity and then leaves others to give theirs. Whether they are right or wrong, he says no more.

--St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: The Blessed Mother's Mercy

The greater sinners we are, the more tenderness and compassion Mary has for us. The child who has cost the Mother the most tears is closest to her heart.

--St Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: Sin

As a watchmaker with his glasses distinguishes the most minute wheels of a watch, so we, with the light of the Holy Ghost, distinguish all the details of our poor life. Then the smallest imperfections appear very great, the least sins inspire us with horror. That is the reason why the most Holy Virgin never sinned. The Holy Ghost made her understand the hideousness of sin; she shuddered with terror at the least fault.

--St. Jean Vianney, the Cure of Ars

QUOTATION: True Religion is Charity

All our religion is but a false religion, and all our virtues are mere illusions and we ourselves are only hypocrites in the sight of God, if we have not that universal charity for everyone - for the good, and for the bad, for the poor and for the rich, and for all those who do us harm as much as those who do us good.

--St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: The Sign of the Cross

The sign of the cross is the most terrible weapon against the Devil.

--St. Jean Vianney, the Cure of Ars

QUOTATION: God's Solidarity with Us

Ah, how consoling for a Christian is the blessed thought that God sees him, that God witnesses his sorrows and his troubles, that God is by his side! Ah, what is still better, that God presses him tenderly to His heart!

--St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: Evangelization

It is only by sacrifice and suffering, offered as penance, that you will be able, by the grace of God, to convert sinners.

--St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: Mary Always Intercedes for Us

Only after the last judgement will Mary get any rest; from now until then, She is too busy with Her Children.

--St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: Priests

Priests should be lions at the pulpit, and lambs in the confessional.

--St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: Friendship with Our Lord

As the disciples on Mount Thabor saw nothing but Jesus alone, so interior souls, on the Thabor of their hearts no longer see anything but Our Lord. They are two friends, who are never tired of each other. . .

--St. Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars

QUOTATION: God's Mercifulness

Some people attribute a hard heart to the Eternal Father. Oh, how mistaken they are! The Eternal Father, to disarm His own justice, gave to His Son an excessively tender heart; no one can give what he does not possess.

--St. Jean Vianney, the Cure of Ars