The Sermons of the Cure of Ars

by John Vianney and Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney

Book Overview

Composed when he was a young priest, The Sermons of the Cure of Ars constitutes one of the most powerful Saints\' writings in the literature of the Church. No one will read this book without realizing... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0895555247
• ISBN13: 9780895555243
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: T A N Books & Publishers
• Length: 251 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Ten Decibel Wakeup Call

In these excerpts from the his early sermons, St. John Vianney tackles subjects that are unpopular if not unheard of in today's pulpits: Purgatory, Hell, the Devil, confession, penitence. In general, the Cure's relentless theme is sin: how we must change our ways or risk eternal damnation. We must not be content to be better than the worst; instead we must strive to recognize all sin in ourselves and be rid of it. The Cure provides no wiggle room for us. Time and time again he points out how we mistakenly rationalize what seem to be small transgressions--the occasional profanity, our almost unnoticed attitudes of envy and pride, our habitual preference of worldly over eternal things. And the Cure's vivid descriptions of how this all plays out ring true. He must have been no stranger to temptation, because he writes with an insight and power that can only come with experience. If the modern reader thinks the Cure's words are harsh and his views impossibly rigid, it is worth remembering that these sermons were addressed to a profligate flock, one that was fully immersed in the fashionably immoral French society of his time. We might consider that in the moral atmosphere of ninteenth-century France, not so different from today's, people ultimately responded to the Saint with a dramatic renewal of faith that still brings multitudes of pilgrims to Ars. Will today's more common responses to sin--accomodating it, rationalizing it, ignoring it--produce the same fruit?

the writings of a saint

Composed when he was a young priest,"The Sermons of the Cure of Ars"constitutes one of the most powerful Saints' writingsin the literature of the Church.No one will read this book withoutrealizing that his own moral subterfugeshave been laid bare and thathe needs to addressthe camouflaged sins and weaknesseslying buried in his inmost heart.St. John Vianney (1786-1859) barelysucceeded in becoming a priest, butfrom the HUMBLEST parish imaginable,he became the "Patron Saint ofParish Priests" everywhere.Of humble education andassigned to a forgotten farmers' village,he attracted the whole world to Ars (France).He ate one meal a day,slept only a few hours a night,heard confessions up to 17 hours a day,converted thousands.His body remains incorrupt.