Saint John Vianney - August 4 (Patron Saint of Priests)

"When God sees us coming to him in prayer, he leans his Heart down very low to his little creature, like a father who bends down to listen to his child."  Saint John Mary Vianney

"A man of "average intelligence," John passed his seminary exams with difficulty, and was ordained at the age of twenty-nine.  He was assigned to the tiny parish of Ars.  "Lord, grant me the conversion of my parish; I am willing to suffer whatever you wish, for my entire life!" was his ardent prayer.  With little sleep and less food, he catechized, preached, provided for the poor, and heard confessions.  Up to sixteen hours a day were spent reconciling sinners to God.  Pope Benedict XVI described this audacious "pastoral plan" as "the complete identification of the man with his ministry."  John Vianney died in 1859 at the age of seventy-three."  (Magnificat August 2016, page 56)

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Photo of the body of Saint John Marie Vianney - lies incorrupt above the main altar in Ars France - Wikipedia.