SAINT FEAST DAY 4 AUGUST: ST JOHN VIANNEY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST

Saints celebrated on the 4th of August

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST JOHN VIANNEY, PRIEST

Jean-Marie Vianney was born into a peasant family in Dardilly, France in 1786. He had to overcome many difficulties to become a priest and was finally ordained at the age of thirty-two. In 1818, he became a parish priest of Ars-en-Dombes, a remote town, which he brought back to a lively faith by preaching, prayer, works and example. He became known for great skill in helping penitents, and he heard confessions for long hours each day. People came to him from many different areas and devoutly accepted his counsels. He died in 1859 and was canonised in 1925.

PRAYER:

Almighty and merciful God,

who made the Priest Saint John Vianney

wonderful in his pastoral zeal,

grant, we pray,

that through his intercession and example

we may in charity win brothers and sisters for Christ

and attain with them eternal glory.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

Amen.