August 4 is the feast day of St. John Vianney.

A man with vision overcomes obstacles and performs deeds that seem impossible. John Vianney was a man with vision: he wanted to become a priest. St. John Vianney was born in France in 1786. At the age of 18, he entered the seminary but soon found school extremely difficult. But he had to overcome his meager formal schooling which did not equip him adequately for seminary studies.His failure to comprehend Latin lectures forced him to discontinue his studies but his vision of being a priest urged him to seek private tutoring. After a lengthy battle with the books, John was ordained.

Situations calling for "impossible" deeds followed him everywhere. As pastor of a remote parish at Ars, John encountered people who were indifferent and quite comfortable with their style of living. His vision led him through severe fasts and short nights of sleep. "Some devils can only be cast out by prayer and fasting."

His work as a confessor is John Vianney's most remarkable accomplishment. He would spend twelve to sixteen hours a day in the confessional. As his fame spread, more hours were consumed in serving God's people.

Recommending liturgical prayer, John Vianney would say, "Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there: if you set it on fire it makes a lot of little flames. But gather these straws into a bundle and light them, and you get a mighty fire, rising like a column into the sky; public prayer is like that."

During his years of ministry, many miracles were attributed to Father Vianney. Between 1858-59, over 10,000 pilgrims came to Ars hoping to visit the aging Father Vianney. The man who was nearly rejected from the seminary because of his difficulty with school was the vehicle for thousands of conversions. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and made patron saint of clergy throughout the world in 1929.

Let us pray. Almighty and merciful God, who made St. John Vianney admirable in his pastoral zeal and in his constant love of prayer and penance, grant us the grace we implore you, to win for Christ by his example and intercession, the souls of our brothers and sisters, and to attain with them everlasting glory. St. John Vianney, incomparable laborer in the field confided to you, obtain for the church the realization of Christ's desire. The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few. Pray to the Master of the harvest to send faithful laborers in his vineyard. St. John Vianney, intercede for the clergy. May your patronage, and your prayer multiply true vocations to the priesthood. May the Holy Spirit grant you imitators; may he give us saints. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen