The Carmelite spirit of St John Vianney

Below is a prayer of St John Vianney, the Curé of Ars (1786-1859), patron of priests, whose Feast is today.  He was actually a Franciscan Tertiary, but this prayer is one with the spirit of Carmel, and could have been written by St Therese.  In his day The Revolution's aftermath had resulted in religious ignorance and indifference, due to the devastation wrought on the Catholic Church in France. At the time, Sundays in rural areas were spent working in the fields, or dancing and drinking in taverns.  Not so remote from our days … 

‘I love You, O my God and my only desire is to love You until my last breath. I love You, O infinitely lovable God, and I prefer to die loving You rather than to live for a single moment without loving You. I love You, O my God, and I long for heaven only to know the bliss of loving You perfectly. I love You, O my God, and I only fear going to hell because there I will never experience the sweet consolation of loving You. O my God, if my tongue is not able to say at every opportunity that I love You, at least I want my heart to repeat it to You as many times as I take a breath. My God, give me the grace of suffering out of love for You, of loving You while I suffer; give me the grace of one day breathing my last breath out of love for You and at the same time feeling how much I love You. The closer I come to my final end, the more I beseech You to intensify and perfect my love for You. Amen.’

Intercessions:

Cancer: Brian Davis, Marie, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him), Jacqui, Sue B, Theresa K, Fr Jon

Siena, Elara – sick children

Wojtek – massive heart attack leaving him incapacitated

David OCDS - housebound

Sophia – blind infant

Joy Smith OCDS – seriously ill

Grace – troubling ailments, job difficulties, family (deceased mother and health of father)