St. John Vianney, Lover of Sinners
O holy Priest of Ars, you spent many long hours daily in the confessional. People came to you for forgiveness of their sins from far-off places. Although you despised sin, you always received the sinner with much love and forgiveness. O holy confessor of the Lord, St. John Vianney, awaken in Father ____________________ a sense of his sinfulness before the eyes of God. By your Priestly example, grant him a love of the reception of the Sacrament of Penance. Obtain for him the understanding that it is in confessing his sins that God’s mercy is poured out upon him and he draws closer to Christ. Obtain for him a deep hatred of sin and the grace to resist temptation. Teach him the value of frequent confession, where he meets Jesus, our Savior, the source of all mercy and consolation. Contrite and forgiven may all those with whom he comes in contact act with that same mercy. Pray that Father __________________ always love the Sacrament of Penance. Pray that he may call sinners to repentance with his good example and lives in complete service to our Lord. Recite the Novena Prayer.
Novena Prayer
O holy Priest of Ars, St. John Marie Vianney, you loved God and served Him faithfully as His Priest. Now you see God face to face in heaven. You never despaired but persevered in your faith until you died. Remember now the dangers, fears and anxieties that surround Father ___________________ and intercede for him in all his needs and troubles especially console him in his most difficult moments, grant him serenity in the midst of crisis, and protect him from evil. O St. John Vianney, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for Father ____________________ in a special way during this novena.
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The Cure on Confession:
He was also a martyr of the confessionary. He used to spend hours and hours there hearing confessions and giving counsels. We don’t realize the tremendous penance it represents to spend long hours hearing the foul moral things people do. In the confessionary he applied the advice of St. Alphonse of Ligouri to not hurry through the confession, to be patient, to consider each penitent as if he were the only person to be heard and to help him conquer each one of his sins. So he entered battle against each sin, insisted on the practice of virtue, advised good behavior, and often he denied absolution. Yes, if he could not note a serious intent of amendment, he denied absolution to that person.
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