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Devotion of the Holy Curé of Ars.
From his childhood, John Mary Vianney was noted for his disposition to virtue and holiness. One can say that the love of Jesus and Mary was innate in him. After his first communion, his parents employed him in the arduous work of cultivating the land. Far from complaining about his harsh existence, the young Vianney considered the hardships of his state as very pleasing to God, and he sought to sanctify himself even in the most ordinary actions of life. In order to gain patience and motivation for his hard work, he placed a small statue of the Blessed Virgin holding the Child Jesus in Her hands ten paces in front of him. His ardor for work was kindled by the sight of the Queen of Heaven, whom Tertullian calls the Worker of Nazareth, by the sight of the divine Child, the Son of the Worker. From time to time he gazed at Her tenderly, with loving confidence, with a look of predestination, and you could hear him sighing as he wiped his sweat: “All for Jesus and Mary!”, imitating in this, Saint Joseph, whose whole work was offered for Jesus and Mary.
When he had arrived at his little statue, John Mary would prostrate himself before it, address a fervent prayer to the Savior and to the Virgin, and, after a slight rest under Their eyes, he would carry his dear image further, take up his work again with a new ardor, and continue it until the end of the day, always under the auspices, under the gaze and under the orders of Jesus and Mary. Oh, how pleasing this work must have been to God! What full days for Heaven!
How well this pious worker of the Dombes reminds us of Saint Joseph working in Nazareth with Jesus and Mary! Is it any wonder that M. Vianney, Curé of Ars, became the model for priests and the Wonderworker of the 19th century?
