7 Pointers from the Holy Curé of Ars for penitents and confessors.
St. John Mary Vianney always had a long line of penitents who wanted to confess to him. In fact, people had to wait "up to sixty hours before going to confession."
The faithful were so eager to confess that some even paid others to reserve a spot in line for them.
The devil told him once, through a possessed person, "You make me suffer. If there were three like you on earth, my kingdom would be destroyed."
1. He would sometimes give a holy rosary as a gift during confession, encouraging the penitent to carry it and pray it. "A good Christian is always armed with his rosary. I never leave mine behind," he would say.
2. When the lines were long, he would shorten the confession by saying, "What a disgrace! Love our Lord! If you do not avoid such an occasion, you will be condemned! Be compassionate with your poor soul!"
3. In his catecheses, he taught with conviction: "When the priest gives absolution, there is only one thing to think of: that the blood of Christ runs through the penitent's soul to wash it, purify it, and make it as beautiful as it was after baptism. Even if the soul is as black as coal or as red as scarlet, by absolution, it will be as white as snow."
4. In a sermon, he openly wept over those condemned to hell, and with deep sorrow, he demanded, "Why do men expose themselves to be accursed by God? For a blasphemy, for a bottle of liquor, for a two-minute pleasure; woe to lose God, to lose the soul and heaven forever!".
5. He gave a small penance and said, "I impose a small penance on you, and I will do the rest."
6. He advised other priests, "We must be more severe with habitual sinners who fall back into the same sin and do nothing or very little to correct themselves."
7. "When you see a priest, say: 'A priest made me a child of God and opened heaven for me through baptism, has forgiven me my sins (through confession), and gives me food for my soul (in communion). The priest serves God. He is a man who is clothed with the powers of God," the great Curé of Ars asserted.
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