St. John Vianney is the patron saint of priests. He grew up in the terror of the French Revolution, a time when priests were either executed or forced into hiding. He believed the men who were priests were true heroes. After an exciting young adulthood of education, benign drafted into Napoleon’s army, deserting, then religious freedom sweeping across France, St. John Vianney joined the heroes of priests in 1815. St. John Vianney noticed how the people had fallen away from religion and the Lord. He offered numerous hours of confessions and preached strongly against drinking and dancing.

St. John Vianney frequently said: "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." Prayer of St. John Vianney I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally... My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath."

Here at The Little Rose Shop, we take liturgical living and feast days into great consideration. St. John Vianney’s feast day is on August 4th. He serves us as the patron of priests, gives us a gentle reminder to pray for the heroes in our parish, our diocese and our world.

Here are some ideas to tell your priest how much you appreciate them:

1. Write a thank you note with a spiritual bouquet offering.

 2.Invite your priest over for a meal. This also gives your children a great opportunity to be more familiar with the vocation of the priesthood.

3.Pray a Rosary for your parish priest. Follow along with The Little Rose Shop or download our free Rosary Coloring Pages here. 

4.Offer prayers and fasting for priests who you know might be struggling or simply for protection for our priests.

St. John Vianney, pray for us!