The Curé of Ars

St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney's severe teachings differ greatly from the "religion of nice" that is  a central part of our c21 American discourse. The Afterword of The Sermons of the Curé of Ars reads, "M. Vianney, wishing to impress souls vigorously, had surely the need to 'exaggerate' certain details of morality in order to make them more understandable to the least instructed portion of his audience. In addition, his austere temperament inclined him to preach the terrible truths: he returned, in almost every sermon, to the last end, to death, to judgment, to Hell" (243). Although his teachings deal harshly with the sinner and the unrepentant, he always includes divine mercy as a central tenet of his priesthood, but it is a mercy earned through prayer, obedience, repentance, and purgation. Below, I've included screen shots of my favorite parts of St. Vianney's sermons translated from French into English:

St. Vianney's sermons highlight how casual and lackadaisical our modern culture approaches religion, work, school, life. Today, discipline is a lukewarm concept both when it comes to a work ethic and to a form of correction; and yet, for St. Vianney and his nineteenth-century milieu, the rigorous discipline of religious practice is one of the defining aspects of an authentic Catholic life.