The Cure of Ars, on Faith

The Cure of Ars was a great Saint who showed what the love of God, in simplicity and perseverance, can accomplish.

When he was made the Cure, or Pastor, of the small city of Ars, it was an immoral town with very little faith. Over the years, through his efforts, it grew to be a beacon of the Catholic faith in the world, and remains a great pilgrimage destination. The devil once said that if there were two such men in the world like him, his kingdom on earth would be broken.

One of the many sermons that he preached that survived to us today was on grace. In it he says:

Can we, of our own strength, avoid sin, and practice virtue? No, my children, we can do nothing without the grace of God: that is an article of faith; Jesus Christ Himself taught it to us. See, the Church thinks, and all the Saints have thought with her, that grace is absolutely necessary to us, and that without it we can neither believe, nor hope, nor love, nor do penance for our sins. St. Paul, whose piety was not counterfeit, assures us, on his part, that we cannot of ourselves even pronounce the name of Jesus in a manner that can gain merit for Heaven. As the earth can produce nothing unless it is fertilized by the sun, so we can do no good without the grace of the good God.

During difficult times, we often find ourselves wondering things like “how can I possibly endure this?” or “how will I be able to make it through this?”. The answer, by yourself, is that we cannot. Only by accepting our total dependence on God can we endure any hardship properly. But if we do reach out to our Lord and Savior, and the intercession of His Mother and the Saints, not only do we receive the help we need, but we make God very happy.

Sometimes we may think a trial is sent to us so that “we” have to endure it, on our own. This is not only prideful, it is extremely dangerous! The more we humble ourselves, recognizing that we cannot endure anything without the grace of God, the more he will help us endure, and the more honor and glory we will give to Him.

Can we, of our own strength, avoid sin, and practice virtue? No, my children, we can do nothing without the grace of God…