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Cure D'Ars Today: St. John Vianney
''Everyone who thinks Vianney is already well known will find not simply new information, but what has new meaning for each discoverer. That meaning may well differ for each reader. The descriptions of the Cure's encounters with Satan and ''his lesser angels'' and of the hours in the confessional were my own personal crucial rediscoveries. The retreat by Pope John Paul II given at Ars is an extraordinary bonus in this extraordinary work.... An important, fascinating work by an important, fascinating author.
John Cardinal O'Connor
John Cardinal O'Connor
''In the Cure of Ars, we have an incomparable guide. He remains for all an unequalled model both of the carrying out of the ministry and of the holiness of the minister.''
Pope John Paul II
''This is a very unusual, perhaps even a unique biography. Father Rutler does more than give the ''facts'' about the life of the Cure of Ars. With bold strokes, like a master Chinese calligrapher, he captures the spirit of the age in which he lived, unveils the sanctity of a humble parish priest, and gets to the heart of what it means to be a priest not just then, but now and for all time. Along the way Father Rutler brilliantly shows that the Cure of Ars is a priest for all seasons.''
Kenneth Baker, S.J. Editor, Homiletic and Pastoral Review
273 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1988
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About the author
George William Rutler
30 books28 followersFr. George Rutler was born in 1945 and raised an Episcopalian in New Jersey and New York. He served as an Episcopal priest for nine years and was the youngest Episcopal rector in the country when he headed the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pennsylvania.
He was received into the Catholic Church in 1979. He attended seminary at the North American College in Rome, was ordained to the diaconate by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980, and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's Cathedral by His Eminence Terence Cardinal Cooke in 1981.
Father Rutler graduated from Dartmouth, where he was a Rufus Choate Scholar. He completed graduate work at the Johns Hopkins University, the General Theological Seminary, and the Gregorian and Angelicum Universities in Rome. He holds a Pontifical Doctorate in Sacred Theology. In England, in 1988, the University of Oxford awarded him the degree Master of Studies.
From 1987 to 1988 he was regular preacher to the students, faculty, and townspeople of Oxford. He served as Associate Pastor of St. Joseph's in Bronxville; Our Lady of Victory in the Wall Street area; and St. Agnes, in Manhattan. He was a university chaplain for the Archdiocese, and also chaplain to a general hospital and a psychiatric hospital.
He served for ten years as the National Chaplain of Legatus. He is Chaplain of the New York Guild of Catholic Lawyers, Regional Spiritual Director of the Legion of Mary (New York and northern New Jersey) and is associated with the Missionaries of Charity, and other religious orders, as a retreat master. Since 1988 his weekly television program has been broadcast worldwide on EWTN.
Cardinal Egan appointed him Pastor of the Church of Our Saviour, effective September 17, 2001.
Thomas More College and Christendom College awarded him honorary doctorates. He is a knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and chaplain of the St. Andrew's Society of the State of New York, the Robert Burns Society of the City of New York, and the West Point Society of New York.
Father Rutler has made documentary films in the United States and England, and contributes to numerous scholarly and popular journals. As a member of the U.S. Squash Racquets Association, he’s published one book on the sport, in addition to his religious works.
He was received into the Catholic Church in 1979. He attended seminary at the North American College in Rome, was ordained to the diaconate by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980, and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's Cathedral by His Eminence Terence Cardinal Cooke in 1981.
Father Rutler graduated from Dartmouth, where he was a Rufus Choate Scholar. He completed graduate work at the Johns Hopkins University, the General Theological Seminary, and the Gregorian and Angelicum Universities in Rome. He holds a Pontifical Doctorate in Sacred Theology. In England, in 1988, the University of Oxford awarded him the degree Master of Studies.
From 1987 to 1988 he was regular preacher to the students, faculty, and townspeople of Oxford. He served as Associate Pastor of St. Joseph's in Bronxville; Our Lady of Victory in the Wall Street area; and St. Agnes, in Manhattan. He was a university chaplain for the Archdiocese, and also chaplain to a general hospital and a psychiatric hospital.
He served for ten years as the National Chaplain of Legatus. He is Chaplain of the New York Guild of Catholic Lawyers, Regional Spiritual Director of the Legion of Mary (New York and northern New Jersey) and is associated with the Missionaries of Charity, and other religious orders, as a retreat master. Since 1988 his weekly television program has been broadcast worldwide on EWTN.
Cardinal Egan appointed him Pastor of the Church of Our Saviour, effective September 17, 2001.
Thomas More College and Christendom College awarded him honorary doctorates. He is a knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and chaplain of the St. Andrew's Society of the State of New York, the Robert Burns Society of the City of New York, and the West Point Society of New York.
Father Rutler has made documentary films in the United States and England, and contributes to numerous scholarly and popular journals. As a member of the U.S. Squash Racquets Association, he’s published one book on the sport, in addition to his religious works.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 8, 2019
If you want to know about the Curé d'Ars, Saint Jean Vianney, this is better than reading Wikipedia or the Catholic Encyclopedia, which just give you the bare bones & a lot of hagiography. But his style irritated me...some say it's Chestertonian, and I can't say because it's been so long since I read Chesterton. But he has a compulsion to make proverbs and bon mots, to the point where at times it obscures what he's saying. Some of these statements convey important meaning, others are obscure or just seem like he's throwing off sparks to show off his little gift. He can be concrete and clear when he wants to be, and those moments are good.
What I liked about this book - it gives a real sense of Vianney's personality, of his difficult journey toward the priesthood early in the 19th century, when the French Revolution's tearing down of all things religious had tended to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Vianney among others managed to bring some real renewal. He cared desperately about his parishioners and his life bears comparison with St. Francis of Assisi in his willingness to sacrifice for them. He was also a pretty weird guy and Rutler doesn't try to hide this. But his utter sincerity came through his unusual personality and persuaded many to take his God seriously, even those who came prepared to scoff.
A most unusual saint - even though a lot of saints are weird!
Rutler includes a final appendix which discusses the religious changes under Napoleon and the politics of how separation of church and state began in France.
What I liked about this book - it gives a real sense of Vianney's personality, of his difficult journey toward the priesthood early in the 19th century, when the French Revolution's tearing down of all things religious had tended to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Vianney among others managed to bring some real renewal. He cared desperately about his parishioners and his life bears comparison with St. Francis of Assisi in his willingness to sacrifice for them. He was also a pretty weird guy and Rutler doesn't try to hide this. But his utter sincerity came through his unusual personality and persuaded many to take his God seriously, even those who came prepared to scoff.
A most unusual saint - even though a lot of saints are weird!
Rutler includes a final appendix which discusses the religious changes under Napoleon and the politics of how separation of church and state began in France.
July 3, 2007
Anything written by Fr. Rutler is a sure literary victory! You cannot passively read his works though; Fr. Rutler is for the engaging reader only. This book is a fine example of what hagiography ought to be.
October 26, 2018
Good spotlight on a saint, who lived in a rebellious and anticlerical age, as a mirror with which to see our own times.
There were some gems here and there, quoted from the saint. The writing was very Chestertonian.
There were some gems here and there, quoted from the saint. The writing was very Chestertonian.
August 18, 2020
I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. The author was at times very Chestertonian in his way of writing about times and events in St Vianney's life, which I find difficult at times to understand. But it was worth the effort.
Read
November 17, 2015Quitting after two (of twelve) chapters, because vita brevis, and this is warmed-over Chesterton.
January 15, 2021
This is the first book I have ever stopped reading, it took me an agonizing 90 pages to finally shelve it. Since I can not think of a charitable way to write a review about the author's writing style I'll leave you with another book recommendation if you wish to learn about St. John Vianney.
"The Cure d'Ars" by Msgr. Francois Trochu
"The Cure d'Ars" by Msgr. Francois Trochu
August 11, 2018
Fr. Rutler has a unique writing style that puts simple things in new, often complex ways. I mean this in a good sense: he evokes rich reflection from simple given material that common writers or biographers would simply state matter-of-factly. His reflections on the Cure of Ars express a deep pondering love for St. John Vianney's life and ministry. Fr. Rutler is a priest-writer deeply in love with Christ writing about a priest-saint who is deeply in love with God, and this correlation of these two makes for a beautiful, enriching, and long-lasting savory read. As a priest-reader, I was given a deeper love for the Cure of Ars and an eager passion to share in Vianney's life of holiness and ministry.
May 17, 2020
Once you get beyond this author attempting to write like G.K. Chesterton, which admittedly took me awhile, you have a fantastic narrative of St. John Vianney. He wasn't an intellectual but intellectuals would come from thousands of miles away to hear him preach. What a man! St. Paul's seminary is named after him. What a great call. The Cure D'Ars Today....Five Stars.
October 25, 2017
I absolutely LOVED this book!! What a beautiful witness of Christ St. John Vianney is. It was incredibly well written, including so many wonderful and thoughtful theological and spiritual insights and analogies pertaining to the different parts of his life. I highly recommend to everyone!!
May 28, 2020
I picked this book up a couple years ago and it’s taken me forever to finish. It’s a hard, rambling read due to the writing style. But I thought it was worth it to finish since I’ve been intrigued by St Vianney after attending a talk about him given by Fr Rutler.
June 18, 2022
A most wonderful life told with incredible wit.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews