Thoughts of the Curé d’Ars — God Is Like a Mother

God is like a mother who carries her child in her arms by the edge of a precipice. While she is seeking all the time to keep him from danger, he is doing his best to get into it. — St. John Vianney

I’m going through a book titled Thoughts of the Curé of Ars, St. John Vianney, compiling many of his thoughts to spend time with later. This one really caught my attention and I thought I would share it with you.

It has been many years since I have carried a squirming child. My youngest granddaughter is eighteen. My youngest daughter is forty-seven. Of course, St. John Vianney is not talking about one of my daughters or granddaughters. He is talking about me.

No, this is not going to be my confession about a spendthrift life going from serious sin to serious sin. I think in some ways that kind of life might give someone an advantage in terms of salvation. A sinner who is openly sinning and not trying to hide it may be easier to convince to change his ways rather than one whose sins are less obvious.

Actually, I don’t think the child in the mother’s arms is a serious sinner. I think the child is one who goes from one serious temptation to another. There is a tension in this thought. The mother is always seeking to keep her child from danger. He is always seeking ways to get into danger, to sin.

I have never been a serial serious sinner. That does not mean I have never been tempted to serious sin. I frequently look back at my life and see the times God has saved me from serious sin. While not yielding to temptation may be less serious than actually committing the sin, there is still a danger in putting oneself in the “near occasion of sin”.

There is also a danger in giving the evil one too much credit when we sin. The late comedian Flip Wilson had a character named Geraldine who would always claim, “The devil made me do it”, to cover her questionable actions. The devil loves to take credit for our sinful acts, especially if they are serious sins. The fact is, the devil can’t make us do anything. Our will can only be controlled by us. The evil one can tempt us but can’t force us. We need to take full responsibility for our sins and confess them.

There is also a danger in being too confident of ourselves. If we think we are too pious to commit a serious sin we need to remember the evil one is smarter than any person. He knows he needs to adapt his methods of temptation when he is dealing with a prayerful person who strives to remain in a state of grace. He doesn’t try to tempt them to a serious sin. Instead, he will tempt them to do a lessor good than they should. This is a win in his book.

I also look back and now realize how much God has given me in this life.  I wish I could say I worked my tail off to earn it. While I have worked for it I can’t say I have earned it. God’s mercy and generosity cannot be equaled.

I thank God every day for all of the gifts He has given me. Especially the grace to resist the temptations and traps of the evil one, as well as my own desires that would bring me ruin.

Greg Gillen

January 5, 2025

© 2025 Greg Gillen

Thoughts of the Curé d’Ars/St. John Vianney/TAN Books Publisher

Image Credit/Jean-Marie Vianney welcoming parishioners and pilgrims/www.arsnet.org/en/the-cure-dars/