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Saint John Vianney - Cure of Ars - Year of the Priest

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Published: 05Aug2009
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St. John Vianney has always held a special place in our family' s hearts, although for many years we knew him only as the Cure of Ars. For you see, it was in a small village church, on Long Island, New York, in the Cure of Ars Roman Catholic Church, that we first got to know him.

As we began to write about the Eucharist and then Mother Mary, we found ourselves growing closer and closer to the Priesthood. It was natural or should we say, next in God's Plan that we begin to know St. John Vianney as he is the Patron Saint of Parish Priests. We have often said: Without the Priesthood we have no Holy Mass and consequently no Holy Eucharist; and without the Heart of our Church, the Holy Eucharist we cease to exist; for without the human heart there is no life; without the Eucharist, the Heart of our Church, there is no Life in the Church; we are dead! St. John Vianney pray for our Priests, our Bishops and our head Priest, Pope John Paul II.

When something meaningful has happened in our lives, we can recall where we were, who we were with, and what was going on at that time.

One of those times was April 14, 1967, when God sent us an angel, a blonde, blue-eyed baby weighing barely five pounds. Our grandson was almost swallowed up in his blanket; he was so tiny. We couldn't keep our eyes off this precious bundle. Suddenly, the nurses seemed to be having a problem with him. Seeing us, they quickly drew the curtains shut. The doctor finally came out from the nursery; he told us, our baby wouldn't last the night. Numb, we replied helplessly, "You mean he is in the Hands of God." He looked at us, kind of strangely.

We ran to St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was locked! The last thing we remember doing that night, was going to our parish church, out on Long Island. It was locked! It was dark; all we could see was a lighted statue of Jesus in front of our church. I knelt before my Lord and begged Him to save our precious grandson.

The next day, we went to the hospital; they told us our baby took his first nourishment at 6 a.m. When I tried to thank the doctor, for saving our grandson, he replied, "We did all we could, with the scientific knowledge we have; it was your God who saved him." And this, from someone who claimed to be an atheist.

The day Robby was Baptized, we raised him up before a beautiful statue of Jesus, "He is Yours, Lord. You gave him to us, twice. Now we consecrate him back to You." I had always loved that statue; Jesus had red Hair and blue Eyes, like my father, my first earthly Jesus. My earthly father now in Heaven, I talked to this Jesus. I related to Him. I liked Him. I trusted Him. I didn't know, at the time, why He had a Heart, with a crown of thorns surrounding It, outside of His Body, on His Chest. You see, I didn't know much about my Faith, no less the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Robby was the only baby who did not cry, when he was Baptized with holy water. A Jewish friend with us, said this was a sign he was to do something special for the Lord. Our grandson has grown up into a fine young man. He has been close to Jesus and His Mother Mary all his life. He is a part of this book and this chapter, in particular. You see, the name of the church, where we had prayed for our boy, on the night he was saved, the same church where he was Baptized, was The Cure of Ars (St. John Mary Vianney).

Lord, You placed us in the path of one of your great and faithful servants, twenty-three years, ago. Little did we know why, then. The first time we journeyed to the Shrine of St. Jean Vianney in Ars, France, with our family, in 1979, we did not know why we were there! As we studied the life of this Cure, and brought pilgrims there, year after year, we still did not have the answer. Priests on our Pilgrimages, always asked to serve at the Altar where St. John Mary Vianney had celebrated Mass. Still, we did not grasp why, what the Lord was doing all those years. They say, the moment you understand the Lord, you have lost your faith. Every time, I think I've got a handle on what the Lord is saying and doing, He says "Surprise!"

We were giving a talk on the Miracles of the Eucharist, one night. As we spoke of This Treasure in our midst, our Lord Alive in the Blessed Sacrament, we found ourselves going to the instruments He uses to be with us in this unequaled way, our priests. We called our brothers and sisters to affirm our priests and the holy role they play in our lives, how they are representatives of Our Precious Lord and Savior with us, and when we love and respect them, we love and respect Him. They are a lifeline; without them we have no Jesus in the Eucharist, no healing from the forgiveness of our sins. When we finished speaking, a priest came up to us. He said,

"Thank you for your words. I didn't know you could feel our wounds, our loneliness, our need for affirmation. Tonight is my birthday. You gave me the most precious gift. Oftentimes, when I look out at the congregation, from the Altar, I see a sea of boredom, their eyes glazed over. Sometimes I wonder what judgment of me, it is, I sense on their faces. There is so much scandal, so much pain. How do I say, `I'm none of those things; I love you; I love Jesus and His Church, and I want to serve Him by serving you?' Instead I keep these feelings to myself and keep a safe distance from those I love, God's people."

This chapter is about a priest, who was raised up to the communion of Saints as Patron Saint of all Parish priests. This chapter is for those unsung priests, those Cures who are taken for granted, unloved and often crucified. This is for the many hours, week after week, they have sat alone, waiting for us to come to be reconciled with our Savior, through confession, and we have not. This is for every Holy Mass they have celebrated, joining with our Lord as victim upon the Altar. This is for their "Fiat," their yes, especially on those dry days when they felt nothing.

Who is St. John Mary Vianney?

St. John Mary Vianney was a humble priest, hidden away in a small remote village, too small to appear on most maps of France. This priest, like the mustard seed, could not be hidden in obscurity; the gifts of the Holy Spirit he received were to bring thousands and thousands to him. It is no wonder he comes from that section where over a century later, the Charismatic Renewal of France began. The Holy Spirit goes where He wills, when He wills.

It is also no coincidence, he was born close to where our Lord showed His Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Jesus told Margaret Mary, He was more deeply hurt by the Crown of Thorns pressed on His Heart by His friends, than by the One His enemies mockingly placed on His Head. How many times, Cure did your heart get pierced from a crown of thorns thrust there by friends? Did it wound you, like it did Jesus?

Here again, like with Mother Mary's Apparitions and Miracles of the Eucharist, we have clusters of Heavenly happenings. Could it be, the Lord goes where there is much need? You could definitely say that of Ars and of France, at the time of John Vianney. Ars was a village of sin and apathy. The Cure would spend forty-one years of dry martyrdom, as Pastor of Ars, the only parish he would ever serve.

John Mary Vianney was born in France, the France of Heritage, eldest daughter of the Church.

Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. They have written extensively about the Catholic Faith. Their website is http://www.bobandpennylord.com

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