THE HEART OF A PRIEST

This past week we had a special “guest” in Seattle, as the  relic of St. Jean Vianney’s incorrupt heart was given for veneration. The Shrine of Ars, France, entrusted to the Knights of Columbus the relic for a national tour in the U.S., from November 2018 through early June 2019.

St. John, also known as the Cure of Ars,  whose holiness and integrity is a model for clergy and laity alike, is the special patron of parish priests. Those of us who grew up Catholic, in the years when we studied the saints, knew well  the story of this holy priest and prayed to him for our own parish priests.

He was the first to experience the Divine Mercy,  which he then brought to countless others as he heard confessions up to 18 hours a day. People from all over Europe streamed to his confessional in Ars to “experience the love and mercy of God.”

His is a great story  and example of faith and perseverance in seemingly difficult odds.  He was so slow to learn and no one thought he would ever be ordained, but the Holy Spirit had other ideas. He wound up being known by all who encountered him for his sanctity, cheerfulness and mercy.

In his 1986 Holy Thursday Letter to Priests, Pope  St. John Paul II wrote:

The Mass was for John Mary Vianney the great joy and comfort of his priestly life. He took great care, despite the crowds of penitents, to spend more than a quarter of an hour in silent preparation. He celebrated with recollection, clearly expressing his adoration at the consecration and communion. He accurately remarked: “The cause of priestly laxity is not paying attention to the Mass!”

The Icon which accompanies his heart

The Curé of Ars was particularly mindful of the permanence of Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist. It was generally before the tabernacle that he spent long hours in adoration, before daybreak or in the evening; it was towards the tabernacle that he often turned during his homilies, saying with emotion: “He is there!”

Dear brother priests, the example of the Curé of Ars invites us to a serious examination of conscience: what place do we give to the Mass in our daily lives? Is it, as on the day of our Ordination - it was our first act as priests! - the principle of our apostolic work and personal sanctification? What care do we take in preparing for it? And in celebrating it? In praying before the Blessed Sacrament? In encouraging our faithful people to do the same? In making our churches the House of God to which the divine presence attracts the people of our time who too often have the impression of a  world empty of God.

As Catholics today struggle to find meaning in the crises with priests in the Church, I would recommend reading about this holy priest, who himself lived through turbulent times in  France and in the Church, yet in his humility and holiness, he gave comfort to many thousands of souls.

St. John Vianney certainly gives the example of what the heart of a priest should be!. The significance and beauty of his life is to be found in his simple witness of being a faithful and loving parish priest who had a deep love of the Eucharist.