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| St. John Mary Vianney |
Which Catholic has not
heard the name of St. John Mary Vianney who transformed immoral Ars into a
Heaven of Grace and Blessing? Who is unaware of his simplicity, penance and
unbroken hours of dedicated confessional assistance and hours of benediction at
the Blessed Sacrament and thus has melted the hardest hearts
of Ars? It is this person who failed and failed in academic studies, jeered by
companions and neglected by superiors; but excelled to that height where no
religious of his time could reach in the practice of what has been taught
within the four walls of the Seminary.
For me, Vianney is a
perfect example for a “True Christian.” He lived what he preached. St. James
clearly says, ‘Faith without deeds is dead’ (Jas 2:26). Vianney’s is a perfect
embodiment of faith. “His faith was working together with his deeds like that
of Abraham” (Jas 2:22).
1.
Life of Prayer
This is a first pillar
on which the life of Vianney is based. Mere four hours of sleep; hardly any
time given for cooking and eating and spent most of his time either kneeling in
front of the Blessed Sacrament or sitting in the Confessional. He may not be a
good orator, but what he preached is through his life of prayer. Once a person
asked Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen about
the receptivity of his sermons and this was his reply, “the people must listen,
because it is prepared in front of the Blessed Sacrament.”
This is what the saint
says, “Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into
the souls and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear
like snow before the sun. Some men immerse themselves as deeply in prayer as
fish in water, because they give themselves totally to God. O, how I love these
noble souls!” If the Saint were to stir the conscience of the people of Ars it
is nothing but this conviction, “my words will not return back unless they
produce effect.”
For the saint, prayer
does not merly mean adoration and sitting in the confessional. It is an act of
holiness. Every Sacramental life is an act of Holiness. Eucharist was centre of
his life. Besides this, Vianney had special devotion for Sacramentals, such as
devotion to Mother Mary, Novena’s to various saints etc. Lectio Divina is another area he enjoyed, “it was sweet like honey.”
Vianney challenges us
here. It is very difficult for us to spend few minutes in prayer. We feel that
the daily Eucharist, ‘the shorter the better.’ For most of the priests, the
Eucharist is time-bound, “weekday Mass should not exceed 25 minutes.” In most
of the religious houses where there are schools, the religious teachers who
attend the Mass depart as soon as receiving Holy Communion, if the mass exceeds
20 minutes. In some places specific requests are made, “Father, you should
finish mass within 25 minutes.”
Personal prayer,
Spiritual reading, daily meditations, Prayer of the Church have become need in
the formation houses. Novenas and devotion to Mother Mary have become the
devotions of the elderly people. Once the person gets ordained or profess final
vows, these practices become ‘old-fashioned,’ and not the need of the person as
if the person is ‘perfect.’ We need to change these attitudes and live a devout
Christian life.
2.
Simplicity in life
It is evident from the
actions of present Vicar of Christ, Pope Francis. He did not like the golden
embossed mitre, luxurious looking “Peter’s Chair” nor golden Cross. But opted
for a simpler one. Further, exhorted the pastors of the Church to live a
simpler life and not to go for luxurious cars.
Vianney’s life was
simpler. Only boiled Potatoes were his food. Slept not in luxurious palace,
rather lived in a poor presbytery in the village parish. Had time for all kinds
of people at any time. Today’s clergy is diametrically opposed to this. If a
visitor goes around 2 O’clock noon, the priest has no time even to attend the visitor,
because it is his ‘siesta time.’ If any dying person needs some urgent
attention to, the priest says, “I am in the School office and I have no time.”
If one wants to see the latest models of Cars, can be seen with priests. Bination
or trination of Masses has become common practice. Pope Francis says, “To
become a priest or a religious is not primarily our choice; it is our answer to
a calling, a calling of Love.” God has called us, and it is our duty to live
that call as faithfully as possible. Authentic call is in living the life of
Christ.
3.
Love for Mission
When Vianney was
assigned to the obscure little village of Ars near Lyons the Vicar-general of
the diocese told him, “There is not much love of God in that parish, you may
enkindle it.” Vianney loved his appointment as the will of God. It seems that
his aim is to change the ‘loveless Ars’ into a ‘love-filled Ars.’ He offered
himself to the mission, he loved the mission and people both Christian and
non-Christians. He constantly sought the will of God in everything he did. He
says, “Anything we do without offering it to God is wasted.”
There is greater
enthusiasm during the formation time to become priests and religious. So much
so, when a seminarian is asked about their purpose in life the cliché answer
is, “I want to serve the poor and needy.” But once he is an ordained priest,
the very next day removes the mask of ‘love and piety’ and covers himself with
the veil of selfishness and greed. This is very vivid among many clergy and
religious. Bishops and superiors have enough trouble in appointing and
transferring certain people in certain places. Such people are neither moved by
‘love of mission’ nor answering one’s “Divine Call.” We need to avoid being in
two boats. In the words of Vianney, “You either belong wholly to the world or
wholly to God.” It is here Vianney
becomes a beacon of Christian living for all of us. He believed in the
providence of God, loved and lived that conviction.
Prayer, simplicity and
love for mission are three pillars the life of Vianney is based on. If we have
these three things in our life, no doubt we can be another ‘Vianney’ in this
contemporary time. Today the world needs ‘saints,’ saints like John Mary
Vianney. World needs people who can forgo luxurious cars and forgo well
decorated palaces like presbyteries. World needs people who can go the people,
speak to them, love them, hear their cries, pray with them, spend time with
them, guide them and above all preach the Word of God in Word and Deed. Thus, we are called to build our parishes and institutions from "loveless Ars" to "Love-filled Ars."
My
favorite quote
My
little children, reflect on these words: the Christian's treasure is not on
earth but in heaven. Our thoughts, then, ought to be directed to where our
treasure is. This is the glorious duty of man: to pray and to love. If you pray
and love, that is where a man's happiness lies.
Fr. Raju Felix Crasta
Fr. Raju Felix Crasta
