Search The Bible Online | Holy Bible Download Free | Yoga | Aromatherapy | THE UNEXPLAINED | Spiritual Movies | Contact
 |
|
The Cure of Ars - Saint John Vianney
The patron saint of parish priests...Saint John Vianney has always been special to our family, although for many years we knew him only as the Cure of Ars, the Patron Saint of Parish Priests.. For you see, it was in a small village 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. About the authors: Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. They have been writing and publishing since 1986. Their website is http://www.bobandpennylord.com.
News about Saint John Vianney
Google News Video about Saint John Vianney[CaRP] Unknown document format. |
|
|
|
Saint John Vianney and other Saint Related Books and Items[CaRP] Unknown document format. [CaRP] Unknown document format. [CaRP] Unknown document format. RELATED ARTICLES The Foundational Laws of Spiritual Physics Over the past years, I have undergone a life-altering transition from living on autopilot to recreating my life as a spiritual calling and a force for good. One aspect of this transition has been the acknowledgement of what I call the "Foundational Laws of Spiritual Physics", detailed below. Basically, these laws state that any action that does not promote the overall betterment of mankind (or soul-kind, for that matter) is a waste of energy at best, and a horrifically destructive force at worst. Any person, life-path, or civilization that tries to deny these laws suffers the same fate as any material object that tries to deny the laws of material physics - it will be inherently unstable, unsupportable and destructive to itself (and probably to anything around it, as well). Christianity - Not a White Mans Religion Christianity: White man's religion? Ego - Why Do We Have One? Why do we have an Ego? Homeless, Rejected, and Poor Fanny J. Crosby's famous hymn, "Tell Me the Story of Jesus," describes the Savior in terms of Isaiah 53: "He was despised and afflicted," and then adds, "homeless, rejected, and poor." Last week, as we sang this beautiful song, I focused on that word, "homeless," and thought about all of the connotations we give to it these days. Spiritual Spring Cleaning, Making Room for More Do you ever get into those moods where you just can't stand to look at clutter anymore and start filling garbage bags? Maybe it's Spring Fever, but I have a deep desire for simplicity lately. Not just in my physical surroundings, but emotionally, professionally, and spiritually too -- I have been "purging" the unnecessary from my life. The Kabbalah of Transformation: Turning Darkness into Light THE KABBALAH OF PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION: TURNING DARKNESS INTO LIGHT Undercover Investigation It is important and necessary that we regularly spend time in purposeful self-examination. We need to take the time to examine our rationales, our pretenses, our masquerades, our motives, our justifications, and our reasoning. Dead Man Walking One of my favorite movies is "The Green Mile". A memorable scene was when the presumably guilty murderer was being brought into the jail and they announced his arrival as "the dead man walking." His sentence was already passed on him even before he was properly accused. As humans, we tend to judge others just by the way they look. Our carnal eyes can only see from the inside out, and are blind to seeing what's on the inside of us! In our own mind's eye, we are blameless, but woe to the other person who doesn't meet our perfect standards. Can You Live The Christ Life? Were you lied to as newborn Christian? I was...let me explain. Saint John Vianney - the Cure of Ars
|
|
home | site map | Privacy Policy |
| Copyright © 2009 www.Path-To-God.com * | * | * Contact |
