Homily: Feast of St. John Vianney

Feast of St. John Vianney (Mt. 13:54-58) “Intelligence or Holiness?”

I remember hearing a talk by a priest who was celebrating his 50th Anniversary as a priest. He had taken a long and winding road to the priesthood. He had gone to several seminaries, and he had dealt with several vocation directors. At each school he was told that he was not intellectually capable of being a priest. Each vocation director also questioned his suitability for the priesthood. At the end of his talk he said, “Other people tried to discourage me, and they questioned my abilities, but here I am celebrating fifty years.”

When we reflect upon the life of St. John Vianney we would have to say that he had the same experience. St. John was born in 1786 in France. The church had a poor reputation in that country in the 18th century.

He lived at the time of the French revolution. He grew up on a farm and was a shepherd. He began his life as a shepherd. He decided that he wanted to be a priest. He began to study, but he was drafted into the army, however he missed the troop train and never did get to his unit. Branded as a deserter, he hid out until a general amnesty was declared for all deserters.

He went into the seminary after the French Revolution, but he had a hard time with Latin. He was expelled because of his academic deficiencies. A sympathetic priest tutored him and then presented him to church officials to see if they would ordain him. The officials were impressed by John Vianney’s piety, and they ordained him.

He spent two years as an assistant and then he was assigned a parish in a little town called Ars-en-Dombes. The town had 250 people. The church was in ruins both physically and spiritually. St. John restored the church, and he visited every home. He spent hours in the confessional reconciling people to Christ. He was an exemplary priest who brought people back to the faith. People came for his spiritual guidance from all over France. The man who was once considered a misfit became the patron saint of all parish priests.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Is intelligence the mark of holiness? What is?

2.   Would I have had the persistence of John Vianney? What gave him his strength?

 Dear Parishioners,

           On October 7th there will be a Eucharistic procession that will travel from Sacred Heart Moline to St. Mary Moline and then on to Our Lady of Lourdes in Bettendorf. The procession will begin here at Sacred Heart with our 8 a.m. Mass. Bishop Tylka will be celebrating that Mass. We will share more details as they become available.

          This is another way for us to celebrate the Eucharistic Revival. Let’s continue to pray for renewal in our church. The Eucharist is the “source and summit” of the Roman Catholic Chirstian life. When we celebrate the Mass open many graces come into our life.

          May Our Lady Pray for our troubled world,

          Fr. Mark