The message
of the Holy Curé
The message of the Holy Curé of Ars for
us today, summed up in a few points…
Long moments spent before the
tabernacle, true intimacy with God, total abandonment to his will, a
transfigured gaze ... so many elements that struck those who met him and
allowed people to perceive the depth of his prayer life and of his union with
God. Not to speak of his great joy and his true friendship with God: “I love
you, Oh my God, and my only desire is to love you until my life’s last breath”.
A friendship that implies reciprocity, like two pieces of wax, J. M. Vianney
explained, that, once fused together, can no longer be separated or identified;
this is what happens to our soul with God when we pray…
The beating heart: celebrating and adoring the Eucharist
“He is there!” exclaimed the Holy Curé looking at the tabernacle. Man of the
Eucharist, celebrated and adored: “There is nothing greater than the
Eucharist”, he exclaimed. Perhaps what struck him the most was to realize that
his God was there, present for us in the tabernacle: “He is waiting for us!”.
Coming to the realization of the real presence of God in the Blessed Sacrament
was perhaps one of his greatest graces and one of his greatest joys. Giving God
to men and men to God: the Eucharistic sacrifice soon became the heart of his
days and of his pastoral ministry.
Obsessed with the salvation of men
It is perhaps what best summarizes who the Holy Curé was during his 41 years in
Ars. Obsessed with his own salvation and with that of others, especially of
those who came to him or who were entrusted to him. As Pastor, God will “hold
him accountable”, he said. So that each person might appreciate the joy of
knowing God and of loving him, of knowing that He loves us … for this J. M.
Vianney labored without rest.
Martyr of the confessional
Beginning in 1830, thousands of people will come to Ars to confess with him,
and more than 100,000 in the last year of his life … As many as 17 hours per
day, confined to his confessional in order to reconcile men with God and among
them, the Curé of Ars is a true martyr of the confessional, underlined John
Paul II. Conquered by God’s love, enraptured before man’s vocation, he considered
the folly that existed in wanting to separate oneself from God. He wished that
everyone might be free to relish in God’s love.
At the heart of his parish, a man
of authentic sociality
“No one knows all that the Holy Curé did in terms of social works,” relates one
of his biographies. Seeing in each of his brothers the presence of the Lord, he
did not rest in assisting them, helping them, alleviating their sufferings and
their wounds, creating the conditions so that each one felt free and fulfilled.
Orphanage, schools, caring for the poorest and the sick, tireless builder …
nothing escapes him. He accompanies families and strives to protect them from
all that could destroy them (alcohol, violence, selfishness…). In his village,
he tries to consider the person in all his dimensions (human, spiritual,
social).
Patron of all the pastors of the universe
Beatified in 1904, he will be declared the same year, on 12 April, patron of
the priests of France by Saint Pius X. In 1929, four years after his canonization,
Pope Pius XI will declare him “patron of all of the pastors of the universe”. Pope
John Paul II will confirm this recalling on three occasions that “the Curé of
Ars remains for all countries a model without equal, both of the realization of
the ministry as well as the holiness of the minister”. “Oh, the priesthood is
really something great!”, exclaimed Jean Marie Vianney, because it can give God
to men and men to God; he is the witness of the Father’s tenderness towards all
and the author of salvation.
The Curé of Ars, a great brother in
the priesthood, to whom every priest of the world can come to entrust his
ministry or his priestly life.
A universal call to holiness
“I will show you the way of Heaven”, he had responded to the pastor who showed him
the road to Ars, that is, I will help you become a saint. “Where the saints
pass, God passes with them!” he will later explain. In the end, he invited
everyone to let themselves be made holy by God, to use every means to find this
union with God, here below and for eternity.
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