St. John Mary Vianney was a very simple man. He wanted to become a priest, but he struggled greatly with his studies. Eventually he did become a priest and was sent to Ars. The people there cared little for God. John simply prayed, fasted, and offered things up for his new parishioners. And slowly he began to see a change. John simply gave of himself and prayed, and allowed God to change hearts through his example and prayers. It was a great reminder that we need to be praying for our priests, or church leaders if you aren't Catholic.
St. John Vianney once said "There is no such thing as a bad priest. Only priests whose people have not prayed enough for them." Now he is not letting priests off the hook for their mistakes and sins here; what he is pointing out is the great need to pray for those who lead the church. Just think about all the pressure and responsibility that lies on their shoulders. If you fall, it is likely that only a few people in your life will be affected by it, but if a priest or church leader falls, a whole church is looking to them as an example of holiness and morality. Should they stumble, they could cause so many more to stumble too. Instead of judging those in authority so much and expecting them to be perfect, we should be praying for them that God gives them the grace to avoid sin and the ability to lead and guide us in faith.
To celebrate the day yesterday, we ate "Vianney's Potato Bake" from the Recipes for Life cookbook. It is said that John Vianney would often fast on potatoes, so we remembered him in our potato meal. We also had a lovely chicken strawberry green salad, but then we weren't fasting, we were celebrating! Happy Feast Day to my wonderful husband. And think about making a habit of praying daily for your priests or church leaders. After all, "but by the grace of God, there go I".
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