In this month’s issue of The Bishop’s Bulletin, you will read about a special appeal we are making for the sake of our priests’ retirement pension. As you read about this appeal and consider the invitation to participate in it, I would also like to invite you to give thanks for those men who have faithfully served our diocese over the course of its history. If it wasn’t for the prayers of the faithful, consecrated and laity and the witness of priests who inspired me, I would never have known the incredible gift it is to be a priest and bishop helping souls know, love and serve God and others and find the deep fulfillment of my deepest desires in ways beyond what I imagined.
As we reflect on the work and sacrifice of these men, it’s worth considering the great gift of the priesthood in general, and what better way to begin our consideration than by looking to the patron saint of priests: St. John Marie Vianney.
John Vianney was born to farmers in southern France in 1786, 10 years after the founding of our country. His youth was impacted by France’s own revolution: He made his first Communion in an “underground Mass” held in a barn. Despite this, he felt called to the priesthood as a 17 year old and was ordained at the age of 29.
Three years later, Father Vianney was sent to the small French village of Ars, where he would spend the rest of his life. Ars only had 230 residents, and Father Vianney devoted his life to their spiritual care, most notably by spending up to 16 hours in the confessional daily so that his flock, the people of this tiny village, might be able to receive the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus Christ in the great Sacrament of Reconciliation. He fervently prayed and made sacrifices for his parishioners. He loved the Eucharist and Mary. He generously administered all the sacraments to his flock and had a great love and care for the poor, orphaned and women in need of help.
Because of his dedication and devotion to hearing confessions, the tiny village became known as “the great hospital of souls,” and people traveled from throughout the country to go to confession with the parish priest of Ars.
In its teaching on the sacrament of Holy Orders, the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers this quote from St. Vianney, which gives an insight into the grandeur of the life and office which he was called to and which he served with complete devotion: “The priest continues the work of redemption on earth. … If we really understood the priest on earth, we would die not of fright but of love. … the priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus” (1589).
“The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.” I invite you to ponder these words from this great saint who gave his life in service to his flock, words that in turn are used by our Church to teach us about the gift of the priesthood. It is through the ministry of our priests that we are blessed and privileged to encounter our Lord in so many of the sacraments—of confession and above all of Holy Communion at Mass.
I ask you to pray for me and for my brother priests, that we might, like Father Vianney, be the love of the heart of Jesus. One of the aims of our Set Ablaze pastoral planning process is to maximize the complementarity of priestly gifts, precisely to allow each of us as priests to be Jesus to our flocks, more fully and more fruitfully.
As we pray for and give thanks for those priests who have faithfully ministered to us throughout the years and decades, consider how we might participate in this appeal to support them. May we also give thanks to God for this great gift of the Catholic priesthood and pray that many other men might, like St. John Vianney and the priests who have served the people of East River South Dakota, respond to the Lord’s call to serve his family to help us all on our journey to heaven as we strive to live as Lifelong Catholic Missionary Disciples Through God’s Love.
