La música tocada por un solo instrumento puede ser bella, pero la forma más bella la encontramos en la armonía de muchos y diferentes instrumentos tocando juntos en una sinfónica; o muchas voces humanas armonizadas en un coro. Que el Señor nos dé participar y gozar de la sinfónica y el coro de muchas culturas y de muchos pueblos juntos, con su bendición.
La Iglesia celebra cada 4 de agosto a San Juan Bautista María Vianney (1786-1859), también conocido como el Santo Cura de Ars, por el nombre del pueblo francés donde sirvió por muchos años como sacerdote y párroco. Es el patrono de los sacerdotes, en especial de los párrocos.
San Juan Vianney fue muy sensible a las necesidades de su grey. Se ocupaba con mucho cariño de la instrucción de los niños en el catecismo e intentó combatir las malas costumbres que apartaban al pueblo de la Iglesia, especialmente la referida al precepto dominical: luchó para que los trabajadores no fueran obligados a trabajar los fines de semana, o para que las tabernas permanezcan cerradas ese día y la gente vaya a Misa. El Santo siempre trató de ayudar a su gente a armonizar a sus vidas con la vida de Jesús. Con el tiempo, su popularidad fue creciendo y llegaron a ser miles las personas que arribaban a Ars, incluso desde muy lejos, para confesarse con él y reestablecer su relación con Jesús.
Oremos. “¡Oh San Juan Vianney, patrón de los curas, ruega por nosotros y por todos los curas! Amén.”
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In 1818, Saint John Vianney (le Curé d’Ars) was appointed by his Bishop to be the parish priest at Ars in France. Apparently before his arrival, the town was very skeptical towards the Catholic faith and hence it was a challenging appointment. On his way to Ars, St John got lost. He encountered a young shepherd boy by the name of Antoine Givre. After they exchanged a few words, Vianney admitted to the boy that he was lost. The little shepherd pointed him in the right direction and walked alongside his new priest friend to the small town of two hundred people. It is said that Saint John Vianney at the end of their walk said to Antoine: “Thank you for showing me the way to Ars. Now I will show you the way to heaven.”
The work of Saint John reached far beyond the boundaries of the little town of Ars. He would often be in the confessional for over 16 hours a day. People came from all over France and beyond, to confess their sins and to hear him preach; he was an extraordinary pastor. At 2 am on the 4th August 1859 (hence his feast day today), the Lord called His faithful servant home. For nearly ten days and nights, people lined the streets in Ars waiting patiently to pay their respects to him. His funeral was attended by 300 hundred priests and more than six thousand people.
Let us pray. “I love you, O my God, and my only desire is to love you until the last breath of my life. I love you, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving you, than live without loving you. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love you eternally. My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it to you as often as I draw breath. Amen.” (Prayer of St. John Vianney, Patron Saint of parish priests)
