3rd Week of Easter 2025 - Wednesday - Hungering for the Bread of Life

 

One of the things that perennially draws people to join the Catholic Church is the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Even amidst scandals and abuses, when the imperfections of the members of the Church are on display, Jesus draws people to the Catholic faith through the Eucharist. 

Why is the Eucharist so powerful in drawing souls to God? St. John Vianney said, “The soul hungers for God, and nothing but God can satiate it.  Therefore He came to dwell on earth and assumed a Body in order that this Body might become the Food of our souls" 

God has placed a deep hunger within our souls, a hunger for himself. And our good God has provided the food to satisfy that hunger. The world offers many artificial alternatives to God, but the Eucharist is the food that truly satisfies.

Isaiah the prophet asked, “Why spend money on that which is not bread, and wages on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods” Little did Isaiah know of the bread which God would give in the Eucharist, the supersubstantial bread that truly satisfies and delights our souls. 

A few years ago, on the feast of Corpus Christi, the late Holy Father Pope Francis said, “Let us choose this food of life! Let us make Mass our priority! Let us rediscover Eucharistic adoration in our communities! Let us implore the grace to hunger for God, with an insatiable desire to receive what he has prepared for us”

In the Gospel today, the Lord makes the invitation to all people: "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst”. Again, during the Easter Season, we consider how we are called to extend that invitation to the spiritually starving. If we don’t extend the invitation, they will go from one unsatisfying pursuit to the other until they starve to death.

May we respond generously to the Easter summons to go out to the world, to teach and make disciples, to help souls longing, searching, and hungering for God to find Him here, and to share communion with Him for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in Christ’s true presence among us in the Eucharist, we present our prayers and petitions to our Heavenly Father.

That the Church around the world may be a visible sign of the light of the Risen Lord calling all people to new life and communion with Him, and for the Holy Spirit’s guidance for the college of Cardinals in the conclave for the papal election.

For leaders of nations, that they may be guided by the wisdom and love revealed in Christ’s Eucharistic sacrifice, promoting justice, peace, and dignity for all people.

For priests and those preparing for priestly ministry, that their hearts may be strengthened and their lives continually transformed by the Eucharist, the source of their joy and priestly identity, and for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.

For married couples and families, that the self-giving love of Christ made present in the Eucharist may inspire and sustain their love and fidelity to one another.

For those experiencing spiritual hunger, loneliness, or despair, that they may encounter Christ, finding in him nourishment, peace, and fulfillment for their souls.

For those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit, that they may draw comfort and strength from Christ’s presence in the Eucharist and from the charitable giving of the Body of Christ.

For our beloved dead, especially Pope Francis, that they may share in that eternal life promised to those who ate and drank the body and blood of Christ. 

Gracious Father, hear our prayers. Nourish us continually with your Son’s presence in the Eucharist, and grant us the grace to lead others to this divine source of eternal life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

August 4 2023 - St. John Vianney - Persevering in Prayer

 When St. John Vianney arrived in the small village in Ars, it was just like other villages in France in the wake of the French Revolution, that is, there was the loss of faith.  The local taverns seemed to be the center of the life of the village. The people were given over to worldliness and pleasure seeking; they were indifferent to the faith and the things of religion. 

But the new pastor ventured out to gather in his scattered sheep: he visited families, got to know them, got to know their moral situation; above all, he prayed:  he was seen to wake up early and go to the blessed sacrament to beg conversion for his parishioners. 

Two prayers were the bulwark of John Vianney’s prayer life, the Divine Office and the Holy Rosary.  He could be seen going from home to home praying his office as he traveled; and also the rosary, asking Our Lady for the grace of conversion for his parishioners.  He would also hand out rosaries to encourage that devotion among his parishioners.

After 8 years, there was a transformation in the village of Ars.  What was at first a place of lukewarmness with respect to the faith became fervent.  There was regular attendance at Mass among the villagers, and long lines for the confessional: John Vianney often spent over 12 hours a day in the confessional, sometimes 16 to 18 hours. By the time of his death, a special railway was established for the number of pilgrims coming to Ars, up to 120,000 people per year.

St. John Vianney is the patron of priests, and also a shining example for all Christians. Perseverance and constant prayer are needed in our mission of spreading the Gospel. God sends us into those lukewarm, faithless places to rekindle faith and to spread the faith anew. And we mustn’t become disheartened when our efforts are not met with immediate success. It takes time for hearts to become warmed to the Gospel, to begin to see the emptiness in living without God. 

Constant prayer helps us to remain attuned to God and the heart of the Shepherd, so that we do not become disheartened. Prayer helps us love the godless with compassion and patience. 

St. John Vianney said: ”My dear brethren, not only is prayer very efficacious, but, even more, it is of the utmost necessity for overcoming the enemies of salvation.”  The enemies and obstacles to salvation in our day are great, may we be fervent in prayer for all those who have fallen away or do not know Christ, and that we may be faithful in working for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That through the intercession of St. John Vianney, Patron of Parish Priests, faith, hope, and charity may increase in the priests of the Church, particularly those experiencing vocational crisis and those most in need of our prayers.

For a deeper love for and devotion to the Eucharist, for those who do not believe in the Real Presence, for the spread of the Eucharistic Reign of Christ in society. For the conversion of the irreligious in our neighborhood. 

That our young people on summer vacation may remain close to Jesus through prayer, attendance at Holy Mass with their families, repentance through Sacramental Confession, and faithfulness to all the teachings of Christ. 

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster, war, violence, and terrorism, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, and the imprisoned, for the comfort of the dying and the consolation of their families. We pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.

August 15 2021 - Assumption of Mary - Spes Nostra, Our Hope

“Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae: Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.” These are the opening words to the great Salve Regina, the Hail, Holy Queen prayed at the recitation of the rosary and as part of the Church’s night prayer. We’ll sing an English version of the prayer for our offertory on this great feast of the Assumption. Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, Our Life, Our Sweetness, and our Hope. Our hope. Spes nostra.

Why do we refer to Our Lady, as Spes Nostra, Our Hope? Well, our hope of what? Of heaven, of course. I’ve not been to heaven, have you? None of us have. When we set off on a journey, we hope to reach our destination. If our destination is right down the road, we don’t need much hope. If it’s a far off land, we need a little bit more hope, for the journey will be difficult. If it’s a place that no one has ever been to, we need a lot more hope, don’t we?

Heaven, is that place, that no one has reached on their own. Paul writes to Timothy, God lives in unapproachable light. The mountain to heaven is untraversable to man by his own power. Additionally, the very gates of heaven were closed to humanity due to sin. What hope do we have of heaven? Well, our faith tells us that Jesus died for sins. 

He promised eternal life to those who believe in him, and follow him, and are reborn in the waters of baptism. Those who eat his flesh and drink his blood shall have eternal life, and shall be raised on the last day. But, where is the proof his promises are true?

Well, we need look no farther than Our Lady. Her assumption is proof that there is a place in heaven for redeemed humanity. There is a place in heaven for the human body and the human soul. How do we know? She’s there. God has given us the great gift of taking our Lady at the end of her earthly life, body and soul, into heaven. And so she our Hope fulfilled. God keeps his promises. It’s possible to live body and soul forever in heaven because she’s already there. 

What Jesus promised is fulfilled in her and so we can truly hope in his promises. A human creature of body and soul can come to heaven through Christ—through God’s grace.

Now, living outside of that grace, ignoring his commandments, failing to repent, disbelieving His word, that’s a whole other story. We have no hope in that. We have no promise that those things lead to heaven. 

But when the Lord says “blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it” we have good reason to believe that observance of the word of God does lead to beatitude because of today’s feast, Our Lady’s assumption. Our Lady, who heard the word of God and observed it, has entered body and soul into heaven. 

This feast is the fulfillment of the great Magnificat which Mary proclaimed upon visiting her cousin Elizabeth. Mary said, “all ages will call me blessed”? Why would we do that? Because she has been assumed into heaven, she is in the blessed presence of God, forever. 

The Assumption shows us that God truly has cast down the mighty from their thrones: the mighty powers of sin and death which kept humanity from living in the heavenly presence of God have been defeated. God has lifted up lowly handmaid into heavenly glory. 

Mary truly magnifies the Lord. Like a magnifying glass helps us to see clearly something which is difficult to see. Mary helps us to see what God was up to in his plan of salvation. She has been filled with all the good things of God. And what was true for her, shall be true for us, if we take her as our model.

Because Mary magnifies the Lord, it is always helpful to look at her and to turn to her. As Catholics, we need to keep our eyes fixed on Our Lady, daily. A day shouldn’t go by without thinking of her, considering her example, talking to her, praying with her. Every Catholic house should have a crucifix and a statue or image of the Blessed Virgin so that we don’t forget who we are and what we are called to be, and the reason for our hope.

Friday night, I offered an adult faith formation session on some spiritual lessons from the life of St. John Vianney. I shared how during his seminary years, the saint dedicated himself to Our Lady through the consecration of St. Louis Marie de Montford. Many of you may have come across this devotion, it’s been popular for a few hundred years. In fact, Pope St. John Paul II took as his papal motto words from de Montford’s book. “Totus Tuus” I Am all yours, and all that I have belongs to you, oh blessed virgin mary. God entrusted himself to our Lady’s maternal care. For 9 months in the womb he was totally dependent on her. Our Lord was the first to utter “totus tuus” to Mary. And so, Totus tuus should be the motto of every Christian. For she is our mother, the mother of the church, the mother of Christians, Jesus himself said so from the cross.

John Vianney encouraged his flock to deepen their devotion to the Blessed Virgin, for vibrant Marian Devotion is a characteristic of every vibrant saint. You will not find a saint who does not love and honor from the depths of their being, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I also shared another story from John Vianney. After ordination, in his first parish assignment, Father Vianney started a lifelong practice of praying to Our Lady to give him strength to overcome his sensual temptations. Just because one is a priest or religious, doesn’t mean we are free from all temptations. So John Vianney made a vow to God to pray daily to Our Lady the Regina Coeli for this purpose.

Even the saints go to special lengths in order to remain faithful against sensual temptations. That’s how they become saints: they go to special lengths to grow in holiness and combat temptation.

As a priest, I hear a lot about sensual temptations in the confessional, and I’m convinced that we all need a special devotion, or prayer, on a daily basis, to remain strong against those particular temptations. If it’s good enough for John Vianney, it’s good enough for us. So whether it’s lust, or gluttony, or overindulgence of drink, or laziness, say a special prayer every day to Our Lady, to help you to overcome those temptations. The Salve Regina, the Regina Coeli, the rosary, some marian prayer, every day, to overcome the sins of the flesh—that your flesh, like hers, may be one day with God.

As we stumble through life’s hardships and pitfalls, may we place our hope in her. She prays for us now, praying to obtain from God the grace to persevere our trials, to overcome our sins, to be faithful when our flesh and the world and the devil conspire against us. May we keep our eyes daily fixed on her, who is our life, our sweetness, and our hope, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

August 4 2021 - St. John Vianney - The persevering pastor

 When St. John Vianney arrived in the small village in Ars, it was just like other villages in France in the wake of the French Revolution, that is, there was the loss of faith.  The local taverns seemed to be the center of the life of the village. The people were given over to worldliness and pleasure seeking; they were weak and indifferent to the faith and the things of religion. 

He ventured out to gather in his scattered sheep: he visited families, got to know them, got to know their moral situation; above all, he prayed:  he was seen to wake up early and go to the blessed sacrament to beg conversion for his parishioners. 

Two prayers were the bulwark of John Vianney’s prayer life, the Divine Office and the Holy Rosary.  He could be seen going from home to home praying his office as he traveled; and also the rosary, asking Our Lady for that grace of conversion.  He would also hand out rosaries to encourage that devotion among his parishioners.

After 8 years, there was a transformation in the village of Ars.  What was at first a place of lukewarmness with respect to the faith became fervent.  There was regular attendance at Mass and Catechism lessons. 

St. John Vianney is the patron of priests, and also a shining example for all Christians. Perseverance and constant prayer are needed in our mission of spreading the Gospel. God often sends us into those lukewarm, faithless places to rekindle faith and to spread the faith anew. And we mustn’t become disheartened when our efforts are not met with immediate success. It takes time for hearts to become warmed to the Gospel, to begin to see the emptiness in living without God. 

Constant prayer helps us to remain attuned to God and the heart of the Shepherd, so that we do not become disheartened and to help us love with godless with compassion and patience. 

St. John Vianney said: ”My dear brethren, not only is prayer very efficacious, but, even more, it is of the utmost necessity for overcoming the enemies of salvation.”  The enemies and obstacles to salvation in our day are great, may we be fervent in prayer for all those who have fallen away or do not know Christ, and that we may be faithful in working for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That through the intercession of St. John Vianney, Patron of Parish Priests, faith, hope, and charity may increase in the priests of the Church, particularly those experiencing vocational crisis and those most in need of our prayers.

For a deeper love for and devotion to the Eucharist, for those who do not believe in the Real Presence, for the spread of the Eucharistic Reign of Christ in society.

That our young people on summer vacation may remain close to Jesus through prayer, attendance at Holy Mass with their families, repentance through Sacramental Confession, and faithfulness to all the teachings of Christ. 

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster, war, violence, and terrorism, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, and the imprisoned, for the comfort of the dying and the consolation of their families. We pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.

August 04 2020 - St. John Vianney - The holy parish priest

There is a statue outside of the town of Ars, the little town in eastern France, of the famous meeting between the newly appointed pastor of Ars trying to find his way to his parish and a young child from Ars who showed him the way. At foot of this statue is inscribed the famous words of the Cure of Ars, “Show me the way to Ars and I will show you the way to heaven.”

When Fr. John Vianney uttered those words, he wasn’t just being pious. Helping the souls under his care to find the way to heaven was his all encompassing mission. For him, being a pastor wasn’t simply a nine-to-five job—he not only gave it everything he had, but did so to heroic lengths. And for this heroic effort, cooperating with the will of God, he became a saint, and not just a saint, but the patron saint of priests.

Last year, when I made pilgrimage with Bishop Perez to Rome and Assisi, my classmates and I, continued our pilgrimage outside of Italy, to Ars, so that we could visit and pray at the parish of John Vianney. We visited the rectory containing the bedroom in which the devil started a fire to try to scare the holy pastor away from the parish. We saw the pulpit where hundreds would gather to try to hear his soft voice delivering powerful sermons from heaven. We saw the confessional, where the holy confessor would hear thousands of confessions, sometimes for 18 hours a day—the confessional in which the devil appeared to him and said, if there were but three more priests like you, I would be finished. And we celebrated Mass on the altar containing the saints incorrupt relics. 

Sometimes we think that evangelization is a matter of knowing the best arguments to convince people that Catholicism is the One True Faith.  But, what is eminently more powerful than a strong logical argument is authentic holiness.  Of course that does not relieve us from knowing our catechism—John Vianney taught the most popular catechism lessons in France.  But soley quoting the catechism will not bring people back to Church.   

It’s not the number of words or arguments that is needed, but Christ speaking through the few words we offer.  John Vianney was effective in bringing souls to Christ and leading them to heaven, because he cooperated with grace, he decreased, through fervent prayer, fasting, mortification, and heroic faithfulness to his pastoral duties, that Christ might increase, in himself, and in his parishioners, may we do the same, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That St. John Vianney, Patron of Parish Priests, may increase the faith, hope, and charity of the priests of the Church, particularly those priests experiencing vocational crisis.

For a deeper love for and devotion to the Eucharist, for those who do not believe in the Real Presence, for the spread of the Eucharistic Reign of Christ in society.

For an increase in devotion to the Sacrament of Confession, that souls may approach the mercy seat of Christ with true repentance and confidence in the Lord’s grace.

That our young people on summer vacation may remain close to Jesus through prayer, attendance at Holy Mass with their families, repentance through Sacramental Confession, and faithfulness to all the teachings of Christ. We pray to the Lord.

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster, war, violence, and terrorism, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, and the imprisoned, for the comfort of the dying and the consolation of their families. We pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests, especially the deceased pastors and priests of our parish and our diocese, and for N., for whom this mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.

 

3rd Week of Easter 2019 - Wednesday - Hunger for God is Satisfied in the Eucharist

One of the things that perennially draws people to join the Catholic Church is the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Even amidst scandals and abuses, Jesus draws people to the Catholic faith through the Eucharist. And life-long Catholics can attest to the power of the Eucharist in transforming their lives and strengthening them in Christian discipleship.

Why is the Eucharist so powerful? Because the Eucharist is God, in the Eucharist, our desire and longing for God is satisfied.

St. John Vianney said, “The soul hungers for God, and nothing but God can satiate it.  Therefore He came to dwell on earth and assumed a Body in order that this Body might become the Food of our souls" God has placed a deep hunger within our souls, a hunger for himself. And our good God has provided the food to satisfy that hunger.

The world offers many artificial alternatives to God, but the Eucharist is the food that truly satisfies.
John Paul II called the Church the Ecclesia de Eucharistia, the Church of the Eucharist.  For the Church draws her life from the Eucharist.  John Paul writes, “For the most holy Eucharist contains the Church's entire spiritual wealth: Christ himself, our passover and living bread. Through his own flesh, now made living and life-giving by the Holy Spirit, he offers life to men.” John Paul adds, “No Christian community can be built up unless it has its basis and center in the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist”

The Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life.”  Our works of charity flow from it, the strength to fulfill God’s Holy Will, the strength to resist worldly and demonic temptation. And we are led back every week, to the altar to worship and adore. We are led to the Eucharist because our hearts long for God, and sent out into the world from the Eucharist we seek to live lives pleasing to Him.


This last year on the feast of Corpus Christi, Holy Father Pope Francis said, “Let us choose this food of life! Let us make Mass our priority! Let us rediscover Eucharistic adoration in our communities! Let us implore the grace to hunger for God, with an insatiable desire to receive what he has prepared for us”

May we respond generously to Jesus who longs to feed us with his body and blood, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That the Church will deepen in her devotion to the Eucharistic sacrifice which is the source and summit of our Christian life.  We pray to the Lord.

That the redemptive power of Christ’s Eucharistic sacrifice will extend to the hearts and minds of all those who govern peoples and nations.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Eucharist will be for priests the source of their joy and their deeper configuration to Jesus Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Eucharistic self-giving of Jesus will be found in all marriages, and in all our daily encounters.  We pray to the Lord.

For those who live in want: that Jesus the Bread of Life will be their sustenance, and that Christians may bring the justice and mercy of Christ to all those in need.  We pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for all who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.

August 4, 2017 - St. John Vianney and the Eucharist

To say that St. John Vianney had a deep love for the Eucharist is an understatement.  John Vianney would often be found lying prostrate on the floor or kneeling with outstretched hands in front of the blessed Sacrament. “"I throw myself at the foot of the Tabernacle like a dog at the foot of his Master”, the saint would say.

 The Cure’ knew that love for the Blessed Sacrament was a powerful means of renewing the heart of a parish.  He would wake up early and go to the blessed Sacrament to beg conversion for his parishioners.  He would encourage his parishioners to attend daily Mass.  He said, “when you think of going to Mass on working days, it is an impulse of the grace that God wills to grant you.  Follow it.”

We are blessed, here at St. Clare with an adoration chapel, that many of our parishioners have never even considered visiting. Encourage them, bring them. If you know of some stay-at-home parents who could come to daily mass, invite them to mass and a cup of coffee afterwards!

Time spent with the blessed Sacrament deepens our love for God. John Vianney even gave this advice: "When you awake in the night, transport yourself quickly in spirit before the Tabernacle, saying: 'Behold, my God, I come to adore You, to praise, thank, and love you, and to keep you company with all the Angels,' "

For John Vianney, the Eucharist was an encounter with the burning love of God.  He wrote, “Every consecrated host is made to burn itself up with love in a human heart.”  Consider that. Jesus’ heart burns with love for us, and he wants that burning love to become part of our own heart. When we kneel in front of the monstrance, we open our hearts to receive that grace, and when we receive the Eucharist, if we are open to it, we receive that transforming grace, we are changed to become more like Christ.

May this great saint, Patron of Priests, lover of the Eucharist, help deepen and receive our love of God, transforming our lukewarmness into great fervor and zeal for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That St. John Vianney, Patron of Parish Priests, may increase the faith, hope, charity and pastoral zeal of the priests of the Church, particularly those priests experiencing vocational crisis.

For a deeper love for and devotion to the Eucharist, for those who do not believe in the Real Presence, for the spread of the Eucharistic Reign of Christ in society.

That our young people on summer vacation may remain close to Jesus through prayer, attendance at Holy Mass with their families, repentance through Sacramental Confession, and faithfulness to all the teachings of Christ. We pray to the Lord.

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster, war, violence, and terrorism, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, and the imprisoned, for the comfort of the dying and the consolation of their families. We pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.