Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Year II (St John Mary Vianney, Curé of Ars). Reflection by Rev Fr Oselumhense Anetor (Uromi Diocese)
Jer.30:1-2,12-15,18-22; Matt.15: 1-2.10-14
No sore is good to look at. That’s a fact. However, no matter how bad a sore is, it gets better when care is taken to dress and attend to it on a regular basis. God assures Jeremiah in the first reading that even though Israel’s wound is incurable, her injury past healing, and there exists no medicine to make her well again, He’ll restore the tents of Jacob and take pity on her dwellings. He says that the city shall be rebuilt on its ruins and the citadel restored to its site.
Friends, St Jean-Baptiste Vianney understood that as human beings, we need to be constantly healed of our sins. This is why he could spend up to eighteen hours a day in the confessional. He was not regarded as the average “intelligent” priest. He had no money in his bank account. No houses and no investments. But his wealth was in his total dedication to God and His people. He knew that a priest was indeed useless if he could not reconcile souls to God. In 1818, he was sent to the parish of Ars-en-Dombes, an isolated village some distance from Lyon, where he remained for the rest of his life because his parishioners would not let him leave.
Prayer
Lord, though my sins be like scarlet, may you restore my soul, and bring me healing, Amen.
Good morning dear. God bless your day ahead. St John Mary Vianney, pray for us.
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