May the Lord kindly bless you with good health and happiness in the Holy Spirit. It is 04th August 2022. We celebrate the memorial of Saint John Mary Vianney, Priest. He is the Patron Saint of Diocesan Priests and Parish Priests. We reflect on Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Matthew 16:13-23.
In the catechetical instructions of St. John Mary Vianney, he teaches us, “Man has a noble task: that of prayer and love. To pray and to love, that the happiness of man on earth.” So much to learn from this simple and prayerful saint. Due to his inability to learn Latin and comprehend the minimum, he was called a donkey among the seminarians, yet he was convinced that God needed a donkey like John Mary Vianney. With him, nine boys joined the seminary. One of them became a cardinal, two bishops, three professors, and three priests as vicar generals. He alone became a saint.”
In the first reading, we have assured ourselves with the promise: “I will put my law within them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people.” (Jer.31:33).
Despite all their unfaithful and sinful behaviour, God inscribes the law of love in the hearts of the people of Israel, as Jesus chooses Peter even though he was not a perfect person.
Even after all their loss and failures in honouring the Law, God renews and rewrites the Law in the heart of everyone individually not on a stone. Our love for the Lord becomes an individual commitment. The bond is between God and the individual. Hence it is through prayer, that our hearts are enlarged, enhanced, and enriched to love. It is through such prayerful moments we all experience healing and forgiveness. “For I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.” (Jer.31:34).
In the Gospel, we see the repeated failures of the disciples in understanding who Jesus was. Peter’s confession brought him a new name and responsibility to bind and loose. It is in profound moments of prayer and acts of charity; we realise Who Jesus is?
Jesus is looking for a personal commitment from each one of us just like St. Peter and John Mary Vianney. May God bless you.