JOHN MARY VIANNEY, Priest

Liturgy Alive

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August 4, 2023

JOHN MARY VIANNEY, Priest

Introduction

Here we have a priest, a humble country man, with very limited abilities for book learning, yet a contemplative, open to the Spirit and things supernatural, a real man of God (1786-1859). He was made the parish priest in a God-forgotten little town, where he could do little wrong. And no wrong he did. After a few years, everyone knew where the little town of Ars was, and the learned and the great as well as the poor and the little one came to seek his counsel, absolution and help. When his ordination was discussed, he said: “If Samson could defeat and kill a thousand Philistines with a donkeys’ jawbone, who knows what the Lord could do with a whole donkey like me?”

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
thank you for giving us
St. John Mary Vianney
as the patron saint of parish priests.
Give to all priests the zeal,
the wisdom and the compassionate heart
of this humble, self-forgetting man.
Let them be great in goodness
and give them open arms for sinners.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.

Reading 1: Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37

The LORD said to Moses,
"These are the festivals of the LORD which you shall celebrate
at their proper time with a sacred assembly.
The Passover of the LORD falls on the fourteenth day of the first month,
at the evening twilight.
The fifteenth day of this month is the LORD's feast of Unleavened Bread.
For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
On the first of these days you shall hold a sacred assembly
and do no sort of work.
On each of the seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD.
Then on the seventh day you shall again hold a sacred assembly
and do no sort of work."

The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the children of Israel and tell them:
When you come into the land which I am giving you,
and reap your harvest,
you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest
to the priest, who shall wave the sheaf before the LORD
that it may be acceptable for you.
On the day after the sabbath the priest shall do this.

"Beginning with the day after the sabbath,
the day on which you bring the wave-offering sheaf,
you shall count seven full weeks,
and then on the day after the seventh week, the fiftieth day,
you shall present the new cereal offering to the LORD.

"The tenth of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement,
when you shall hold a sacred assembly and mortify yourselves
and offer an oblation to the LORD.

"The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the LORD's feast of Booths,
which shall continue for seven days.
On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly,
and you shall do no sort of work.
For seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD,
and on the eighth day you shall again hold a sacred assembly
and offer an oblation to the LORD.
On that solemn closing you shall do no sort of work.

"These, therefore, are the festivals of the LORD
on which you shall proclaim a sacred assembly,
and offer as an oblation to the LORD burnt offerings and cereal offerings,
sacrifices and libations, as prescribed for each day."

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 81:3-4, 5-6, 10-11ab

R. (2a) Sing with joy to God our help.
Take up a melody, and sound the timbrel,
the pleasant harp and the lyre.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our solemn feast.
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
For it is a statute in Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob,
Who made it a decree for Joseph
when he came forth from the land of Egypt.
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt.
R. Sing with joy to God our help.

Alleluia: 1 Pt 1:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of the Lord remains forever;
this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Mt 13:54-58

Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
"Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter's son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?"
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house."
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.

Intentions

– That it may be a joy for us to celebrate the liturgy, to thank and praise the Lord for our faith and all God’s love, we pray:

– That people, who have abandoned the Sunday Mass may become aware how much they miss to enrich their lives, we pray:

– That God’s people may never consider the Eucharist as a duty but as a feast to celebrate with the Lord, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Tender and compassionate God,
you give us Jesus’ food and drink
to sustain us on the road of life.
See how many people today
are needy and rudderless.
Give them shepherds to guide them in life
and to nourish them with your living word
and with the food of everlasting life.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
your Son Jesus, still goes around today
to our cities and towns far and near.
Let his word be to all of us
Good News of liberation
from the diseases of our hearts and bodies
and make us pass on this message
to the people around us,
at least by the way we live it.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

How good that there are feasts and celebrations in our life, that is, days when we can be playful and free, relaxed and carefree like the birds in the air, because we know that we are in the hands of God. For he cares. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Reflection:

4 August Friday

Mt 13:54-58

Not accepted by his people

Today’s memorial is of a French priest, John Marie Vianney. They ordained him a priest out of compassion and sent him to a remote place where he could do no damage to the Church. What good could this man do? They did not trust him. And yet, he is the patron of parish priests. People came from all over to seek his guidance and advice.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is not accepted by his people either. A telling phrase in the Acts of the Apostles describes Jesus' followers as “the people who have been turning the whole world upside down…. People were bound to be true to the honor of their village, their family, and themselves. For Jesus to walk into the midst of that cultural system and say, “Do not retaliate” and “Love your enemies,” was to subvert the whole honor/shame system itself. Once challenged, Jesus’ listeners were given a new place to find their identity: Who we are in God is who we are. Our value no longer depends upon whether our family or village likes us or whether we’re good-looking, wealthy, or obedient to the laws. Jesus’ message is incredibly subversive in any honor/shame society. As he takes away old foundations, he offers a new, more solid one: neither shame-based nor guilt-based but based in who we are in God. Who we are in God is a beloved child. John Marie Vianney witnessed that.

Not accepted by his people - Youtube

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