Come to Me

August 4, 2008
Memorial of Saint John Mary Vianney, priest

By Beth DeCristofaro

To the prophet Hananiah the prophet Jeremiah said: The LORD has not sent you, and you have raised false confidence in this people. For this, says the LORD…this very year you shall die, because you have preached rebellion against the LORD. (Jeremiah 28:15-16)

Lord, teach me your statutes. From your ordinances I turn not away, for you have instructed me. (Psalm 119:33, 102)

At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” (Matthew 14:27-29)

Piety

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 toYou as often as I draw breath. (Prayer of St. John Vianney)

Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/080408.shtml

We go from mouthpiece to teaching to action: Jesus is the Word in action.

Jeremiah preaches tough love; he preaches God’s truth. The false prophet, who misleads the People, is rejected. In the psalm, which in Hebrew is a lovely poetic tour de force[i] instruction in the word of God is paramount to the life and soul of the psalmist. Finally, we see the Word. Jesus incarnates God, God’s instruction, and God’s truth. Just as the psalmist says From your ordinances I turn not away (Psalm 119: 102), we are instructed to not turn away from the Word but to keep our eyes ever on the Word.

Peter takes a leap of faith by asking Jesus if he, too, can walk on water. In some ways, we all need to walk on water – the shifting, unstable walk through culture and material existence and temptations to walk other directions. While Peter keeps his eyes on Jesus, he safely moves toward Jesus, the goal, on a dangerous path. In his later ministry Peter will again “walk on water”. He will follow a treacherous, uncertain path as teacher, spiritual leader and martyr. He finally learned to keep his eyes on Jesus, the goal. Our joys and sorrows in life can teach us the same thing. Thankfully, as the psalmist knows and Peter finds out, if we realize that we are sinking, we aren’t tossed out. God as Word, God as human, is there for us.

Action

Recently an atheist, in a bizarre and appalling “statement” of his belief that “nothing must be held sacred” desecrated the Eucharist. How tragic that a human not only prefers his own ego to that of the Word, he mocks and defames sacredness itself. Ask St. John Vianney, confessor and teacher, to intercede for this man’s sincere repentance and conversion and also spend time in prayer in reparation for his inexcusable actions.

I – we - will never do something as base as this. However, I should not become sanctimonious. How do I treat the members of Christ’s body everyday? Do I remember Christ loves each neighbor, family member, gambler, non-Catholic, immigrant, fallen away Christian, homeless, selfish or shiftless person – even those with whom I disagree? Do I love her/him as Christ does?

Do I choose to live the hopeful, loving life that St. John Vianney chose?

[i] The poem is an acrostic; its twenty-two stanzas (of eight verses each) are in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. Each of the eight verses within a stanza begins with the same letter. Each verse contains one word for "instruction." The nine words for "instruction" in the translation are: law, edict, command, precept, word, utterance, way, decree, and teaching. http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/psalms/psalm119.htm#v29