St. John Vianney and Prayer

 

 

(The follow is a "homilette" given on the Memorial of St. John Vianney, Monday Aug. 4, 2014)

GOSPEL: MT. 14:22-36

 

Many people point to this passage of the Gospel to show to us the imperfect faith of St. Peter.  Even Christ said as much when he told Peter “ O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 

I tend to look at the situation as a point of growth for Peter, though, especially in his desire to be united to Christ. 

Peter knew that his place was next to Christ; he just couldn’t get there on his own. 

This is why he prays to Christ to “save [him]” – save him from his weakness; save him from his lack of faith. 

Our Lord hears his prayer, and “immediately stretches out his hand and catches him.” 

Our patron for today, St. John Vianney, was known for many things, one of which was his devotion to the act of prayer. 

In the Office of Readings today, we heard St. John Vianney speak to us about this, telling us that “This is the glorious duty of man: to pray and to love.”  That “Prayer is nothing else but union with God.”

Like Peter, St. John Vianney was aware of his own lack of faith as a fallen human being in need of redemption, and knew WHO could save him from this fallen state. 

And like our Lord, St. John Vianney knew the power of love, which reaches out to us to lift us up from the strong winds of our own weakness and frailty. 

Can we say the same about our own faith?   Can we say the same about our ability to love?   “How often we come to church with no idea of what to do or what to ask for” because we lack both of these qualities. 

Let us ask our patron today, St. John Vianney, to pray for us, so that we may at last walk by faith and stand firm not only in the knowledge, but the experience of love;

a love that, being consumed by us today, shall in turn consume us, uniting us to Christ “like two bits of wax that no one can ever pull apart.”

 

Make a conscious effort today to ask Christ to save you from what is pulling you under the waves of this fallen world.  He has already stretched out his hands for you to catch you.