St. John Vianney: St. John XXIII: “Pope John on Pastoral Liturgy” Worship 37, 8 Aug-Sept 1963

 

St. John Vianney: St. John XXIII: “Pope John on Pastoral Liturgy” Worship 37, 8 Aug-Sept 1963

The devotion to prayer of St. John M. Vianney, who was to spend almost the whole of the last thirty years of his life in church caring for the crowds of penitents who flocked to him, had one special characteristic—it was specially directed toward the Eucharist. It is almost unbelievable how ardent his devotion to Christ hidden beneath the veils of the Eucharist really was. "He is the one," he said, "who has loved us so much; shouldn't we love Him in return?" He was devoted to the adorable Sacrament of the altar with a burning charity and his soul was drawn to the sacred tabernacle by a heavenly force that could not be resisted. This is how he taught his faithful to pray: "You do not need many words when you pray. We believe on faith that the good and gracious God is there in the tabernacle; we open our souls to Him; and feel happy that He allows us to come before Him; this is the best way to pray." He did everything that there was to be done to stir up the reverence and love of the faithful for Christ hidden in the sacrament of the Eucharist and to bring them to share in the riches of the divine Synaxis; the example of his devotion was ever before them. To be convinced of this—witnesses tell us—all that was necessary was to see him carrying out the sacred rites or simply see him genuflect when he passed the tabernacle.