Jesus
went to the various towns and villages of ancient Israel, proclaiming the Good
News of God’s kingdom. Yet, throughout
his travels, Jesus was moved by compassion and pity by what he saw. He knew that the people were searching for
something, they were wanting to connect to the divine in their lives, to
transcend the meaning of their earthly existence to find something more.
I feel that myself sometimes in my own
search for God. I also see that in the
people I visit throughout our region of the Mississippi Delta. So many people are searching for something. Yet, many end up searching in the wrong
places. They get caught up in bad habits
or the ways of our world take them far away from God.
St. John Mary Vianney is the patron
saint of parish priests, quite an important role in the community of
saints. Yet he started his life as a
priest being mocked, derided, and ridiculed, even by the Church authorities
themselves. Never a very good student,
many of his instructors did not think he had it in him to be a priest at all,
even a mediocre one. So he was placed as
the priest in a small village in France where it was thought that he would do
the least harm. But the people saw a
compassion and holiness in him, flocking to him to hear their confession. The people around him were searching for
something, and they found it in the holiness and compassion of St John Mary
Vianney.
May we never give up on our search for
God. And may we never be surprised when
we find God there in the most unexpected of places.
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