Today's Gospel in Art - Feast of Saint John Vianney (le Curé d'Ars)

Le monument de la Rencontre, Monument at Ars-sur-Formans, Erected by d'Antoine Givre family © Christian Art

Gospel of 4th August 2020 - Matthew 15:1-2,10-14

Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus and said, 'Why do your disciples break away from the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat food.'

He called the people to him and said, 'Listen, and understand. What goes into the mouth does not make a man unclean; it is what comes out of the mouth that makes him unclean.'

Then the disciples came to him and said, 'Do you know that the Pharisees were shocked when they heard what you said?'

He replied, 'Any plant my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them alone. They are blind men leading blind men; and if one blind man leads another, both will fall into a pit.'

Reflection on the sculpture

In 1818, Saint John Vianney (le Curé d'Ars) was appointed by his Bishop to be the parish priest at Ars in France. Apparently before his arrival, the town was very sceptical towards the Catholic faith and hence it was a challenging appointment. On his way to Ars, St John got lost. He encountered a young shepherd boy by the name of Antoine Givre. After they exchanged a few words, Vianney admitted to the boy that he was lost. The little shepherd (shown in our sculpture holding a shepherd's staff) pointed him in the right direction and walked alongside his new priest friend to the small town of two hundred people. It is said that St John Vianney at the end of their walk said to Antoine: 'Thank you for showing me the way to Ars. Now I will show you the way to heaven'. Our sculpture shows this very moment; we see Saint John Vianney pointing towards heaven.'

The work of St John reached far beyond the boundaries of the little town of Ars. He would often be in the confessional for over 16 hours a day. People came from all over France and beyond, to confess their sins and to hear him preach. He must have been an extraordinary man. At 2am on the 4th August 1859 ( his feast day today), the Lord called his faithful servant home. For nearly ten days and nights, people lined the streets in Ars waiting patiently to pay their respects to him. His funeral was attended by 300 hundred priests and more than 6,000 people. All the neighbouring villages rang their church bells in a radius of over 10 kilometres…

The Devil writes down our sins - our Guardian Angel all our merits. Labour that the Guardian Angel's book may be full, and the Devil's empty.

Saint John Vianney

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/503

Christian Art - www.christian.art