One Saint Reflects On Another

One of the things I enjoy about a diachronic reading of history, that is, history as it changes through time, is how saints of one era react to the saints of another. Human sanctity is a masterwork of divine grace which is the apex of human development. Saints are the Olympic Gold Medalists of the race of life, having achieved on earth as much development of charity as is possible for them this side of heaven. Humanity needs heroes, and we flock instinctively to people of excellence, whether they inspire our envy, inspiration or admiration. In the ancient Church, the practice of monasticism was a very real desire of one generation of Christians to imitate the radical renunciation of another generation which lived under the constant danger of martyrdom. Christians of every generation have always tried to reengage with the freshness and beauty found in the Apostolic Church as described by Saint Luke. While we may not always succeed, and Saint Luke’s account may be slightly airbrushed (after all, Ananias and Sapphira happen a few chapters after Pentecost), there is much which is not only worthy of our admiration, but our imitation.

There are many Papal Encyclicals which are sadly not read by many people, or even known to them. One such Encyclical is the 1959 Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia, which Saint John XXIII promulgated in August of that year, anticipating the 100th anniversary of Vianney’s death. It also is an Encyclical which affectionally recalls John XXIII’s attendance of the canonization in January 1905, which so inspired him in the early days of his Priesthood. I have written on it before, and I think that readers who go through it will find John XXIII quoting other wonderful encyclicals and exhortations, which are so edifying and spiritually uplifting in their quality.

I want to use this approach with Saint John Vianney’s life on his Feast Day, because Pope Saint John XXIII goes through such admirable lengths, as did Pope Saint John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, to translate the virtues and merits of Vianney into counsel and inspiration for today. As Pope Saint John XXIII notes, several modern Popes were themselves once humble parish Priests, such as Pope Saint Pius X. Although many of them spent years also with heavy responsibilities in higher offices, quite a few were not inexperienced in the pastoral field, which colors and informs their indispensible and affectionate advice.

John XXIII recalls Saint Thomas Aquinas’ conclusion that Priests engaged in pastoral care undoubtedly have the hardest task practically, because of external factors. This holy realism on the part of Saints Thomas and John I have always found to be very consoling. There will always be the typical stressors of having to deal with people and their complex and delicate interior worlds. There are two crucial points made by Pope John XXIII which I would like to highlight above all, granted the issues of the current day: the necessity for Bishops to be close to their clergy, acquainted with their issues, and the sacred obligation of clergy to be lifelong teachers and learners.

I will start with the latter. It is sadly common for some Seminarians to take inspiration from Saint John Vianney due to his difficulties with his own Seminary Education. What they often neglect is that his difficulties did not give St. John a pass to neglect his studies in the name of some sort of ignorant holinesss; on the contrary, with the help of a tutor, he possessed an indefatigable determination to acquire the information necessary to proclaim the Gospel and educate the faithful in Christian faith and morals. Moreover, even though the saintly priest began his early ministry by writing down his homilies (of which we possess so few in full), we know that regardless of his many duties, he always took time for catechesis. It is from these talks that we have so many of his beloved and well-known sayings, which have been remembered and repeated for almost two centuries. Apart from his celebration of Holy Mass and his long hours in the Confessional, it was his tireless preaching, along with his own evident piety and sanctity, that formed the foundation of his ‘pastoral program’. By his words and his life, Vianney was constantly teaching, governing and sanctifying. Yet although it would be tempting to credit his sanctify for his skill at preaching, we know by his own actions that he did not make that presumptuous mistake. He spent quite some time, often by candlelight and in the early days of his Priesthood, preparing and editing the words which he would use to touch hearts and minds with the saving Good News of Jesus Christ.

Not only was the content of Vianney’s catechesis fruitful. Especially as his voice faded and his physical vigor waned, he was notable by his expression: his sighs, his tears, his growns. As Aristotle would put it, he possessed outstanding rhetorical pathos and ethos. It was clear he believed and felt deeply what he proclaimed, and had the moral authority to share it. At a time when so many Catholics say that the standard parish homilist is mediocre at best, Saint John reminds us, especially Priests, how important it is that we present the faithful homilies and other opportunities for learning which are both content rich and spiritually edifying. Moreover, Saint John teaches us a perennial feature of human psychology: appearance matters. His life of penance and deep personal piety made its mark upon his nearly emaciated features. Yet this was no mere affectation. Like Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint John Vianney would have preferred a threadbare cassock, but we know from his sacristy that his liturgical wear was sumptuous and noble: nothing was spared for the beautification of God’s Altar and Divine Worship.

The second point I think is noteworthy for today is John XXIII insistence that Bishops be close to their Priests. He states: “What is there that cannot be accomplished by a bishop who loves the clergy entrusted to his direction, who is close to them, really knows them, takes great care of them and directs them in a firm but fatherly way?” (106). He sees a clear analogy of the closeness of Saint John Vianney to his flock, to the closeness of a Bishop to his Priests, with whom he has “many sacred ties” (107). Interestingly, this solicitude, according to the mind of John XXIII, was to extend to the material well-being of the clergy. As many Priests know, there is often a disparity between Priests in terms of their lodging and income. I am sure many Priest-readers have also seen some of the appalling condition of many Parish Rectories. John XXIII notes, quoting Saint Bede the Venerable, that while the Priesthood is apt motive for the practice of the Evangelical Counsels (Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience), this does not mean that the Bishop should feel permitted to impoverish his clergy. I found the words of Pope John very interesting, and also his appeal to the example of Pope Pius XII, who in his Apostolic Exhortation Menti Nostrae exhorted the faithful to ensure that their Priests did not “lack the necessities of life” (19). There are, unfortunately, quite a few Bishops who use the excuse of the Evangelical Counsels to make their clergy entirely reliant upon their good graces, even to the negation of natural justice.

Pope Francis once famously stated that Priests must have the “smell of the sheep”, the context indicating that Priests should be close to their faithful. Closeness to people, both practically and spiritually, is essential for success in the care of souls. It is important to be an ‘Incarnational Man’, a spiritual man grounded to the realities of the world. John XXIII, recalling John Vianney’s heroic practice of poverty, notes that the Priest should make use of superfluous wealth for the good of the poor and pious causes. However, it is important to note that this counsel is also directed toward the Christian Faithful in general, as Saint John Chrysostom famously preached: that all superfluous wealth, even down to the spare shoes you may have in the closet, belong to the poor man. One of the key problems that conjoin the issue of ‘closeness’ to that of Evangelical Poverty is that of apathy. To be close to one’s Priests or one’s people, one has to ‘see them’, in order then to care. The same is true of the poor. It can be quite easy to issue directives from a chancery or cathedra like a municipal bureaucrat. But how different things become when we treat others, not as a functionary, but as a Father. We Priests above all should know our powerful humanizing effect upon an increasingly mechanical, impersonal world.

To close on these reflections of one saint exhorting us based on the life of another, I think something Pope John wanted to emphasize to us, because he does so repeatedly, is the constant prayer and penance of Saint John Vianney. I think it’s a shame that the phrase ‘prayer and penance’ has sadly been tied to the necessary canonical penalty imposed upon those guilty of serious dilects. Yet prayer and penance is the necessary practice of every Christian. Ultimately, we all must “pray without ceasing”, and we must discipline our bodies in order to gain mastery of our senses, and also make temporal satisfaction for our sins and those of others. This is all the more important for those who are configured to the Chief Intercessor, and the Saving Victim who takes away the sins of the world: all prayers, and all our sacrifices, only have supernatural merit because they are done in union with Our Great High Priest. Penance especially is one of the most neglected aspects of Priestly Formation today, mostly because it is feared by the Priest Formators, but also more understandably because all penances, but especially external penances, are best done with the moderation and the direction of a competent Spiritual Director. This belongs, then, fundamentally to the Internal Forum, over which a broader team of formators can only have indirect influence. Yet, nonetheless, it is something that is salutary for Seminarians and Priests alike.

Saint John Vianney and Pope Saint John XXIII show us above all the importance of the cura animarum, the ‘care of souls’, which is the hallmark of pastoral charity. What is and is not ‘pastoral’ is a definition which has been abused gravely in the past sixty years. Pastoral care, to cut through the fog, is first and foremost the action done for another out love for Jesus Christ. One shepherds another to the chief shepherd, who cares for us all. Pastoral charity is not the stuff of bromides or cheap cliches. It cannot be achieved by bureaucracies or by episcopal decree. Pastoral care demands that the heart of the Priest be seeking the Heart of Jesus, so that he too may be set aflame. Both our ‘Saint Johns’ today were men of outstanding charity, which is the universal mark of holiness. On this Feast of Saint John Vianney, we pray for all Priests, especially Parish Priests, and ask the Chief Shepherd to bless them with the wisdom, zeal and love necessary to navigate this delicate and indispensible task.