The Best Homily

REMEMBRANCE OF SAINT JOHN MARY VIANNEY

4 AUGUST

J.M.J.

Dear Father Thomas:

Do you remember Jofft, that young man friend of mine who we met at Binondo's church? He told me that he'd like to enter in the seminary to be ordained priest. But the only problem he had was that he didn't believe he could memorize a whole homily, nor could preach lots of them. After thinking about it, I told him that I didn't considered that that represented a problem at all.

The greatest priest that ever lived used to say the same homily every day, once and again, and it was of only two lines. Saint John Mary Vianney preached the same every Sunday: "If you only knew how much Jesus loved you in the Holy Sacrament, you'd die of happiness." then he pointed to the sacristy added, "JESUS IS REALLY THERE."

People travelled from all over France to hear him talking, and he repeated every Sunday the same thing. At becoming aware of the love and the presence of Jesus in the Holy Sacrament, he was deeply moved to the depths of his soul, that at pointing to the sanctuary to show people that Jesus was really there, he cried of joy.

He spent long hours every day and night praying before the Holy Sacrament as well as in the confessionary.

Saint John Mary Vianney, the priest of Arts, was proclaimed for the church a model and a patron of all priests.

Other famous priest that lived in the same age than San John Mary Vianney was Father Lacordiere. That priest was the preacher most eloquent of his time. When he was going to preach to the church of Notre Dame of Paris, the king and the queen went to hear him and the Cathedral was full.

Certain day, someone asked him if he had great satisfaction for being a so popular preacher. He answered that not, because when he spoke people praised his eloquence and intelligence. Whereas when John Mary Vianney spoke, people said: "How great is Jesus."

How complicated is human nature, dear Thomas! We try to impress to everybody with our intelligence, theologizing everything, so much that people have trouble understanding what we're trying to say. What we should really say is just telling people how kind is Jesus in the Holy Sacrament! I advised to Jorge, that everything that he has to do as a priest is to repeat the two lines that Sant John Mary Vianney, and he will be canonized a swell.

Fraternally yours in His Eucharistic Love,

Mgr. Pepe