A Reflection for the Memorial of St. John Vianney
Find today’s readings here.
You have to feel for Moses. He is in the desert with the Israelites, where God has provided the hungry masses with manna from heaven. But apparently it wasn’t good enough. The Israelites let Moses know all about it. No meat? No fish? How about some cucumbers or garlic?
God didn’t appreciate the griping, and took it up with Moses. Moses, in turn, complained back to God for putting him in charge of the group: “If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face this distress.”
Basically, Moses said, “Lord, just kill me now.”
And I totally get it. At home, while potty training, my son pees all over the couch a few seconds after getting off the toilet. Or I’m feeding my daughter her favorite rice and she, inexplicably, backhands the spoon, launching the grains all over the floor. “No!” she declares. Or, running late, I finally make my way to my designated parking spot only to discover the HOA, for some reason, towed my car. And that’s just the small stuff.
My frustration with work or family or friends or my own health can spike to such heights that I think, “You know what, life? I’m good. God, take me now.”
That’s a long way of saying that the life of St. John Vianney can seem pretty inaccessible to me as a lay person. “Patron saint of priests? Yeah, that makes sense.” I don’t appreciate homilies in which a celibate priest claims to know all about fatherhood. I don’t claim to know what it’s like to be an ordained priest. And I have no idea what it’s like to spend 12 or more hours in a confessional, like St. John Vianney did. Even in terms of rudimentary education, I did not have to overcome challenges the French priest faced as a child.
Sleepless nights? O.K., that’s something. Fasting? Maybe I can try more of that, as long as the accompanying grumpiness doesn’t cause undue suffering to innocent bystanders.
But what I can learn from St. John Vianney goes beyond his daily disciplines. He was a man dedicated to accepting the mission God gave him. He had to overcome countless obstacles, including a lack of support from his bishop. He preached the Gospel in France during a time when society had become largely indifferent to religion.
The challenges must have seemed insurmountable, but St. John Vianney said yes to God anyway. He trusted in God’s providence. At times, life can feel impossible. Yet God provides the grace we need to make it through.
God provided the grace to Moses, and Moses led God’s people to the Promised Land. And, if I’m reading this right, it’s O.K. to complain a little along the way.
