Restoration

Written by Sr. Rosemary Finnegan, O.P.
Readings from: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/080420.cfm

I love watching the Home and Garden show (HGTV) where a couple of folks take a very dilapidated historic home and beautifully restore it to its former glory.  They have a vision that turns this rundown home into the lovely structure it was meant to be, and with a lot of sweat equity, they make that vision come to life.

Today we reflect on two men who also had visions of restoring not homes, but people, to their former glory.  The first is Jeremiah, who as a prophet, was called by God to confront the people of Israel about their sinful ways.  He had to deliver a strong message to them from God.  Imagine hearing Jeremiah himself say these unsettling words of God to you:

Incurable is your wound, grievous your bruise;
There is none to plead your cause, no remedy for your running sore,
no healing for you.

It doesn’t look good for the people, but then, Jeremiah gets to deliver the good news:  God will ‘rebuild’ and ‘restore’ them.  God promises to renew his covenant with these words: “You shall be my people, and I will be your God.”  Jeremiah spent his life sharing God’s vision and restoring the people to their former covenant glory.

The other person we reflect on today who was also about the work of restoration is St. John Vianney.  Born in France in 1786, he was raised in a very religious home, but was unable to have a proper education.  As a result of that, when he entered the seminary, he failed at Latin and had to leave.

However, determined to be ordained, and with the help of a mentor and tutor, he became a priest in 1815.  He was assigned to a small parish in Ars, France, where he ministered for 41 years.  During that time, through patience and personal example, he spiritually restored not only the parish, but that whole tiny village with a lively Christian spirit. Soon people from all over Europe came to Ars to receive John Vianney’s spiritual guidance and go to confession to him. It is said that his desire to restore people to right relationship with God was so strong that he would spend 12-17 hours a day in the confessional.

After a life of unending service, unfailing humility, gentleness and patience, John Vianney died on Aug. 4, 1869 at the age of 73.  He was canonized in 1925 and in 1929 was designated the patron saint of parish priests.

As we ponder the lives of Jeremiah and John Vianney today, we know we have the opportunity through the sacrament of penance to also be forgiven, renewed and restored.  Grace is there for us in abundance, and God’s promise, as proclaimed by Jeremiah, is there for us, too:

You shall be my people,
and I will be your God.”

https://sjvorlando.org/about/st-jean-baptiste-marie-vianney/