Adoration for Pethapur
Community, Gandhinagar on Vianney Feast 4/8/2020
Opening Hymn: Aradhana
prabhu aradhana
Lector: Xavier James
Beloved Archbishop & Presbyterians,
Brother, Sister, As the Eucharistic Lord, whom we minister is present, in the
wonderful Sacrament of the Altar. Let us worship Him, adore Him, glorify Him
and thank Him for his continued presence among us.
Though Sinners, we trust
in His merciful love which overflows through this wondrous Sacrament which He
left us as an eternal covenant and everlasting memory. It is through His
enormous love and forgiveness, He has chosen us weak, fragile human beings as
His ministers. Thank you Lord. Forgive us Lord. The contemporary of St. John
Mary Vianney in France was St. Peter Julian Eymard who founded the Blessed
Sacrament congratation says, “The Eucharist is the answer for all the hunger of
the humanity”. We are in front of the same Lord who will surely heal the world
torn by Corona Virus. Let us implore the Lord in faith.
On this auspicious day,
as we sit before the Eucharistic Lord, Let us reflect on three points to be
joyful priests basing the life of St. John Mary Baptist Vianney.
Lector: Sr. Magie
1.When we value priests
& priesthood of Jesus Christ, our life will be joyful:
Having completed his
studies, Jean Marie Vianney was ordained a priest by the local Bishop Simon on
13th August 1815. He celebrated his first Eucharist the following
day in the Seminary chapel. The new priest was back in Daridelly, his native
parish and was very helpful to his vocation promoter in his ministry. He
visited the sick and preached the Word of God. He took a lot of time to prepare
his sermons, which were short and clear. He also catechized and baptized but
was not allowed to hear confessions. Fr. Balley, his Parish Priest &
Vocation Promoter took initiative and prepared Jean to appear for exams. As
soon as Jean succeeded in his exams, Fr. Balley was the first person to confess
to the new confessor. The two priests lived a simple life. When Fr. Balley fell
ill, Fr. Jean took care of the parish. On 17th December 1817, having
received the Sacrament of the sick at the hands of the one who humanly speaking
owed him his vocation, Fr. Balley breathed his last. The death of Fr. Balley
was a great loss for Fr. John and felt deeply sad. In the passing away of Fr.
Balley, Fr. John had lost a father, counselor and above all a great friend. He
also remarked, “If I were a painter, I could still do a portrait of him, I have
encountered some beautiful souls in my life”. John also considered the
priesthood as a fulfillment of the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Lector: Xavier James
Many priests have touched
our lives when we were children and young. Even today, many priests continue to
inspire and encourage us in our ministry. Let us remember those priests who
have contributed to our growth as priests. Let us thank God for such priests
whom we value. If they have died let us pray for them at this moment, specially
our own Archdiocesan priests Fr. Gnana Prakash & Fr. Rocky D’silva. Last
year we had one silver jubilarian Fr. Mathew who celebrated silver jubilee year
of his sacerdotal ordination. Let us thank God for him. We have a new priest
for our Archdiocese, Fr. Deepak Toppo. Let us pray for his ministry. We are
glad to have our dear father Kingsline back after his studies. Let us thank God
for them. Let us continue to value priests and our own priesthood in order to
be joyful priests.
Hymn: Keerthan Sagar – H
24 page 181- Prabhu ye mujpe
Lector: BRITTO
2.When we value our
mission & people, our life as priests will be joyful:
The Bishop appointed Fr.
John to an obscure village named Ars, which was 18 miles from Erully in the
diocese of Lyons. Fr. John arrived at his new parish of Ars on 8th
February 1818. On receiving his assignment from the Vicar General, V.M Courbon,
Fr. John was told “there is no great love of God in the parish and you will
enkindle it”. Fr. John kept this in mind. He was generous by nature, a man full
of confidence, a pleasure to meet. He attracted people with his simple smile
and his sense of humour. He was sharp in listening to people and ever committed
to their service. He never considered himself above them or their superior. He
would often say, “one does not mind a few discomfort, if it is a means of
pleasing God” and led a simple life style. Fr. John was full of zeal and
enthusiasm. He carried his pastoral work with amiability, endless patience and
humility. He visited the village and was available in and around Ars. He was
always pleased to be of service. He prayed for the conversion of his
parishioners. He used to say often that ‘Ars is no more Ars’ In 1830, Ars was
completely converted to the Faith. Many pilgrims started coming to Ars to get a
glimpse of the Parish Priest. He always welcomed people who came to meet him
and attended to them in their needs.
Lector: Xavier James
Our Archdiocese is very
young in the 18th year and many are young priests with 37 priests in
total. Our missions are young, younger and youngest. Hence we need to value our
mission and work hard to bring people to Jesus as St. John Mary Vianney did, in
order to be joyful priests. Let us pray for our missions: 21 parishes & 5
mission centres. Let us pray for our collaborators 3 men religious congregation
with 19 priests and 2 brothers, with women religious congregation and 106
sisters and 10 seminarians.
Hymn: Keerthan Sagar F 5
page 110, Hei Bhagvan
Lector: SUGESH
3.When we value
Eucharist, our life will be joyful:
Fr. John said, “Priests
are spiritually weak as long as they do not have the Eucharist as the centre of
their lives”. As a priest, he was a true shepherd with his heart full of zeal,
enthusiasm and concern for the people which flowed from the Eucharist which he
celebrated with reverence. Since he did not take proper rest, he became very
weak. He confessed at a mass, “I wanted to sleep this morning but I had no
hesitation in getting up because the salvation of souls was of the utmost
importance”. He was always grateful to all those who helped him in his mission.
Even on his sick bed he told them that he was praying for them. On 2nd
August 1859 Fr. John grew weaker and received the Sacrament of the sick from
Fr. Toccabier. Although very weak, Fr. John knelt down and received the
Sacrament. On 3rd Bishop came to see him at Ars and at the dawn of 4th
he rendered his soul to God without any struggle. He was 73 and worked at Ars
for 41 long years as the Parish priest and true minister of the Eucharist &
Reconciliation. He used to enjoy celebrating the Holy Eucharist and
administering the Sacrament of reconciliation.
Lector: Xavier James
We are ordained to pray
for others through the Divine office and through the Holy Eucharist which is
the highest form of prayer and source and summit of our lives. Let us pray that
we may take every effort to celebrate the Holy Eucharist with proper disposition
and with proper preparation not belittling the sacredness of this great divine
mystery. Our love for the Eucharist will make us joyful ministers of the Holy Eucharist
and this will help us to serve the needy brothers and siters.
Hymn: Keerthan Sagar P 9,
page 343 Kant tu gane
Hymn of Benediction: Let
us bow in adoration to this Sacrament so great
Benediction: His Grace
Archbishop Thomas Macwan
Hymn: Keethan Sagar F 3
page 109, Manthi nakki karyu che me
Thank you very much. May
the Eucharistic Lord be with us always.
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