Homily for Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B (St John Mary Vianney).
Homily theme: From human imperfections!
We love house-dogs. Don’t we? I have wonderful pet dogs myself. They exhibit extraordinary intelligence in all ramifications. But that does not mean I would take kindly to being called a house dog. In biblical times, dogs were considered unclean creatures. It was a big insult to be directly or indirectly called a dog. Why would Jesus ignore the Canaanite woman’s pleas in today’s gospel reading, and then indirectly call her a dog when she pleaded? It was all a test of her faith. The woman acknowledged her imperfections, passed the test, and got what she wanted.
Friends, St Jean-Baptiste Mary Vianney understood what it meant to be imperfect. This is why he could spend up to eighteen hours a day in the confessional, trying to reconcile fellow imperfect souls to God. He was not an “intelligent” priest by any stretch of the imagination. In 1818, he was sent to the parish of Ars-en-Dombes, an isolated village some distance from Lyon, where he remained for the rest of his life because his parishioners would not let him leave. Vianney passed the test of his human imperfections, and became one of the greatest pastors of all time. Can we do the same?
Good morning dear. God bless your day ahead. St John Mary Vianney, pray for us.
– Rev Fr Oselumhense Anetor (Uromi Diocese).