Praying with our patron saint, John Baptiste Marie Vianney

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 04 August 2025
Monday, Memorial of St. John Baptiste Marie Vianney, Priest
Numbers 11:4-15     <*((((><  +  ><))))*>     Matthew 14:13-21

On this feast of our Patron Saint,
John Baptiste Marie Vianney,
I praise and thank you dear Jesus
for the gift of vocation to the priesthood;
thank you for calling me to become your priest;
thank you for the courage and strength 
to accept your call;
most of all, thank you for your patience
in me despite my repeated sins
and failures as your priest.

Onn this feast of our Patron Saint,
John Baptiste Marie Vianney,
I pray to you Lord Jesus
our Eternal Priest to give me
a big heart,
a heart so wide to welcome
everyone and life's many
challenges. 

When Jesus heard of death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. the crowds heard of this and followed him on for from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick (Matthew 14:13-14).

O Jesus,
only a heart so wide
like yours can take those 
kind of "beatings" -
to withdraw in silence,
perhaps cry in silence,
to be hurting alone with
the pain of the suffering and
death of a brother in ministry;
you bore all our pains
and went straight to the Father
to find solace and strength
for the terrible news nobody else
would really feel nor understand;
make me a good,
loving brother to other priests,
Jesus;
on the other hand,
despite your grief and sadness,
you did not drive away the crowd
so eager to have you in feeding them
with your words and teachings,
in healing their sick notwithstanding
the pains you have in the death of
John the Baptist; where did you get
that kind of immense feeling of 
oneness with the crowd
that when you saw them,
your "heart was moved with pity
for them" and cured their sick
and eventually fed them not only
with your words but with true bread!

That is why I pray
for a bigger heart as your priest,
Lord Jesus -
a heart so big to willingly accept
and bear every pain 
and hurt in your name
because only a wounded heart
like yours can truly sing
of the joys and pains of living,
of the sense and meaning of serving,
of the healing power of your love.

Forgive me, Jesus,
when many times I feel like
giving up,
complaining to you
like Moses
 in today's first reading,
hurting deep inside
when your people could not
see and realize
all the good things you have
been doing for them;
hence,
I pray for a big heart
to bear the pains and
disappointments of your people
even if they are not reasonable
nor valid at all;
most of all,
give me a big heart,
Lord,
because according to
St. John Baptiste
Marie Vianney,
"the priesthood
is the love
 of the heart
 of Jesus."
Amen.

St. John Baptiste Marie Vianney,
Pray for us priests!
Amen.

Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City (lordmychef@gmail.com).