03/08/2023
Day 3 (Last Day)
TRIDUUM OF PRAISE IN HONOR OF
ST. JOHN MARY VIANNEY
Patron of Priests
Ecce Sacerdus Magnus
Qui in diebus suis placuit Deo.
Benedictionem omnium gentium
dedit illi
et testamentum suum
confirmavit super caput eius.
Day 3
A Model of Priestly Spirituality
“You open your heart to him
and you feel happy in His Holy Presence.
This is the best of all prayers.”
VENERATION OF THE RELICS
Standing, the image and relics of St. John Mary Vianney may be incensed by the presider. A fitting hymn is sung.
DAILY PRAYER
O St. John Mary Vianney, Patron and Model of All Priests, you show us what it means to be a priest after the Heart of Jesus.
O Holy Priest of Ars, you lived a life of total dedication to Christ and His Church. You spent your life wholly at the service of the flock, devoting your self entirely to the work of the ministry. Day and night you labored for souls, ministering to them and praying in their behalf. Nothing could weary your generous heart.
You never gave up on your flock even when they seemed impossible. You shunned all riches and honor so only Christ will be your treasure and crown. With joy you embraced the radical poverty of the Gospel so with empty hands you can freely embrace God’s people.
You rooted yourself on Jesus, always fixing your eyes on him in every task or trial. Even when times were most difficult, you anchored yourself to the Eucharist and to Mary, your pillars of strength. In prayer and sacrifice you found holiness, your most powerful tool in drawing the flock to Jesus.
Teach us your example that we who aspire to be priests may become holy shepherds for God’s people. Pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send more laborers to gather his people into the fold and nurture the flock. Ask our High Priest to sanctify his priests so our Holy Church may ever increase in holiness under the guidance of holy pastors. Amen.
READING John 15, 5-7
Jesus said:
“I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who lives in me and I in him will bear fruit abundantly,
for apart from me you can do nothing.
A person who does not live in me is like a withered rejected branch,
picked up to be thrown in the fire and burnt.
If you remain in me and my words in you,
you may ask whatever you want and it will be given you.
My Father is glorified in your bearing much fruit
and becoming my disciples.”
SHARING
The presiding priest or another priest imparts a short reflection. After the sharing, a song may be sung.
Hymn: Pagkakaibigan / Pastorale (Francisco, SJ)
MEDITATION
The Curé of Ars is a model of priestly zeal for all pastors. The secret of his generosity is to be found without doubt in “his love for God”, lived without limits, in constant response to the love made manifest “in Christ crucified”. This is where he bases his desire to do everything to save the souls ransomed by Christ at such a great price, and to bring them back to the love of God. Let us recall one of those pithy sayings which he had the knack of uttering: "The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus." In his sermons and catechesis he continually returned to that love: "O my God, I prefer to die loving you than to live a single instant without loving you... I love you, my divine Savior, because you were crucified for us... because you have me crucified for you." For the sake of Christ, he seeks to conform himself exactly to the radical demands that Jesus in the Gospels puts before the disciples whom he sends out: prayer, poverty, humility, self-denial, voluntary penance. And, like Christ, he has a love for his flock that leads him to extreme pastoral commitment and self-sacrifice. Rarely has a pastor been so acutely aware of his responsibilities, so consumed by a desire to wrest his people from the sins of their lukewarmness. "O my God, grant me the conversion of my parish: I consent to suffer whatever you wish, for as long as I live." Dear brother priests, nourished by the Second Vatican Council which has felicitously placed the priest's consecration within the framework of his pastoral mission, let us join Saint John Mary Vianney and seek the dynamism of our pastoral zeal in the Heart of Jesus, in his love for souls. If we do not draw from the same source, our ministry risks bearing little fruit! “–Pope John Paul II, Letter to Priests on Holy Thursday 1986
A brief period of silence is observed.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
O St. John Mary Vianney, Our Model of Priestly Spirituality, you lived a life firmly rooted on Jesus, your source of strength.
You said the Mass with all the love of your heart and your prayers with all devotion. You celebrated the feasts of the Church with great care and solemnity and led your people with joy to the Lord’s Banquet. In the early hours of the morning and the late watches of the night, you stood before the tabernacle, gazing at Jesus while Jesus gazed at you. With filial confidence you tenderly embraced the Mother of Jesus and made the saints of God your friends. You shunned no hardship or sacrifice which you offered to God for your flock, like a shepherd who lays down his life for the fold.
It was with this holiness, shining beyond your humble appearance, that you drew your people to Jesus. It was from this inexhaustible fount of wisdom that you drew knowledge and counsel to instruct and guide your flock. Nothing could weary you because you drew from Jesus, your infinite source of strength.
Teach us always to cling to Jesus, as branches to the vine. That nourished by his grace and especially through His Holy Sacraments, we may grow in holiness and be able to sanctify others also. Let us never shrink from our weakness or rely too much on our strength. Make us always realize that without God we are nothing. Let us always trust that we God we can do everything. Amen.
Amen.
CLOSING PRAYER
By the presider
V. Pray for us, blessed John Mary Vianney,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Father, bless us as we (prepare for tomorrow’s feast to) honor John Mary Vianney, your lowly servant who by his holiness of life and faithful service shepherded the flock after the Heart of your Son. May we who implore his intercession on earth be granted a share of his spirit, be able to share his mission and so one day come to partake of his heavenly crown through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Individual veneration of the relics may follow. Meanwhile, suitable hymns are sung and/or the Litany in Honor of St. John Mary Vianney may be recited.
LITANY IN HONOR OF SAINT JOHN VIANNEY
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, One God,
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
Saint John-Mary Vianney,
St. John Vianney, endowed with grace from infancy,
St. John Vianney, model of filial piety,
St. John Vianney, devoted servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
St. John Vianney, spotless lily of purity,
St. John Vianney, faithful imitator of the sufferings of Christ,
St. John Vianney, abyss of humility,
St. John Vianney, seraph of prayer,
St. John Vianney, faithful adorer of the Most Blessed Sacrament,
St. John Vianney, ardent lover of holy poverty,
St. John Vianney, true son of St. Francis of Assisi,
St. John Vianney, exemplary Franciscan tertiary,
St. John Vianney, tender friend of the poor,
St. John Vianney, penetrated with the fear of God's judgment,
St. John Vianney, fortified by divine visions,
St. John Vianney, who was tormented by the evil spirit,
St. John Vianney, perfect
model of sacerdotal virtue,
St. John Vianney, firm and prudent pastor,
St. John Vianney, inflamed with zeal,
St. John Vianney, faithful attendant on the sick,
St. John Vianney, indefatigable catechist,
St. John Vianney, who preached in words of fire,
St. John Vianney, wise director of souls,
St. John Vianney, especially gifted with the spirit of counsel,
St. John Vianney, enlightened by light from Heaven,
St. John Vianney, formidable to Satan,
St. John Vianney, compassionate with every misery,
St. John Vianney, providence of the orphans,
St. John Vianney, favored with the gift of miracles,
St. John Vianney, who did reconcile so many sinners to God,
St. John Vianney, who did confirm so many of the just in the way of virtue,
St. John Vianney, who did taste the sweetness of death,
St. John Vianney, who does now rejoice in the glory of Heaven,
St. John Vianney, favored with the gift of miracles,
St. John Vianney, who did reconcile so many sinners to God,
St. John Vianney, who did confirm so many of the just in the way of virtue,
St. John Vianney, who did taste the sweetness of death,
St. John Vianney, who does now rejoice in the glory of Heaven,
St. John Vianney, who gives joy to those who invoke thee,
St. John Vianney, heavenly patron of parish priests,
St. John Vianney, model and patron of directors of souls,
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
V. Pray for us, blessed John Mary Vianney,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let Us Pray
Almighty and merciful God,
you bestowed upon
blessed John Mary Vianney
wonderful pastoral zeal
and a great fervor for prayer and penance,
grant, we beseech you,
that by his example and intercession
we may be able to gain the souls
of our brethren for Christ,
and with them attain to everlasting glory,
through the same Lord Jesus Christ
your Son,
Who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
