Priestly Chest-Bumping

Honoring the patron saint of diocesan priests

08/05/2025

Matthew 14:13-21 When Jesus heard of the 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 foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." He said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here." Then he said, "Bring them here to me," and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over– twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

Yesterday evening I received a text from Fr. Savio requesting: “Fr. John tomorrow, August 4, is our feast. May I have the privilege of concelebrating Mass with you?” Of course I responded enthusiastically: “Absolutely, Father! That would be a blessing to me.” Why all this priestly chest-bumping yesterday? Well, today is the feast of St. John Mary Baptist Vianney, the patron saint of diocesan priests. St. John Vianney is our model and our mentor.

First let me note that not all priests are created the same. In the Church you find two different categories or kinds of priests. On the one hand, diocesan priests, like Fr. Savio and I, also known as secular priests. And on the other hand, you find religious order priests, like the monks of Subiaco Abbey, like Fr. Jerome Kodell. They are called regular priests. Being a regular priest does not have to do with their digestive system. But rather because they live according to a “regula” which is Latin for rule, like the regula (rule) of St. Benedict.

Diocesan priests like St. John Vianney and Fr. Savio and I do not live by a detailed daily regula, but according to the saecula, which is Latin for “the world,” or better “secular society.” In other words, our daily duties and routine are dictated by the demands of your life. We have 7 a.m. Mass because it suits you not me. We run to the hospital when you are sick. We hear your confessions when you feel far from God. Your secular life sets our weekly schedule. So we are secular priests.

Another helpful way to describe the difference between diocesan and religious order priests is to think of how the military is organized. On the one hand you have the U.S. Army, with its large fighting force stratified into its various ranks: private, corporal, captain, major, colonel, general. So, too, we diocesan priests are part of the Church Militant, fighting Satan. We are ranked as deacon, priest, bishop, cardinal, pope.

In addition to the marching military, though, the US military employs special forces, the Army Rangers, the Navy Seals, the Marine Commandoes, etc. They are smaller groups of highly trained teams who have a very unique skill set and a very narrow mission. So, too, religious order priests like the Benedictines live in a smaller group of men who have developed and honed unique skill sets for specific missions: to teach, to serve the poor, to pray, etc. So, today’s feast day is for the army, not the special forces.

Let me share a few fun facts about our patron saint, Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney. He was born on May 8, 1786 and died on August 4, 1859. Hence his feast day is on his second and real birth-day. August 4 is not in fact when he died but rather when he was born into eternal life. Generally speaking, most saints feast days are celebrated on the day they died, or more properly, the day they were truly born forever.

Second, St. John Vianney, is referred to in French as “Cure D’Ars”, the parish priest of the church in Ars, France. One of the note-worthy ways he served his parishioners was by spending 10, 11, 0r 12 hours in the confessional. People came from all over the world to go to him for confession. Why? Because he could read their souls, and tell you the sins you forgot to mention. You know, I too go to priests all over the world when I need to go to confession but it's because they can’t understand what I’m saying.

But my favorite story of St. John Vianney is his reaction to complaints from his brother priests. His popularity and piety and penances had made his brother priests green with envy. So they gathered signatures from all the priests to submit to the bishop saying that the Cure of Ars was unworthy to be a priest. John Vianney asked for the list and signed it himself, saying, “No one knows better than me how unworthy I am to be a priest.”

So today on the patronal feast day of diocesan priests, lowly grunts in the Army of the Lord, pray to St. John Vianney for us, that we may have zeal for souls, that we adopt personal penances for the good of the Church, and that we have a heart for sinners who come to us for confession. And may we be the first to acknowledge before God and the world that we are unworthy to be a priest.

Praised be Jesus Christ!