Most Holy Father,
Your election comes at a time of great upheaval. The world trembles beneath the weight of change—technological, social, and spiritual. As in the mid-1800s, when the Church emerged from the ravages of the French Revolution and faced the birth pangs of industrial modernity, so too today we stand at a threshold. The faithful hunger for clarity. The lost seek mercy. The lukewarm cry out—silently, unknowingly—for fire.
When religious orders fall into laxity, the path to reform is clear: they return to the founding charism. Franciscans look to St. Francis. Dominicans to St. Dominic. Augustinians to the burning heart of St. Augustine.
But where shall the diocesan priest turn?
He has no founder in the canonical sense—no rule but the broad and beautiful demands of pastoral charity. Yet he does have a model. He does have a sanctuary. He has, in the providence of God, the Curé of Ars.
The Strategy of Ars (1820–1859): A Model for Our Time
In the unremarkable village of Ars, St. John Vianney became a lighthouse of sanctity in an age of shadows. His program was not based on novelty, but on fidelity—radical, luminous, undistracted fidelity to Jesus Christ and the care of souls.
1. Personal Holiness and Sacrifice
He slept and ate little, and gave up even the comfort of privacy to remain available to penitents. His sacrifices were not for show, but for love—the kind of love of quiet martyrdom for souls.
2. The Eucharist as the Sun of the Parish
His reverent daily Mass was the heart of the parish. He taught his flock not only to attend, but to adore. The Blessed Sacrament was not merely present—it was enthroned.
3. Confession as the Furnace of Mercy
Sixteen hours a day in the confessional. He read hearts. He awakened consciences. He offered not a ritual, but an encounter with the living God.
4. Preaching and Catechesis with Fire
Simple words. Profound truths. He spoke of heaven with longing, of sin with gravity, of virtue with joy. His sermons burned away indifference.
5. Unflinching Battle Against Vice
He named sin plainly—blasphemy, impurity, profanation of the Lord’s Day—not to condemn, but to convert. He taught his people the dignity of holy rest and modest living.
6. Marian Devotion
He clung to the Rosary. He urged others to do the same. He walked with Mary, and she brought his people to Jesus.
7. Long-Suffering Love
Attacked by demons, mocked by peers, tempted by despair—he stayed. Three times he tried to leave Ars; three times he returned. He died where God had placed him—empty, spent, radiant.
A Program for Priestly Renewal Today
Holy Father, if we desire the renewal of the Church, we must begin with the parish priest—not merely in structure or policy, but in the soul. What the Curé of Ars lived can be adapted—not copied slavishly, but imitated faithfully—for the needs of today.
Let there be, in every parish:
A. Foundations of Sanctity
Daily Holy Hour and breviary before the Eucharist, begging for one's own salvation and his flock.
Simple Living, marked by detachment from worldly comforts. Fasting.
Sacramental Focus, with the Eucharist and Confession at the center of priestly life.
B. A Pastoral Model for Conversion
1. Mercy Through Confession-- I put confession before Eucharist because it is a necessary preparation to receive worthily.
Schedule generous confession hours: Return to the tradition of 20 minutes before all masses,
especially on Sundays.
Preach sin and mercy clearly.
Counsel with gentleness and courage.
2. Eucharistic Centrality
Promote daily Mass.
Offer Eucharistic adoration.
Celebrate processions and benediction.
3. Catechesis that Inspires Holiness
Incorporate catechism into sermons with clarity, along with Scripture..
Form children in doctrine and prayer.
Preach with fire—priests should learn rhetorical skills to inspire. Catholics are not known now as great preachers, as in the past. St. Augustine was a master of rhetoric.
4. Clear Moral Leadership
Name the dangers: pornography, addiction, Sabbath neglect, family collapse.
Lead with hope—but do not fear the word sin-- explain what it is mortal and venial.
5. A Culture of Prayer
First Fridays and First Saturdays: announce them coming on the last Sunday of each month.
Public Rosaries, novenas, litanies.
Prayer and fasting teams to intercede for conversions.
6. Parish Revival Events
Retreats, parish missions, healing liturgies and local walking pilgrims.
Promote Catholic radio and other media.
7. Spiritual Fatherhood
Visit the homes. Go through the list of parishioners. If they don’t want him to visit, then make a place to meet at a restaurant or another place. It may take years to visit each parishioner. But it will be worth it. Bless homes with holy water and relics.
A Short Rule for Parish Priests
In the Spirit of the Curé of Ars
Rise early to pray for the conversion of one’s self and parish.
Speak the truth in love, always: Study his sermons and catechesis.
Give more time to confession than to meetings and fundraising.
Preach to save souls, not to be admired.
Live simply and humbly.
Suffer for sinners. Rejoice for converts.
Trust Mary with your priesthood.
Die empty—having poured out everything.
Holy Father, you are Peter—called not merely to preserve, but to strengthen the brethren. In the village of Ars, a single priest transformed a nation. Imagine the harvest, if the Curé's fire were lit in a thousand parishes.
Let us not reinvent the Church. Let us remember her.
May this century be baptized in the same grace that sanctified that little village. May our shepherds be fathers again, our parishes be homes of prayer again, and our altars be thrones of fire again.
With filial devotion and hope,
Timothy Burns
Faithful son of the Church
Servant of her priests
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