Impressions from Life -

A webblog by Paul G Abnett

A Pilgrim’s tale

On a late summer’s afternoon, I parked my car in front of the war memorial of a small commune on the edge of the Dombes plateau, around 40km north of the city of Lyon in France.

I left the car, and walked past the 12th century village church dedicated to St Sixtus. The road led me down a rather steep hill, over the Formans brook, and on to the road towards Miserieux.

Walking up an equally steep but shorter incline, the road flattened out; and on the right was a neatly hedged and gravelled square, known as the Monument to the Encounter.

It was a significant moment for me, seven and a half years ago – because at that spot two hundred and five years previous to today’s date – 9th February 1818 to be precise - at roughly the same time of day, a young priest paused, whilst pushing a barrow of possessions towards his first posting as a priest. He asked a young shepherd boy in the fields if he was on the right road for his destination; and that boy walked with him, back along the way I had just trod to the presbytery in the village of Ars.

‘You have shown me the way to Ars’ said M. Vianney, ‘I will show you the way to heaven.’ That is the inscription on the statue of the young priest and shepherd boy now standing in that square.

Little did the world or the church know what wonders of transformation would be seen at the hands of this priest over the next forty-one years, through his dedication to the sacraments of the Eucharist and of penance. Later the Cure d’Ars would be proclaimed as St Jean Vianney, the patron saint of priests.

After several minutes of recovering my breath, I walked back to the village, and received the Mass during the daily 6pm celebration in the basilica built on to the east end of the old church.

That was the first visit of a very brief forty hour stay in Ars, culminating on the Friday morning in receiving mass at the side-altar above which the saint now lies, looking at his face, and into his eyes.

There are moments in life where the veil between heaven and earth is so close that it can be palpably felt, and the divine presence is an undeniable living reality.

This was one of those moments.

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