Fr. George Rutler to deliver lecture on Cure d’Ars...

... at the John Paul II Center in Denver:

World-renowned speaker and author Father George William Rutler will present a free lecture, “The Cure of Ars and the Priesthood,” at 7 p.m. Oct. 21 in Bonfils Hall of the John Paul II Center. The talk will paint a picture of St. John Vianney, whose amazing story illustrates the life-changing gift that a holy priest is to his people. The New York priest’s reflections will mirror his more extensive reflections on the saint in the book, “The Cure D’Ars Today” (Ignatius Press, 1988). Father Rutler will go beyond a basic biography to offer an interpretation of Vianney’s life for the modern Catholic, which aims to challenge attendees to model the saint’s example, each in their own unique way, to the present culture.

Rutler’s multiple degrees—from Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins and Oxford, to name a few—make him a well-respected and intelligent speaker on a variety of hot topics in the Church today. Known as a wise and witty homilist, Rutler hosts EWTN’s popular program “Christ in the City.” He is also a prolific writer, contributing on a regular basis to numerous scholarly and popular journals, as well as having authored 14 books on theology, history, cultural issues, and the lives of the saints. For more information on this lecture, call the Office of Communications at 303-715-3123 or e-mail info@archden.org.

A taste of what Fr. Rutler's lecture will be like can found in a recent piece by Paul Ciarcia for Headline Bistro:

If you were to ask Father George Rutler, pastor of the Church of Our Saviour on Park Avenue in Manhattan, what his cosmopolitan parish has in common with the little country village of Ars where St. John Vianney served, he would tell you a great deal.

"The life of Vianney can be transferred to any parish in the world,” Father Rutler maintains. Each parish is a “microcosm of the Church” that must face many of the same spiritual problems and challenges, the same personalities, the same conflicts, however manifested in different ways.

Father Rutler’s path to the Catholic Church was uniquely inspired by the Curé D’Ars.

During a retreat in a monastery in England during Father Rutler’s early days as an Anglican, a green book sitting on the shelf happened to catch his eye. That book turned out to be the "Life of the Curé D'Ars," by Alfred Monnin. Encountering the life of St. John Vianney for the first time was a watershed moment in Father Rutler’s spiritual journey to the Catholic Church.

“I was just hypnotized by the book and could not put it down,” Father Rutler said.

The example of St. John Vianney exerted a formative influence on Father Rutler: “This man is living the life of a Catholic priest and that is what I was striving for.” Inspired by his life and devotion, Father Rutler as an Anglican knew he faced a dilemma: “If Catholicism is wrong, how could it produce such saints?” Thus began his conversion to the Catholic faith.

It was as also as an Anglican that Father Rutler encountered another towering Catholic figure, Cardinal John Henry Newman, who also played an influential part in his own spiritual formation. While studying at Oxford, Father Rutler began to read the works of Newman and would pray before Newman’s pulpit.

Read the entire piece.

Learn more about Fr. Rutler's book, Cure D'Ars Today: St. John Vianney.

Comments

[Norah]

Fr Rutlr's appreciation of St Jean Marie Vianney is very impressive as is Pope Benedict's dedication of Vianney as patron of all priests but I have a niggling concern. Vianney is said to have lived on a diet of potatoes, almost no sleep and very severe physical penances. I think that priests today should be encourage to eat a heathy diet, get a good night's sleep and fast and do penance in moderation. I don't think it is a good idea to starve oneself or be sleep deprived - perhaps those appearances of the devil were halucinations brought on by starvation and sleep deprivation.

St Peter Claver is another saint some of whose idea of penance is a bit 'off' by any standards.

[Carl E. Olson]

I don't think it is a good idea to starve oneself or be sleep deprived - perhaps those appearances of the devil were halucinations brought on by starvation and sleep deprivation.

You may want to read and contemplate a bit more about St. Vianney before making such statements. No one expects priests to do exactly what the Curé of Ars did as far as hearing confessions for 18 hours (or more) a day. As Pope Benedict XVI stated in his letter announcing the Year for Priests, "Aside from the actual penances which the Cure of Ars practised, the core of his teaching remains valid for each of us: souls have been won at the price of Jesus' own blood, and a priest cannot devote himself to their salvation if he refuses to share personally in the 'precious cost' of redemption.'" Each of us, whether clergy or laity or religious, have different abilities, strengths, talents, and gifts. The common call is taking up the Cross, following Christ, and proclaiming the Gospel as we are able, in word and deed.

[M. L. Hearing]

Would that we had more hallucinating priests like St. Jean Vianney--especially priests willing to spend hours in the confessional. Often, another way to say "moderation" is "lukewarm-ness."

M. L. Hearing