Often, when something is rare, it becomes precious to us. So the Blessed Sacrament, which could not be received unless Jean and his family risked their lives and risked social rejection, became precious to Jean. Later he said:
"The soul hungers for God, and nothing but God can satiate it. Therefore He came to dwell on earth and assumed a Body in order that this Body might become the Food of our souls.... When we go before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart; our good God will open His. We shall go to Him; He will come to us, the one to ask, the other to receive. It will be like a breath from one to the other."
To Jean, because of these experiences, priests were courageous heroes. God sustained them during their dreadful persecution. Human beings rejected them and would imprison them or murder them, but God did not reject them. Later in Jean's life, Bonaparte's Government restored Catholicism to being an accepted religion, and Jean wanted to become a priest. At first he was rejected; several clerics thought he was too slow. Vianney did not give up hope; he knew all about rejection because of his need for courage in his childhood, when Catholics were rejected. He knew that men rejected him, but God did not. A priest friend convinced the Seminary to accept him because of his great holiness. Finally, in spite of his initial rejection, he was ordained. Later generations named him the "patron saint of priests!"
We live in an age in which many members of our families and our friends are atheists, agnostics, or religiously indifferent. But sometimes we don't know how strong our beliefs are until someone makes fun of them, or tells us that no one can scientifically prove that God exists. Sometimes our hearts hurt and we feel rejected because those who are dearest to us cannot accept the deepest part of who we are: our beliefs that God is real, that Jesus is God's Son, Who died for us and rose from the dead, that God lives within us, that there is life everlasting after death.
Only God's love for us can heal the pain of this soul-deep rejection. Only God's love sustaining us can teach us how to respond to those who do not accept or understand our beliefs. God is love; God expects us to live in love.
In talking to non-believers, we can quickly learn that no matter how we try to explain ourselves, some cannot or will not comprehend or accept what we say. Then we must be lovers, not fighters, becoming quiet, not insulting or rejecting others, realizing we need to turn to prayer. Perhaps, weeks, months, or years later, souls will open and become receptive. Others need to see if our lives match the words we say. Do we pray, reach out to others, walk the extra mile with them, bear grief and burdens with patience and trust? Our life is a Gospel that can make many think more deeply about the reality of God, the gift of faith.
The depth of our faithful, sacrificial love for others, and our gentle steadfastness in what we believe will pave the way for others to come to faith. In God's good time. In God's way.
God asks us to be patient when our faith is rejected by others. God asks us to pray and intercede for them. God asks us to be humble, to recognize that He is the Good Shepherd who hunts for the sheep who are lost and straying:
"I myself will pasture my sheep. I myself will show them where to rest. I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded, and make the weak strong. I shall watch over the fat and healthy. I shall be a true shepherd to them." (Ezekiel 34: 15-16.)