August 2: St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest

The Eucharist was the pearl that shone in his eyes
The great artist Auguste Rodin, who sculpted “The Thinker” and other world-famous pieces, met today’s saint in 1862 and joined his Congregation as a lay brother. Rodin was despondent over the death of his sister and wanted to abandon art and dedicate his life to God. Saint Peter Julian Eymard burned like a bonfire for God, but this was one vocation his flames would not consume.
Father Eymard could see Rodin’s prodigious talent in an evocative bust Rodin sculpted of the future saint while Rodin was a religious brother. Eymard told Rodin to return to the world to pursue his artistic calling. So while Father Eymard was as apostolic and demanding as any saint, he was also just as wise as any saint. Not every man who felt a vocation truly had one. It was for the superior to discern the validity of the calling. Father Eymard knew this well from....
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