More on the Year of the Priest . . .

I will be referring to St John Vianney from time to time this year especially as it is the Year of the Priest.

I find the book, 'A Curé of Ars Prayer Book' very inspiring. Here, for example, is an extract from the saint's writing on Priesthood:

How great is a Priest

Oh, how great is a priest! The priest will not understand the greatness of his office till he is in Heaven. If he understood it on earth, he would die, not of fear, but of love. The other benefits of God would be of no avail to us without the priest. What would be the use of a house full of gold, if you had nobody to open you the door! The priest has the key of the heavenly treasures; it is he who opens the door; he is the steward of the good God, the distributor of His wealth. Without the priest, the Death and Passion of Our Lord would be of no avail. Look at the heathens: what has it availed them that Our Lord has died? Alas! they can have no share in the blessings of Redemption, while they have no priest to apply His Blood to their souls!

The priest is not a priest for himself; he does not give himself absolution; he does not administer the Sacraments to himself. He is not for himself, he is for you. After God, the priest is everything.

God Our Father,

we thank you for all our parish priests.

We entrust them to your paternal care.

Help them in the challenges and difficulties they are faced with.

Guide them in their ministry, and keep them faithful to their calling as

pastors of your flock and stewards of your Kingdom.

Amen.

As well as praying for priests, it is of course very important that we continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood. As Pope John Paul II said in his Letter To All the Priests of the Church for Holy Thursday 1986, '. . . We beseech the Holy Spirit to call to the Church's service many priest of the calibre and holiness of the Curé of Ars . . . "

My Dear Jesus,

Thou desirest that we pray the Lord of the Harvest

that He send zealous labourers into His harvest.

Deign to raise up in Thy Church, and especially in this diocese,

numerous and holy priests who, taking Thy Divine Heart as their Model,

will, in the exercise of their holy priesthood,

promote the glory of Thy heavenly Father and

the salvation of those souls whom

Thou hast redeemed with Thy Precious Blood.

Give us true holy priests who, inflamed with the fire of Thy divine love,

seek nothing but Thy greater glory and the salvation of souls.

O Mary, Queen of the clergy, pray for us;

obtain for us a great number of vocations to the holy priesthood.

Amen.

A Prayer for Priests in The Year for Priests . .

This year marks the 150th Anniversary of the death of St Jean-Marie Vianney and, as we know, Pope Benedict has declared a Year for Priests from 19th June 2009 to 19th June 2010.

There are many prayers in circulation for priests and I commend this one to you from the book, A Curé of Ars Prayer Book.

I hope that readers of this blog will find it useful. I, along with all parish priests I'm sure, am very grateful for your prayers, always.

Prayer for my Parish Priest

(to be said daily)

O Lord, mayest Thou find shelter and rest gently

within the heart of Thy priests,

especially Father(s) . . . . .

Make them, O Lord, priests according to Thy Heart:

meek, humble, zealous, so that all they do

will be for Thine honour and glory.

Mould them into men of prayer and labour,

insensible to earthly things,

and sensible only to Thy love

and to the graces of the Holy Ghost.

Amen.

The 'Year of the Priest' A & B Prayer Initiative

I was delighted to receive this beautiful prayer card in the post and an accompanying letter from Mary's Dowry Productions which says,

"For the 'Year of the Priest' we at Mary's Dowry Productions were inspired to organise a prayer crusade for all diocesan priests of Arundel and Brighton.

Each priest of Arundel and Brighton will have a person praying specifically for them every day of this 'Year of the Priest' - 19th June 2009 to 19th June 2010."

What a lovely idea and how good to know that someone has promised to pray especially for me every day during this special year.

Mary's Dowry Productions is an independent Catholic film production company created to present biographies of Catholic Saints and Martyrs, Shrines and churches in England using original film and music. If you'd like to find out more please follow the link here and have a look at their blog here.

The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus . . .

This feast appears as a liturgical feast in 1675 following the apparition of Our Lord to St Margaret Mary Alacoque.

During these revelations the Saint was given to know with special depth the need to make reparation for the passed sins of the whole world. Our Lord asked her to extend the practice of frequent Communion especially on the first Friday of each month. He asked for the first Friday after the Octave of the Blessed Sacrament (Corpus Christi) to be dedicated to a special feast to the glory of his Heart.

Pope Pius IX extended the feast to the Universal Church and in 1928 Pope Pius XI gave it the splendour it has today.

This year in March Pope Benedict, meeting with members of the Congregation for the Clergy, announced that the Church will celebrate a special Year for Priests beginning on 19th June – today. The year commemorates the 150th anniversary of St John Vianney, Curé of Ars.

In his address, the Pope explained the continuous struggle for moral perfection that dwells ‘in every true priestly heart.’ During the year Pope Benedict XVI will proclaim St John Marie Vianney as the patron of all the priests of the world.

The year will conclude on 19th June 2010 with the Holy Father presiding at a ‘World Meeting of Priests’ in St Peter’s Square.

Concluding his address, he warned of the ‘dilution’ of priestly ministry. He explained that 'without priests, there would be no Eucharist, no Mission’ or the Church.

Today we pray for all priests that we will model ourselves on Jesus Christ, Eternal Priest.

St John Marie Vianney, pray for us.

Dixit Dominus . . .

Dixit Dominus . . . Tu es sacerdos in aeternum secundum ordinem Melchizedek ...

The Lord said, . . . ' You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'

On Wednesday evening, the clergy of our diocese will gather at Arundel Cathedral before Bishop Kieran to renew the promises they made at ordination. This is a wonderful occasion for priests and followed by Holy Thursday when we celebrate the institution of the Blessed Eucharist and we are reminded, by his own example, of Christ's commandment to serve one another. One of the priest's function is to serve his people.

All of these events remind me of the Holy Father's announcement that there will be a Year of the Priest beginning on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on 19th June 2009 with a day of sanctification of priests and closing with a World Meeting of Priests in St Peter's Square, Rome on 19th June 2010.

This jubilee year also celebrates the 150th anniversary of the death of St Jean-Marie Vianney, patron saint of parish priests, described by Pope Benedict as a 'true example of a priest at the service of his flock.' The Holy Father will declare him as patron saint, not just of parish priests but of all priests.

The Holy Father in declaring the Year of the Priest said,

'The priest must be present, identifiable and recognisable - for their judgement of faith, personal virtue and attire - in the fields of culture and of charity which have always been at the heart of the Church's mission.'

He also said that,

'The centrality of Christ leads to a a correct valuation of priestly ministry, without which there would be no Eucharist, no mission, not even the Church.'

How fitting that in this Year of Priests I will celebrate 10 years of priesthood on 4th June. I shall offer Mass in thanksgiving followed by a reception for the parish in the hall afterwards. More details to follow.