Our Lady of Częstochowa and my vocation!

I wrote this reflection a few years back and it all still holds true.  I have been blessed in so many ways by our merciful God!  With great gratitude I am preparing for a pilgrimage to Italy as I am celebrating my jubilee of religious life (25 years).  I will carry all of you in my heart as I visit Turin and the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, the rooms of Don Bosco and the original oratory.  I have the chance to visit Becchi and the place of St. John Bosco's birth!  Rome and Assisi are also on the itinerary!  We will be there for the Wednesday Audience with our Holy Father on September 7.  And, amazingly, I will be present for the canonization of Mother Teresa!  She is a woman that I actually saw at the UNO Lakefront arena back in 1984.  To be there for her canonization is an immense blessing! August 26 is also Mother Teresa's birthday!   If you have prayer intentions please send them to me via Facebook or you can post them in the comments below.  Please pray for me and for my provincial Fr. Steve Shafran who accompanies me on this pilgrimage in the Year of Mercy!

Today, August 26, is the feast of Our Lady of Częstochowa! I never had a great devotion to this image until the year 2000. That was when I was ordained a priest! That makes today the 14th anniversary of my ordination! When I first found out my ordination would be on August 26th I was a bit disappointed that it would not be on a feast day, but later found out about Częstochowa. It was made more special when I realized the great devotion that Pope John Paul II had for her as well. Pope John Paul II, native of Poland, visited the shrine in 1979 and 1983.The miraculous portrait of Our Lady of Czestochowa is venerated by many as an actual portrait of the Madonna, painted during her lifetime by Saint Luke the Evangelist on the top of a cypress-wood table. Our God is a God of miracles and He is so very generous!

It is in this context that I wanted to write a few words about vocations and about my own vocation story. I am especially mindful of the great gift that ordination brings to the Church, to my family and to the Salesian Family, as well as to me personally. During this Year for Priests it is good to reflect more on this mystery of vocation and the gift that it is for all of us who love the Church and her mission.

My vocation is not so different from many others. Many folks had a hand in it! I think the wonderful prayerful example of my parents was a big part. I can remember seeing my mother frequently in her room with rosary in hand (no doubt praying for us kids!). Also, the hard working example of my Dad and his wonderful availability to others was and is a model to me. I don’t think we ever missed a mass on Sunday. Our parish was a second home to our family. Between school activities, scouting, fairs, picnics and altar serving the parish became a real extension of home.

I can remember being so impressed with the priests of my parish as a youngster and as an altar boy. Our Pastor, the late Msgr. Charles Pagluighi, was a great inspiration to all of us in the parish and he had a particular charism for young people. He had a way of getting his altar boys excited to do a great job at serving at mass. His love for the Chicago Cubs was well known and I remember marveling at the fact that he was an honorary team chaplain! I think the fine example and down to earth goodness of Fr. Pagluighi was a big part of my seeing priesthood in such a positive light.

Another priest of the parish when I was in grammar school was Fr. Arthur Calkins. Fr. Calkins was a very different personality from Fr. Paglughi. Fr. Calkins was a very thoughtful homilist and scholar and had the personality of a university professor. But, it was Fr. Calkins who was the first priest to ask me as a youngster if I had ever thought of the priesthood. I was very surprised by the question and I don’t remember how I responded to his question. However, I do remember that he asked me! The question stayed with me and remained something that I would think about from then on.

I think these good parish priests gave me such a positive view of priesthood that made it possible to say yes years later.

It was also in grammar school that I met Don Bosco. The Salesian Sisters came to our school as I began the 7^th grade. They were wonderful, joyful women who had a clear love for God, the Church and this great Salesian Charism. Their love for St. John Bosco, Mary, Help of Christians and for young people was so clear. These sisters didn’t just talk about joy, but they were visibly joyful. I had never seen a religious sister in a habit play softball or basketball before, but these wonderful Salesians sure did! They also loved to tell the many stories of Don Bosco, his dreams, and his miracles to us kids. We saw old movies about the saint and even read comic books about him. This was a cool saint who could do it all! I left grammar school with a love for Don Bosco and his spirit.

I attended Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, Louisiana and it was there that I encountered the Salesian Priests and Brothers. My parish priests and the Salesian Sisters tilled the soil and the priests at Shaw planted more seeds. During the summer between my Junior and Senior years of High School I had the chance to help out at a Salesian summer camp in Ipswich, MA. I needed to do 50 hours of service to graduate and the camp sounded like fun. I was supposed to work there for one week, but I was enjoying it so much that I called home to work out staying for a second! It was in working with the young people that summer that I began to see that Don Bosco’s spirit was really growing in me. Was God calling me to be a priest? Was God calling me to be a Salesian? Maybe, but I wasn’t ready to say that out loud!

By the end of my Senior year at Shaw I was all set to go to LSU and begin a new chapter in my life. Just before graduation the school Director Fr. Pat Angelucci called me into his office to ask me a question. He asked me what I planned to do after graduation. I told him I was headed to LSU. He asked the question again. This time he looked me right in the eyes and asked “what do you plan to do with the rest of your life?” Somehow I had the courage to say maybe I will become a Salesian! Six years later that is exactly what happened! On August 15, 1991 I knelt before my provincial and made profession as a Salesian of Don Bosco. Nine years later I was blessed to be ordained a priest!

Pope Benedict called us to celebrate a special Year for Priests in 2011 and I have been thinking about this wonderful mystery of priesthood and the great gift that it is to the Church. No man deserves to be a priest. I know that I don’t deserve this wonderful gift. However, I do know that God doesn’t call the qualified, but qualifies the called. Somehow God works through one’s limitations and brokenness to bring healing, hope and holiness to the people of God. Please pray for us priests that we might continue to grow more and more into the heart of Christ. The Church needs more and more men to say yes! Maybe God is calling you? Don’t be afraid to say YES!

The Beautiful Hands of a Priest

We need them in life's early morning, we need them again at its close; We feel their warm clasp of friendship, we seek them when tasting life's woes. At the altar each day we behold them, and the hands of a king on his throne Are not equal to them in their greatness; their dignity stands all alone; And when we are tempted and wander to pathways of shame and sin, It's the hand of a priest that will absolve us----not once, but again and again; And when we are taking life's partner, other hands may prepare us a feast, But the hand that will bless and unite us is the beautiful hand of a priest. God bless them and keep them all holy For the Host which their fingers caress; When can a poor sinner do better than to ask Him to guide thee and bless? When the hour of death comes upon us may our courage and strength be increased. By seeing raised over us in anointing the beautiful hands of a priest!

Author Unknown

A Prayer for Priests

Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, who have entrusted your work of redemption to the priests, who take your place on earth, I offer you, through the hands of your most holy Mother, for the sanctification of your priests and future priests this whole day, all my prayers, works, joys, sacrifices and sufferings. Give us saintly priests. Grant to them apostolic hearts, filled with love for you and all the souls belonging to you, so that, being themselves sanctified in you, they may sanctify us who are entrusted to their care and bring us safely into Heaven.

Loving Jesus, bless all their priestly work and sacrifice. Bless all their prayers and words at the altar and in the confessional, in the pulpit, in the school and at the sickbed. Call many young men to the priesthood and the monastic life. Protect and sanctify all who will become your priests. And grant to the souls of the priests who have departed this life, eternal rest.

And do you, Mary, Mother of all priests, take them under your special protection and lead them ever to the highest priestly sanctity.

Find more prayers for priests here.

Rosary Rallies for Priests Give Final Flourish to Their Special Year

This seems like a great idea! I found this at the Spirit Daily site. God bless all those who pray for us priests! The following comes from the Catholic Exchange:

Have you heard about the Rosary for Priests? People will be gathering on the steps of Cathedrals in many dioceses on June 19 at 10am, to offer a Rosary for priests to commemorate the last day of the Year for Priests. While last Friday was the ceremonial ending, the indulgences are available until June 19. And on top of that, it is Father’s Day weekend — what more fitting time could there be to pray for our spiritual Fathers?

This independent and spontaneous prayer initiative for priests was started by a small group of lay faithful in San Francisco, with the approval of the Archdiocese, and it is catching on. At least three other California dioceses have approved these gatherings and the list is growing.

“This is not a political act, or act of advocacy. It is a spiritual act; an act of love and support for our Reverend Fathers,” said Rosary for Priests committeeman Cyrus Johnson. “The best thing you can do for a person, including yourself, is prayer. This is most fitting for our priests who do so much for us. We wish to make a public declaration of appreciation as the laity.”

The idea is simple, and maybe that’s why it’s catching on. Rosary for Priests has been notified of simultaneous prayer rallies at the cathedrals of the following dioceses: San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento, and inquiries have arrived from as far away as Germany, France and Indonesia. The San Francisco-based group is not doing the organizing for any other dioceses, but is offering free flyers, promotional materials and event listings on the RosaryForPriests.org website.

The Rosary for Priests team encourages the faithful in other dioceses to request permission to hold Rosary for Priests prayer gatherings at their own Cathedrals, and invite as many people as possible to join together in prayer. Simply let your Cathedral know you would like to gather to pray for 30 minutes, with no other purpose than to pray for those good men who have offered their lives in the service of Christ and His Church.

More details, as well as recommendations for organizing your own Rosary for Priests, can be found on their website at www.rosaryforpriests.org ^[1]

If you can’t attend a Rosary for Priests event or get to your cathedral on Saturday, please show your unity with those who are attending these events — and your love for our priests — by praying a Rosary with us at 10 a.m.

Priests are a gift from the Heart of Christ, Pope Benedict says

The following comes from the CNA:

Thousands of pilgrims and faithful gathered at noon Sunday in St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus with the Holy Father. Before the prayer, he said that the fruits of the recently ended Year for Priests could never be measured, but are already visible and will continue to be ever more so.

“The priest is a gift from the heart of Christ, a gift for the Church and for the world. From the heart of the Son of God, overflowing with love, all the goods of the Church spring forth,” proclaimed Pope Benedict XVI. “One of those goods is the vocations of those men who, conquered by the Lord Jesus, leave everything behind to dedicate themselves completely to the Christian community, following the example of the Good Shepherd.”

The Holy Father described the priest as having been formed by “the same charity of Christ, that love which compelled him to give his life for his friends and to forgive his enemies.”

“Therefore,” he continued, “priests are the primary builders of the civilization of love.”

Benedict XVI exhorted priests to always seek the intercession of St. John Marie Vianney, whose prayer, the “Act of Love,” was prayed frequently during the Year for Priests, and “continues to fuel our dialogue with God.”

The pontiff also spoke about the close of the Year for Priests, which took place this past week and culminated with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He emphasized “the unforgettable days in the presence of more than 15,000 priests from around the world.”

The feast of the Sacred Heart is traditionally a “day of priestly holiness,” but this time it was especially so, Benedict XVI remarked.

Pope Benedict concluded his comments by noting that, in contemplating history, “one observes so many pages of authentic social and spiritual renewal which have been written by the decisive contribution of Catholic priests.” These were inspired “only by their passion for the Gospel and for mankind, for his true civil and religious freedom.”

“So many initiatives that promote the entire human being have begun with the intuition of a priestly heart,” he exclaimed.

The Pope then prayed the Angelus, greeted those present in various languages, and imparted his apostolic blessing.

Pope: The priesthood is not a profession but a gift from God

The following comes from the CNA:

An estimated 15,000 priests attended a prayer vigil last night in St. Peter's Square. The priests, who hail from 97 different countries, gathered as part of the celebrations marking the close of the Year for Priests.

Rome has been inundated with priests from around the world for the past week due to the celebrations for the end of the Year for Priests. Thursday night's two-part prayer vigil was attended by not only priests, but by Pope Benedict and Cardinal Claudio Hummes O.F.M., prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

The first part of the vigil featured live television feeds and allowed the gathered priests to see and share the testimony of a variety of people who are living their vocation: a Germany family with six children, a cloistered nun, a deacon, an Argentinean priest who works with the poor and a pastor from Hollywood, Calif. all shared the story of their vocation.

Pope Benedict then arrived in the square by popemobile and was greeted by Cardinal Hummes. In his remarks, the cardinal noted that this Year for Priests has served to “promote commitment to interior renewal among all clergy, for an evangelical witness that is more powerful and incisive in the modern world.”

Speaking on behalf of the gathered priests, and that of priests around the world, Cardinal Hummes said:

"We would like the Year for Priests never to end; that is, we would like our striving towards sanctity, each in his own identity, never to end, and that on this journey (which must begin in the seminary and last all our earthly lives as a single formative process) we may always be comforted and supported, as we have been in this Year, by the ceaseless prayer of the Church, by the warmth and spiritual support of all the faithful."

Cardinal Hummes concluded by thanking the Pope for everything he has done, is doing, and will keep doing for all priests, “even those who have lost their way.” “We know that Your Holiness has already forgiven and will always forgive the suffering some of them have caused you,” the cardinal affirmed.

The cardinal's remarks were followed by a Gospel reading, and then a question and answer session between the Pope and five priests who represented five continents. Those gathered prayed the Lord’s Prayer together.

After the recitation of the Our Father, the Blessed Sacrament was carried out from the bronze door of St. Peter’s Basilica and placed on an altar. During the exposition, priests were given time for silent adoration before Pope Benedict read a prayer for the Year for Priests.

At 11:15 p.m., the vigil concluded with Eucharistic Benediction and the Salve Regina.

Thousands of priests in Rome during the International Gathering of Priests

Pope Benedict on prayer, celibacy and new vocations

The following comes from the CNA:

Priests from around the world gathered at a prayer vigil in St. Peter's Square on Thursday with Pope Benedict, who responded to questions addressed by priests from every continent. The Pope spoke on the importance of prayer and the Eucharist in the life of priests, defended the role of celibacy and emphasized the need to trust that God will bless the Church with new vocations.

The Holy Father recalled the importance of each priest having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ before he can go out and fulfill his calling.

He emphasized the importance of prayer, which he called the “profession of the priest,” pointing to the example of Christ, who is shown in the Gospels taking time to rest during his priestly ministry. If a priest neglects the care of his own soul, Benedict XVI said, he will never be able to love others properly.

Encouraging priests to take the time they need to nourish their own soul through prayer, the Holy Father offered words of encouragement, saying, “The Lord will help us make the right decisions if we are prayerfully attuned to him.”

Priests and the Eucharist

The Pontiff pointed to Mother Teresa as an example of “a love that abandons itself” in order to reach out to the forsaken. He recalled how she would always place a tabernacle at the center of each new community, thus keeping the Eucharist as the center of community life.

Priests must live out the Eucharist, said the Holy Father, reminding those present that “the Eucharist is not a closure to the rest of the world,” but rather, is open to the world's needs.

Priests in the Modern World

The Pope encouraged theologians to “be brave” in the midst of a world that excludes the Gospel.

Drawing on a distinction made by St. Bonaventure, he warned against a “theology of arrogance” that makes God a mere object rather than a subject speaking to us. Instead, the Pope said, priests must engage in a “theology stimulated by love” that seeks to dialogue with Love and come to a better knowledge of the Beloved.

He called on priests to have the “courage to go beyond positivism” and be “humble enough not to follow fads,” but instead to “live by the great faith of the Church at all times.”

“The true majority in the Church are the saints,” he said. “We must draw nourishment from them.”

The Pope explained that the faithful must “have faith in the life of the Church” while at the same time exercising critical thought. Emphasizing fidelity to the Church, he added that “the Catechism is the criterion by which we can judge whether a given theology is acceptable or not.”

Priestly Celibacy

One question directed to the Pontiff asked about “the true meaning and depth of ecclesiastical celibacy.”

The Pope began by emphasizing that the foundation of the priesthood is the celebration of the Eucharist. “Christ is drawing us into himself, allowing us to speak for him and with him,” he said. “He is at all times the only real priest, yet he is very present to the world today because he draws us into himself.”

Priestly celibacy must be understood in light of this unity with Christ, he continued. “We are going forth towards the life of Resurrection,” he said, a life in which “we will be beyond marriage.”

Therefore, he explained, “Celibacy is simply an anticipation, a foretaste, made possible by the grace of the Lord, that pulls us towards the risen world and helps us transcend ourselves.” In a world where people think only about the present and forget the future and eternity, priestly celibacy is a living witness and reminder of that reality to the world, the Pope remarked.

The Holy Father went on to discuss the ways in which priestly celibacy differs from the “increasingly fashionable” trend of simply “not getting married.” While the avoidance of marriage is based on a selfish rejection of commitment, celibacy means “saying that final yes,” he stated. “It is an act of trust, an act of fidelity.” In this way, “celibacy confirms the yes of marriage.”

The world does not understand this, the Holy Father observed, because in a world where there is no room for God, “celibacy is a scandal.” The Pope encouraged priests to let “the scandal of our faith” shine forth in their lives.

Encouraging Priestly Vocations

Asked what priests can do to help “generate new vocations,” the Pope warned against the temptation to transform the priestly vocation into a mere job in order to attract larger numbers to the priesthood.

He recalled the Scripture story of how King Saul had been awaiting the necessary sacrifice before a battle, but when Samuel did not arrive, he tried to perform the sacrifice himself. Because Saul was not a priest, he had taken on a role that was not rightfully his.

In the same way, said the Pontiff, we must remember that a vocation is a calling that comes from God, not from our own doing. “We must avoid taking things into our own hands,” he said. Rather, we should “pray insistently for vocations” and wait with trust and humility for the Lord to answer our prayers.

Pope Benedict called upon priests to live out their priesthood “in a way that is persuasive” so that young people may see an example of the vocation lived fully. He also encouraged priests to speak to young men and help them find environments where they will be surrounded by faith and can be open to their calling.

Concluding the question-and-answer session, the Holy Father reminded those present to stay faithful to the Lord, maintaining the hope that “God will help us.”

At closing of Year for Priests, Vatican official comments on challenges clergy face

The following comes from the CNA:

The undersecretary for the Congregation for the Clergy, Archbishop Celso Morga, told Vatican Radio this week that a fundamental challenge priests face and what is expected of them as a result of the Year for Priests is that they bring Christ to world, “with all of his love, with all of his demands.”

The archbishop made his comments at the conclusion of the Priestly Congress organized by the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome in preparation for the “International Meeting of Priests” that will close the Year for Priests.

Archbishop Morga explained that “the priest carries out ministry, a proclamation that is Christ. And Christ has his demands, he has his commandments. This is the great challenge for today’s priest. To bring Christ with all of his love, with all of his demands.”

Priests must always remain “in union with Christ,” the archbishop said. “They must be pious men. And consequently they must be docile. The priest is a servant. His life is not in his own hands but rather in the hands of another who is Christ, and in the hands of the Church, his spouse,” he noted.

Archbishop Morga predicted that the International Meeting of Priests that will take place June 9-11 in Rome would be “the largest gathering of priests in history,” as some 14,000 are expected to attend, three times the number that attended the Jubilee of Priests in 2000.

“There are 10,000 priests registered with the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi. Another 3,000 have registered with the Prefecture of the Secretary of State. Therefore we expect 13-14,000 priests. In 2000, we brought together 5,000 priests in Rome. This time we are going to double or triple that number,” he added.

Pope declares Cure of Ars patron of priests at the closing of Year for Priests

It has been 12 months since the pope announced the Year for Priests. He made the Cure of Ars the patron of priests. A French priest without great talents but who faithfully completed his mission as a priest: to bring people to Christ.

To close the year, the pope will name him the patron of all priests worldwide.

Pope Benedict: Priestly authority comes only from Jesus

The following comes from the CNA:

In his last catechesis on the priesthood, Pope Benedict dedicated his Wednesday audience address to the authority that priests receive from Jesus, emphasizing that it must be used in service of people, not as an end in itself. He also asked for prayers to conclude the Year for Priests for all the ordained, including himself.

In the company of 25,000 ticket-holding attendees and hundreds more people who showed up besides, Benedict XVI dedicated his last catechesis on the essential tasks of priests to the necessity of priests working in service of the "true, ultimate good" of the person through his exercise of the priestly authority given him by Christ.

Pope Benedict explained to the crowd of pilgrims that today he wanted to look at what priestly authority means in the contemporary context, focusing specifically on how it comes from “the Lord's command to feed His sheep."

"The regimes which spread death and terror last century are a powerful reminder that authority, in all fields, when exercised without reference to the transcendent, when it ignores the supreme authority that is God Himself, inevitably ends up by turning against man,” the Holy Father said.

“It is important, then, to recognize that human authority is never an end but always and only a means, and that, necessarily and at all times, the end is always the person."

This authority, said the Holy Father, is "a precious help" towards the full realization of Christ and salvation.

Pope Benedict also touched on the Church's hierarchy, noting that the public often thinks it is of "an element of subordination, ... and for many people this contrasts with the flexibility and vitality of pastoral service.”

But this is “an erroneous interpretation which has its origins in the abuses of history," he explained. "The true meaning is of a sacred origin, it is an authority that comes from another, and subjects the person to the mystery of Christ, making him His servant. Only as His servant can he govern and guide, for Christ and with Christ."

"Exercised in the Lord's name, it is an expression of the constant presence and care of the Good Shepherd."

He went on to say that it is through the ministry of the priest that the Lord loves humankind, reaching souls through them in order to instruct, safeguard and guide them. This ministry, he taught, in addition to its foundation on the sacrament of Holy Orders, requires "above all, the continuous and progressive willingness to let Christ himself govern the priestly existence."

"In fact," the Pope added no one is really capable of nourishing the flock of Christ, if he doesn't live a profound and real obedience to Christ and the Church … "

This authority, then, through faith "remains a service to the building up of the church in holiness unity and truth." And, said Pope Benedict, the only place a priest can find the strength to carry out such a total devotion to the flock is Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI called for priests to be fearless in guiding every individual to Christ, through obedience to Christ's will, with the "solid certainty that the proclamation of the Gospel is the greatest service that one can do for man."

He concluded by inviting everyone to pray for priests, bishops and also for him as the Successor of St. Peter, who has "a specific duty in governing the Church of Christ."

"Pray that we might know how to take care of all of the sheep in the flock entrusted to us, also those who are lost."

The Holy Father also renewed his invitation to all priests of the world to attend the concluding celebrations for the Year for Priests, set to take place in Rome from June 9-11. During the convention, he said, they will meditate on aspects of their ministry and renew their priestly vows.

The new media at the service of the Word

The following comes from the Salesian News Agency:

“The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word,” is the theme for the XLIV World Communications Day to be held on the Solemnity of the Ascension. The Pope invites priests to be missionaries in the new digital continent. Fr Filiberto González, Councillor for Social Communication, speaks to Salesians and educators looking at the theme in the light of the Ascension.

As well as the geographical ones there is a new “continent”, the digital one! It is not a limited area but covers the whole world. We are told by those who should know that shortly it will be the most populated; especially by youngsters and young adults: they are the “digital citizens”. A young “continent” which cannot leave Salesians and educators indifferent. We cannot ignore it nor lament it. It is a new age which as the Pope says, offers the Church great opportunities to bring the Gospel to those who do not yet know it.

In this continent, where new rules guide the search for truth, there is a new culture, a new way of relating to nature, to others and to God; and, as it rapidly evolves, it involves us. We have to decide whether to be tourists or missionaries; the first are just passing through, looking, and taking what appeals to them, the others feel that they are being sent and take flesh and blood there.

The Pope exhorts priests, in this year dedicated to them, to be pastors of the digital world. The commission entrusted by Jesus to his disciples before ascending into heaven – “you are to be my witnesses to the ends of the earth” – is a stimulus to Salesians and educators to enter this “new world” in a open fashion without allowing themselves to be “swallowed up” by it in an uncritical manner.

From Jerusalem and from Galilee the first witnesses of Jesus set out. We are being called to arrive at this new frontier bringing with us a pastoral approach to the digital world because as the Pope says: “it brings us into contact with the followers of other religions, non-believers and people of every culture, requires sensitivity to those who do not believe, the disheartened and those who have a deep, unarticulated desire for enduring truth and the absolute.”

The first witnesses of Jesus went on foot, then on horseback, on ships, in carriages, in cars, in aircraft; today there are fibre optics, satellites and digital technology, and with missionary zeal, the desire to live for God and for the salvation of the young passionately as Don Bosco did. Being faithful to the Gospel, to the mission of the Church and to the Salesian charism urges us to be present in this new continent. Let is make our own, as the Pope exhorts us, the words of Saint Paul: ““Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1Cor 9,16).

A different kind of formation is needed, more sound and deed. As the Pope reminds us: “At the same time, priests must always bear in mind that the ultimate fruitfulness of their ministry comes from Christ himself, encountered and listened to in prayer; proclaimed in preaching and lived witness; and known, loved and celebrated in the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation.”

In this way we will be able to help today’s young people to discover the face of Christ, combining the appropriate and competent use of the media, of language, acquired also in the period of formation, with a sound theological preparation and a deep religious and/or priestly spirituality, nourished by constant prayer and union with the Lord. It is up to us to make our hearts as consecrated persons apparent, so as to give a spirit not only to our apostolate but also to the non-stop flow of communication on the “net” and to the communities in the “digital continent.”

I finish with the words of the Pope in his message: “To my dear brother priests, (religious, educators), then, I renew the invitation to make astute use of the unique possibilities offered by modern communications. May the Lord make all of you enthusiastic heralds of the Gospel in the new “agorà” which the current media are opening up.”

The Holy Father has entrusted us priests to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

The Holy Father has entrusted us priests to the Immaculate Heart of Mary! Please pray for all priests that we might live the vocation we have received with humility and zeal for the salvation of souls! Hat tip to Jackie for the prayer:

ACT OF ENTRUSTMENT AND CONSECRATION
OF PRIESTS TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

PRAYER OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Church of the Most Holy Trinity – Fátima
Wednesday, 12 May 2010


APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI
TO PORTUGAL ON THE OCCASION OF THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE BEATIFICATION OF JACINTA AND FRANCISCO,
YOUNG SHEPHERDS OF FÁTIMA


Pope Benedict XVI attends a Vespers prayer at the Church of Santissima Trindade in the Catholic shrine of Fatima, May 12, 2010-REUTERS/Rafael Marchante

Immaculate Mother,
in this place of grace,
called together by the love of your Son Jesus
the Eternal High Priest, we,
sons in the Son and his priests,
consecrate ourselves to your maternal Heart,
in order to carry out faithfully the Father’s Will.

We are mindful that, without Jesus,
we can do nothing good (cf. Jn 15:5)
and that only through him, with him and in him,
will we be instruments of salvation
for the world.

Bride of the Holy Spirit,
obtain for us the inestimable gift
of transformation in Christ.
Through the same power of the Spirit that
overshadowed you,
making you the Mother of the Saviour,
help us to bring Christ your Son
to birth in ourselves too.
May the Church
be thus renewed by priests who are holy,
priests transfigured by the grace of him
who makes all things new.

Mother of Mercy,
it was your Son Jesus who called us
to become like him:
light of the world and salt of the earth
(cf. Mt 5:13-14).

Help us,
through your powerful intercession,
never to fall short of this sublime vocation,
nor to give way to our selfishness,
to the allurements of the world
and to the wiles of the Evil One.

Preserve us with your purity,
guard us with your humility
and enfold us with your maternal love
that is reflected in so many souls
consecrated to you,
who have become for us
true spiritual mothers.

Mother of the Church,
we priests want to be pastors
who do not feed themselves
but rather give themselves to God for their brethren,
finding their happiness in this.
Not only with words, but with our lives,
we want to repeat humbly,
day after day,
Our “here I am”.

Guided by you,
we want to be Apostles
of Divine Mercy,
glad to celebrate every day
the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar
and to offer to those who request it
the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Advocate and Mediatrix of grace,
you who are fully immersed
in the one universal mediation of Christ,
invoke upon us, from God,
a heart completely renewed
that loves God with all its strength
and serves mankind as you did.

Repeat to the Lord
your efficacious word:
“They have no wine” (Jn 2:3),
so that the Father and the Son will send upon us
a new outpouring of
the Holy Spirit.
Full of wonder and gratitude
at your continuing presence in our midst,
in the name of all priests
I too want to cry out:
“Why is this granted me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:43).

Our Mother for all time,
do not tire of “visiting us”,
consoling us, sustaining us.
Come to our aid
and deliver us from every danger
that threatens us.
With this act of entrustment and consecration,
we wish to welcome you
more deeply, more radically,
for ever and totally
into our human and priestly lives.

Let your presence cause new blooms to burst forth
in the desert of our loneliness,
let it cause the sun to shine on our darkness,
let it restore calm after the tempest,
so that all mankind shall see the salvation
of the Lord,
who has the name and the face of Jesus,
who is reflected in our hearts,
for ever united to yours!

Amen!

3000 Priests Pilgrimage to Czestochowa

The following comes from Zenit:

In honor of the Year for Priests, some 3,000 clergy made a pilgrimage to Czestochowa, recalling their brethren murdered in World War II and during the Communist regime.

The theme of the pilgrimage echoed that of the priestly year, which ends June 19: "Fidelity of Christ, Fidelity of the Priest."

The priests were joined by 50 Polish bishops, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, and Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the Archbishop of Krakow and former secretary of John Paul II.

The two-day pilgrimage, which began April 30, included a prayer vigil before the Black Madonna in Jasna Gora Monastery, also known as Our Lady of Czestochowa.

Participants also offered a priestly prayer in the city's Cathedral of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

The clergy took part in a procession with the relics of St. John Vianney, the patron of parish priests, which left the cathedral and ended in the monastery.

The procession was headed by the two cardinals as well as Archbishop Stanislaw Nowak of Czestochowa.

Evangelization

Cardinal Hummes addressed the pilgrims during a homily in a Mass, urging the Polish priests to take the Bible to the different realms of social life, to cultural circles and among those who do not have faith.

"You must go to families, to workplaces, to schools, to the academic world," he said.

The prelate stressed the importance of the mission and the apostolic and evangelizing action of the priests.

He pointed out that "when a priest has enthusiasm, courage and faith, he is able to fulfill his mission and finds the true meaning of his identity."

The cardinal recalled the examples of the Servant of God John Paul II, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, known as the "Primate of the Millennium," and of martyred priest Jerzy Popielusko, who will be beatified June 6.

A special telegram of Benedict XVI was read on the occasion of this pilgrimage.

At the end of the event, the pilgrims presented to the Black Madonna of Czestochowa a book with more than 3,000 names of priests killed during World War II and the Communist period, as well as the names of murdered missionaries and seminarians.

The priests gave Mary, Jesus' Mother, a special urn that contains earth from the places where these Polish priests were persecuted and killed.

The last national pilgrimage of priests to Jasna Gora took place 40 years ago, in 1970.

Pope Benedict: "Pray for priests and their ministry of sanctification"

Pope dedicates general audicence to Saint Leonard Murialdo and Saint Joseph Cottolengo

The following comes from the CNA:

Focusing his Wednesday catechesis in St. Peter's Square on a pair of priests from the last two centuries, Pope Benedict underscored the importance of charity, the "love of God and love to God." The Holy Father also spoke of how "signs" can signal the road to our vocations.

Today's teaching is the latest in a series on the priesthood, which the Pope decided to do as the end of the Year for Priests approaches on June 19. For his address today, the Holy Father chose two saints who lived in Turin, Italy as models of the priesthood.

Speaking first of St. Leonard Murialdo, the founder of the Congregation of Saint Joseph who was canonized 40 years ago, Pope Benedict XVI highlighted the joy with which he welcomed his vocation. After a "profound existential and spiritual crisis" in his adolescence, at 17 years old he decided to become a priest following a general confession during which he rediscovered the "immense mercy of God."

The Holy Father underlined the "central nucleus" of Fr. Leonard's spirituality as the "conviction of the merciful love of God: an always good, patient and generous Father, that reveals the greatness and immensity of his mercy with forgiveness."

The Pope added later,"highlighting the greatness of the mission of priests, 'who must continue the work of redemption ... Fr. Leonard always recalled, both to himself and his confreres, the responsibility of living a life coherent with the Sacrament received."

Benedict XVI pointed out that "Love of God and love to God" were "the force of his path to sainthood, the law of his priesthood, the most profound significance of his apostolate among poor young people and the source of his prayer."

The Congregation of St. Joseph continues to be dedicated to the formation of youth, especially the disadvantaged, tending to them as members of a family.

It was with the same spirit of charity as St. Leonard, added Benedict XVI, that the second priest, Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, lived. After experiencing the unfortunate death of a pregnant woman, he prayed to know the meaning of the suffering. Divinely inspired, he went on to dedicate all of his efforts to support those most in need, said the Pope.

Observing the importance of the experience, the Pope said, "The Lord always places signs on our path, guiding us according to His will to what is truly good for us."

Giving himself up completely to the Lord's will, he founded the "Little House of Divine Providence" through which, with the help of many collaborators and volunteers, he was able to provide assistance to address the particular needs of the day.

The Holy Father cited the words of St. Cottolengo in explaining his mentality: "I am a good-for-nothing and I don't even know what I'm doing with myself. Divine Providence, however, certainly knows what it's doing. It's up to me to go along with it.”

"Forward 'in Domino,'" he said, "forward in the Lord."

The "Little House" founded by Fr. Cottolengo still exists in Turin and will be visited by the Holy Father on his visit to the city for the exposition of the Shroud this coming Sunday. His influence is also seen in similar houses throughout the world today which often are known simply by the name "Cottolengo."

More than 16,000 people were on hand to hear the Pope's teaching and visit the See of Peter. Among the diverse group were ecumenical delegations from the Lutheran Church of Norway, the Church of England and a group of Jewish leaders visiting with the Pave the Way Foundation, which has worked to put the Vatican archives regarding the pontificate of Pope Pius XII online.

Priests recognized by Benedict XVI for being servants of Christ

The following comes from the CNA:

The Holy Father sent a special message to the priests of the world at Wednesday morning's general audience in St. Peter's Square. He dedicated a few words to a particular group of clergy represented there in person and expressed his "respect and deep recognition" for all priests.

During the individual language greetings on a mostly cloudy spring day in Rome, the Holy Father once again took the opportunity to recognize clergy as the ongoing Year for Priests unfolds.

In his Italian-language greeting, Pope Benedict welcomed priests from the Diocese of Rome, of which he is the bishop. The priests, led by Cardinal Vicar of Rome and auxiliary bishops, had just returned from a pilgrimage to Ars, France, the home of St. Jean Vianney, as an initiative for the Year for Priests.

Thanking them for their presence, affection and "spiritual closeness," Pope Benedict also expressed his "respect and deep recognition to (these) and to priests who all over the world dedicate themselves with apostolic zeal to serving the people of God, thus bearing witness to Christ's charity."

He encouraged them to be "patient and solicitous pastors" in the line of the Patron of Priests, St. Vianney, "for the good of souls."

The Holy Father also included a reminder that the World Day of Prayer for Vocations will be celebrated this coming Sunday.

Still speaking in Italian, the Pope concluded with special greeting to young people, the sick and newly married couples. He called on the youth to find their "personal answer to His design of love" in their dialogue with God, asked the sick to offer up their suffering for the maturity of "numerous and holy vocations" and exhorted the newlyweds to find the strength to build "an authentic Christian family" in daily prayer.

Prayer to the Virgin Mary for Priests by Pope John Paul II

O Mary,
Mother of Jesus Christ and Mother of priests,
accept this title which we bestow on you
to celebrate your motherhood
and to contemplate with you the priesthood
of, your Son and of your sons,
O holy Mother of God.

O Mother of Christ,
to the Messiah-priest you gave a body of flesh
through the anointing of the Holy Spirit
for the salvation of the poor and the contrite of heart;
guard priests in your heart and in the Church,
O Mother of the Savior.

O Mother of Faith,
you accompanied to the Temple the Son of Man,
the fulfillment of the promises given to the fathers;
give to the Father for his glory
the priests of your Son,
O Ark of the Covenant.

O Mother of the Church,
in the midst of the disciples in the upper room
you prayed to the Spirit
for the new people and their shepherds;
obtain for the Order of Presbyters
a full measure of gifts,
O Queen of the Apostles.

O Mother of Jesus Christ,
you were with him at the beginning
of his life and mission,
you sought the Master among the crowd,
you stood beside him when he was lifted up from the earth
consumed as the one eternal sacrifice,
and you had John, your son, near at hand;
accept from the beginning those who have been called,
protect their growth,
in their life ministry accompany your sons,
O Mother of Priests.
Amen.

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