Category: PRAYERS for PRIESTS

Posted in GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PRIESTS, the PRIESTHOOD and CONSECRATED LIFE, QUOTES on PURITY, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The HOLY SPIRIT, THEOLOGICAL

One Minute Reflection – 16 April – The Prayer of a shepherd

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One Minute Reflection – 16 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament”– Ferial Day – 1 Peter 2:21-25; John 10:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“I am the Good Shepherd, I know My Own and My Own know Me.”- John 10:14

REFLECTION – “O Jesus, Good Shepherd, a Shepherd who is truly good, Shepherd full of loving kindness and gentleness, the cry of a poor and wretched shepherd rises up to Thee: a weak and clumsy shepherd, an unprofitable shepherd (cf. Lk 17:10) and yet, in spite of all, a shepherd of Thyine flock. Yes, Good Shepherd, the cry of this shepherd who is far from being good rises up to Thee. He cries to Thee, uneasy for himself, uneasy for Thine flock … Thou knows my heart, Lord, Thou knows my wish is to spend entirely, for those Thou has entrusted to me ,all Thou has given to Thy servant …, and more than anything, to spend myself for them without counting the cost (2 Cor 12:15)…

Even Thou Thyself, did not disdain to spend Thyself for them. Therefore, teach me, Lord, even me Thy servant, teach me through Thine Holy Ghost, how to expend myself for them … By Thine inexpressible grace, grant me, Lord, to bear their weaknesses with patience, to sympathise with kindness, to help them with discretion. May Thine Spirit’s instruction teach me to console the afflicted, strengthen the fearful, raise up those who fall, to be weak with the weak, to share the shame of those who stumble, to make myself all things to all, to gain them all (2 Cor 11:29; 1 Cor 9:19.22). Put true words on my lips, words which are upright and just, so that they may grow in faith, hope and love, in chastity and humility, in patience and obedience, fervour of spirit and purity of heart. Since it is Thou Who has given them this blind guide (Mt 15:14), this ignorant teacher, this incapable leader, teach him, whom Thou has installed as their professor, guide the one, Thou has commanded to guide others.” – St Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167) Cistercian Monk (The Prayer of a shepherd 1,7)

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, unto all Thy servants that they may remain continually in the enjoyment of soundness, both of mind and body and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, always a Virgin, may be delivered from present sadness and enter into the joy of Thine eternal gladness. Through the Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, MARIAN PRAYERS, MISSIONS, MISSIONARIES, OCTOBER - The HOLY ROSARY and The HOLY ANGELS, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRIESTS, all CLERGY, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on PRIESTS, the PRIESTHOOD and CONSECRATED LIFE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on STRENGTH, QUOTES on VIRTUE, ROSARY QUOTES, ROSARY QUOTES, The HEART

Quote/s of the Day – 4 November – St Charles Borromeo

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Quote/s of the Day – 4 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) He is known as the “Father of the Clergy” – Some of his Patronages – Bishops, Priests, Seminarians • Catechists • Catechumens • Spiritual Director s • Spiritual leaders.

“Prayer is the beginning,
the progress and the complement
of all virtues.”

“Souls are won with the knees.”

“The Rosary is the most divine of devotions.”

“Just as Christ came into this world only once,
clothed in our flesh, He is also ready
to come again, at any moment,
to dwell spiritually in our hearts
with the profusion of His graces,
as long as we do not resist Him!”

“We are all weak, I confess
but the Lord God has given us means with which,
if we wish, we can be strengthened with ease.”

O Holy Mother of God
A Prayer for our Priests
to the Most Blessed Virgin
By St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584)

O Holy Mother of God,
pray for the Priests
thy Son has chosen to serve His Church.
Help them by thy intercession,
to be holy,
zealous and chaste.
Make them models of virtue,
in the service of God’s people.
Help them to be prayerful in meditations,
effective in preaching
and enthusiastic in the daily offering
of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Help them to administer
the Sacraments with joy,
O Holy Mother of God.
Amen.

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/11/04/quote-s-of-the-day-4-november-st-charles-borromeo-2/

St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584)

Posted in "Follow Me", DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PRIESTS, the PRIESTHOOD and CONSECRATED LIFE, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 6 February – ‘… His very deeds are our commands and whenever He acts silently, He is teaching us what we should do. …’

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One Minute Reflection – 6 February – “The Month of the Blessed Trinitys” – St Titus (Died c96) Bishop, Confessor – Ecclesiasticus
44:16-27; 45:3-20, Luke 10:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them forth two-by-two, before Him into every town and place, where He, Himself, was about to come.” – Luke 10:1

REFLECTION – “Beloved brothers, our Lord and Saviour sometimes gives us instruction by Words and sometimes by Actions. His very Deeds are our commands and whenever He acts silently, He is teaching us what we should do. For example, He sends His disciples out to preach, two-by-two because the precept of charity is twofold—love of God and of one’s neighbour.

The Lord sends His disciples out to preach in twos, in order to teach us, silently, that whoever fails in charity toward his neighbour, should by no means take upon himself the office of preaching.

Rightly is it said, that He sent them ahead of Him into every city and place, where He ,Himself was to go. For the Lord follows after the preachers because preaching goes ahead to prepare the way and then, when the words of exhortation have gone ahead and established Truth in our minds, the Lord comes to live within us. To those who preach ,Isaiah says: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. And the psalmist tells them: Make a way for Him who rises above the sunset. The Lord rises above the sunset because, from that very place where He slept in death, He rose again and manifested a greater glory. He rises above the sunset because, in His Resurrection, He trampled underfoot the death, which He endured. Therefore, we make a way for Him who rises above the sunset ,when we preach His glory to you, so that when He, Himself follows after us, He may illumine you with His Love.

Let us listen now to His words as He sends His preachers forth: The harvest is great but the labourers are few. Pray, therefore, the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into His harvest. That the harvest is good but the labourers are few cannot be said without a heavy heart, for although there are many to hear the good news there are only a few to preach it. Indeed, see how full the world is of Priests but yet, in God’s harvest, a true labourer is rarely to be found;,although we have accepted the Priestly office, we do not fulfil its demands!

Think over, my beloved brothers, think over His Words: Pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into His harvest. Pray for us, so that we may be able to labour worthily on your behalf, that our tongue may not grow weary of exhortation, that after we have taken up the office of preaching, our silence may not bring us condemnation from the Just Judge! ” – St Gregory the Great (540-604) Pope, Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his Homily 17, On the Gospels).

PRAYER – O God, Who adorned blessed Titus, Thy Confessor and Bishop, with the virtues of an apostle, grant, through his merits and intercession that by living justly and piously in this world, we may be found worthy to enter Heaven. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, QUOTES on PRIESTS, the PRIESTHOOD and CONSECRATED LIFE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on WATCHING, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 19 August– ‘ …This Sacred Household is the Holy, Catholic Church …’

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One Minute Reflection – 19 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and the Memorial of St John Eudes (1601-1680) Confessor, “The Apostle of Two Hearts”– Sirach 31:8-11, Luke 12:35-40

“Blessed are those servants whom the Master, on His return, shall find watching.” – Luke 12:37

REFLECTION – “Wishing to emphasize the special office of the servants, whom He has placed in charge of His people, the Lord says, ‘Who, do you think, is the faithful and wise steward, whom the Lord sets over His household, to give to them their measure of wheat at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his Master will find so doing when he comes.” Who is that Master, brethren? Without a doubt, it is Christ, Who says to His disciples: “You call me Teacher and Lord and you are right, for so I am” (Jn 13,13). What, too, is the Master’s Household? Doubtless it is the one which the Lord Himself ransomed… This Sacred Household is the Holy, Catholic Church, which is spread through the whole earth with abundant fertility and glories in the fact, that she has been redeemed by the Precious Blood of her Master. As He Himself says: “The Son of Man came, not to be served but to serve and to give His Life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10,45).

He is, too, the Good Shepherd ”Who laid down His Life for His sheep” (Jn 10,11)…As to who the steward is, who ought to be faithful as well as wise, the Apostle Paul shows us, when, speaking of himself and his companions, he says: “This is how one should regard us, as the servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they should be found trustworthy” (1Cor 4,1-2).

Now, lest anyone of us should think that it is only the Apostles who have been made stewards…, the blessed Apostle Paul shows us that the Bishops also are stewards, when he says: “For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless” (Tt 1,7)…We, therefore, who are the servants of the Master of the Household, we are the stewards of the Lord, we have received the measure of wheat to disburse to you.” – St Fulgentius of Ruspe (467-532) Bishop in North Africa (Homily 1, on the Lord’s servants) (trans. Breviary Common of Pastors).

PRAYER – O God, Who wondrously enkindled St John, Thy Confessor, to promote the religious veneration of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and through him, willed to found new religious families in the Church, grant, we beseech Thee that we may honour his holy merits and may learn from the example of his virtues. ThroughJesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in MARIAN QUOTES, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on the PRIESTHOOD, SAINT of the DAY, To JESUS through MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 6 June – St Norbert and St Marcellin Champagnat

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Quote/s of the Day – 6 June – The Memorial of St Norbert (c 1080-1134) and St Marcellin Champagnat FMS (1789-1840)

On the day of his ordination, St Norbert said:

“O Priest! You are not of yourself because you are of God.
You are not of yourself because you are the servant and minister of Christ.
You are not your own because you are the spouse of the Church.
You are not yourself because you are the mediator between God and man.
You are not from yourself because you are nothing.
What then are you?
Nothing and everything.
O Priest!
Take care, lest what was said to Christ on the cross be said to you:
‘He saved others, himself he cannot save!”

o-priest-st-norbert- 6 june 2017

“You will never enjoy
the sweetness of a quiet prayer, 
unless you shut your mind,
to all worldly desires and temporal affairs.”

St Norbert (c 1080-1134)

you will never enjoy the sweetness of a quiet prayer - st norbert 6 june 2020

“All to Jesus through Mary,
all to Mary for Jesus.”

St Marcellin Champagnat (1789-1840)

all to jesus through mary, all to mary for jesus - st marcellin

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The GOOD SHEPHERD

Quote/s of the Day – 6 May – ‘ … Be the shepherd of your sheep…’

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Quote/s of the Day – 6 May – Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

May God bestow upon our Bishops.
all the graces needed to carry out their role in our Church!

“Give him a spirit of courage and right judgement, a spirit of knowledge and love.”

“O Christ, my God, You stooped down to me, poor straying sheep, to take me on Your shoulders (Lk 15:5) and have set me down in green pastures (Ps 23[22]:2).   You have quenched my thirst at the springs of true doctrine, through the mediation of Your pastors, whose shepherd You were, before entrusting to them Your flock…  And now, O Lord, You have called me… to serve Your disciples, by what design of Your Providence I know not, only You know.

But, Lord, lighten the heavy burden of those sins of mine that have so gravely offended You, purify my mind and heart.   Lead me by the right way (Ps 23[22]:3) as by a light enlightening me.   Enable me to proclaim Your word boldly, may Your Spirit’s tongue of flame (Acts 2:3) give perfect freedom to my tongue and make me constantly attentive to Your presence.

Be a shepherd to me, O Lord and together with me, be the shepherd of Your sheep, that my heart may not cause me to swerve either to right or to left.   Let Your good Spirit lead me in the right way, that my actions may be carried out, according to Your will – even to the end.   Amen

St John Damascene (675-749)
Father and Doctor of the Church

a pastor's prayer to the good shepherd - st john damascene 13 may 2019

“We do not really want a religion
that is right where we are right.
We want a religion that is right where we are wrong.
We do not want, as the newspapers say,
a church that will move with the world.
We want a church that will move the world.”

G K Chesterton (1874-1936)

we do not really want a religion - gk chesterton 6 may 2020

A Prayer for our Bishops

Jesus, Good Shepherd,
You sent us the Holy Spirit to guide Your Church
and lead her faithful to You,
through the ministry of the successors of Your Apostles, the Bishops.
Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
grant to Your bishops
wisdom in leading,
faithfulness in teaching
and holiness in guarding Your sacred Mysteries.
As they cry out with all the faithful, “Our Father!”,
may Your Bishops be ever more closely identified with You in Your divine Sonship
and offer their own lives with You, the one saving Victim.
Renew in Your Bishops deeper faith,
greater trust in You,
childlike reliance on our Mother Mary
and unwavering fidelity to the Holy Father.
Holy Mary, intercede for Your bishops.

Sts Peter & Paul, pray for them.
St Andrew, pray for them.
St James, pray for them.
St John, pray for them.
St Thomas, pray for them.
St James, pray for them.
St Philip, pray for them.
St Bartholomew, pray for them.
St Matthew, pray for them.
Sts Simon & Jude, pray for them.
St Matthias, pray for them.
St Joseph, protect them.
St Michael, defend them.
St John Vianney, pray for them.
All you saints in heaven, pray for them.
Amena prayer for our bishops 6 may 2020

“The Church exists, for nothing else but to draw men into Christ,
to make them little Christs.
If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons,
even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.
God became man for no other purpose.”

C S Lewis (1898-1963)

the church exists for nothing else = c s lewis - 16 may 2019

Posted in PRAYERS for PRIESTS

The Seventh Anniversary of the Election of Pope Francis – 13 March

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Happy Anniversary, dearest Pope Francis!

The Seventh Anniversary of the Election of Pope Francis – 13 March

7th anniversary pope francis election 13 march 2020

History will remember you as
the Pope of Mercy.
May you always be docile to the Holy Spirit!
We are praying for you daily…

Pray for Pope Francis always, amen!

Prayer for Pope Francis

O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful,
look favourably on Your servant Francis,
whom You have set
at the head of Your Church as her shepherd;
Grant, we pray, that by word and example
he may be of service to those over whom he presides
so that, together with the flock entrusted to his care,
he may come to everlasting life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with You in the
unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen

prayer-for-pope-francis-5-may-2019 and 13 march 2020

Posted in Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 20 October – Unite Me to Thyself

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Our Morning Offering – 20 October – Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C and World Mission Sunday

Unite Me to Thyself
From In Sinu Jesu
(The Journal of a Priest at Prayer)
Slightly adapted

O my beloved Jesus
unite me to Thyself,
my body to Thy Body,
my blood to Thy Blood,
my soul to Thy Soul,
my heart to Thy Heart,
all that I am,
to all that Thou are,
so as to make me with Thyself, O Jesus,
one with Thou
offered to the glory of Thy Father,
out of love for Thy spouse, the Church …
for the sanctification of Thy priests,
the conversion of sinners,
the intentions of Pope Francis
and in sorrowful reparation
for our innumerable sins.
Amenunite me to thyself - in sinu jesus 29C 20 oct 2019.jpg

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, Hail MARY!, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, NOVENA, NOVENAS, PRAYERS for PRIESTS

Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary – Day Three – 30 September

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Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary – Day Three – 30 September

Day Three – We Pray for the Priesthood and Consecrated Life
and our personal intention:

To Our most holy Mother.
To you do we pray first with heartfelt thanks
for those who have said YES to the Father.
Help them to trust in you and your son, Jesus,
in all the challenges that they face.
Teach them patience in all things
and to accept all that happens
and when it happens, in God’s time.
We join them in total consecration to you.
Reclaim us all as you own
and mould us in all ways necessary
to conform to God’s will.
We love you, Mother Mary,
Help us all!

Daily Prayer along with our Daily Rosary:

My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet.
Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offences committed against your Immaculate Heart and for this special favour which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: ………………………….. (Mention your request).

I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son.
If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused.
I know, dearest Mother, that you want me
to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request.
If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.

I offer you this spiritual Bouquet of Roses because I love you.
I put all my confidence in you,
since your prayers before God are most powerful.
For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus,
your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.

Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for our Holy Mother Church
and for our country.

Our Lady of Fatima,
obtain for humanity a lasting peace.

Sweet Heart of Jesus,
be my love.

Sweet Heart of Mary,
at the hour of my death,
lead me home.day three NOVENA HOLY ROSARY 30 SEPT 2019.jpg

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, MARY, MATER ECCLESIAE, PRAYER WARRIORS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS for VOCATIONS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on VOCATIONS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 10 July – Open our hearts

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Thought for the Day – 10 July – Wednesday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 10:1–7

“Jesus sent these Men on Mission as the Twelve”

Saint John-Paul II (1920-2005)
Pope from 1978 to 2005

Prayer for Vocations,
35th World Day of Vocations,
3 May 1998

Spirit of eternal Love,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
we thank You for all the vocations
to be apostles and saints
that have made the Church fruitful.
Continue Your work, we beg You.
Remember the moment when, on Pentecost,
You came down on the Apostles united in prayer
together with Mary, the mother of Jesus
and look at Your Church, which today
has a special need for holy priests,
for faithful and authorised witnesses of Your grace,
which needs consecrated men and women
who radiate the joy of those who live only for the Father,
of those who make their own.
the mission and offering of Christ,
of those who build the new world in love.

Holy Spirit, eternal Source of joy and peace,
You open our hearts and minds to the divine call,
You make effective every surge
towards the good, towards truth, towards love.
Your inexpressible groanings
rise up to the Father from the heart of the Church
that is suffering and struggling for the Gospel.
Open the hearts and minds of young men and women,
so that a new flowering of holy vocations
might show forth the fidelity of Your love,
and that all might know Christ,
the true light who came into the world
to give every human being
the assured hope of eternal life.
Amen

Mary, Mater Ecclesiae, Pray for us!mary mater ecclesiae pray for 10 july 2019

Apostles of Christ, Pray for the Church!apostles of christ pray for us 10 july 2019

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on PRIESTS, the PRIESTHOOD and CONSECRATED LIFE, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS

Thoughts for the Day – 28 June = Pray for our Priests!

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Thoughts for the Day – 28 June – Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests

St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
Father & Doctor

(Forty Gospel Homilies, 17)

“We must all of us strive zealously to make known to the church both the dreadfulness of the coming judgement and the kingdom of heaven’s delight.   Those who are not in a position to address a large assembly, should instruct individuals, offering instruction in personal talks, they should try to serve those around them through simple encouragement.

You who are pastors, consider that you are pasturing God’s flock.   We often see a block of salt put out for animals to lick for their well-being.   Priests, among their people, should be like blocks of salt.   They should counsel everyone in their flocks, in such a way, that all those with whom they come in contact may be seasoned with eternal life, as if they had been sprinkled with salt.   We who preach, are not the salt of the earth, unless we season the hearts of those, who listen to us.   We are really preaching to others, if we ourselves do what we say, if we are pierced with God’s love, if, since we cannot avoid sin, our tears wash away the stains on our life, that come with each new day.   We truly feel remorse, when we take to heart, the lives of our forebears in the faith, so that we are diminished in our own eyes.   Then do we truly feel remorse, when we attentively examine God’s teachings and adopt for our own use, what those we revere themselves used for theirs.

And while we are moved to remorse on our own account, let us also take responsibility for the lives of those entrusted to our care.   Our own bitter compunction should not divert us from concern for our neighbour.   What good to love and strive to do good for our neighbour and abandon ourselves?   We must realise that our passion for justice in the face of another’s evil, must never cause us to lose the virtue of gentleness.

Priests must not be quick-tempered or rash, they must, instead, be temperate and thoughtful.   We must support those we challenge and challenge those we support.   If we neglect this, our work will lack either courage or gentleness.   What shall we call the human soul but the food of the Lord?   It is created, to become nothing less, than Christ’s body and to bring about growth in the eternal church.

We priests are to season this food.   Cease to pray, cease to teach and the salt loses its taste.”
++++++++++++++++++++
Excerpt
Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

OPENING OF THE YEAR FOR PRIESTS
ON THE 150th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH
OF SAINT JOHN MARY VIANNEY
the holy Curé of Ars (1786-1859) Patron of Priests

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Saint Peter’s Basilica
Friday, 19 June 2009

“To be “in” Jesus Christ is already to be seated in heaven.   The very core of Christianity is expressed in the heart of Jesus;  in Christ the revolutionary “newness” of the Gospel is completely revealed and given to us – the Love that saves us and even now makes us live in the eternity of God.   As the Evangelist John writes:  “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (3:16).   God’s heart calls to our hearts, inviting us to come out of ourselves, to forsake our human certainties, to trust in Him and, by following His example, to make ourselves a gift of unbounded love.

While it is true that Jesus’ invitation to “abide in my love” (cf. Jn 15:9) is addressed to all the baptised, on this feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the day of prayer for the sanctification of priests, this invitation resounds all the more powerfully for us priests.   It does so in a special way this evening, at the solemn inauguration of the Year for Priests which I have proclaimed to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of the saintly Curé of Ars.   A lovely and touching saying of his, quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, comes immediately to mind:  “the priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus” (n. 1589).   How can we fail to be moved when we recall that the gift of our priestly ministry flows directly from this heart?   How can we forget that we priests were consecrated to serve, humbly yet authoritatively, the common priesthood of the faithful? Ours is an mission which is indispensable for the Church and for the world, a mission which calls for complete fidelity to Christ and constant union with Him. To abide in His love entails constantly striving for holiness, as did Saint John Mary Vianney.

…To be completely enthralled by Christ!  This was the goal of the entire life of Saint Paul, … this was the goal of the entire ministry of the Curé of Ars, whom we shall invoke in particular during this Year for Priests – may it also be the primary goal for each and every one of us.   Certainly, to be ministers at the service of the Gospel, study and careful, ongoing pastoral and theological formation are useful and necessary but even more necessary is that “knowledge of love” which can only be learned in a “heart to heart” encounter with Christ  . For it is He who calls us to break the bread of His love, to forgive sins and to guide the flock in His name.    And, for that reason, we must never step back from the source of love which is His Heart, pierced on the Cross.”the priesthood is the love - st john vianney - 28 june 2019 sacred heart
++++++++++++++++++++

“Our Father for Priests”

Our Father who art in heaven,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy name be hallowed,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy kingdom come,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
To give us each day the Bread of life,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
To forgive us our trespasses,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That we be not led into temptation,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
And deliver us
And all of Your priests from evil. Amen.
(Anonymous)

Issued by the Congregation for the Clergy (vatican.va)our-father-for-priests-sacred-heart-solemnity-8-june-2018 and 28 june 2019.jpg

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 13 May – A Pastor’s Prayer to the Good Shepherd

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Thought for the Day – 13 May – Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter, C – Gospel: John 10:1-10

A Pastor’s Prayer to the Good Shepherd

St John Damascene (675-749)

Monk, Theologian, Doctor of the Church

O Christ, my God, You stooped down to me, poor straying sheep, to take me on Your shoulders (Lk 15:5) and have set me down in green pastures (Ps 23[22]:2).   You have quenched my thirst at the springs of true doctrine, through the mediation of Your pastors, whose shepherd You were, before entrusting to them Your flock… And now, O Lord, You have called me… to serve Your disciples, by what design of Your Providence I know not, only You know.

But, Lord, lighten the heavy burden of those sins of mine that have so gravely offended You, purify my mind and heart.   Lead me by the right way (Ps 23[22]:3) as by a light enlightening me.   Enable me to proclaim Your word boldly, may Your Spirit’s tongue of flame (Acts 2:3) give perfect freedom to my tongue and make me constantly attentive to Your presence.

Be a shepherd to me, O Lord and together with me, be the shepherd of Your sheep, that my heart may not cause me to swerve either to right or to left.   Let Your good Spirit lead me in the right way, that my actions may be carried out, according to Your will – even to the end.”

Amen

a pastor's prayer to the good shepherd - st john damascene 13 may 2019.jpg

 

Posted in EASTER, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 5 May – “…Lead you where you do not wish to go.”

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Thought for the Day – 5 May – Third Sunday of Easter, Year C, Gospel: John 21:1–19

“…Lead you where you do not wish to go.”…John 21:18

The Gospel of the appearance of the Lord at the Sea of Tiberias, ends with the installation of Peter in his pastoral office.   Everything that precedes this, is preparatory -unsuccessful fishing, then the miraculous catch, after which Peter swims to the Lord and stands beside Him on the bedrock of eternity, while the rest of the Church brings her harvest to the two of them, at which point, Peter, himself, hauls the entire netfull ashore. Finally, the crucial question to Peter – “Do you love me more than these?” You, the Denier, do you love me more than the Beloved Disciple there, who stood under the Cross?   Made conscious of his guilt by means of the threefold question, Peter answers with a repentant first ‘Yes’ (since he can, by no means say No), undoubtedly, gaining the strength to do so from John (in the communion of saints).
Without this confession of greater love, the Good Shepherd, who gives His life for his sheep, could not entrust His flock to Peter’s pasturing.
For the office Jesus has received from the Father, is identical, with His own loving sacrifice of His life, for His sheep.
Ever since Jesus bestowed this office on Peter, this unity of love and office has been unconditionally required.   This unity is then sealed by the prediction of Peter’s crucifixion, the gift of completed discipleship.   The cross will be bound up with the papacy, from this point onward, even when it is given to unworthy popes.
The more seriously a pope takes his office, the heavier the weight of the cross, on his shoulder becomes.

Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar

Light of the Worldthe gospel of the appearance of the lord at the sea-card hans urs von balthasar 5 may 2019.jpg

Pray for Pope Francis, amen!

Prayer for Pope Francis

O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful,
look favourably on Your servant Francis,
whom You have set
at the head of Your Church as her shepherd;
Grant, we pray, that by word and example
he may be of service to those over whom he presides
so that, together with the flock entrusted to his care,
he may come to everlasting life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with You in the
unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amenprayer for pope francis - 5 may 2019.jpg

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS for VOCATIONS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

Thought for the Day – 2 February – Feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life

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Thought for the Day – 2 February – Feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life

The celebration of World Day for Consecrated Life invites all the Church to reflect on the role of Consecrated Life within the Christian community.   Those who choose to live a consecrated life do so for the sake of the gospel.
Some Christian women and men respond to God’s call to become followers of Jesus through profession of vows and a life dedicated to prayer and service.   They live out the consecrated life in different ways.   Religious sisters, nuns, brothers, religious priests and monks consecrate their lives through their profession of the evangelical vows and live as part of a community.   Secular institutes are another form of living the consecrated life as single people.   Those who become followers of Jesus through the consecrated life bless the Church.

And so, as we think about the many ways in which we are called to love in ordinary ways and do it extraordinarily well, let us not forget those women and men who have responded to God’s call to serve as a consecrated religious.   This day and Mass is dedicated to them throughout the world.   On this World Day for Consecrated Life, may the lives of consecrated women and men be blessed with God’s overwhelming grace of love!   May their lives inspire us to hear God’s vocational call.   May this tune be forever in our minds and transform our hearts to say boldly:

“Here I am, Lord, send me!”here i am lord send me world day consecrated life 2 feb 2019.jpg

LET US PRAY FOR ALL CONSECRATED MEN & WOMEN AND FOR VOCATIONS:

Loving God, You call all who believe in You
to grow perfect in love
by following in the footsteps
of Christ Your Son.
Call from among us more men and women
who will serve You as religious.
Open the hearts of many, raise up
faithful servants of the Gospel, dedicated,
holy priests, sisters, brothers and deacons,
who will spend themselves for Your people
and their needs.
Bless those who are serving now
with courage and perseverance.
Grant that many will be inspired by their
example and faith.
By their way of life, may they provide a convincing sign
of Your Kingdom for the Church and the whole world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amenprayer-for-the-consecrated-and-vocations-2 feb 20181.jpg

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, ON the SAINTS, PAPAL SERMONS, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Thought for the Day – 30 November – The Feast of St Andrew, Apostle of Christ

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Thought for the Day – 30 November – The Feast of St Andrew, Apostle of Christ

Excerpt from Pope Benedict’s Catechesis on St Andrew
Wednesday, 14 June 2006

“This is what the Apostle is claimed to have said on that occasion, according to an ancient story (which dates back to the beginning of the sixth century), entitled The Passion of Andrew:

“Hail, O Cross, inaugurated by the Body of Christ and adorned with His limbs as though they were precious pearls.   Before the Lord mounted you, you inspired an earthly fear.   Now, instead, endowed with heavenly love, you are accepted as a gift.

Believers know of the great joy that you possess and of the multitude of gifts you have prepared.   I come to you, therefore, confident and joyful, so that you too may receive me exultant as a disciple of the One who was hung upon you…. O blessed Cross, clothed in the majesty and beauty of the Lord’s limbs!…

Take me, carry me far from men, and restore me to my Teacher, so that, through you, the one who redeemed me by you, may receive me.

Hail, O Cross; yes, hail indeed!”.hail o cross - from the passion of st andrew - 30nov2018

Here, as can be seen, is a very profound Christian spirituality.   It does not view the Cross as an instrument of torture but rather as the incomparable means for perfect configuration to the Redeemer, to the grain of wheat that fell into the earth.

We have a very important lesson to learn, our own crosses acquire value if we consider them and accept them as a part of the Cross of Christ, if a reflection of His light illuminates them.   It is by that Cross alone that our sufferings too are ennobled and acquire their true meaning.

The Apostle Andrew, therefore, teaches us to follow Jesus with promptness (cf. Mt 4: 20; Mk 1: 18), to speak enthusiastically about Him to those we meet and especially, to cultivate a relationship of true familiarity with Him, acutely aware that in Him alone, can we find the ultimate meaning of our life and death.”

St Andrew, Pray for your Church, Pray for Us all!st andrew apostle pray for us-30nov2018

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS for VOCATIONS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 27 September – The Memorial of St Vincent de Paul C.M. (1581-1660)

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Thought for the Day – 27 September – The Memorial of St Vincent de Paul C.M. (1581-1660)

From “Conferences to the Priests of the Mission”
by St Vincent de Paul (Conference 207).

It is not enough to love God if my neighbour does not love Him.

“Our vocation is to go and enflame the heart of men, to do what the Son of God did, He who brought fire into the world to set it alight with His love.   What else can we wish for, than for it to burn and consume all things?

Thus it is true that I have been sent not only to love God but also to make men love Him.

It is not enough to love God if my neighbour does not love Him.   I must love my neighbour as the image of God and the object of His love and do everything so that in their turn men love their Creator who knows and considers them as His brothers, whom He has saved, I must obtain that they love each other with mutual love, out of love for God who loved them to the point of abandoning to death His very Son.   So that is my duty.   Now, if it is true that we are called to bear God’s love near and far, if we must set nations alight, if our vocation is to go and spread this divine fire in the whole world, if it is so, my brothers, if it is really so, how must I myself burn of this divine fire!

How can we give love to others, if we do not have it among us?   Let us look if it is so, not generally but if each one has it within himself, in due amount, because if love is not on fire in us, if we do not love each other as Jesus Christ loved us and if we do not act as He did, how can we hope to spread such love throughout the world?   You cannot give what you do not have.  The precise duty of charity consists in doing to others what you reasonably would like done to yourself.   Do I really behave towards my neighbour as I wish he would towards me?

Let us look at the Son of God.   Only our Lord can be so taken by love for creatures so much as to leave His Father’s throne and take a body subject to infirmity.  And why?   In order to establish among us, with His word and example, the love of our neighbours. This is the love that led Him to the Cross and accomplished the wonderful work of our redemption.  If we had a little of such love, would we stay here with folded arms?   Oh! no, love can not remain barren, it urges us to obtain salvation and relief for others.”

Prayer for Vocations
By St Vincent de Paul

O Lord,
send good workers to Your Church,
but may they be good!
Send good missionaries
to work in Your vineyard,
labourers, O my God,
such as they ought to be:
utterly detached from themselves,
their own comfort,
and worldly goods.
Let them even be few in number,
provided that they are good.
O Lord, grant this grace
to Your Church.
Amen.prayer for vocations by st v de p - 27 sept 2018

St Vincent de Paul, Pray for us!st-vincent-de-paul-pray-for-us-2-27 sept 2017

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PAPAL MESSAGES, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY MASS

Sunday Reflection – 2 September

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Sunday Reflection – 2 September – Today’s Gospel:  Mark 7:1–23 – Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

John Paul and Jean-Marie

When the Curé of Ars spoke of the Sacrament of the Altar, he glowed!   He communicated to his hearers the Eucharistic fire that burned in his own heart.   Thirty-two years ago, St Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) devoted his Holy Thursday Letter to Priests, to Saint Jean-Marie Vianney.   I think that today we can read that letter as one saint talking about another.   This is what Pope John Paul II said:

“The Eucharist was at the very centre of Saint Jean Vianney’s spiritual life and pastoral work.
He said:  “All good works put together are not equivalent to the Sacrifice of the Mass, because they are the works of men and the Holy Mass is the work of God.”
It is in the Mass that the sacrifice of Calvary is made present for the Redemption of the world.   Clearly, the priest must unite the daily gift of himself to the offering of the Mass:
“How well a priest does, therefore, to offer himself to God in sacrifice every morning!” “Holy Communion and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are the two most efficacious actions for obtaining the conversion of hearts.”

Recollection and Adoration
Thus the Mass was for John Mary Vianney the great joy and comfort of his priestly life. He took great care, despite the crowds of penitents, to spend more than a quarter of an hour in silent preparation.   He celebrated with recollection, clearly expressing his adoration at the consecration and communion.   He accurately remarked:

“The cause of priestly laxity is not paying attention to the Mass!”

Let us always, daily, pray for all our Priests!

St John Vianney (1786-1859) Patron of Priests
Prayer for Priests
By St John Vianney

God, please give to Your Church today
many more priests after Your own heart.
May they be worthy representatives
of Christ the Good Shepherd.
May they wholeheartedly devote themselves
to prayer and penance;
be examples of humility and poverty;
shining models of holiness;
tireless and powerful preachers
of the Word of God;
zealous dispensers of Your grace
in the sacraments.
May their loving devotion to Your Son,
Jesus in the Eucharist
and to Mary His Mother,
be the twin fountains of fruitfulness
for their ministry.
Amenprayer-for-priests-by-st-john-vianney-no-3-18-july-2018-no 2. recoloured 2 sept 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, MORNING Prayers, POETRY, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS

Second Thoughts for the Day – 26 August – Pray for our Priests

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Second Thoughts for the Day – 26 August – 21st Sunday of the Year in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel: John 6:60–69

May we offer our Sunday Communion for all the Priests of the World, who bring us the Sacrament which gives us life.

O my beloved Jesus,
Son of the Father and His Eternal High Priest,
offering Yourself to Him perpetually in the sanctuary of heaven
and here in the Sacrament of Your Redeeming Love,
I adore You.

I praise You that here I find Your Eucharistic Heart,
open, ever-beating with love,
and covering with a flood of Blood and of Water
those who draw near to You in this Sacrament.

I praise You that here I behold Your Eucharistic Face,
filling the shadows of this world with Your deifying light,
and shining into the hearts of those who approach You
in faith, in hope and in love.

I pray to You for Your priests,
without whom this valley of tears would be
devoid of the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar,
without the adorable mysteries of Your life-giving Body and Blood,
and without Your abiding real presence in the tabernacles of the world.

Sanctify Your priests, O Jesus!
Wash them in the Blood and Water gushing at every moment
from Your Sacred Side
Heal them in the light of Your Eucharistic Face and,
to do this, draw them all into Your sacramental presence.

Let Your tabernacles magnetise their souls,
and the desire to abide before Your Eucharistic Face
hold sway over their hearts.
Let Your Sacred Body exposed in the monstrance
exercise over them the most compelling of all attractions.

Look today upon those priests who, for whatever reason,
have forgotten the way to Your tabernacles
and rarely, if ever, stop all else
to rest their tired bodies and still their minds
before Your Eucharistic Face,
and to adore You simply because . . . You are there.

Save Your priests in danger of falling into sin,
and lift those who have fallen,
so that, having confessed their faults and received absolution,
they may return to Your altar and to the joy of their youth.

Let not one of Your priests remain outside the radiance of Your Eucharistic Face.
Draw them all out of this world’s darkness
into Your wonderful light,
that with the psalmist they might say not once,
but again and again:
“Look to Him and be radiant
and on your faces there will be no trace of shame.”
Amen.

I pray especially for my own Priest, Fr Enrico Parry and Catholic Priest Media – https://catholicpriestmedia.com/pray for our priests - i pray to you for your priests - 26 aug 2018sanctify your priests o jesus - 26 aug 2018 pray for our priests

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the PRIESTHOOD

Thought for the Day – – 18 July – The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for July “Pray for our Priests and their Pastoral Ministry”

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Thought for the Day – – 18 July – The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for July “Pray for our Priests and their Pastoral Ministry”

What joy did the Apostles feel after the Resurrection of Our Lord, at seeing the Master whom they had loved so much!
The priest must feel the same joy, at seeing Our Lord whom he holds in his hands.
Great value is attached to objects which have been laid in the drinking cup of the Blessed Virgin and of the Child Jesus, at Loretto.
But the fingers of the priest, that have touched the adorable Flesh of Jesus Christ, that have been plunged into the chalice which contained His Blood, into the pyx where His Body has lain, are they not still more precious?

The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus.   

When you see the priest, think of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

St John Vianney (1786-1859) Patron of Priests

Prayer for Priests
By St John Vianney

God, please give to Your Church today
many more priests after Your own heart.
May they be worthy representatives
of Christ the Good Shepherd.
May they wholeheartedly devote themselves
to prayer and penance;
be examples of humility and poverty;
shining models of holiness;
tireless and powerful preachers
of the Word of God;
zealous dispensers of Your grace
in the sacraments.
May their loving devotion to Your Son,
Jesus in the Eucharist
and to Mary His Mother,
be the twin fountains of fruitfulness
for their ministry.
Amenprayer for priests by st john vianney - no 3 - 18 july 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DEVOTIO, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the PRIESTHOOD

Quote/s of the Day – 18 July – The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for July “Pray for our Priests and their Pastoral Ministry”

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Quote/s of the Day – 18 July – The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for July “Pray for our Priests and their Pastoral Ministry”holy fathers prayer intention for july 2018 - 1 july 2018

“He made them,
the vicars of His love.

St Ambrose (340-397)

Father & Doctor of the Churchhe made them the vicars of his love - st ambrose - 18 july 2018

“The power of the priest,
is the power of the divine person,
for the transubstantiation of the bread,
requires as much power,
as the creation of the world.”

St Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)the power of the priest - st bernardine -2018

“St Bernard tells us that everything has come to us through Mary
and we may also say that everything has come to us through the priest,
yes, all happiness, all graces, all heavenly gifts.
If we had not the Sacrament of Orders, we should not have Our Lord.
Who placed Him there, in that tabernacle?
It was the priest.
Who was it that received your soul, on its entrance into life?
The priest.
Who nourishes it, to give it strength to make its pilgrimage?
The priest.
Who will prepare it to appear before God, by washing that soul,
for the last time, in the blood of Jesus Christ?
The priest – always the priest.
And if that soul comes to the point of death, who will raise it up,
who will restore it to calmness and peace?
Again the priest.
You cannot recall one single blessing from God,
without finding, side by side with this recollection,
the image of the priest.”st bernard tells us that all things - st john vianney on the priesthood - 18 july 2018

“If I were to meet a priest and an angel,
I should salute the priest before I saluted the angel.
The latter is the friend of God
but the priest holds His place.”

St John Vianney (1786-1859) Patron of Priestsif i were to meet a priest - st john vianney - 18 july 2018

“Day after day, it is necessary to learn,
that I do not possess my life for myself.
Day by day, I must learn to abandon myself,
to keep myself available for whatever He, the Lord,
needs of me at a given moment,
even if other things seem more appealing
and more important to me,
this means giving life, not taking it.”

Pope Benedict XVIday after day it is necessary to learn - pope benedict on the priesthood - 18 july 2018

Posted in MORNING Prayers, ON the SAINTS, PAPAL SERMONS, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, QUOTES on the PRIESTHOOD, The WORD, VATICAN Resources

One Minute Reflection – – 23 June – The Memorial of St Joseph Cafasso (1811-1860)

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One Minute Reflection – – 23 June – The Memorial of St Joseph Cafasso (1811-1860)

“Peace be with you.   As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”…John 20:21as the father has sent me - john 20-21 - st joseph cafasso - 23 june 2018

REFLECTION – “Not without a special and beneficial disposition of Divine Goodness have we witnessed new stars rising on the horizon of the Catholic Church: the parish priest of Ars and the Venerable Servant of God, Joseph Cafasso.   These two beautiful, beloved, providently timely figures must be presented today; one, the parish priest of Ars, as small and humble, poor and simple as he was glorious and the other, a beautiful, great, complex and rich figure of a priest, the educator and formation teacher of priests, Venerable Joseph Cafasso”….Pope Pius XI

PRAYER – Holy God, may St Joseph Cafasso’s example serve as a reminder to all to hasten towards the perfection of Christian life, towards holiness.   In particular, may St Joseph Cafasso, remind priests of the importance of devoting time to the sacrament of Reconciliation and to spiritual direction and to all, the concern we should have for the most deprived.   May we find help in his intercession and that of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom St Joseph Cafasso was very devoted and whom he called “Our beloved Mother, our consolation, our hope”.   St Joseph Cafasso, St John Vianney, please pray for all our priests!   We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, with You, in the union of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.sts joseph cafasso and john vianney - pray for us and all priests - 23 june 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS

Thought for the Day — 8 June – The Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and The World Day for the Sanctification of Priests

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Thought for the Day — 8 June – The Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and The World Day for the Sanctification of Priests

The World Day for the Sanctification of Priests 2002 takes its inspiration from the theme of John Paul II’s Letters to Priests for Holy Thursday 2000, 2001, and 2002.   Below is an excerpt from the Congregation of the Clergy to all our Priests all over the world.

From St John Chrysostom (347-407)  Father & Doctor

“These are really the ones who are in charge of spiritual travail and responsible for the birth which comes through baptism.   Through them we put on Christ and are buried in union with the Son of God and become members, obedient to our blessed Head (cf. Rom 6,1; Gal 3,27).   For that reason they should not only be more justly feared than rulers and kings but also, be more honoured, than our parents.   For our parents generated us of blood and the will of the flesh (cf. Jn 1,13) but the priests are the authors of our birth from God, even that blessed regeneration which is true freedom and adopted sonship according to grace” (cf. St John Chrysostom, De sacerdotio, III, 6, PG 48, 643-644).

From St Anthony of Padua  (1195-1231) Evangelical Doctor

“Our altar of gold is the Heart of Christ.   We must enter into the Holy of Holies, which is this same Heart of Jesus and gather up the riches of His love” (St Anthony of Padua).

From St John of Avila (1500-1569) Doctor of the Church

“If the Jewish High priest carried the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on his shoulders and on his breast, how much more Christ, our High Priest, carries our names written on His Heart” (St John of Avila).

From the holy Curé of Ars (1786-1859) Patron of Priests

“The Priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus” (CCC, n. 1589—St John Vianney, quoted in B. Nodet, Jean-Marie Vianney, Curé d’Ars, 100).

“The priest is not a priest for himself.   He does not give absolution to himself.   He does not administer the sacraments to himself.   He does not exist for himself, he exists for you” (Curé of Ars: Monnin II 453).

From St Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)

“Today everything which concerns the Sacred Heart of Jesus has become familiar and doubly dear to me.   My life seems destined to be spent in the light shining from the tabernacle and it is to the Heart of Jesus that I must look for a solution to all my troubles. I feel I would be ready to shed my blood for the cause of the Sacred Heart.   My fondest wish is to be able to do something for that precious object of my love.

“At times the thought of my arrogance, of my unbelievable self-love and of my great unworthiness alarms and dismays me and robs me of my courage but I soon find reason for comfort, in the words spoken by Jesus to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque:  ‘I have chosen you to reveal the marvels of my heart, because you are such an abyss of ignorance and insufficiency’.

“Ah! I wish to serve the Sacred Heart of Jesus, today and always.   I want my devotion to His Heart to be the measure of all my spiritual progress.   I desire to do everything in intimate union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

“My greatest joy will be to seek and find comfort only in that Heart which is the source of all consolation.   I am determined to give myself no peace until I can truly say, I am absorbed into the Heart of Jesus”   (Bl. John XXIII, Journal of a Soul, [“During the retreat in preparation for the ordination to the diaconate, 9-18 December 1903”], pp. 208-209, New English Library: London, 1966).

Prayer for Priests

O Jesus, eternal High Priest, who, in an incomparable love for men,
allowed Catholic priesthood to issue from Your Sacred Heart,
deign to continue to pour out on Your priest,
the life-giving streams of Infinite Love.
Live in them, transform them into Yourself;
Render them by Your grace instruments of Your Mercy;
Act in them and through them
and grant that they may perform in Your Name
and by the strength of Your Spirit,
the works which You Yourself
accomplished for the salvation of this world.
Divine Redeemer of souls,
see how great is the multitude of those,
who still sleep in the darkness of error;
count the number of those unfaithful sheep,
who are walking on the edge of an abyss;
consider the crowds of the poor, the hungry,
the ignorant and the weak,
who are groaning in their state of abandonment.
Return to us again, dear Sacred Heart of Jesus,
live again in very truth in them;
act through them and pass again through this world
teaching, pardoning, consoling, offering sacrifice,
renewing the Bonds of Love
between the Heart of God and the hearts of men.
We pray through the intercession
of Mary, Mother of all hearts.
Amenprayer for priests - 8 june 2018 - sacred heart.jpg

 

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL ENCYLICALS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, SAINT of the DAY, VATICAN Resources

Blessed and Holy Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests – 8 June

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8 June – Blessed and Holy Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – (Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost) and The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.sacred heart - header 1header - Sacred Heart of Jesus in you I trust

Excerpt from ENCYCLICAL of Pope Pius XII
HAURIETIS AQUAS – on DEVOTION TO The SACRED HEART
15 May 1956

Venerable Brethren:  Health and Apostolic Benediction.

1. “You shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour’s fountain.”  These words by which the prophet Isaias, using highly significant imagery, foretold the manifold and abundant gifts of God which the Christian era was to bring forth, come naturally to Our mind when We reflect on the centenary of that year when Our predecessor of immortal memory, Pius IX, gladly yielding to the prayers from the whole Catholic world, ordered the celebration of the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Universal Church.

2. It is altogether impossible to enumerate the heavenly gifts which devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has poured out on the souls of the faithful, purifying them, offering them heavenly strength, rousing them to the attainment of all virtues.   Therefore, recalling those wise words of the Apostle S. James, “Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights,” We are perfectly justified in seeing in this same devotion, which flourishes with increasing fervour throughout the world, a gift without price, which our divine Saviour the Incarnate Word, as the one Mediator of grace and truth between the heavenly Father and the human race imparted to the Church, His mystical Spouse, in recent centuries when she had to endure such trials and surmount so many difficulties.

3. The Church, rejoicing in this inestimable gift, can show forth a more ardent love of her divine Founder and can, in a more generous and effective manner, respond to that invitation which St John the Evangelist relates as having come from Christ Himself: “And on the last and great day of the festivity, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me and let him drink that believeth in Me.   As the Scripture saith: Out of his heart there shall flow rivers of living waters.’   Now this He said of the Spirit which they should receive who believed in Him.”header - sacred heart

8. The Church has always valued and still does, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus so highly, that she provides for the spread of it among Christian peoples everywhere and by every means.   At the same time she uses every effort to protect it against the charges of so-called “naturalism” and “sentimentalism.”   In spite of this it is much to be regretted that, both in the past and in our own times, this most noble devotion does not find a place of honour and esteem among certain Christians and, even occasionally, not among those who profess themselves moved by zeal for the Catholic religion and the attainment of holiness.

17. Through the years of Our pontificate–years filled not only with bitter hardships but also with ineffable consolations, these effects have not diminished in number or power or beauty but, on the contrary, have increased.   Indeed, happily there has begun a variety of projects which are conducive to a rekindling of this devotion.   We refer to the formation of cultural associations for the advancement of religion and of charitable works, publications setting forth the true historical, ascetical and mystical doctrine concerning this entire subject, pious works of atonement and, in particular, those manifestations of most ardent piety which the Apostleship of Prayer has brought about, under whose auspices and direction local gatherings – families, colleges, institutions – and sometimes nations have been consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.   To all these We have offered paternal congratulations on many occasions, whether in letters written on the subject, in personal addresses, or even in messages delivered over the radio.

18. Therefore when We perceive so fruitful an abundance of healing waters, that is, heavenly gifts of divine love, issuing from the Sacred Heart of our Redeemer, spreading among countless children of the Catholic Church by the inspiration and action of the divine Spirit, We can only exhort you, venerable brethren, with fatherly affection to join Us in giving tribute of praise and heartfelt thanks to God, the Giver of all good gifts.   We make Our own these words of the Apostle of the Gentiles: “Now to Him Who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worketh in us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations world without end. Amen.”sacred heart 3sacred heart 2

All information on this Devotion here:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/23/celebrating-the-solemnity-of-the-most-sacred-heart-of-jesus-23-june-2017/

And the Twelve Promises here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/23/friday-23-june-2017-blessed-and-holy-solemnity-of-the-most-sacred-heart-of-jesus-friday-after-the-second-sunday-after-pentecost/

The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests

This celebration offers an opportunity to lift up our priests in prayer and thanksgiving, asking God, that they might continually rediscover the gift of their ordination and experience the joy of the mission entrusted to them, while always growing in sanctity.

Let us Pray:

“Our Father for Priests”

Our Father who art in heaven,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy name be hallowed,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy kingdom come,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
To give us each day the Bread of life,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
To forgive us our trespasses,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That we be not led into temptation,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
And deliver us
And all of Your priests from evil. Amen.
(Anonymous)

Issued by the Congregation for the Clergy (vatican.va)our father for priests - sacred heart solemnity - 8 june 2018

 

 

Posted in CATECHESIS, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the PRIESTHOOD

22 April – Vocations Sunday:  Catechism on the Priesthood

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22 April – Vocations Sunday: Catechism on the Priesthood

Vocations Sunday 

Catechism on the Priesthood

by St John Vianney  (1786-1859) Patron of Priests

        My children, we have come to the Sacrament of Orders.   It is a Sacrament which seems to relate to no one among you and which yet relates to everyone. This Sacrament raises man up to God.   What is a priest!   A man who holds the place of God – a man who is invested with all the powers of God. “Go,” said Our Lord to the priest; “as My Father sent Me, I send you.   All power has been given Me in Heaven and on earth.   Go then, teach all nations….  He who listens to you, listens to Me; he who despises you despises Me.”   When the priest remits sins, he does not say, “God pardons you”; he says, “I absolve you.”   At the Consecration, he does not say, “This is the Body of Our Lord;” he says, “This is My Body.”

St Bernard tells us that everything has come to us through Mary and we may also say that everything has come to us through the priest; yes, all happiness, all graces, all heavenly gifts.   If we had not the Sacrament of Orders, we should not have Our Lord.   Who placed Him there, in that tabernacle?   It was the priest.   Who was it that received your soul, on its entrance into life?   The priest.   Who nourishes it, to give it strength to make its pilgrimage?   The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, by washing that soul, for the last time, in the blood of Jesus Christ?   The priest – always the priest. And if that soul comes to the point of death, who will raise it up, who will restore it to calmness and peace?   Again the priest. You cannot recall one single blessing from God without finding, side by side with this recollection, the image of the priest.

Go to confession to the Blessed Virgin, or to an angel; will they absolve you?   No.  Will they give you the Body and Blood of Our Lord?   No.   The Holy Virgin cannot make her Divine Son descend into the Host.   You might have two hundred angels there but they could not absolve you.   A priest, however simple he may be, can do it; he can say to you, “Go in peace; I pardon you.”   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 priests 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.   Leave a parish twenty years without priests, they will worship beasts.   If the missionary Father and I were to go away, you would say, “What can we do in this church? there is no Mass, Our Lord is no longer there,we may as well pray at home.”   When people wish to destroy religion, they begin by attacking the priest, because where there is no longer any priest there is no sacrifice and where there is no longer any sacrifice there is no religion.

When the bell calls you to church, if you were asked, “Where are you going?” you might answer, “I am going to feed my soul.”           If someone were to ask you, pointing to the tabernacle, “What is that golden door?”  “That is our storehouse, where the true Food of our souls is kept.” “Who has the key?   Who lays in the provisions?   Who makes ready the feast, and who serves the table?”   “The priest.” “And what is the Food?”   “The precious Body and Blood of Our Lord.”   O God!   O God! how You have loved us!   See the power of the priest;   out of a piece of bread the word of a priest makes a God.   It is more than creating the world…. Someone said, “Does St Philomena, then, obey the Cure of Ars?”   Indeed, she may well obey him, since God obeys him.   If I were to meet a priest and an angel, I should salute the priest before I saluted the angel.   The latter is the friend of God but the priest holds His place.   St Teresa kissed the ground where a priest had passed.   When you see a priest, you should say, “There is he who made me a child of God and opened Heaven to me by holy Baptism;  he who purified me after I had sinned;  who gives nourishment to my soul.”   At the sight of a church tower, you may say, “What is there in that place?” “The Body of Our Lord.” “Why is He there?”   “Because a priest has been there, and has said holy Mass.”

What joy did the Apostles feel after the Resurrection of Our Lord, at seeing the Master whom they had loved so much! The priest must feel the same joy, at seeing Our Lord whom he holds in his hands.   Great value is attached to objects which have been laid in the drinking cup of the Blessed Virgin and of the Child Jesus, at Loreto.   But the fingers of the priest, that have touched the adorable Flesh of Jesus Christ, that have been plunged into the chalice which contained His Blood, into the pyx where His Body has lain, are they not still more precious?   The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus.   When you see the priest, think of Our Lord Jesus Christ and thank Him!

“Christ’s invitation to the priesthood
is an invitation to a way of life
that is athletic in its intensity
and heroic in its form.”

Bishop Robert Barronchrist's invitation to the priesthood - bishop robert barron - 22 april 2018 - vocations sunday

PRAYER FOR PRIESTS
By St John Vianney

God, please give to Your Church today
many more priests after Your own heart.
May they be worthy representatives
of Christ the Good Shepherd.
May they wholeheartedly devote themselves
to prayer and penance;
be examples of humility and poverty;
shining models of holiness;
tireless and powerful preachers of the Word of God;
zealous dispensers of Your grace in the sacraments.
May their loving devotion to Your Son Jesus
in the Eucharist
and to Mary his Mother
be the twin fountains of fruitfulness for their ministry.
Amenprayer for priests by st john vianney - vocations sunday - 22 april 2018

St John Vianney, Pray for our Priests!

st-john-vianney-pray-for-our-priests.2017

 

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, EASTER, MARIAN PRAYERS, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 15 April – The Third Sunday of Easter Year B

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Our Morning Offering – 15 April – The Third Sunday of Easter Year B

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Before Holy Mass

O most blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of tenderness and mercy,
I, a miserable and unworthy sinner,
fly to you with all the affection of my heart
and I beseech your motherly love,
that, as you stood by your most dear Son,
while he hung on the Cross,
so, in your kindness,
you may be pleased to stand by me, a poor sinner,
and all Priests who today are offering the Sacrifice
here and throughout the entire holy Church,
so that with your gracious help
we may offer a worthy and acceptable oblation
in the sight of the most high and undivided Trinity.
Amen.

(This prayer is adapted from the Priests’ Prayers Before each Mass)prayer to the blessed virgin before mass - 15 april 2018

Posted in HOLY WEEK, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL SERMONS, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 27 March – Tuesday of Holy Week 2018

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Thought for the Day – 27 March – Tuesday of Holy Week 2018

In many countries of the world, the Chrism Mass is celebrated separately today or tomorrow, together with the renewal of the local Priests’ vows.   In my particular Diocese, this is so, therefore I hope you will join me in praying for all our priests.

“Dear brothers and sisters, each year the Chrism Mass exhorts us to return to that “yes” to the call of God which we pronounced on the day of our priestly ordination. “Adsum – here I am!”, we said like Isaiah, when he heard the voice of God, who asked him:  “Whom shall I send?   Who will go for us?”  “Here I am, send me!”, Isaiah replied (Isaiah 6:8).   Then the Lord Himself, through the hands of the bishop, laid His hands upon us and we gave ourselves to His mission.   Since then, we have travelled down various roads in following His call.   Can we always claim what Paul, after years of a service of the Gospel that was often labourious and marked by sufferings of all kinds, wrote to the Corinthians: “Therefore, since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us, we are not discouraged” (2 Cor. 4:1)?   “We are not discouraged.”   Let us pray today that our zeal may always be rekindled, so that it is constantly fed by the living flame of the Gospel.”…Pope Benedict 20 March 2008

Let us pray:

LORD JESUS CHRIST,

Eternal High Priest, you offered yourself to the
Father on the altar of the Cross and through the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit gave your priestly
people a share in your redeeming sacrifice.
Hear our prayer for the sanctification of our priests.
Grant that all who are ordained to the ministerial
priesthood may be ever more conformed to you,
the divine Master. May they preach the
Gospel with pure heart and clear conscience.
Let them be shepherds according to your own Heart,
single- minded in service to you and to the Church
and shining examples of a holy,simple and joyful life.
Through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
your Mother and ours,draw all priests and the flocks
entrusted to their care to the fullness of eternal life where
you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

AMEN

BENEDICTUS PP. XVIpope-benedicts-prayer-for-priests-19-oct-2017

Holy Priest of God, Blessed Louis-Edouard Cestac, please pray for all our priests, amen.blessed louis-edouard cestac - pray for us no 2- 27 march 2018

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, QUOTES on the PRIESTHOOD, SPEAKING of .....

On the Memorial of Blessed Marcelo Spínola y Maestre, Cardinal-Priest (1835-1906) – 19 January

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On the Memorial of Blessed Marcelo Spínola y Maestre, Cardinal-Priest (1835-1906) – 19 January

As today we have been thinking of all our Priests, let us pray:

Pope Benedict’s Prayer for Priests

LORD JESUS CHRIST,
Eternal High Priest, You offered Yourself to the
Father on the altar of the Cross and through the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit gave Your priestly
people a share in Your redeeming sacrifice.
Hear our prayer for the sanctification of our priests.
Grant that all who are ordained to the ministerial
priesthood may be ever more conformed to You,
the divine Master.
May they preach the
Gospel with pure heart and clear conscience.
Let them be shepherds according to Your own Heart,
single- minded in service to You and to the Church
and shining examples of a holy,simple and joyful life.
Through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Your Mother and ours,draw all priests and the flocks
entrusted to their care to the fullness of eternal life where
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
AMEN
BENEDICTUS PP. XVIpope-benedicts-prayer-for-priests-19-oct-2017

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the PRIESTHOOD, SAINT of the DAY, SPEAKING of ....., The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 19 January – The Memorial of Blessed Marcelo Spínola y Maestre (1835-1906)

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One Minute Reflection – 19 January – The Memorial of Blessed Marcelo Spínola y Maestre (1835-1906)

And Jesus called to him the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over unclean spirits… So they went out and preached that men should repent...Mark 6:7,12mark 6 - 7,12

REFLECTION – “‘O Priest! You are not yourself because you are of God.   You are not of yourself because you are the servant and minister of Christ.   You are not you own because you are the spouse of the Church.   You are not yourself because you are the mediator between God and man.   You are not from yourself because you are nothing. What then are you?   Nothing and everything.   O Priest!   Take care lest what was said to Christ on the cross be said to you: “He saved others, himself he cannot save!”‘ ...St NorbertO Priest! - St Norbert

PRAYER – O Lord of all, today we pray for our priests. All our priests from the Holy Father to our the newly ordained. Keep them holy and for yourself O Lord. Keep them in the image of Your Son, our High Priest, Jesus Christ. Keep them pure in heart, loving in spirit, filled with charity for all and most of all, with the greatest of love for You. Bless their hearts and their hands, that administer Your Eucharistic Son to your faithful. Grant that the prayers of Blessed Marcelo Spínola, may intercede for all our priests and ourselves. Amenblessed marcelo - pray for us

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PAPAL ENCYLICALS, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 19 October – The Memorial of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko (1947-1984)

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Thought for the Day – 19 October – The Memorial of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko (1947-1984)

Fr Jerzy Popiełuszko, a priest and martyr,….exercised his generous and courageous ministry beside all those who were working for freedom, for the defence of life and for its dignity. His work at the service of goodness and truth was a sign of contradiction for the regime governing Poland at the time. Love of the Heart of Christ led him to give his life and his witness was the seed of a new springtime in the Church and in society.
If we look at history, we can note how many pages of authentic spiritual and social renewal were written with the crucial contribution of Catholic priests, motivated solely by passion for the Gospel and for human beings and for their true freedom, both religious and civil.
How many initiatives of integral human promotion have been born from the intuition of a priestly heart! (13 June 2010, Pope Benedict XVI)
And so, let us pray for all our priests:

Pope Benedict’s Prayer for Priests

LORD JESUS CHRIST,
Eternal High Priest, You offered Yourself to the
Father on the altar of the Cross and through the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit gave Your priestly
people a share in Your redeeming sacrifice.
Hear our prayer for the sanctification of our priests.
Grant that all who are ordained to the ministerial
priesthood may be ever more conformed to You,
the divine Master.
May they preach the
Gospel with pure heart and clear conscience.
Let them be shepherds according to Your own Heart,
single- minded in service to You and to the Church
and shining examples of a holy,simple and joyful life.
Through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Your Mother and ours,draw all priests and the flocks
entrusted to their care to the fullness of eternal life where
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
AMEN
BENEDICTUS PP. XVIpope benedict's prayer for priests - 19 oct 2017

Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko, Pray for our Priests, pray for us all!bl jerzy pray for us

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

The Feast Day of the Patron of Parish Priests – 4 August – St John Vianney the Curé of Ars

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When Pope Benedict XVI announced a special Year for Priests to be observed in the Church (June 19, 2009 — June 19, 2010), he noted that the timing was not arbitrary. The year coincides, he said, with the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, “a true example of a pastor at the service of Christ’s flock.”

It is, therefore, appropriate that we pray for all our priests today:

Gracious and loving God, we thank your for the gift of our priests.
Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments.

Help our priests to be strong in their vocation.
Set their souls on fire with love for your people.

Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom.

Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel.
Allow them to experience joy in their ministry.

Help them to become instruments of your divine grace.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest.

Amen

St John Vianney, pray for all our priests!

prayer for priests

st john vianney pray for our priests