Lately, every Mass I attend, everytime I receive the Eucharist, everytime I sin (which is often) and because of that sin go crawling to the Sacrament of Confession...I am overcome with gratitute for these priests of God.
Unfortunately I haven't always been thise aware of what a blessing the priesthood is to us. Usually I just go about my merry way and even throw in a criticism here or there. I'm not saying some things that priest do shouldn't be criticized but thats another blog for another place.
Dr. S defined Sacraments in class the other day as 'God's presence in history', "No Sacraments, no God in history." and my mind took the next step... no priests, no sacraments, no God in history. They are the conduits of grace in our lives and everyday we stand before Christ; both the priest in persona Christi and the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist because these men gave all for love.
Lots of priests, good priests even, lose heart and their vocations suffer because of that. It's got to be hard, especially as a diocesan priest. There is something resembling a community in your brother priests and you have the families that invite you over once in a while and the little old ladies that swoon over you after Mass, but aside from that when everyone else is home it must be so lonely. God is smacking me over the head with the realization that I need to be praying for priests in a very real way everyday. I need to be praying that the Lord overwhelms these men with love for their vocation, with love for the Church everyday! I need to be praying that God helps them to fall in love all over again with their total bodily sacrifice.
I think part of this sudden love is because of a good friend of hubby to be and mine who is a priest. We'll call him Fr. Fire. I say Fire because he has a fire in him like I've never seen. He is so young, so reverent, so good and he wants nothing more than to set aflame the hearts of those who he encounters, even if it means standing in opposition to what they think at the moment. I love Fr. Fire in a special way because of the love and support he provides for us specifically and because of the love I know he has for his vocation. I hope he will be around hubby and I often and be a regular part of our children's lives (God willing). So, in his name I pray for all priests, that they might find that communio of love in their parishioners and most ultimately in Christ Jesus.
Particularly in the context of the new evangelization, the people have a right to turn to priests in the hope of "seeing'' Christ in them (cf. Jn 12:21). The young feel the need for this especially; Christ continues to call them, to make them his friends and to challenge some to give themselves completely for the sake of the Kingdom. Vocations will certainly not be lacking if our manner of life is truly priestly, if we become more holy, more joyful, more impassioned in the exercise of our ministry. A priest "won'' by Christ (cf. Phil 3:12) more easily "wins" others, so that they too decide to set out on the same adventure. John Paul II Letter to Priests on Holy Thursday 2005
Hey Amy,
ReplyDeleteBecause of your comment on my blog, I was reminded to go back to yours and catch up! I enjoyed and appreciated this post. I'm gonna post that excerpt from JPII's Letter to Priests on my blog.
One more note: Our Vice Rector said something to us young, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Pre-Theologians during our Intro to Catholic Theology class that I'll never forget: "Don't complain about being lonely as a priest... you're supposed to be! Your loneliness is your gift to the faithful because it forces you to take hold of the Eucharist, the Virgin Mary, and the Sacraments all the more, thus making you a better priest".
He also taught us about the huge difference between "loneliness" and "aloneness"... the latter always including communio with God.