This has been heavy on my heart for the last several days. No, this isn't a post about vocations or lack thereof. It's about our own Shepherds - our priests. Fitting, since we just celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday! Consider just how many priests have touched your lives in some pretty big events:
-Baptism
-First Communion
-Confirmation
-Marriage
-Anointing
Then consider the interactions that you might have on a more frequent basis:
-Reconciliation - whether you go once a year or once a week, you interact with a priest
-Mass - at the least, you're probably attending Mass once a week, if not more - again, not possible without a priest
-And don't forget about the variety of events at which a priest is present - funerals, baptisms, graduations, weddings, parish council, school council, KofC, Deanery boards, and much more!
When I stop to think of all the priests I've encountered in my short life, I am amazed:
Msgr. Cyril Werner
Fr. Larry Wieseler
Fr. Jim Keiter
Fr. Frank Dvorak
Fr. Dennis Deguzman
Fr. Ed (formerly)
Fr. John Pietramale
Fr. Keith Rezac
Fr. Chris Grimmond
Fr. William Sanderson
Fr. Ron Noecker
Fr. Craig Loecker
Fr. Paul Hoesing
Fr. Paul Vasquez
Fr. David Korth
Fr. Mike Grewe
Fr. Dennis
Fr. Doll
Fr. Don Clary
Fr. Don Shane
Fr. Jose Chavez
Fr. Matt Koperski
Fr. Mike McDonald
Fr. Paul Colling
Fr. Joe Hannapel
Fr. Josh Brown
Fr. Harry Kurtenbach
Fr. Jon Sorenson
Fr. Kevin Vogel
Fr. Jeff Loseke
Bishop William Dendinger
Bishop Elden Curtiss
Bishop George Lucas
Fr. Antony Thekkera
Fr. Lou Nollette
Fr. Jorge Canela
Fr. Charles Torpe
Fr. Tom Weisbecker
Fr. Mike Keating
Fr. Mark Tassler
Fr. James De Anda
Fr. Allen Scheer
Fr. Corapi (formerly)
Fr. Neal Hock
Some I know well, some I have attended Mass and heard them preach, some were friends of my parents, and some are dear friends of mine. Some cross my path almost daily, and some I've met only once or twice. This is not to say that I'm an expert on priests, by any means, but I think we take for granted the role they play in our lives. Actually, I KNOW, we under-appreciate them. So along with forgetting the impact they have on our lives and in our world, we neglect to pray for them.
I remember when I was little, and my Mom would tell me to never say anything bad about a priest. I accepted it as a directive to follow obediently, but it's only more recently that I've wanted to know why. And it's interesting some of the items I've found on the topic. I've listed some sites at the bottom of this post that talk about this as well. In the Catholic Catechism and the Baltimore Catechism, it reminds us that a priest is the 'persona Christi' and that no matter the human weakness present, a priest is to be honored for his connection to Christ. Instead, help your priests by praying for them instead of judging them.
I've included some prayers and links to even more prayers below. If you are so moved, please consider adding a prayer for priests to your daily schedule.
O Jesus, I pray for your faithful and fervent priests;
for your unfaithful and tepid priests;
for your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields.
for your tempted priests;
for your lonely and desolate priests;
For your young priests;
for your dying priests;
for the souls of your priests in Purgatory.
But above all, I recommend to you the priests dearest to me:
the priest who baptized me;
the priests who absolved me from my sins;
the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion;
the priests who taught and instructed me;
all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way
(especially …).
O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart,
and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen
Prayer for Priests
O Jesus, our great High Priest, Hear my humble prayers on behalf of your priest, Father ____________
Give him a deep faith, a bright and firm hope and a burning love which will ever increase in the course of his priestly life. In his loneliness, comfort him. In his sorrows, strengthen him. In his frustrations, point out to him
that it is through suļ¬ering that the soul is purified, and show him that he is needed by the Church, he is needed by souls, he is needed for the work of redemption.
O loving Mother Mary, Mother of Priests, take to your heart your son who is close to you because of his priestly ordination, and because of the power which he has received to carry on the work of Christ in a world which needs him so much. Be his comfort, be his joy, be his strength, and especially help him to live and to defend the ideals of consecrated celibacy. Amen.
+John Joseph, Cardinal Carberry (d.1998) Archbishop of St. Louis 1968-1979
Year for Priests
Prayer card
50 Prayers for Priests
I cannot vouch for the accuracy or authority of the following sites, but they were interesting and helpful to me.
Catholic Exchange
Carmelites
Prayerbook
