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Sadlier Press Releases
Year for Priests
09/18/09
Pope Benedict XVI opened the Year for Priests in June. Our Holy Father said the purpose of this year is “to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a stronger and more incisive witness to the Gospel in today’s world.”
You will find many resources for the Year for Priests at
http://www.usccb.org/yearforpriests
Activities
Write a prayer for your parish priests, pray it each day and present a copy to them
Find out the date of your pastor/priest’s ordination and make cards for his anniversary
Write a letter to your local seminary encouraging those studying for the priesthood
Invite families to remember priests in prayer, especially those who have ministered to them
Go to www.webelieveweb.com/saints_student.cfm and find saints who were priests. Have students report on them.
Write a letter to the family of your pastor/priest thanking them for his ministry.
Have students do a history of all the priests who have served in your parish. Celebrate them at a prayer service.
If there are retired priests in your area, reach out to them with a card or a visit.
Quotes
“For since nobody can be saved who has not first believed, it is the first task of priests as co-workers of the bishops to preach the Gospel of God to all men.” Presbyterorum Ordinis ( Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests) 4
“Through the ordained ministry, especially that of bishops and priests, the presence of Christ as head of the Church is made visible in the midst of the community of believers.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 1549
“Whoever has been called to the preaching of the Gospel should obey instantly and without delay.” Saint Basil the Great, bishop, theologian
“Priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.” Saint John Vianney, priest
“By sacred ordination and by the mission they receive from their bishops, priests are promoted to the service of Christ, the Teacher, the Priest and the King. They share in His ministry of unceasingly building up the Church on earth into the People of God, the Body of Christ, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit.” Presbyterorum Ordinis (Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests), 1
“The world which is entrusted today to the loving ministry of the pastors of the Church is that world which God so loved that He gave His only Son for it.” Presbyterorum Ordinis (Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests), 22
“The great message that we have to carry, as ministers of God’s word and followers of Jesus, is that God loves us not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen us to proclaim that love as the true source of all human life.” From In the Name of Jesus by Father Henri Nouwen, priest, author
“The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God.” From In the Name of Jesus by Father Henri Nouwen, priest, author
“The priest who has not kept near the fires of the tabernacle can strike no sparks from the pulpit.” From The Priest is Not HisOwn by Fulton Sheen, bishop
"The priestly vocation is essentially a call to sanctity, in the form that derives from the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Sanctity is intimacy with God; it is the imitation of Christ, poor, chaste and humble; it is unreserved love for souls and self-giving to their true good; it is love for the church which is holy and wants us to be holy, because such is the mission that Christ has entrusted to it. " Pope John Paul II, Rome, Italy, October 9, 1984
"The safest place for me to be is in the center of God's will, and if that is in the line of fire, that's where I'll be." - Father Timothy Vakoc, U.S. Army Chaplain