_______-Image by Spreadshirt
The Year for Priests comes to a close today, June 11, the feast of the Sacred Heart.
As an exercise for myself to enter into the spirit of this year, I wrote the prayer below and I've posted it every Friday, inviting you to pray these words for those who have been, who are or who one day will be priests in your life.
Even if you prayed this only once, please know that I'm grateful for that prayer. And for those who prayed for me and my brothers more frequently in the past year, my gratitude runs even deeper. And if you've never prayed these words, I'd encourage you to do so today.
With the Year for Priests ending, I'll not longer be publishing this text every week but I will post it on occasion.
With or without such texts in front of you, my brother priests and I are always grateful for your prayerful support.
A Prayer for Priests
Gracious God, loving Father,
font of every gift and good,
make of priests for us we pray:
men of faith, men of love,
humble servants of your Word,
prophets of your Spirit’s grace;
men of hope, men of peace,
strong defenders of the truth,
heralds of your holy gospel;
men of prayer, men of praise,
guardians of our sacred rites,
of the scriptures and tradition;
men of changelessness and change,
men who follow you each day,
when and where your Spirit leads;
men of tenderness and strength,
comfort for the sick and weary,
shepherds leading home the lost;
men of counsel, men of wisdom,
gentle guides for the confused,
lights along the darkened path;
men of mercy, patient men,
understanding and consoling
of the grieving and abused;
men of justice and compassion,
reconciling and forgiving,
men of healing in your name;
men of sacrifice and honor,
single minded in your service,
set apart to do your will;
men of holiness and joy,
men anointed by your grace,
men ordained to serve as Christ.
Make us one with them in faith
and in Christ your only Son
in whose holy name we pray.
Amen.
Subscribe to A Concord Pastor Comments
Even thought this "Year of the Priest" is coming to a close, please know that we are forever thankful for your response to the call and for giving us Christ in the Eucharist....
ReplyDeletethank you for posting this in this Year for Priests-
ReplyDeletesometimes I prayed with it, and sometimes in my own words-
please know that my prayers for you (and all priests) will continue after today...
I've prayed your prayer every day since the Year for Priests began, so I figure that must be about 40 novenas for priests!
ReplyDeleteGod bless and keep you all.
Rosemary
Were you there at the piazza san pietro during the Mass closing the Year of Priests, Father? The vigil too the night before was great.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for writing this. With your permission, we used this in our parish bulletin weekly throughout the Year for Priests...I have a copy in my bible and there it will remain as a reminder that we must continue to pray for priests...it will continue to make appearances in our parish bulletin as well...
ReplyDeleteNo, I wasn't in Rome.
ReplyDelete