St. John Vianney Trading Cards Celebrate The Priesthood

A great idea for celebrating our priests and encouraging  vocations from the Archdiocese of Omaha!

by Lisa Hendey 

Editor’s Note: A huge thank you to Melia Vankat for her assistance in compiling the information for this article! LMH

Have you heard how four creative moms turned playing into praying for our priests?  The brainstorm of these clever ladies led to the creation of St. John Vianney Priesthood Cards in the Archdiocese of Omaha.  With 27 children among them they understood the need for kids to make a personal connection with priests.  Each card consists of a photo of a priest serving in the Archdiocese of Omaha and, on the flipside, “Sacramental Stats.”  These stats may include information such as ordination date, hobbies, favorite meal, favorite prayer, and fatherly advice.  The cards are randomly packaged with 8 cards per pack.  This encourages individuals to acquire and pray for all 121 priests in the collection, even the ones they may never have met otherwise.  These packs are distributed a variety of ways including local bookstores, parish festivals and parish offices.

The priesthood card project was started in 2010, the Year of the Priesthood, with a threefold mission in mind.  The primary goal was to encourage the laity to pray for priests and to introduce them to the ordinary men who are living extraordinary vocations.  Numerous stories have been shared about families and individuals praying for priests by name, even priests whom they have only “met” through the priesthood cards.  The next goal was to open the hearts of young people to consider the possibility of their own religious vocation.  One 8-year-old told Fr. Joseph Miksch that he thinks he may want to become a priest so that he can have his own priesthood card.  This is just one example of the seeds being planted in the hearts of children across the archdiocese.  The final goal was to raise funds for the Archdiocesan Seminarian Fund.  To date, the project has raised more than $20,000 for the seminarian fund in the Omaha Archdiocese.

The creators of St. John Vianney Priesthood Cards have formed Vocat Group, LLC, whose mission is to provide support and resources to individuals and groups who strive to promote vocations for the universal church.  Vocat is the Latin word for “He calls” because they know that God calls each and every one of his children to a special vocation.  They have compiled their wisdom and experience into a How To Manual.  This manual outlines the stop-by-step process that will inspire and support others who want to produce St. John Vianney Priesthood Cards in their diocese.

To read more about the St. John Vianney Priesthood Cards in the Omaha Archdiocese, visitwww.stvianneycards.com.  For more information on how to bring St. John Vianney Priesthood Cards to your diocese, visitwww.vocatgroup.com.

About Lisa Hendey, Author Of This Post

Lisa Hendey, Catholic wife and mom, is the founder and webmaster of CatholicMom.com and the author of A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms: 52 Companions for Your Heart, Mind, Body and Soul and The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body and Soul. Lisa writes for several online and print publications, enjoys speaking around the country and hosts the weekly Catholic Moments Podcast. Visit her at LisaHendey.com.

Amazing Priestly Drum Solo

Mary's Aggies, Texas A&M University

This is one rocking priest. Truly amazing drum skills.

Thanks to Fr. Brian Soliven who sent it to me. Here is the description of the video:

An impromptu exhibition of drumming skills of Fr. Rich Mastrogiacomo from New York. Taken during the ordination reception of his friend and classmate, Fr. Brian Soliven, held at Good Shepherd's Church, Elk Grove, California. 

Fr. Rich is the youngest ordained priest in the history of the church in the United States. Congratulations!

The next video is of Fr. Christ Downey, former Associate Pastor of St. Mary's (now a pastor at another parish). He was a former professional bass player in rock bands before becoming a priest.
  

A quick reflection on the week of a Catholic priest

Archiocese of Washington, DC by Msgr. Charles Pope:

When I was a young priest I used to bring communion to an elderly woman who would often puzzle over what on earth a priest would do on days other than Sunday. “You must be rather bored” she’d often say. “Oh, not exactly!” I would retort. “Well, what can you possibly have to do after you say Mass?” “Well, of course I am here visiting you!” “Well, that just takes a few minutes” she’d say. “Well, I do have few other things to do this week:”

1. The other 15 sick calls I have through the week,
2. the daily visits to the school,
3. the evening appointments for marriage prep., marriage counseling, meetings with spiritual directees,
4. Weekly RCIA instructions,
5. Weekly Bible Study,
6. Hospital calls,
7. Funeral on Wednesday,
8. Sermon prep,
9. I have to remember to prepare of class notes for the Adult Education class on Sunday,
10. 2pm Staff meeting,
11. 10:00 am Saturday Parish Council,
12. Finance Council meeting Thursday,
13. Youth group meeting Friday night,
14. School staff meeting Friday at 3:30pm
15. Meeting with CCD teachers to discuss curriculum changes,
16. Boiler contractor wants to discuss water treatment
17. Gotta remember to call cleaning supply vendor regarding his proposal.
18. Looks like the diocesan meeting was cancelled (whew!) but rescheduled for next week (whew!),
19. The Synder’s want to schedule a house blessing,
20. The interfaith network is a requesting a clergy meeting for next Tuesday
21. Mr Evans has planned a meeting of the evangelization planning committee and I have to call and confirm that I can be there briefly to discuss the walking strategy on Wednesday evening before Bible Study.
22. I should probably mention that there are often walk up appointments at the rectory requesting to see the priest,
23. 15 – 20 Phone messages a day to be returned
24. And then there’s those moments where a staff member sticks her head in the door and says, “Oh by the Father, the school staff is upset at the way the Ladies Guild left the stove on again and the principle wants to talk with you about it before the staff meeting.” “Oh, and Father? That strange man is back in the church again and he’s scaring the ladies in the rosary group. Could you go over and take a look?….And, by the way Father, remember to call Mrs. Deale who wants to start Eucharistic Adoration in the parish and wants you to preach more on it and attend an organizational meeting next Tuesday…..”
25. Oh, I forgot to mention the evening Wedding this Saturday and that I make a daily holy hour and say Mass each day.

“Ah, yes,” I said to her: “Not much to do, really.”  

And this description I gave her was all back in the days before cell phones, e-mail, and blogging!  But its all good; just sometimes too much of a good thing! Yet I wouldn’t have it any other way. And truth be told, we priests are busy, but not so much busier than most people. I think of my brothers who work all day and then come home to homes full of kids and ten thousand, thousand things to do each week. Their wives too, have lists that are endless, and I’ll bet you do as well. Life is full, but also fulfilling, if we find some boundaries, and love what we do by God’s grace.

All this to introduce a very good video that depicts the week of a parish priest. It is a very good production which I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I. The life of a priest is rich, and varied. But please understand that, from time to time when you call, we might not be at our desk waiting to answer the phone. The vineyard beckons!

Photo adapted from a photo at Edublogs

Ordination of John Russell Johnson

John Johnson

John Russell Johnson will be ordained into the presbyterate of the Archdiocese of Louisville on Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 10:00 am at the Cathedral of the Assumption, 443 South Fifth.

Reception follows in Undercroft. The people of the Archdiocese are encouraged to attend this joyful celebration. For more information, contact the Vocation Office at (502) 636-0296 

Chase Hilgenbrinck: At peace after leaving MLS for seminary

Washington Post:



Chase Hilgenbrinck looks back on his first few months at Mount St. Mary’s and wonders how he did it.

His decision to leave behind a Major League Soccer career for the priesthood generated such enormous interest that between the interview requests and the speaking engagements, he hardly had any energy left for his studies.

Since then, Hilgenbrinck has curtailed his public exposure to devote more time to becoming a priest.

“It was crazy,” said Hilgenbrinck, who grew up in Bloomington, Ill. “But at the time, I thought that was normal. I thought that was normal for me because when I was a soccer player, I was doing interviews every day. ... I’m grateful for the wisdom of my [advisers] who said, ‘You can’t keep this pace up.’ ”

Many professional athletes have gone into the ministry, but few walk away from their sport in their prime, as Hilgenbrinck did in 2008 when he was a defender for the New England Revolution.

As Hilgenbrinck said at the time, his decision to become a priest was a gradual one. Now three years into his studies at the Emmitsburg, Md., seminary, he says he has no regrets.

That isn’t to say he doesn’t miss soccer. Hilgenbrinck, who also serves as the chaplain for the Mount St. Mary’s soccer team, trains with the team, keeps in touch with his former teammates and watches soccer on television.

“I certainly do miss it,” he said. “It is a part of me I’ll always love.”

Hilgenbrinck will be ordained in May 2014. Then it will be up to his bishop where he serves God. Of the many options, it is clear where his heart lies.

“To live in a parish and be a kind of shepherd of a flock and guiding people every single day in a daily Mass, meeting them in the most important times of their life — in baptism, in their marriage, in their death — being with someone their entire life, and getting to know families and leading them to holiness and a life with Christ, that’s what this is all about,” he said.

When asked what he enjoys most about being at the seminary, he says, “the peace that I feel in my life.

“I truly mean that. I feel a peace in my life now more than I ever have. When I was living my dream [of playing professional soccer], I thought I had everything that I ever wanted, and I wasn’t at peace like I am now.”

What is a priest?

Archdiocese of Washington, DC by Msgr. Charles Pope

This Past Sunday I celebrated my 50th Birthday and of all the gifts I received, I must say I got the best from the Lord who delivered it in a “strange package.”

It began the day before as I arose and realized with some dread that I had surely over-committed myself. As I looked at my calendar I saw that I had scheduled four Masses and luncheon meeting. “How could I be so crazy!” I told myself as I prayed in the groggy early morning. The Lord remained quiet but I sensed he was smiling just a bit.

The first Mass was at 8:00am and was the most straight forward. It was a very pleasant Mass with the Sisters in the Convent. I offered it for the repose of my Mother. When she was alive I always bought her flowers on my birthday, since I figured she did all the work, and I just showed up. If anyone deserved a gift she did. Now that she has departed this life, my gift to her is Mass for her happy repose. A nice but brief breakfast followed with the sisters. They are always so kind to me. And so here was the first of the six sacraments I would celebrate that day: Holy Eucharist.

The second Mass was at 10:00 am, a solemn high Latin Nuptial Mass for a wonderful young couple from Africa, both of them studying medicine here in the States. God be praised, it was a beautiful Mass, with all the ceremony and splendor that the Traditional Latin Mass offers. But it was a workout, coming in at an hour and a half. And here was the second of six sacraments I would celebrate that day, Holy Matrimony along with Holy Eucharist, again.

A luncheon followed with parish leaders at noon. Here too, a wonderful occasion. I have so many wonderful leaders. God be praised. They surprised me with a birthday cake and three different versions of Happy Birthday.

By now I felt a nap coming on, but no time for that….I have miles to go before I sleep.

The third Mass was at 2pm. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Sacraments of Initiation for woman who had been delayed for over two years while “canonical issues” were resolved. At long last she had her green light, and there was no way I was going to make her wait until next Easter. With her family in the Chapel we celebrated big time with Mass wherein she received her Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist AND had her marriage validated! Wow, God is good. She’d had a long wait, and was so patient. It was so satisfying to finally see her through. And here were the third and fourth of the six sacraments I would celebrate that day: Baptism and Confirmation, along with Holy Matrimony and Holy Eucharistic, again, and again.

It’s 4:00pm now. Time to go hear confessions in Church. And here was the fifth sacrament I would celebrate that day: Confession.

At 4:30pm Mass # 4 and Holy Eucharist again, Mass number four!

6:00 pm – Time to chill. “Lord you really made me work this weekend. That’s a strange thing to do to me on my birthday weekend!” There’s that silent smile of the Lord again. What’s he up to? Sure enough: the phone rings. Hospital call! And not even nearby. I am mindful of the words of Mother Teresa who said that the Lord told her he’d never give her more than she could take. She only wished that the Lord didn’t trust her so much! Off to anoint the critically ill. And thus the sixth sacrament I celebrated: Anointing of the Sick

Well, there you have it. My gift in a “strange package,” a sacramental six-pack, every sacrament I can possibly celebrate. It was a bone-crusher of a day but God is so good. I don’t suppose a priest could have any better gift that to be reminded so powerfully of his purpose on the eve of his 50th birthday.

But God knows me well enough to realize that he had to send a prophet to decode it all for me, just to make sure I got it. It came on Sunday afternoon, the evening of my birthday. Two of the Sisters came from the Convent presented me with a cake and sang happy birthday.

Innocently they asked me how my birthday weekend had gone. “Do you have a few minutes Sisters?” I said. And I told them the whole story.

One of them looked at me and said, “Do you see what God was saying to you on your 50th birthday? He was saying, ‘This is why I created you.’”

Yes, that is what he was saying alright. And it was the best gift I could have received.

Cardinal McCarrick: "What Is a Priest?" from Rocco Palmo on Vimeo.


Cardinal McCarrick: “What Is a Priest?” from Rocco Palmo on Vimeo.

Some priests avoid tricky subjects to maintain a quiet life

If you trawl through blog comments, you may notice that one phrase crops up rather often, namely: “When did you last hear a sermon about… X?” where X is some vital point of Catholic doctrine. I must say I rather sympathise with the question’s implied point of view.

I once asked an old faithful Catholic why so few people went to confession these days, and he replied at once: “Because we are never exhorted to do so from the pulpit.” This set me thinking, and as a result I made a resolution that I would from then on exhort people, from the pulpit, to go to confession. Imagine my horror when someone who heard me preach on the necessity of sacramental confession some time later published an article in a theological journal to the effect that I was completely wrong to do so! The article is not online, but you can see the edition of the journal here.

It all goes to show that if you do pick the sort of topics that people want you to preach about, there will be another group that will very much not want you to preach about those subjects.

On another occasion I ventured to show up what I considered to be some of the deficiencies in Professor Dawkins’s position. This provoked a furious and borderline rude correspondence which claimed that I was denigrating science and discouraging children from wanting to learn science. I considered this to be untrue, but it was clear to me that my correspondent saw any criticism of Dawkins as a criticism of the whole scientific community, on the grounds that Dawkins was a poor representative of scientific method.

Again, woe betide the preacher who ever strays into the territory of saying anything less than complimentary about other religions. Our present Pope has had the courage to speak his mind, both in the Regensberg address, and back in 1997, when he made some comments on Buddhism that upset a few people. I am not for a moment suggesting that we go round hurting the sensibilities of other believers just for the sake of it, and neither would the Pope want us to do that; what I am saying is that when teaching Catholic truth we will have to use terms that others do not accept. Any real dialogue will depend on the Catholic side being true to Catholic tradition. But this riles some people. Quite often I am asked whether I believe in the ordination of women. My answer is always the same. I do not. If I did, I would be an Anglican. I cannot truthfully answer in any other way, but I see the eyes of the people who have asked the question clouding over with disapproval as I give them my answer.

So, let us be clear about this. You may not have heard a sermon recently on whatever subject is dear to your heart because the priest in the pulpit knows that certain subjects are best avoided, for the sake of a quiet life. It takes a courageous pastor to tackle head on subjects that may encounter dissent. Moreover, as the reaction to the Regensberg address proved, many of those who disagree with what you say may not play fair. It was remarkable how few non-Catholics (and even Catholics) stuck up for the Pope during that largely manufactured furore. So priests may avoid certain subjects, not because they are cowards, but because they know that they will be misrepresented and misinterpreted, sometimes deliberately so.

Incidentally, while not claiming to be a brave pastor, I still do point out what is wrong with Dawkins from the pulpit, because I think people want to hear it and need to hear it (and need to argue these points with their neighbours); and I still preach about the necessity of regular and frequent confession, despite being rebutted in print from on high.

Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith
Alexander Lucie-Smith is a Catholic priest and a doctor of moral theology. The author of several books, he was born in West Sussex, educated at Oxford and in Rome, and has lived in Malta, Italy, and Kenya 

USCCB Report on new priests

The US Catholic Bishops issued this hopeful data recently:                                                                                    

The average age of men ordained to the priesthood in 2011 is trending younger with the average age for the 2011 class at 34, with more than half between the ages of 25 and 34. This is slightly younger than in 2010, and follows the trend over the past five years of ordinands becoming younger.

These figures stand out in The Class of 2011: Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood, an annual national survey of men being ordained priests for U.S. dioceses and religious communities, conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), a Georgetown University-based research center. The entire report can be found at www.usccb.org/vocations as well as on the bishops’ vocation Web site, www.ForYourVocation.org.  It is the 15th annual survey of ordinands commissioned by the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Some other stats that jumped out at me:

Half between 25 and 34 years of age
Seventy-one percent were altar servers
Sixty-seven percent attended Catholic college
Four in five report that both parents are Catholic
A third have a relative who is a priest or religious
Nearly a quarter report having five or more siblings(!)

Finally, the number of priests to be ordained this year:

480 potential ordinands [were] reported by seminaries , houses of formation, dioceses, and religious institutes. They included 275 men being ordained for 128 dioceses and 54 ordinands for religious orders, such as the Jesuits, Dominicans and Franciscans.

Deo Gratias!

From CatholicVote.Org 

Prayers needed: Violence against priests in Mexico

Last year more than one thousand priests were victims of attempted extortions (for their “protection”, amounts ranging from ten thousand to two million Mexican pesos have been demanded). About 162 were threatened with death. Two priests were kidnapped and killed. In the last six years, the most violent of all time, 12 men religious were killed. According to an analysis by Catholic Media Centre (CMC), criminals are seeking money in exchange for protection, while pastors are being threatened with arson against their churches. 

Comparing the figures, during the administration of Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000) three priests were murdered. During the government of Vicente Fox (2000-2006) there were four assaults against priests, but under the present government of Felipe Calderón there has been the highest number of murders of priests: 12. The states with the highest incidence of crimes against priests and religious are the Federal District, Chihuahua, Guerrero, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Michoacán, Hidalgo, Aguascalientes, Coahuila e Puebla.

The report prepared by the Research Centre of the CMC on violence against priests across the country, is divided into two parts, and goes back to 1993. This report not only presents the data collected, but it also gives a series of answers to the question: “Why are priests in Mexico persecuted and killed?”. The different responses outline a neo-persecution of priests for what they represent in the community. They try to intimidate, to harass or to limit their freedom because the priests, in the end, perform a public function that generally disturbs criminal acts.

Are you a Catholic priest?

From The Archdiocese of New York by Archbishop Timothy Dolan

It was only the third time it had happened to me in my nearly thirty-five happy years as a priest, all three times over the last nine-and-a-half years.

Other priests tell me it has happened to them a lot more.

Three is enough. Each time has left me so shaken I was near nausea.
It happened last Friday . . .

I had just arrived at the Denver Airport, there to speak at their popular annual “Living Our Catholic Faith” conference.

As I was waiting with the others for the electronic train to take me to the terminal, a man, maybe in his mid-forties, waiting as well, came closer to me.

“Are you a Catholic priest?” he kindly asked.

“Sure am. Nice to meet you,” says I, as I offered my hand.

He ignored it. “I was raised a Catholic,” he replied, almost always a hint of a cut to come, but I was not prepared for the razor sharpness of the stiletto, as he went on, “and now, as a father of two boys, I can’t look at you or any other priest without thinking of a sexual abuser.”

What to respond? Yell at him? Cuss him out? Apologize? Deck him? Express understanding? I must admit all such reactions came to mind as I staggered with shame and anger from the damage of the wound he had inflicted with those stinging words.

“Well,” I recovered enough to remark, “I’m sure sorry you feel that way. But, let me ask you, do you automatically presume a sexual abuser when you see a Rabbi or Protestant minister?”

“Not at all,” he came back through gritted teeth as we both boarded the train.

“How about when you see a coach, or a boy scout leader, or a foster parent, or a counsellor, or physician?” I continued.

“Of course not!” he came back. “What’s all that got to do with it?”

“A lot,” I stayed with him, “because each of those professions have as high a percentage of sexual abuse, if not even higher, than that of priests.”

“Well, that may be,” he retorted. “But the Church is the only group that knew it was going on, did nothing about it, and kept transferring the perverts around.”

“You obviously never heard the stats on public school teachers,” I observed. “In my home town of New York City alone, experts say the rate of sexual abuse among public school teachers is ten times higher than that of priests, and these abusers just get transferred around.” (Had I known at that time the news in in last Sunday’s New York Times about the high rate of abuse of the most helpless in state supervised homes, with reported abusers simply transferred to another home, I would have mentioned that, too.)

To that he said nothing, so I went in for a further charge.

“Pardon me for being so blunt, but you sure were with me, so, let me ask: when you look at yourself in a mirror, do you see a sex abuser?”

Now he was as taken aback as I had been two-minutes before. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Sadly,” I answered, “studies tell us that most children sexually abused are victims of their own fathers or other family members.”

Enough of the debate, I concluded, as I saw him dazed. So I tried to calm it down.

“So, I tell you what: when I look at you, I won’t see a sex abuser, and I would appreciate the same consideration from you.”

The train had arrived at baggage claim, and we both exited together.

“Well then, why do we only hear this garbage about you priests,” he inquired, as he got a bit more pensive.

“We priests wonder the same thing. I’ve got a few reasons if you’re interested.”

He nodded his head as we slowly walked to the carousel.

“For one,” I continued, “we priests deserve the more intense scrutiny, because people trust us more as we dare claim to represent God, so, when on of us do it – even if only a tiny minority of us ever have — it is more disgusting.”

“Two, I’m afraid there are many out there who have no love for the Church, and are itching to ruin us. This is the issue they love to endlessly scourge us with.”

“And, three, I hate to say it,” as I wrapped it up, “there’s a lot of money to be made in suing the Catholic Church, while it’s hardly worth suing any of the other groups I mentioned before.”

We both by then had our luggage, and headed for the door. He then put his hand out, the hand he had not extended five minutes earlier when I had put mine out to him. We shook.

“Thanks. Glad I met you.”

He halted a minute. “You know, I think of the great priests I knew when I was a kid. And now, because I work in IT at Regis University, I know some devoted Jesuits. Shouldn’t judge all you guys because of the horrible sins of a few.”

“Thanks!,” I smiled.

I guess things were patched-up, because, as he walked away, he added, “At least I owe you a joke: What happens when you can’t pay your exorcist?”

“Got me,” I answered.

“You get ‘re-possessed’!”

We both laughed and separated.

Notwithstanding the happy ending, I was still trembling . . . and almost felt like I needed an exorcism to expel my shattered soul, as I had to confront again the horror this whole mess has been to victims and their families, our Catholic people like the man I had just met . . . and to us priests.

Pope Benedict: Priesthood is a full-time, perpetual vocation

from Zenit

The priesthood is not a profession, to be engaged in part-time, but a full-time and perpetual vocation, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope affirmed this on Thursday in a traditional meeting with priests of the Diocese of Rome held annually at the beginning of Lent, Vatican Radio reported.

"One is not a priest for part of the time; we are so with our whole soul, with our whole heart," he said.

The Pontiff added that "this being with Christ and being an ambassador of Christ, this being for others is a mission that penetrates our being and must penetrate ever more the totality of our being."

The Holy Father gave an in-depth lectio divina inspired by chapter 20 of the Acts of the Apostles, in which St. Paul speaks to the elders of Ephesus.

The Pope concentrated on the meaning of service and on the fidelity that must animate the presbyter.

Service, he pointed out, requires a humility that is not an exhibition of "false modesty," but rather love for the will of God, for proclaiming without "creating the idea that Christianity is an immense package of things to learn."

The priest, in fact, "does not preach a Christianity a la carte, according to his own tastes, preaching a Gospel according to his own preferred ideas, according to his own theological ideas," the Pontiff said.

He continued, "He does not exempt himself from proclaiming the whole will of God, also the uncomfortable will, also topics that personally do not please him so much."

Conversion

The Holy Father underlined the theme of conversion, especially in regards to the season of Lent, understood above all as a change of thought and heart, with a focus not on things of the world and how they are presented, but on the presence of God in the world itself.

"Let us not lose the zeal, the joy of being called by the Lord," he exhorted.

"Let us renew our spiritual youth," Benedict XVI said, encouraging the priests to keep "the joy of being able to go with Christ to the end, of 'staying the course to the end' always with the enthusiasm of being called by Christ for this great service."

In the same way, he exhorted them to be "attentive also to our spiritual life, to our being with Christ."

The Pope affirmed, "To pray and to meditate on the Word of God is not time wasted" or taken away from the care of souls, but rather "it is a condition so that we can really be in contact with the Lord and thus speak firsthand of the Lord to others."

Despite the difficulties the Church is facing, there must be no loss of hope, he said.

The Pontiff stated, "Truth is stronger than lies; love is stronger than hatred, God is stronger than all the adverse forces."

"And with this joy," he added, "with this interior certainty let us start out [...] in the consolations of God and in the persecutions of the world."

Priestly qualities

In his greeting to the Holy Father, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general for the Diocese of Rome, mentioned the 60th anniversary of the Pontiff's priesthood, which will be celebrated on June 29.

The cardinal underlined the clergy's most appreciated priestly qualities of Benedict XVI: "humble and joyful fidelity, without cracks, to the Lord Jesus; total willingness to serve the Church where Providence has called him, to the formidable weight of the Supreme Pontificate; love of the Word of God and of the liturgy and the joy of living time according to the rhythm of the liturgical year; the exercise of intelligence and the passion to propose and defend the search of truth without compromises; gentleness of manner and the magnanimity of heart; serenity of a soul wholly given to Christ."

During the audience, the Pope also met with a Pakistani priest, Father Shahzad Niamat, in representation of the clergy, religious and seminarians of Pakistan present in Rome.

Father Niamat later reported to Fides that he "explained to the Pope the situation of Christians in Pakistan, where witnessing to the faith at times can lead to death."

He added, "The Holy Father was very concerned; he expressed to us his solidarity, his support and assured us of his prayers."

The priest said, "We also thanked the Holy Father for his words and recent appeals dedicated to Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, for Asia Bibi, for the law on blasphemy."

He noted that the Pontiff "communicated the hope that things might change and that in Pakistan full respect of human dignity and religious liberty will be exercised."

First year seminarian, Phillip Johnson, talks about, his vocation, his cancer diagnosis and embracing the Cross

In the past I have asked for prayers for, Philip Johnson, a seminarian with an inoperable brain tumor.

Link to original post...http://sfxmw.blogspot.com/2010/11/prayers-needed.html

A reader alerted me to a video of a talk that he gave at Catholic High School called St. Thomas More 
Academy, in Raleigh, NC.

He covers four major points:

1. His conversion story. Not being a great Catholic in High School. Looked forward to fraternities and parties in college. Ultimately went to the Naval Academy. It was there that he went to Mass again and began feeling called to the priesthood. He explains this call and talks about time he spent in France, especially at Lourdes.
2. His vocation story which is ultimately intertwined with his cancer diagnosis and being released from the Navy.
3. Being diagnosed with a terminal and inoperable brain tumor and reacting to this news.
4. Embracing this cross and talking about the value of redemptive suffering.

 

Seminarian Philip Johnson from Deacon Watkins on Vimeo.

World wide number of priests growing

from catholicnewsagency.com

There are more than 5,000 more Catholic priests globally in 2009 than there were in 1999, according to official Church statistics.

The Vatican’s L’Osservatore Romano newspaper anticipated the news from the soon-to-be released 2009 almanac prepared by the Vatican’s Central Office of Church Statistics.

The statistics reveal that there were 410,593 priests in the world in 2009 compared to 405,009 in 1999. The number of diocesan priests among these increased by over 10,000 while the number of those belonging to religious orders fell by nearly 5,000.

In North America, as well as Europe and Oceania, the numbers decreased for both diocesan and religious priests. Africa and Asia, however, brought up the overall figures with a more than 30 percent increase on both continents.

Europe still has nearly half of the world’s priests, but the “old continent” is gradually losing weight on the world stage.

More seminarians studying for the priesthood from Africa and Asia and fewer from Europe. But, there is also the issue of the number of deaths of priests in the different areas.

In Europe, the average age of priests is higher than in Africa and Asia. The number of European priests is falling as new ordinations do not surpass the numbers of those who die.

But in Asia and Africa the number of deaths was only one-third of the total new ordinations.

North and South America’s numbers combined show a positive trend over the decade since 1999, according to L’Osservatore Romano. In Oceania, the death-to-ordination ratio was equal.

The Vatican’s publishing house prints the volume of Church statistics annually. It includes names and biographies of major Catholic figures and offers a variety statistics on all those who work in apostolates and evangelization efforts the world over.

It also offer shorter term statistics. They report, for example, that between 2008 and 2009 the number of priests in the world increased by 809. According the Vatican newspaper, this is the highest jump since 1999 and a reason “to look to the future with renewed hope.”

A Road Less Traveled: From the waters of Lourdes to seminary

from Catholic San Francisco by Cameron Faller

Cameron Faller

To say my vocation is a Marian vocation is an understatement. In fact, the only reason I am in the seminary is because of the intercession of Mary and my experience in Lourdes, France.

In 1858, the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bernadette in the city of Lourdes and miraculously opened up a natural spring. During these apparitions, Mary called for people to come in procession to Lourdes so that they could drink and wash themselves in the water. Over the past 150 years, there have been 67 officially declared miracles and countless other nonofficial or unknown physical and spiritual healings. So now, every year, millions of pilgrims journey to Lourdes in search of healing.

Through the amazing generosity of Barbara McCullough, I was blessed to go on a pilgrimage to Lourdes in 2007 with a group of students from Marin Catholic High School. Under the direction and guidance of Father Tom Daly and Charlotte Kiesel, our group went to Lourdes in order to serve the sick pilgrims and to grow in our prayer life. As one pilgrim stated, “Lourdes is the world turned upside down.”

Despite so many sick pilgrims, Lourdes is a place of peace, hope, and joy. It offered us the opportunity to serve the less fortunate, but, at the same time, it provided us with the solitude necessary to grow in our relationship with Christ. The sick pilgrims we served came to Lourdes with so much hope of a cure; but unfortunately, most returned home bearing their same condition. However, I was always amazed by the happiness and peace they displayed after emerging from the water. Their reaction helps reveal the true nature of the Lourdes’ water.

Through washing in the water, Mary calls pilgrims to remember their baptism by acknowledging their sins and their complete dependency on Christ. By putting their lives in Christ’s hands, pilgrims leave Lourdes with a new sense of hope and peace and with a new found ability to embrace and bear their sufferings. Mary calls for us to wash in the water at Lourdes because she deeply desires for us to grow closer to her son. Interestingly enough, the majority of the officially declared miracles in Lourdes have not been caused by the water. Rather, they have occurred during the Eucharistic healing service, thus showing that through the water Mary is simply trying to lead us to her son. This is clearly evident in my own Lourdes’ experience.

Before going to Lourdes, I had a stagnant faith, and I had absolutely no desire to become a priest; in fact, it was the last thing I ever wanted to do. Mary called me to descend into the waters of Lourdes because I, like the sick pilgrims, needed to put my life in God’s hands and to acknowledge my complete dependency on him. Through serving the sick and taking time for prayer in Lourdes, the Blessed Mother slowly opened my eyes to the fact that I had never considered God’s will for my life. As she drew me closer to her son, I began to realize that I had never been open to hear a call to the priesthood due to my own iniquities and fears. The moment Mary unexpectedly opened my eyes to this reality; I was petrified to even think about becoming a priest. The responsibilities and life of a priest seemed so foreign and daunting that I felt completely inadequate to consider this call. However, through prayer to the Blessed Mother and through listening to the Lord during eucharistic adoration, I slowly felt more and more pulled to the priesthood, and so I decided to enter the seminary six months after returning from Lourdes.

During my experience in Lourdes, like a true mother, Mary slowly guided me and gave me the openness necessary to hear her son’s call, and she has continued to form me into the man I need to be in order to accept and fulfill his calling. As I continue on my journey toward priesthood, I like to picture myself in the arms of the Blessed Mother, and I pray that Mary will continue to form me into the image and likeness of her son.

Go to Cameron Faller's page on the Archdiocese of San Francisco Vocations Office web site

Cameron Faller, a first-year student for the Archdiocese of San Francisco at St. Patrick’s Seminary & University in Menlo Park, wrote this reflection to note the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, Feb. 11. He received a bachelor’s in philosophy from Gonzaga University last May.

Priests are people too...

From Father Z's Blog

Here is something from a priest reader I think is appropriate right now.  A little food for thought.

My emphases and some editing.

A story came to me in the last week or so which struck me as potentially helpful for your readers.  ….

The first comes from a priest in _____.  His “cluster” covers five parishes in four counties.  On a typical weekend he says Mass seven or eight times, visits the regional hospital, and logs more than 100 miles on his car.  He’s a young hardworking priest who, in spite of the demands being placed upon him takes great care in his celebration of the liturgy, his instruction of the people, and his pastoral care of the poor (who are more plentiful in rural places than one might expect) and the sick.

He was recently saying Mass at one of the parishes under his care. It was his six Mass of the day, and he fumbled with the embolism after the Lord’s Prayer.  I can’t reconstruct it exactly, but he kept slippingsomehow into the prayer before the Sign of Peace.  Anyhow, he caught himself, tried to correct himself, fumbled again, actually corrected himself, but then got to the prayer before the Pax and basically did the same thing in reverse.  This time he was able to land the prayer in a single try but was obviously embarrassed and genuinely dismayed.  He said he contemplated apologizing during the announcements but thought the better of it and went on as usual.

After Mass he was harangued by someone whom he thought was a strong supporter since he’s a young priest (the mother of a traditional Catholic family, six or eight kids, home-schooled, the whole shebang). She couldn’t believe that he’d fall in in with “those” priests who tinker with the Church’s liturgy willy-nilly and was so disappointed.  He apologized profusely, admitted that he wasn’t being as attentive as he should have been, and asked that she pray that they find some way to have him say fewer Masses, but she was rude and left.

Later that week he got a call from the chancery.  There was a letter, and after speaking to someone (I think the V.G., though I’m not sure) the matter was settled.
Still, it was very discouraging for this young priest who so desperately needs support to be so rudely treated, especially from someone on whom he thought he could count.

[...]

I only mention this because while I think we have helpfully trained people to expect a liturgy in line with the Church’s tradition and in conformity with liturgical norms I do wonder if sometimes we’ve presumed a level of charity that isn’t always there.  At bottom, even the correction of a liturgical abuse needs to be about charity, the charity owed to the people who are due the Church’s liturgy, and the charity due to a priest (or whomever) is in error.  It’s hard enough for priests formed during a confusing period of the Church’s history to make sense of loads of correction from the pews, but it can be very, very demoralizing for young priests who are much more conscientious about these things to get jumped on for every single mistake they make.

Priests are people too, and so are prone not only to sin, but to weakness, forgetfulness, mistakes, and even fatigue (esp. when he is being asked to say an unreasonable number of Masses).

This is a good and timely reminder.

This is why I often quote those last paragraphs of Redemptionis Sacramentum and will urge people to give the priest the benefit of the doubt in many situations where something out of character happens.  Mistakes happen.

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)

Hip homilies are great...just leave the 'Shore' out

from the Los Angeles Loyolan, the student newspaper of Los Angeles Marymount University. This is the opinion of Tierney Finster, a freshman screenwriting major from Los Angeles, Calif.

Growing up, all of the priests I encountered were staunchly traditional, older men. I criticized them for being out of touch with the youth, for following tradition too closely and for making Mass seem like a tedious necessity instead of an inspiring experience. Their homilies felt like a reading of the last rites, as we all struggled to stay awake during their droning, dry discourse. Upon exiting Mass, the priests would stand at the church steps with an emotionless face as they sternly shook hands with all who dared to extend an appendage their way. The only person I ever saw draw something more from these priests was my grandfather, a very demanding and intimidating man, who insisted they give him some personal attention each week.

Upon my first encounter with an LMU priest, I knew things were going to be different here. In the welcome address given at Orientation, I clearly remember when the speaking priest cited that one of the best reasons to live in L.A. is getting to see numerous celebrities, including Lindsay Lohan, around town. I was surprised but impressed by this anecdote. How great it seemed to come across a priest that was familiar with pop culture.

Now I never expected to make attending church at LMU a normal thing. I had spent the last year reading Sartre, Camus and Rorty, and losing more and more faith in God and religion. Yet under the influence of one particularly moving philosophy professor, I was compelled to go to Mass each week. Not because I am the most confidently religious person in the world, or because I don’t have a lot of concerns and criticisms for the Church – but because I found a sense of community, peace and inspiration there that helped me begin each week in a positive way.

However, going to these Masses has raised a new question for me in regard to priestly protocol – how hip should a priest really be? Now I know it is not fair to deny priests their right to be as hip and happening as their hearts desire, but I can’t help but cringe when I think a priest is just going too far with what he has to say. I thought that as someone who was unsure about the merits of Church in the first place, I would favor priests who used lots of outside humor and references to TV and movies to assist in making points about religion.

This really hasn’t been the case. Although sometimes amusing, I think the humor and levity often goes too far. Take the other night. After reading the Beatitudes, one visiting priest embarked on an exposition of what Beatitudes Jesus might have for today’s society. In explaining that we should all be vehicles of the spirit of God, this priest used Sammi Sweetheart’s actions on last week’s episode of “Jersey Shore” as an example. He described the way she planned on leaving the shore house due to her jealousy over Jen and Ronnie’s relationship – but after packing her bags, took a step back and realized what she was doing was crazy. She listened to her cue from God and realized that she is supposed to stay in the house. The priest then discussed Ronnie’s predicament, as he did not know whom to trust since The Situation, DJ Pauly D and Jen all advised him in different ways. The priest’s point with this was that when given conflicting opinions from different sources, stop and listen to only one source – God.

Now this is a nice message, but why did I have to learn it through a long-winded description of a reality show that is based on binge drinking, gossiping and promiscuous sex? I am not holier than thou. I do not watch “Jersey Shore,” but I do enjoy plenty of other shows of similar low caliber. And sure, I may not always act in the classiest manner in my own life either, but something about combining the two realms of behavior seems wrong to me. It makes me uncomfortable. What was a priest doing watching “Jersey Shore” in the first place?

In reality, I am probably the weird one. Maybe I am just scared for my trashy TV-watching, party-going, rude-comment-making self meeting my church-going, listening-dutifully-to-the-priest self. I appreciate a priest’s desire to connect with his audience, but I do miss tradition. I miss feeling a little creatural in comparison to lofty, intellectual priests. It’s nice to unexpectedly laugh at church, but nothing is worse than a priest telling an unfunny joke during Mass. I know that I should laugh, but I just can’t lie in church. I mean no offense to any of LMU’s priests, I just happen to believe that as there is separation between church and state, there should also be separation between church and reality TV.

Baltimore Archdiocese calls on the laity to step up

from baltimoresun.com

With the decades-long decline in the number of priests reaching what church officials call a critical shortage, the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore is calling on parishioners to help conduct youth programs, minister to prisoners and take over other duties that have traditionally been performed by clergy.

Looking to ease demands on priests, the archdiocese has also been looking to consolidate Masses among lightly attended churches.

"This is a period of introspection for us, a time to look at what we can do better to serve the people of Baltimore," said Sean Caine, the spokesman for Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien. "It will also prepare those who want to deepen their faith."

The steps mirror those taken in dioceses across the United States as the church copes with a dwindling and aging priesthood. They have imported more foreign-born clergy, welcomed Episcopal priests into the church, and have ordained more permanent deacons.

About 100 lay men and women, many of them already leaders in their parishes, will meet with O'Brien on Thursday at St. Joseph Church in Fullerton.

More than 300 others have attended two previous sessions on the issue, which were held earlier this month in Severn and Libertytown. O'Brien and his director of evangelization are using the gatherings to launch "Equip for Ministry," an effort to create a deeper culture of spirituality in parishes and schools.

Church leaders will focus on preparing the laity for involvement in worship, Catholic schools, outreach and youth ministry. Laity can also help by taking Communion to the sick, leading prayer services and conducting Bible studies.

After the initial meetings, the archdiocese will offer parishes and schools training opportunities to help implement the program. The first classes start March 14 and continue for about a year in the city and every county in the archdiocese. Classes, which will involve both education and practical applications, will be available online, on DVD and at several locations in an effort to make training convenient for participants.

The twofold goal of evangelization is to return more Catholics to the church and to encourage a broader participation in the liturgy by the laity, officials said.

The archdiocese counts more than 500,000 Catholics among its membership, but only about a third of them attend Mass regularly, a statistic that reflects a nationwide trend, Caine said. About one in three baptized Catholics leaves the church in adulthood.

"These are statistics that concern us greatly," Caine said.

Even with the decline in the number of parishioners, the demands on pastors can be daunting. Increased lay participation will help ease those burdens, particularly on aging priests.

While the number of American Catholics has remained fairly constant at about 22 percent of the population — helped in part by growing Hispanic immigration — the number of priests continues to decline. Nearly half of the archdiocese's 153 active priests will reach the retirement age of 70 within the next 15 years, and 17 are already eligible to retire, church officials said.

Fewer men are entering the priesthood. One priest was ordained last year in the archdiocese and only one is expected to be ordained this year, officials said. If the trend continues, there may be fewer than 100 priests to serve 153 parishes within the next decade.

"The laity is going to have to take an increased role in the church," Caine said.

Church leaders have already asked parishes to evaluate Mass schedules and consider cutting back, particularly if similar services are offered nearby. In Baltimore City alone, there are 50 parishes with many daily and weekend Mass times overlapping. In some areas, such as older city neighborhoods and rural regions, parishes have combined and condensed schedules.