Year for Priests: what this means for Catholics

Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations

Yesterday, on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI officially kicked off the "Year for Priests."

In his address he wrote:

"The missionary dimension of the priesthood is born from the priest's sacramental configuration to Christ. As a consequence it brings with it a heartfelt and total adherence to what the ecclesial tradition has identified as apostolica vivendi forma. This consists in participation in a "new life", spiritually speaking, in that "new way of life" which the Lord Jesus inaugurated and which the Apostles made their own. Through the imposition of the Bishop's hands and the consecratory prayer of the Church, the candidates become new men, they become "presbyters". In this light it is clear that the tria munera(Christ's threefold office of Prophet, Priest & King.) are first a gift and only consequently an office, first a participation in a life, and hence a potestas. (Patriarchal authority over all members of family.)"

The Holy Father charged priests with striving for the spiritual perfection on which the effectiveness of their ministry depends. But he also charged Catholics with a task.

"It will be the task of your Congregation, in agreement with the diocesan Ordinaries and with the superiors of religious institutes to promote and to coordinate the various spiritual and pastoral initiatives that seem useful for making the importance of the priest's role and mission in the Church and in contemporary society ever more clearly perceived."

So, our job as Catholics is to A) understand the unique role of priests and B) to foster an understanding among non-Catholics. In today's secular world, a world all too often given to cynicism, too many misunderstand the priesthood. Too many simply chalk up priests as men who raise themselves above everyone else and claim to be "holier than thou."

The role of a priest is just the opposite. These men dedicate their lives to serving God's people. They offer the Sacrifice of the Mass. They dispense the Sacraments. They act as mediator between God and man. They teach God's Word and set the example of how to live spiritual lives in a physical world.

Yet priests are no different than the rest of us--human.

Humans stumble and fall because we're sinners. This is where God's infinite mercy comes in. We are forgiven. We stand up, brush ourselves off, and pray ceaselessly for God's grace to navigate worldly obstacles and keep walking a moral path. Christians understand this. So do other religions through a variety of beliefs about working to attain a "higher" self. But all too many people--Catholics among them--don't apply this concept to priests. As if priests at ordination are given some special magic to stand impervious to worldly distractions. When, in truth, priests just accept the call to travel a much more difficult road.

Even Christ faced temptation.

Let's get back to the basics . . . Satan's goal is to turn men away from God. Too many people in today's world have forgotten--or ignore--this fundamental reality. Some don't believe in the struggle of good and evil. Some are convinced we have evolved past the need for such "primitive" ideologies. Some simply don't believe in the existence of a higher power. Satan doesn't need to spend much time or energy attacking people who’ve already turned away from God. But those who strive hard to live moral lives--to live closer to God--become targets.

We see evidence of Satan hard at work every day in a media that rabidly covers stories about priests who stumble and fall yet largely ignores all the good they do. In the way so many people seek to eradicate morality by legalizing abortion and same-sex marriage. Too many of us believe that whatever makes us feel good is okay, and we're fighting hard to convince others to believe via inflammatory diatribes on television and blog posts that travel the world on the Web. Satan doesn't have much work to do here. Not with so many already on his side.

During the Year for Priests, the Holy Father reminds Catholics of our responsibilities. We know intimately the vital impact priests have on our church, our world and our lives. We also understand the devastating effects when a priest falls to worldly temptations and strays from his chosen path.

If we don’t, we should.

So today, on the memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Our Lord's mother and our great intercessor, we should look at our own roles as intercessors. We should pray daily for our priests--especially during the Year for Priests--for the grace and strength to continue difficult and often treacherous journeys while striving for spiritual perfection in this secular world. We should pray they might always be faithful to their sacred calling. And we should thank God for all those who are.

A PRAYER FOR PRIESTS
by the late John J Cardinal Carberry

Keep them; I pray Thee, dearest Lord. Keep them, for they are Thine
The priests whose lives burn out before Thy consecrated shrine.
Keep them, for they are in the world, though from the world apart.
When earthly pleasures tempt, allure – shelter them in Thy heart.
Keep them and comfort them in hours of loneliness and pain,
When all their life of sacrifice for souls seems but in vain.
Keep them and remember, Lord, they have no one but Thee.
Yet, they have only human hearts, with human frailty.
Keep them as spotless as the Host, that daily they caress;
Their every thought and word and deed,
Deign, dearest Lord, to bless.

For more info: Visit: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at: http://www.usccb.org/yearforpriests/index.shtml
EWTN for special television and radio events: http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/b16yrpriests.HTM
A comprehensive site offering a variety of prayers for Priests: http://www.prayersforpriests.com/
Catholic News Agency report: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=15380