The Year for Priests

Pope Benedict XVI has declared a “Year for Priests” which began on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 19, 2009 and will conclude June 19, 2010. In his daily audience today, Pope Benedict XVI said,

The goal of priests' mission is, we could say, 'of worship': that all men and women may offer themselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, receiving the charity which they are then called to dispense abundantly to one another. ... Love for others, concern for justice and the poor are not so much a question of social morals as the expression of a sacramental conception of Christian morality because, through priestly ministry, the spiritual sacrifice of all the faithful is accomplished, in union with the sacrifice of Christ, the only mediator.

Saint John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, has been named by the Holy Father as the patron of this year. Saint John Vianney (1786-1859) was born in France a few years prior to the Revolution (1789-99). During the Revolution, many Catholic priests were killed and others were forced into hiding. Young John grew up in a Church in hiding.

He entered the Seminary at the "old" age of 20. He struggled with his classes and failed some examinations. However, he was ordained and sent to be the parish priest in the town of Ars (He often is called the Curé d'Ars--the "parish priest of Ars").In the aftermath of the Revolution the people or Ars had little religious education and were lax in the practice of their faith. Because of John's dedication, charity and example, the people and community were transformed. Over time, thousands came to his little parish each year, especially to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is said that he spent up to 16 hours in the confessional on many, many days.

But for those of us who are not ordained priests, what are we supposed to do during this Year for Priests?

Pope John XXIII published an encyclical, Sacerdotii nostri primordia, on the 100th anniversary of St. John Vianney's death. In it he exhorted the laity:

Those who are more fervent and devout are turning their eyes and their minds to the priest with a great deal of hope and expectation. For, at a time when you find flourishing everywhere the power of money, the allure of pleasures of the senses, and too great an esteem for technical achievements, they want to see in him a man who speaks in the name of God, who is animated by a firm faith, and who gives no thought to himself, but burns with intense charity.

So let them all realize that they can help sacred ministers a great deal to achieve this lofty goal, if only they will show due respect for priestly dignity, and have proper esteem for their pastoral office and its difficulties, and finally be even more zealous and active in offering to help them. (paragraphs 107-108)

Perhaps some time praying, reading and reflecting on documents such as this will provide us all new insight into the indispensible role of the priest in the life of our Church.

Finally, the Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes a prayer of the Cure of Ars (no. 2658) that sums up his fervent love and devotion to God:

l love you, O my God, and my only desire is to love you until the last breath of my life. I love you, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving you, than live without loving you. I love you, Lord, and the only grace I ask is to love you eternally. . . . My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it to you as often as I draw breath.

Love of God, and love of each other, is a constant theme of Pope Benedict XVI's writings and teachings. We have much to learn about love. Saint John Vianney, pray for us!