Good bye, the Year for Priests!

 

Tomorrow is the official closing ceremony of the Year for Priests. How fitting the date! The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And who, if not us, priests, are suppose to strive with all our strength, resolve, hope and love to ask Jesus, The Most High Priest of the New Covenant: "Jesus, meek and humble of Heart... make our hearts like unto Thine!"

The Holy Father Benedict XVI (see the video clip of the moment of proclamation of the Year for Priests here) in his letter proclaiming the Year for Priests wrote these important words:

""The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus”, the saintly Curé of Ars would often say (..) To the Most Holy Virgin I entrust this Year for Priests. I ask her to awaken in the heart of every priest a generous and renewed commitment to the ideal of complete self-oblation to Christ and the Church which inspired the thoughts and actions of the saintly Curé of Ars. It was his fervent prayer life and his impassioned love of Christ Crucified that enabled John Mary Vianney to grow daily in his total self-oblation to God and the Church. May his example lead all priests to offer that witness of unity with their Bishop, with one another and with the lay faithful, which today, as ever, is so necessary. Despite all the evil present in our world, the words which Christ spoke to his Apostles in the Upper Room continue to inspire us: “In the world you have tribulation; but take courage, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). Our faith in the Divine Master gives us the strength to look to the future with confidence. Dear priests, Christ is counting on you. In the footsteps of the Curé of Ars, let yourselves be enthralled by him. In this way you too will be, for the world in our time, heralds of hope, reconciliation and peace! With my blessing. From the Vatican, 16 June 2009. "

""Dear priests, Christ is counting on you"..counting on you...counting on me..

I will not be in Rome tomorrow. I'll just celebrate the Holy Mass with my sisters and a few parishioners who would come as usual for the morning Mass. The Sacred Heart Solemnity will be celebrated this Sunday, as everywhere in Tanzania. Right after Mass I will rush to Mwanza to catch the plane to Dar es Salaam and then further on to Mombasa in Kenya, and then further on to Bura in Taita mountains for the seminar on the spiritual warfare for the second group of Sisters of the Congregation of St. Joseph, and then right after the seminar - full week annual retreat for the same group of sisters on the theme I chose in consideration to the Year for Priests: "I AM GOING TO LEAD HER INTO THE WILDERNESS AND TENDERLY SPEAK TO HER HEART" [Hosea 2:14-15]. It is the second time this year I go there to serve. The first seminar and retreat was in April, right after Divine Mercy Sunday. The comments of the sisters were positive then, but I am fully aware that doing something important like this for the second time may let the door open a bit for complacency and routine which I am really afraid of, as I wish and pray that everything goes as fresh, authentic and committed as the first time...

This will be my personal contribution to the closing ceremonies of the Year for Priests. Through spiritual and pastoral dedicated work. I will have an ample time for myself to to reflect upon my life, ministry, my past, present and future and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance what to do next, which way to go and what is the God's Will to me in this particular point of my life and priesthood... I promise to pray for all of you who read these words, for your loved ones, for your own important intentions, issues and problems in your lives. I will carry you in my heart and every prayer, be it long, short, read or spontaneous, every time I will stand at the altar or kneel down in communal or private prayer, I will always keep you close to my heart...Please, pray for me too, so that I don't hinder Holy Spirit from His free work in sisters' hearts and souls...Please, pray first and foremost for the sisters themselves who are unfortunate enough to choose me as their retreat master! And pray for all priests you have met on the path of life, especially those who baptized you, heard your first confession, gave you your First Communion, the bishop who administered the sacrament of the Confirmation, priests who took care of you when you were sick or when your beloved ones needed pastoral attention, priests who imparted God's blessing on you in various situations...

Pray for all of us, priests, so we may repent and go back to the Source, who is Jesus, the Most High Priest of the New Covenant asking Him to make our hearts like unto His... Cause the priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus...

Please, find a moment to refer to my older post and watch again two short video clips on the mystery of priesthood in the context of tomorrow's solemn closing ceremony with ten thousand priests surrounding the Holy Father, on behalf of us all who stayed home to do what we are supposed to do...to be with flock...

Act of Entrustment and Consecration of Priests to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
 
Full of wonder and gratitude
at your continuing presence in our midst,
in the name of all priests I too want to cry out:
“Why is this granted me, that the mother
of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:43).
Our Mother for all time, do not tire
of “visiting us”, consoling us, sustaining us.
Come to our aid and deliver us
from every danger that threatens us.
With this act of entrustment
and consecration, we wish to welcome you
more deeply, more radically,
for ever and totally
into our human and priestly lives.
Let your presence cause new blooms to burst forth in the desert of our loneliness, let it cause the sun to shine on our darkness, let it restore calm
after the tempest, so that all mankind shall see
the salvation of the Lord, who has the name
and the face of Jesus, who is reflected
in our hearts, for ever united to yours!
Amen!

(Benedict XVI)

For the sake of Jesus' sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world...