(My son included!)
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Praying for Our Priests: a Book
Here's some info about this book from their website:
"There can be no more fruitful investment in the life of Holy Mother Church than time spent in prayer for Her priests and vocations to the priesthood. This project had its origin in the early days of 2006 when Monsignor Peter Dunne, recovering from a long and critical illness, experienced a deepening awareness of the need to pray for his brother priests in Purgatory.
At the same time, Vicki Herout, his longtime caregiver, spiritual daughter, and coworker in many projects, began to realize in her own prayers an intense and persistent call to pray for the priesthood. Eventually, they brought together a group that has continued to meet regularly to pray for priests. This booklet, initially compiled as an aid to this prayer group, has been adapted for use by individuals as well as small and large groups in a variety of settings."
At the same time, Vicki Herout, his longtime caregiver, spiritual daughter, and coworker in many projects, began to realize in her own prayers an intense and persistent call to pray for the priesthood. Eventually, they brought together a group that has continued to meet regularly to pray for priests. This booklet, initially compiled as an aid to this prayer group, has been adapted for use by individuals as well as small and large groups in a variety of settings."
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Priestly Poetry
From Bamboo Swaying in the Wind
Claudia Devaux & George Bernard Wong, S.J.
While recuperating in the infirmary
George Wong wrote Fr. Frank
“How beats your heart?”
He responded in verse beginning with this preface:
Wherein a Youth of old Cathay doth ask after
the health of his dear friend, the Priest,
and the latter doth respond accordingly
from his sick bed, the whole being
fashioned in meter of four feet.
A young man asks God’s anointed Priest,
Who was stricken down at a gladsome feast
Of rice and clothing for his refugee flock-
Gaunt and starving from warfare’s shock.
Yes, broken was he in the blossom of life,
While dreaming so fondly of chivalrous strife
For Christ his King and his lady above,
To whom he had vowed eternal love.
How fares your heart?
How fares your heart?
Glowing and fresh as an autumn dawn,
The lad’s bright soul enquires anon;
Eager for a sign from the priestly hand
That guided his youth toward the promised land.
His own heart kindles with the same emprise,
To battle for Christ through joy and signs;
His chase eyes cast on the Gleam afore,
Enchanting his steps to an unknown shore.
How beats your heart?
How beats your heart?
II.
O youth of Sinim and brother of mine,
Sealed by God with the coals divine;
Listen to the words I sing this night-
Stretched on my back in helpless plight.
Steeled is my heart in the soldier’s mould
Of knightly Ignatius, the captain bold;
Aflame is my heart with apostle’s grace
For the cherished millions of this olden race.
Thus fares my heart.
Thus fares my heart.
O youthful dreamer, look up on high,
At the Crucified Master against the sky;
Look at the purple breast heaving in pain;
As the scourged Heart pulses its tortured refrain.
Ah, measure your beat on this Heart of love!
Sorrow and tears as the Spring winds blow.
But laughter and life in that glorified place,
Where two hearts pulse in a timeless embrace.
Thus beats my heart.
Thus beats my heart.
Claudia Devaux & George Bernard Wong, S.J.
While recuperating in the infirmary
George Wong wrote Fr. Frank
“How beats your heart?”
He responded in verse beginning with this preface:
Wherein a Youth of old Cathay doth ask after
the health of his dear friend, the Priest,
and the latter doth respond accordingly
from his sick bed, the whole being
fashioned in meter of four feet.
A young man asks God’s anointed Priest,
Who was stricken down at a gladsome feast
Of rice and clothing for his refugee flock-
Gaunt and starving from warfare’s shock.
Yes, broken was he in the blossom of life,
While dreaming so fondly of chivalrous strife
For Christ his King and his lady above,
To whom he had vowed eternal love.
How fares your heart?
How fares your heart?
Glowing and fresh as an autumn dawn,
The lad’s bright soul enquires anon;
Eager for a sign from the priestly hand
That guided his youth toward the promised land.
His own heart kindles with the same emprise,
To battle for Christ through joy and signs;
His chase eyes cast on the Gleam afore,
Enchanting his steps to an unknown shore.
How beats your heart?
How beats your heart?
II.
O youth of Sinim and brother of mine,
Sealed by God with the coals divine;
Listen to the words I sing this night-
Stretched on my back in helpless plight.
Steeled is my heart in the soldier’s mould
Of knightly Ignatius, the captain bold;
Aflame is my heart with apostle’s grace
For the cherished millions of this olden race.
Thus fares my heart.
Thus fares my heart.
O youthful dreamer, look up on high,
At the Crucified Master against the sky;
Look at the purple breast heaving in pain;
As the scourged Heart pulses its tortured refrain.
Ah, measure your beat on this Heart of love!
Sorrow and tears as the Spring winds blow.
But laughter and life in that glorified place,
Where two hearts pulse in a timeless embrace.
Thus beats my heart.
Thus beats my heart.
(Thanks to Peggy Morris for sending this one in!)
Reminder: Plenary Indulgence during Year for Priests
First Thursday's of the month offer a plenary indulgence during the Year for Priests:
Pope Benedict XVI announced a special Year for Priests to begin June 19, 2009, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart and ending June 19, 2010. In order to promote prayers for priests, he has announced that a plenary indulgence may be gained on the first and last day of the Year for Priests (6/19), and on the first Thursday of each month. To obtain the indulgence, the faithful must attend Mass and offer prayers to "Jesus christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify them and mold them to His Heart". These must be accompanied by sacramental confession within 21 days before or after, and prayers for the Pope.
The elderly, the sick, or the home bound may gain the plenary indulgence if, with the intention of observing the usual three conditions (Mass and Communion, Confession, detachment from sin) as soon as they can, "on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles:. A partial indulgence is offered to the faithful when they pray five times the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, or any other duly approved prayer "in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity an sanctity of life".
(Indulgenced prayers and devotions are a gift from the Church to aid us in our spiritual journey. A plenary indulgence is a full pardon for punishments owing for sin, sacramentally confessed, and makes possible immediate entrance into heaven after death. The requirements for gaining a plenary indulgence are sacramental confession, Communion, and prayers for the Pope's intentions such as an Our Father and a Hail Mary. We must also have an attitude of love and penitence, with no attachment to any sin. If this disposition is in any way less than complete, or if the three prescribed conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence is only partial. A partial indulgence is a partial pardon for penance owing. The faithful should at least have a contrite heart to gain the partial indulgence.)
Below is an approved Daily Prayer for Priests to gain the plenary indulgence under the usual conditions on the specified days.
Daily Prayer for Priests
O Almighty, Eternal God, look upon the Face of Your Son and for love of Him, who is the Eternal High Priest, have pity on Your priests. Remember, O most compassionate God, that they are but weak and frail human beings. Stir up in them the grace of their vocation which is in them by the imposition of the bishop's hands. Keep them close to You, lest the enemy prevail against them, so that they may never do anything in the slightest degree unworthy of their sublime vocation.
O Jesus, I pray for Your faithful and fervent priests; for Your unfaithful and tepid priests; for Your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields; for Your tempted priests; for the lonely and desolate priests; for Your young priests; for Your dying priests; for the souls of Your priests in purgatory.
But above all, I comment to you N. and all the priests dearest to me, the priest who baptized me, the priests who have absolved me from my sins, the priests at whose Masses I have assisted and who have offered me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion, the priests who have taught me or helped and encouraged me, and the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way.
O Jesus, keep them all close to Your Heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.
Pope Benedict XVI announced a special Year for Priests to begin June 19, 2009, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart and ending June 19, 2010. In order to promote prayers for priests, he has announced that a plenary indulgence may be gained on the first and last day of the Year for Priests (6/19), and on the first Thursday of each month. To obtain the indulgence, the faithful must attend Mass and offer prayers to "Jesus christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify them and mold them to His Heart". These must be accompanied by sacramental confession within 21 days before or after, and prayers for the Pope.
The elderly, the sick, or the home bound may gain the plenary indulgence if, with the intention of observing the usual three conditions (Mass and Communion, Confession, detachment from sin) as soon as they can, "on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles:. A partial indulgence is offered to the faithful when they pray five times the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, or any other duly approved prayer "in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity an sanctity of life".
(Indulgenced prayers and devotions are a gift from the Church to aid us in our spiritual journey. A plenary indulgence is a full pardon for punishments owing for sin, sacramentally confessed, and makes possible immediate entrance into heaven after death. The requirements for gaining a plenary indulgence are sacramental confession, Communion, and prayers for the Pope's intentions such as an Our Father and a Hail Mary. We must also have an attitude of love and penitence, with no attachment to any sin. If this disposition is in any way less than complete, or if the three prescribed conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence is only partial. A partial indulgence is a partial pardon for penance owing. The faithful should at least have a contrite heart to gain the partial indulgence.)
Below is an approved Daily Prayer for Priests to gain the plenary indulgence under the usual conditions on the specified days.
Daily Prayer for Priests
O Almighty, Eternal God, look upon the Face of Your Son and for love of Him, who is the Eternal High Priest, have pity on Your priests. Remember, O most compassionate God, that they are but weak and frail human beings. Stir up in them the grace of their vocation which is in them by the imposition of the bishop's hands. Keep them close to You, lest the enemy prevail against them, so that they may never do anything in the slightest degree unworthy of their sublime vocation.
O Jesus, I pray for Your faithful and fervent priests; for Your unfaithful and tepid priests; for Your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields; for Your tempted priests; for the lonely and desolate priests; for Your young priests; for Your dying priests; for the souls of Your priests in purgatory.
But above all, I comment to you N. and all the priests dearest to me, the priest who baptized me, the priests who have absolved me from my sins, the priests at whose Masses I have assisted and who have offered me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion, the priests who have taught me or helped and encouraged me, and the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way.
O Jesus, keep them all close to Your Heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.
Faith Folders: Year for Priests
Teachers, Catechists, Homeschooling Moms! Check out these terrific lapbooks. They're Year for Priests Faith Folders. And 50% of the proceeds are going to charities in honor of a special young boy who passed away in August. You can read about the boy who only wanted to be a priest here.
The Priesthood: A Grand Adventure
Fr. John Williams, a diocesan priest in Cheshire, CT :
“People ask me what it’s like to be a priest, and my response is that it’s exciting and never dull. No two days are the same".....
When he gets up in the morning, he never knows which hat he’ll be wearing most, or what adventure will be waiting for him. But he does know that he will be totally at the service of his people."
Go here for the rest of the story
“People ask me what it’s like to be a priest, and my response is that it’s exciting and never dull. No two days are the same".....
When he gets up in the morning, he never knows which hat he’ll be wearing most, or what adventure will be waiting for him. But he does know that he will be totally at the service of his people."
Go here for the rest of the story
New York Archdiocese has Amazing Year for Priests Site
Check out this post about the Archdiocese of New York's efforts for the Year for Priests
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