Thursday Prayer for Our Precious Priests!

Dear Friends,

In the reading of today's Gospel of St Luke, Peter, James and John have fished all night and caught nothing. Our Lord then tells them to lower their nets and they catch an enormous number of fish to the point of their nets breaking. He then tells them they will be fishers of men and they "left everything and followed Him." And, so too do our beloved priests. We love them and their joyful sacrifice. Thank you for your prayers, fasting and kind acts for them.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

ps EWTN has a link to daily readings which you can put on your desktop as a daily reminder
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/inspiration.htm

A Prayer for Priests


Lord Jesus, we your people pray to You for our priests. You have given them to us for our needs. We pray for them in their needs.
We know that You have made them priests in the likeness of Your own priesthood. You have consecrated them, set them aside, anointed them, filled them with the Holy Spirit, appointed them to teach, to preach, to minister, to console, to forgive, and to feed us with Your Body and Blood.
Yet we know, too, that they are one with us and share our human weaknesses. We know too that they are tempted to sin and discouragement as we are, needing to be ministered to, as do we, to be consoled and forgive, as do we. Indeed, we thank You for choosing them from among us, so that they understand us as we understand them, suffer with us and rejoice with us, worry with us and trust with us, share our beings, our lives, our faith.
We ask that You give them this day the gift You gave Your chosen ones on the way to Emmaus: Your presence in their hearts, Your holiness in their souls, Your joy in their spirits. And let them see You face to face in the breaking of the Eucharistic bread.
We pray to You, O Lord, through Mary the Mother of all priests, for Your priests and for ours. Amen.

Written by John Cardinal O’Connor

 

Dear Friends,

Today is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and fitting that we ask her intercession for our beloved priests.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

A Prayer for Priests to the Mother of God
Mother of our Redeemer, in this era dedicated to you, with great joy we call you blessed. You believed in the Word of God the Father and declared yourself His handmaid, and so, through you, the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. We salute you as Mother, our Mother, the Mother of the Church. With what great love you must have watched over the infant Church and what motherly solicitude encouraged the apostles as they committed themselves to carry on the work of Your Divine Son on earth. Make the Church ever to be the sign and instrument of intimate union with God.

To you, our Mother, we entrust in a special way our Bishop and the priests of our diocese. To them has been given a special sharing in the priesthood of Your Divine Son. He has chosen them to be ministers of His Word
and Sacrament. Ask Him to fill them with zeal, to keep them faithful and joyful in His service, conscious of
the fact that they care and so bring glory to the Father and honor to the Church.

Holy Mother, increase the ranks of our priests by inspiring our young people to be more generous in their response to serve Jesus in the priesthood and in religious life.

Sustain all of us, O Virgin Mary, on our journey of faith and obtain for us the grace of eternal salvation.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER!!!

 

Dear Friends,

Here is such a beautiful and fitting prayer for our priests on this memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. Please keep Fr. Frank Pavone in prayer as details become known about the financial controversy. We certainly cannot rush to judgment. His prolife work has been magnificent and we pray it will continue to be for years to come.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

O Mary, Mother of Jesus
you were with Jesus
at the beginning of His life and mission.
You stood beside Jesus when He was lifted
on the cross and gave His life for all.
We ask you now to be with our priests,
who give themselves in service to God's people.
Intercede for them that they may grow in holiness;
proclaim God's word with courage;
celebrate the sacraments with joy;
and be among God's people as Jesus,
the Good Shepherd, was.
We offer this prayer to God, the Father,
through your intercession,
in the name of your Son, Jesus,
and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen

 

Dear Friends,

In addition to this prayer, may I suggest sending an email or a note, leaving a voicemail message etc for a priest telling him he is in prayer and thanking him for serving God and us? It is important to support them in these small ways. On a personal note, please keep Fr. Thomas Finley in prayer. He left this world last Saturday after serving Our Lord and Blessed Mother so faithfully.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

Thursday prayer ~

My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount
of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special
helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as
a sacrifice of love.
With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of
all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart
into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels
out with this chalice to all priests! Amen. ~from Chalice of Strength

Prayer ~

Father, be with the leaders of your flock in their needs today. Help your
bishops and priests to interpret the Gospel message with clarity and urgency,
witnessing in their own lives to the teaching and example of Christ.
Fortify and encourage those among them who are fearful and confused; be
truly a Father to those who have fallen away.
Bless those who are involved in new responses to contemporary needs; guide
those who direct and foster dialogue with other Christians, with non-Christians and
with the secular city.
Assist those who are trying to promote Christian values, that with zeal tempered
by prudence, and in the framework of lawful authority, they may help to build up a
truly Christian world for man.
Send your Holy Spirit in a new outpouring, so that under these leaders chosen by
you, the entire People of God may progress in a harmonious cooperation towards
their final consummation in unity, truth and love by, with and in your Son Jesus Christ.
Amen.

 

Dear Friends,

Today is the Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels. How fitting we can join our prayers with such marvelous defenders of our priests. God bless you for taking a short moment to offer prayer for them.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount
of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special
helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as
a sacrifice of love.
With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of
all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart
into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels
out with this chalice to all priests! Amen

 

Dear Friends,

This is a beautiful prayer for priests in troubled times. We remember their humanity is like ours, fallen and weak. Let us lift our priests up to Our Lord asking for strength and His grace that will lead them to Him. Encourage others to pray for them too.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

Prayer For Priests In Times of Uncertainty
Lord Jesus Christ, as you gazed down from the Cross in Your bitter agony
upon the beloved and faithful Apostle, Saint John,
Your anguish was increased by the desertion of the traitor and the other Apostles.
In spite of this desertion Your love embraced them
and all those consecrated men who would forsake You.
We, therefore confidently beseech You now
to rain abundant grace on shepherds who have gone astray.
Where there is present groping uncertainty, let there be light;
where there is present overshadowing gloom, let there be joy;
where there is present mounting struggle, let there be peace.
Guide, O Lord, the straying shepherds back to the fold,
[especially Father N. ]and assist them to walk surely and lovingly in Your sight,
for only in union with You will the shepherd find true light, joy and peace.
Give to all priests inspiration in time of doubt, patience in time of adversity,
fortitude in time of weakness, that with Your love ever pressing them on,
they may lead others ever closer to You. Amen.

 

I really like this prayer, it sounds like it may have been inspired by the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi...I am going to print this one and keep it handy.

 

Dear Friends,

October is a beautiful month to call on our Blessed Mother to protect priests. Let us continually remember them in prayer.

Pax Christi,
Kathy



Divine Savior Jesus Christ, who has entrusted the whole work of your redemption, the welfare and salvation of the world, to priests as your representatives, through the hands of your most holy Mother and for the sanctification of your priests and candidates for the priesthood, I offer you this present day wholly and entirely, with all its prayers, works, joys, sacrifices and sorrows. Give us truly holy priests who, inflamed with the fire of your divine love, seek nothing but your greater glory and the salvation of our souls. And you, Mary, good Mother of priests, protect all priests in danger of their holy vocation and, with the loving hand of a mother, also lead back to the Good Shepherd those poor priests who have become unfaithful to their exalted vocation and have gone astray. Amen.

 

Dear Friends,

This is a fitting and beautiful prayer for our priests and all religious during this month of Our Lady of the Rosary. We are continually reminded in the secular world of the great need for love and prayers for them. Pass it on asking your friends and family to keep this intention in prayer also.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

Mary, Mother of the Church and Mother of God, to you we turn. With your "yes" you
have opened the door to the presence of Christ in the world, in history and in souls,
receiving in humble silence and total submission the appeal of the Most High.
Grant that many men and women may know and hear, even today, the inviting
voice of your Son: "Follow Me". Stretch out your motherly hand over all missionaries
scattered throughout the world, over religious men and women who assist the elderly,
the sick, the deficient, the orphans; over those who are engaged in teaching, over the
members of secular institutes, the silent leaven of good works; over those who in the
cloister live on faith and love and beg for the salvation of the world. Amen.
~Pope John Paul II

 

Dear Friends,

I just finished reading an article about charges that have been filed by Muslim students who feel uncomfortable on the campus of Catholic University of America because of the Catholic symbols. Surely we could have in depth conversations about this but my thought turned to our priests. The wave of hatred and discrimination toward them--and Catholics--will require that they are surrounded in prayer. Pray boldly and often for our priests.

Pax Christi,
Kathy


My God, I pray for all your priests and beseech you to sanctify them. Let them love
their sacrifice deeply so that they may live it lovingly.
I beg you, grant them obedience, a spirit of detachment, a chastity which is constant and true, a spirit of self-denial, humility, sweetness, zeal and dedication.
I beg you that all those who may approach them may leave them with a greater
love for you. My God, I pray that through them your kingdom on earth may grow and
be strengthened. O Jesus, I promise with all my heart to sacrifice myself with you.
Amen. -Canon Formingao

 

Dear Friends,

In addition to the prayer for our priests I have something I believe is very special. A friend sent me an article titled Between the Crucifix and the Pews. It moved me to tears and reminded me how incredibly loved we are that God would send us men like this. I hope you will take the few minutes to read it and treasure it as I did.

http://www.patheos.com/community/deaconsbench/2011/10/28/homily-for-october-30-2011-world-priest-day/g

Pax Christi,
Kathy


A Prayer Before the Blessed Sacrament
for the Increase of Priestly and Religious Vocations

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Eternal Father,
Son of the Virgin Mary,
we thank you for offering your life in sacrifice on
the Cross, and for renewing this sacrifice
in every Mass celebrated throughout the world.

In the Power of the Holy Spirit
we adore you and proclaim
your living presence in the Eucharist.
We desire to imitate the love you show us
in your death and resurrection,
by loving and serving one another.

We ask you to call many young people to religious
life, and to provide the holy and generous priests
that are so needed in you Church today.
Lord Jesus, hear our prayer. Amen.
Archbishop Justin Rigali - St. Louis

 

Dear Friends,

So often lately I am reminded no priests = no Mass; no Holy Communion; no Confession. Support our priests and pray daily for them.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

Prayer for Priests


O Jesus, our great High Priest,
Hear my humble prayers on behalf of your priests.
Give them a deep faith
a bright and firm hope
and a burning love
which will ever increase
in the course of their priestly lives.
In their loneliness, comfort them
In their sorrows, strengthen them
In their frustrations, point out to them
that it is through suffering that the soul is purified,
and show them that they are needed by the Church,
they are needed by souls,
they are needed for the work of redemption.

O loving Mother Mary, Mother of Priests,
take to your heart your sons who are close to you
because of their priestly ordination,
and because of the power which they have received
to carry on the work of Christ
in a world which needs them so much.
Be their comfort, be their joy, be their strength,
and especially help them to live and to defend the ideals of consecrated celibacy.
Amen.

John Joseph, Cardinal Carberry (+1998)
Archbishop of St. Louis 1968-1979

 

ForHimthroughHer,

Your burden for priests is a wonderful passion to behold. I have two sons in religious life who are preparing for ordination. The older one, Benjamin, will be ordained in three years. He has been in Europe since 2001, so our infrequent visits always have a taste of bittersweet- far too short! One of the paths to increased vocations is to convince Catholic parents that they are the key. Where parents encourage their boys by teaching them the dignity of the priesthood, where parents encourage their sons to consider the priesthood, there you will find vocations budding forth.

O Spirit of all charisms, pour into the hearts of all Catholic parents such a love for the Church, that they will set aside the desire for grandchildren so as to be willing to direct their sons toward the priesthood and religious life. May they be willing to give their daughters as spouses to Jesus Christ to fill the world with intercessory prayer and the downtrodden with maternal love. Jesus, your Eucharist is our life and your contemplatives open the floodgates of grace. Be merciful to your people and pour forth wave upon wave of vocations!

Safe in the Father's Arms!

 

We have 400+ young people descending on our parish this evening as we begin our retreat with the Capuchin Franciscan Friars, Pan de Vida, http://www.cfr-newmexico.com/index.cfm?load=photoalbum&album=15.

Last night at dinner they told a story of a vocation.
The young man dressed in a black robe in Germany stopped the facilitator at the Pan de Vida being held there and told her a tale.
He had been in the army in Iraq on a tank in the middle of the desert and heard a worship song that he remembered from his time as a teen attending a Pan de Vida retreat. He recalled the feeling he had had then and knew it was a call to go to seminary...and became a priest.
One of our own Dominican Sisters has a similar tale of recognizing her call at the retreat.
Lives can be changed in an instant. Please pray for the youth attending this Pan de Vida this weekend.

 

Dear Friends,

It is hard to believe our liturgical year is coming to an end already. The beautiful Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King is next Sunday and then Advent! We know well how busy our priests will be, especially helping their flock become familiar with the changes in Mass. Please remember to keep them in prayer. If you are not already in the practice, try and get in the habit of a short daily prayer for your pastor and parish priests--even a quick Hail Mary each day can bring them needed grace.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

O Jesus, Good Shepherd, raise up in all parish communities, priests and
deacons, religious, consecrated lay people and missionaries according to
the needs of the whole world, which you love and want to save.
We entrust to you in a particular way our parish community; create in it
the spiritual atmosphere of the first Christians in order that it may be a cenacle
of prayer where we lovingly receive the Holy Spirit and his gifts.
Assist our pastors and all consecrated souls. Guide the steps of those
who have generously welcomed your call and prepared themselves for Holy
Orders or the profession of the evangelical counsels.
Direct your loving gaze to the many well-disposed young people and invite
them to follow you. Help them to understand that only in you they can achieve
their fulfillment.
We entrust these great desires of your Heart to the powerful intercession
of Mary, Mother and model of all vocations, and beg you to sustain our faith in the
certainty that the Father will listen to what you yourself have instructed us to
ask for. Amen
~Pope John Paul II

 

Friends,
Your gift of prayer for our priests will be blessed a hundredfold. God bless you for keeping them close.

Advent Blessings,
Kathy


Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come.
Mark 13:33


Dear Lord, we pray that the Blessed Mother wrap her mantle around priests
and through her intercession strengthen them for their ministry.

We pray that Mary will guide priests to follow her own words, "Do whatever He tells you" (Jn 2:5).

May priests have the heart of St. Joseph, Mary's most chaste spouse. May the
Blessed Mother's own pierced heart inspire them to embrace all who suffer at the foot
of the cross.

May priests be holy, filled with the fire of your love seeking nothing
but your greater glory and the salvation of souls. Amen.

St John Vianney, pray for us.

 

Dear Friends,

The anticipation of our Christmas Joy is soon to be realized! The demands of our priests are great helping us to prepare, making our prayers so important. If you are still searching for a worthy Christmas gift recipient, may I suggest one of my favorites, Opus Bono Sacerdotii. The loving work they do for suffering priests with no place left to turn is beautiful. Like so many these days, they experience serious shortfalls in donations and could use our help. If you wish to donate, here is the information:

http://www.opusbono.org/donate.html
Or, mail your tax-deductible check to: Opus Bono Sacerdotii, P.O. Box 663, Oxford, MI 48371

Pax Christi,
Kathy
The Prayer of Opus Bono Sacerdotii
O Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest and exemplar of priestly holiness and dignity, we are grateful to You for having chosen certain men for the ministerial priesthood by which You continue to instruct, admonish, forgive, nourish and strengthen Your Church. We are sorely aware of the great need of priests in our time to be confirmed in their sacred calling so that they may continue confidently in their ministry of mediating Your graces to men and of representing them before Your august majesty. Relying on the intercession of Holy Mary, Mother of priests, and of Saint Joseph, Her beloved spouse, we beg Your help for the priests who are the most troubled, tempted, discouraged and suffering. May the noble and sacred office of the priesthood, which has too often been reviled and scorned, regain its admirable stature in the sight of all men for Your greater honor and glory and for the sanctification and salvation of Your people. Amen

 

Dear Friends,

Our priests have tirelessly worked to help prepare us for the celebration of the coming of Jesus. Surely they are tired and we ask Our Lord to fill them with unimaginable Joy. Below is a link to a good article, Tired Benedict Needs Our Prayers.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2011/12/17/34238/

Lastly, for anyone interested, a beautiful rendition of Panis Angelicus by two local priests, Father Tim & Father Mathias, at the annual Catholic elementary school Christmas program. I must add these are two of the holiest men I've had the privilege to meet. They are a sure sign of God's love for us.

]

Pax Christi,
Kathy

O Jesus, Eternal Pontiff, Good Shepherd and Fountain of life, who by the special goodness of your Most Sweet Heart, have given us priests to fulfill in us the designs of sanctification which your grace inspires in our hearts, we ask you: come to their aid with the assistance of your mercy.
O Jesus, may they have in their labors a lively faith; in trials an unwavering trust; in
their decisions a burning charity.
Grant that your Word, the irradiation of the Eternal Wisdom, may become through
continuous meditation the never failing nourishment of their interior life. Let the
example of your life and passion animate their actions and sustain them in their
suffering, so that they may teach, enlighten and comfort us in our sorrows. Lord, grant
our priests the grace of detachment from purely worldly concerns. Let them be first
and foremost solicitous for your glory and keep them faithful to their duties.
Keep them pure in conscience till their last breath, so that when death comes to the
body, they may place into your hands their mission faithfully accomplished so that they
may find in you, Lord Jesus Christ, who on earth were their Master, the prize of the Crown
of Justice, in the glory of the saints. Amen.
-Pope Pius XII

[/b]MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

 

Greetings this beautiful 5th Day in the Octave of Christmas,

I hope you are enjoying each of these Christmas days. We pray for those martyred in Nigeria on Christmas Day while at Mass and for peace in this world. May the Christ Child bless each of you and each of His priests.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

Mother of our Redeemer, in this era dedicated to you, with great joy we call you blessed. You believed in the Word of God the father and declared yourself His handmaid, and so, through you, the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. We salute you as Mother, our Mother, the Mother of the Church. With what great love you must have watched over the infant Church and what motherly solicitude encouraged the apostles as they committed themselves to carry on the work of Your Divine Son on earth. Make the Church ever to be the sign and instrument of intimate union with God.

To you, our Mother, we entrust in a special way all priests. To them has been given a special sharing in the priesthood of Your Divine Son. He has chosen them to be ministers of His Word and Sacrament. Ask Him to fill them with zeal, to keep them faithful and joyful in His service, conscious of the fact that they care and so bring glory to the father and honor to the Church.

Holy Mother, increase the ranks of our priests by inspiring our young people to be more generous in their response to serve Jesus in the priesthood and in religious life. Sustain all of us, O Virgin Mary, on our journey of faith and obtain for us the grace of eternal salvation.

 

Dear Friends,

The prayer below is appropriate as we approach the anniversary date of the Supreme Court decisions that legalized abortion in our country and opened the floodgates to over 54 million unborn children aborted. Many of us will be in Washington DC participating in the March for Life--and thousands marching with us will be priests. The link below has prayer cards if you would like to order some for your church or group--they are FREE. Remember to pass this along to friends so others will be reminded to pray for our priests year round, and for the unborn and their mothers, too!

Pax Christi,
Kathy

My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount
of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special
helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as
a sacrifice of love.
With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of
all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart
into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels
out with this chalice to all priests! Amen.

Father,
You sent your Son Jesus Christ to be our High Priest,
And you gave us the gift of the priesthood to continue His saving work.
Bless our priests, and give us more of them. Make them holy.
Strengthen them to proclaim the Gospel of Life, and to defend the rights of all,
Especially the unborn.
Bring us, your priests and people to the life that never ends.
We pray through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

http://www.priestsforlife.org/store/p-236-prayer-for-priests-prayer-card.aspx