Archbishop Charles Chaput: Requirements for Real Reform in the Church

"...Bishops, priests, and deacons are too often weak and sinful. They need to be held to high standards. Some deserve to be chastised. The clergy’s leadership in the Church should always be marked by humility and service, and never by a sense of entitlement. But men and women didn’t found the Church, they don’t own her; and they have no license to reinvent her. The Church belongs to Jesus Christ, and the different roles with the Christian community – clergy, laity, and religious life – have equal dignity but different purposes. Sin and failure, including by the clergy, need to be named. But when people deride their bishops and priests out of pride and resentment or some perverse desire for they perceive as “power,” they undermine the Church herself, and they set themselves against the God whose vessel she is. And that, as Scripture suggests, leads in a painful direction.

"All real reform in the Church requires two things...Renewal begins not in vilifying others, but in examining ourselves honestly, repenting of our sins and changing ourselves. This applies to every baptized person, from the Pope to the average man or woman earning a wage. We are all sinners. We are all in need of repentance and God’s mercy. When we really understand that, we can speak to each other with both honesty and love, and restoring the mission of the Church can begin.

"Today’s Gospel gives us the second thing needed for any lasting reform: faith. Not faith as theology, or faith as a collection of doctrines and practices; but faith as a single-minded confidence in God; faith as the humility – and in a sense, the imprudence, the passion, the recklessness – to give ourselves entirely to Jesus Christ. That kind of faith changes people. That kind of faith shifts the world on its axis, because nothing can stand against it. As long as Peter keeps his eyes and his heart fixed on Jesus Christ, he can do the impossible – he can walk on the water. The moment he gives in to doubt and fear, he begins to sink. So it is with our personal faith, and so it is with life and the health of the Church.

"...God is calling each of us here today – clergy, lay, and religious – to love him with all our hearts and to renew the life of his Church. God is calling us now. Tomorrow will be too late. So let’s pray for each other, and support each other – and begin."

~ Archbishop Charles Chaput; excerpt from homily ~ 

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests.  Amen.

Lest You Be Judged: Praying for Priests Instead of Judging Them

"...you ought to pray for them.

But you are not to judge them.

Leave the judging to me,

and I, because of your prayers and my own desire, will be merciful to them."

 ~ God the Father to St. Catherine of Sienna concerning his priest sons ~

"Reading some of the comments on his blog I am appalled at the viciousness of some of them. It is obvious that there is very little if any love in the hearts of some of the writers. It is almost as though some of those writers are filled with hatred for the Catholic Church and/or its priests. It is possible to disagree about almost anything without resorting to ad hominem personal attacks."

~ Bishop Rene Gracida; excerpt from A Few Thoughts on Fr. Corapi's Announcement Yesterday ~

"From the email I am receiving and a few blogs I have read reacting to Fr. Corapi’s video message, it strikes me that a lot of people are doing neither themselves nor Fr. Corapi any good. Charity requires us to consider the good of others. I can’t see how the way some people are talking about Fr. Corapi does anyone any good."

"The enemy hates priests and bishops.  Let me say that again. The enemy hates priests and bishops. When priests and bishops start making inroads, they will be attacked with intensity.

"But priests and bishops remain men and remain sinners. We need the support of prayers especially regarding the primary goal of saving our souls. We must, for the love of God, help each other.

"I will keep Fr. Corapi on my prayer list, and will remember him in a special way, hoping that through the help of the Holy Spirit, who bends the rigid and heals the broken and consoles those who are in pain, he will have some peace whether he is able to return to active ministry or not, whether he wants to or not. He is a priest forever and he is my brother in that indelible mark received from Christ the High priest. And because he is a priest forever, the devil will not relent in attacking him until he dies. Nor will the devil relent in attacking anyone who has authority over him.

"It is what we signed up for, but sometimes it can be very hard.

"Please remember, please, that all priests are human beings and subject to the afflictions of the world the flesh and the devil. If you look at them in some other way, you do them and yourselves a disservice.

"In these difficult times, when we are seeing the lion and hearing the lion roaring around even more, I ask for your prayers for myself and for all the priests you know, whether they are in active ministry or they are for whatever reason not active, whether they have been exemplary according to how you think they ought to be, or whether they have made mistakes and are suffering the consequences.

"They have immortal souls and they, like you dear lay people, are working out their eternal salvation with fear and trembling with the additional burden of knowing that they will be priests forever, in heaven or in hell. Ask St. John Vianney for help. And, since St. “Padre” Pio has been on my mind with increasing frequency lately, perhaps ask him as well."

~ Fr. John Zuhlsdorf; excerpt from About Fr. Corapi with observations about our times ~

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests.  Amen.

Saints Say to Pray for Priests Instead of Criticizing Them

We know that St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the angelic Carmelite nun, just before she died made her last Holy Communion for this sublime intention: to obtain the return of a stray priest who had renounced his vocation. And we know that this priest died repentant, invoking Jesus.

We know that there are more than a few souls, especially virginal souls, who have offered themselves as victims on behalf of priests. These souls are favored by Jesus in an absolutely singular way. Let us, then, also offer prayers and sacrifice for priests, for those in danger and for those who stand more firmly and securely, for those who are straying and for those who are already advanced in perfection. Unfortunately, people tend much too readily to criticize the defects of priests, while it is rather rare that someone will pray for them.

St. Nicholas of Flüe, a famous Swiss saint, father of a family, bluntly told anyone too ready to point out the faults of priests: "And you, how many times have you prayed for the sanctity of priests? Tell me: what have you done to obtain good vocations for the Church?"

One time, a spiritual daughter of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina accused herself in Confession of having criticized some priests for their less than worthy behavior and heard Padre Pio forcefully and decisively reply: "Instead of criticizing them, think of praying for them."

~ Excerpt from Jesus Our Eucharistic Love by Fr. Stefano Manelli, O.F.M. Conv.,S.T.D. ~

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests.  Amen.

Father John Corapi on Humility and Respect

"The Holy Spirit is given to those that obey Him." Acts 5:27-32. This inspirational message regarding humility and respect comes from Father Corapi's powerful four hour series, "Lord & Giver of Life."

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adorationfor priests. Amen.

Showing Appreciation for Priests: EncouragePriests.org

“We need to pray for them, show them how much they are appreciated. Without priests we have no sacraments, no reconciliation, no Eucharist, no Mass. So it's critical for us as laity to show love and support for our priests.”

~ Tom Peterson, Founder, EncouragePriests.org ~

Go to EncouragePriests.org

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

St. John Chrysostom: Passing Judgment on Priests

"I know my own soul, how feeble and puny it is: I know the magnitude of this ministry, and the great difficulty of the work; for more stormy billows vex the soul of the priest than the gales which disturb the sea."

"For as long as the life of the priest is well regulated in every direction, it is invulnerable to plots; but if he happens to overlook some trifle, as is natural in a human being, traversing the treacherous ocean of this life, none of his other good deeds are of any avail in enabling him to escape the mouths of his accusers; but that little blunder overshadows all the rest. And all men are ready to pass judgment on the priest as if he was not a being clothed with flesh, or one who inherited a human nature, but like an angel, and emancipated from every species of infirmity.

And just as all men fear and flatter a tyrant as long as he is strong, because they cannot put him down, but when they see his affairs going adversely, those who were his friends a short time before abandon their hypocritical respect, and suddenly become his enemies and antagonists, and having discovered all his weak points, make an attack upon him, and depose him from the government; so is it also in the case of priests. Those who honored him and paid court to him a short time before, while he was strong, as soon as they have found some little handle eagerly prepare to depose him, not as a tyrant only, but something far more dreadful than that. And as the tyrant fears his body guards, so also does the priest dread most of all his neighbours and fellow-ministers. For no others covet his dignity so much, or know his affairs so well as these; and if anything occurs, being near at hand, they perceive it before others, and even if they slander him, can easily command belief, and, by magnifying trifles, take their victim captive. For the apostolic saying is reversed, “whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it;” (1 Cor. xii. 26.) unless indeed a man should be able by his great discretion to stand his ground against everything."

~ St. John Chrysostom, from Treatise on the Priesthood ~

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Critical Need of: Respect for Priests, Eucharistic Adoration and Rosary for and by Priests

"Francis always showed great deference towards priests, and asserted that they should always be treated with respect, even in cases where they might be somewhat unworthy personally. The reason he gave for this profound respect was that they receive the gift of consecrating the Eucharist. Dear brothers in the priesthood, let us never forget this teaching: the holiness of the Eucharist appeals to us to be pure, to live in a way that is consistent with the Mystery we celebrate."

~ Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience 1/27/10 ~

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE TEARS FOR PRIESTS

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Practicing the Golden Rule Toward Priests

"...Only Jesus could know the true depths of the emotional experiences of a priest. A priest tries to do Jesus’ work, and he gets rejected and persecuted because of it. A priest tries to bring people closer to Jesus, and he is distressed at their indifference. A priest calls his people to conversion, and few respond...If it saddens the heart of a priest to see how indifferent so many people are toward their salvation – and believe me, it does – how much more does it sadden the Sacred Heart of Jesus?

"Of course, we all know that there have been some priests who have abused their positions and have hurt people in the process. The most extreme cases caused a huge scandal in the year 2002 – a scandal that caused sadness and embarrassment for all Catholics, priests and laity alike. I make no excuses for those who have betrayed the trust of others. It is true that priests remain human, and are subject to the same faults and foibles as anyone else, but even this fact is no excuse for the most egregious violations of trust. In this regard, an insight from St. Francis de Sales may be helpful. He said that a priest who gives scandal is guilty of spiritual murder, but that anyone who takes scandal is guilty of spiritual suicide. In other words, we as faithful Catholics must be able to look past the human failings of our priests, no matter how serious those failings may be, and remain close to the one true Church that Jesus founded. It is NOT the fault of Holy Mother Church that Her priests commit sins; the responsibility for those sins belongs to the priest alone. Anyone who would leave the Church because of the actions of a priest would deny himself access to the one necessary and complete channel of graces that leads to everlasting life.

"If you read the stories of those saints who were priests, you will discover quickly that many of them were all too human. Just start with the apostles, the first priests: they argued among themselves about which of them was the greatest, while they were still in the presence of Jesus. St. Damien of Molokai was coarse and rough in manner; Padre Pio, at times, was abrupt and impatient; St. Nicholas had a quick temper; and St. Jerome’s sarcasm was legendary. Today, we might shy away from priests who have such qualities, but these qualities did not keep these priests from getting to Heaven. Perhaps, at times, God makes use of a priest’s impatience, short temper, coarseness, or sarcasm to prick the consciences of the people, and to make them realize their need to reform. Surely a priest needs to strive for perfection, but while he’s doing that, be patient with his imperfections. God may be using them for your benefit.

"If you want to know what you should do for your priests...treat your priest the way that you would like him to treat you. Support him; give him the benefit of the doubt; trust him; understand and accept his limitations; and, most importantly, pray for him. In this matter, St. Therese of Lisieux gives us an excellent example. She wrote about making a pilgrimage to Rome in the company of many saintly priests; and yet, it was during that pilgrimage that she saw, by their conduct, how much priests need prayers. How much easier would it have been if St. Therese had simply recounted and criticized their offenses! Yet she chose the high road instead. She didn’t give even a hint as to the kinds of things that the priests did; she just started praying for them, and continued for the rest of her life.

"When you think of the high calling that the priesthood is – that the priest is called to be another Christ and to continue the most important work that Jesus did – then you will understand quickly how badly priests need prayers, because they are bound to fall short. How can our Lord fail to give a favorable hearing to prayers offered for men whom He Himself has called to the priesthood? Perhaps there’s some real wisdom in the quip that, sometimes, makes its way around the Internet: “If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.”

~ Fr. Richard Libby, Pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Alice, Texas ~

Thanks to Fr. Libby for sharing his thoughts and for Fr. Farfaglia for posting Fr. Libby's reflections on his blog! To read Fr. Libby's entire article, click here.

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Why Priests Need a Fervent Prayer Life and Prayerful Intercessors

Thanks to Father Mark Kirby for sharing Cardinal Hummes' December letter to priests that emphasizes the critical importance of the prayer life of priests for a joyful, faith-filled, and fruitful ministry. Following are some of Father Kirby's valuable comments on the topics contained in the letter:

"Yes, a priest who neglects prayer will become weak in faith, joyless, and uncertain of the very things that should be life giving for him. At the origin of every crisis in the life of a priest is a lack of prayer, that is, of conscious surrender to the Friendship of Christ. Nowhere can a priest experience the Friendship of Christ more effectively than in the radiance of His Eucharistic Face. Priests who pray daily, for one hour, before the Blessed Sacrament attest to the purifying, healing, and transforming effect of such prayer on their lives."

"Priests who pray generate communities that pray. A prayerful priest will generate a praying parish. Where priest and people persevere together in prayer, with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is poured out in abundance, quickening the life of the Church, and causing the face of the Church to shine with joy even in the midst of great sufferings."

"Surrounding every priest who prays is a community that prays for him and with him. The criticism of priests often leads to sins of rash judgment, defamation, and slander. The temptation to speak ill of a priest can become, in effect, an invitation to pray for him, to fast for him, and to represent him before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus, close to His Open Heart."

For Cardinal Hummes' December letter to priests and more of Father Kirby's comments, click here.

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

God the Father's Counsel to St. Catherine of Siena About Criticizing Priests

God the Father spoke to St. Catherine of Siena about his “ministers,” the priests. She recorded it in her Dialogue:

…[It] is my intention that they be held in due reverence, not for what they are in themselves, but for my sake, because of the authority I have given them. Therefore the virtuous must not lessen their reverence, even should these ministers fall short in virtue. And, as far as the virtues of my ministers are concerned, I have described them for you by setting them before you as stewards of... my Son’s body and blood and of the other sacraments. This dignity belongs to all who are appointed as such stewards, to the bad as well as to the good.

…[Because] of their virtue and because of their sacramental dignity you ought to love them. And you ought to hate the sins of those who live evil lives. But you may not for all that set ourselves up as their judges; this is not my will because they are my Christs, and you ought to love and reverence the authority I have given them.

You know well enough that if someone filthy or poorly dressed were to offer you a great treasure that would give you life, you would not disdain the bearer for love of the treasure, and the lord who had sent it, even though the bearer was ragged and filthy... You ought to despise and hate the ministers’ sins and try to dress them in the clothes of charity and holy prayer and wash away their filth with your tears.

Indeed, I have appointed them and given them to you to be angels on earth and suns, as I have told you. When they are less than that you ought to pray for them. But you are not to judge them. Leave the judging to me, and I, because of your prayers and my own desire, will be merciful to them. [1]

Is judging the same as criticizing? It’s close. The Random House American College Dictionary defines the word “criticize” as “1. To make judgments as to merits and faults. 2. To find fault.”

Clearly, the Lord wants prayers, not judgment for his priests. Alas, how sad that some are far more ready to judge (and criticize) priests than they are to pray for them! Imagine how much better off the Church would be if all the energy given to criticizing priests and bishops were devoted to prayer and penance for these men; and how much better off those who prayed and fasted would be!

1.Catherine of Siena; The Dialogue, translated by Suzanne Noffke, O.P., New York: Paulist Press, 1980, pp. 229-231

Excerpt from The Danger of Criticizing Bishops and Priests by Rev. Thomas G. Morrow

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

A Revelation on Criticism of Priests

Dr. Gloria Polo is a dentist from Columbia, South America. In an interview with Radio Maria (Columbia) she relates the true story of how she and her nephew were struck by lightening. Her nephew died and she was burnt inside and out. She suffered cardiac arrest and came out of her body, experiencing initially what many others have lived to tell about--the tunnel, joy and peace, white light at the end of the tunnel, etc., but then she went back into her body and experienced the pain associated with her medical condition.

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The second time Dr. Polo came out of her body she saw demons coming for her. She was not able to return into her body as it lay in the operating room. She ran from the demons but found herself in tunnels heading downward and ending in pitch darkness. The worst torment was the absence of God.

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In the midst of her screams to be taken out of there because she was a good Catholic and was there by mistake, she heard a sweet voice. It was revealed to her all the ways in which she had not been a good Catholic. The one example that I want to draw attention to in this post is her attitude toward priests. She said,

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"...I would criticize priests constantly. You should have seen what a hard time I had on that one! Ever since we were little, I remember criticism against priests being present in my family. My dad used to say that those guys were womanizers and much better off than we were. And we would repeat that. And my Lord told me:

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"Who did you think you were making yourself God and judging my anointed? They are human, and the holiness of a priest is built by his community, that prays, loves, and supports him. When a priest sins his community is questioned not him."

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"The Lord showed me that each time I criticized priests, the demons would get attached to me. Besides that, at some point I accused a priest of homosexuality and the whole community found out. You can't imagine how much harm I did."

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In an inspiring example of the power of intercession, Dr. Polo was given a second chance at life because of the prayers of people unknown to her--especially the prayers of a poor peasant man and his promise of sacrifice for her if she was saved. About him our Lord told her:

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"That is love for your fellowman...You will go back, but you won't repeat this 1000 times. You will repeat it 1000 times 1000. And woe to those who don't change their ways despite having heard you, because they will be judged much more severely... because the worst deafness is that of a man who refuses to hear."

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Dr. Gloria Polo's bishop has given her permission to tell about her experience. At the time of this interview it had been more than ten years since our Lord gave her a second chance. (I don't know the year of the interview).

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Read another excerpt here.

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Read the complete interview here.

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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.