Showing Appreciation for Our Priests

The overwhelming majority of Catholic priests and bishops lead tremendously spirit-filled lives, bringing the light of Christ to all those around them. Sometimes we forget that priests, in their humanity, can feel tired and lonely too, just as we do. These humble servants of Our Lord and His Church should receive our true gratitude and love. Today, priests can be greatly uplifted by a simple prayer or a gentle word of appreciation from us!

~ Excerpt from 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.

Fr. Mark Kirby: Spiritual Gifts for Priests

7. "And He said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting" (Mk 9:32). In reparation for the sins of priests and to obtain for them graces of conversion, deliverance from patterns of habitual sin, and fortitude in spiritual combat, you can fast, abstain, or offer some other mortification for priests every Wednesday. (Spy Wednesday was the day of Judas' plotting against Our Lord.)

8. On Thursday (the day of the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist and of the Priesthood) you can spend one hour before the Blessed Sacrament in thanksgiving for the gift and mystery of the priesthood, and in confident supplication for the sanctification of all priests. I recommend that during this hour you meditate Our Lord's own prayer for priests in the 17th Chapter of Saint John's Gospel.

9. On Friday (the day of Our Lord's Blessed Passion) make the Way of the Cross for priests or pray the Litany of the Precious Blood or the Litany of the Sacred Heart for them.

10. Every Saturday (Our Blessed Lady's day) offer for priests five decades of the Rosary or the Ave, Maris Stella, a most suitable liturgical hymn for interceding for priests.

~ Fr. Mark Kirby, from What Can I Do For the Year of the Priest? ~

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.

Fr. Mark Kirby: Significance of Eucharistic Adoration for Priests

Fr. Mark Kirby has written the following beautiful, inspiring and encouraging post:

COULDST THOU NOT WATCH ONE HOUR?

I sometimes wonder if those of you who keep watch before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus for the sake of His priests, really grasp the significance of your adoration. Allow me on this Lenten First Friday of March to suggest something of what you are doing, and of what Our Lord is doing through you, when you persevere in prayer close to the tabernacle or in the radiance of the monstrance containing His adorable Body and Blood.

A Divine Work

You are participating in a divine work, in a work of grace. You are before Our Lord's Eucharistic Face as an empty vessel to be filled with the power and sweetness of the Holy Spirit, so that souls might drink of His Love and, drinking, know that His Love is sweeter than any earthly delight.

Intercession

You are before Our Lord's Eucharistic Face as an intercessor in whose soul the Holy Spirit is sighing with ineffable groanings, and obtaining from the Father, through Christ, the Eternal High Priest, all that the Father desires to give His priests in this world and in the next.

Reparation

You are a reparator opening yourself to receive the love that so many others ignore, refuse, or treat with indifference, coldness, and disdain. By offering yourself to the Lord Jesus in an adoration of reparation, you console His Eucharistic Heart, which burns with love and so desires to fill souls with His tender mercy.

Friendship

When you are before HIs Eucharistic Face, you are the privileged friend of His Heart, keeping Him company in His loneliness and allowing Him to share with you His sorrows, His grieving over sin, and His designs for a priesthood made pure and radiant with holiness.

Victimhood

When you are before Our Lord's Eucharistic Face, you are with Him a victim of love, handed over and bound to remain at your place before the altar with no desires or plans other than to love, to adore, to make reparation, and to represent all priests in a prayer that simple, and confident, and life-changing.

The Work of Christ the Priest

When you are in adoration before His Eucharistic Face, you are are not idle; you are working in a way far more efficacious than any human undertaking can be. This is your work and it is Christ's work in you. This is a work that many will criticize and not understand. You are before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus in a divinely active collaboration with Him, who from the Sacrament of His Love, continues His priestly mediation before the Father on behalf of poor sinners.

Never Doubt

Never doubt of the value of your hours of adoration. It is this that Our Lord is asking you to do, and He will draw from your presence in the sanctuary a great good and a superabundance of graces for His priests.

~ Fr. Mark Kirby, from Vultus Christi, used with permission ~

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.

Priests in Purgatory Wait for Help From Charitable Souls

"These priestly souls, straying and sunken in abominable vices, when they are repentant and saved, they have an incalculable purgatory, and they give Me grief and my Heart of love is moved when seeing them suffer. I am not able according to the laws established by Me, I, WHO CAN DO EVERYTHING, to diminish their purgatory, if the militant Church does not apply my infinite merits to them.

"I have here another pain for my Heart that no one sees, nor knows of it, nor grasps all its extension and it is this: seeing myself as idle, without being able in a certain sense, with the devouring flames of my love, to sweeten their pains, to diminish their time of purification, to draw them out of the flames and to transport them within my Heart to heaven.

"This same justice impedes love; and as I myself am love, mercy and justice, this last attribute comes as a deterrent to love on this point--who would believe it!--I am eager and yearning because souls on earth can do what I am not able to do in heaven.

"This is another secret that I disclose today of the thousands of martyrdoms of love that I bear in my Heart of the Savior God. I struggled with divine and human means--how many times, years upon years!--to save souls of fallen priests, unfaithful to the church, renegades, apostates, schismatics etc. etc.: I succeeded in saving them with my very Blood, with tears from my soul, with pleading groans to the Father, with my infinite merits; and they arise from the world contrite and pardoned.

"Then, when they are in purgatory, alas! now nothing is possible for them to do , but WAIT, wait that there are charitable souls that ransom them, lessen their pain and time."

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, from To My 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.

Helping Priest Souls in Purgatory

"I do not want to exclude priests who have died.

They also need prayers and suffrages

so that they may return to my arms from purgatory to heaven.

Even there, the mission of faithful souls lasts,

to free priests from that place of purification,

to gain for Me the joy of seeing them finally in the bosom of My glory.

This will be an act of charity for them

and a joy they will give Me.

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, from To My Priests ~

In the time of St. Bernard, a monk at Clairvaux appeared after his death to his brethren in religion to thank them for having delivered him from Purgatory. On being asked what had contributed most to free him from his torments, he led the inquirer to the church, where a priest was saying Mass. "Look," said he, "this is the means by which my deliverance has been effected; this is the power of God's mercy; this is the salutary sacrifice which takes away the sins of the world." Indeed, so great is the efficacy of this sacrifice to obtain relief for the souls in Purgatory that the application of all the good works which have been performed from the beginning of the world would not afford so much assistance to one of these souls as would be imparted by a single Mass.

~ Fr. Michael Muller, CSSR, from The Blessed Eucharist, Our Greatest Treasure ~

Read more about Masses for faithful departed priests 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.

An Appeal for One Hour of Eucharistic Adoration for Priests

In response to Jesus' complaint to His apostles at Gethsemane, "Could you not watch one hour with Me?", I am appealing to all readers of this blog to make a commitment to offer ONE CONTINUOUS HOUR of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for His priests.

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Anyone can, of course, pray one Holy Hour (or many) without making any sort of commitment to Jesus through this blog, and probably many of you already have. The purpose of asking readers to contribute to an online poll is to give Catholics the opportunity to:

1. Make a visible witness (for all the world to see) of their faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist;
2. Make a visible witness (for all the world to see) of their love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and gratitude for His continued Real Presence among us;
3. Show non-believers who happen upon this site that we Catholics really do believe what the Church teaches about transubstantiation--that bread and wine become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ (true God and true man) when a Catholic priest repeats the words of consecration taught by Jesus;
4. Show that we Catholics value God's gift of the ministerial Priesthood , all of the priests that He has provided for our benefit, and the Sacramental blessings that we receive only through their ministry.
5. Show that we Catholics are united in prayer support for ALL of our Catholic priests throughout the entire world;
6. Show that we do not intend to abandon any of God's priests, His chosen other Christs, the way that Jesus was abandoned by most of His apostles and other followers as He hung dying on the Cross.
7. Show that we intend to uplift in prayer before the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, His beloved priests, including those who have most disappointed Him.
8. Offer an hour of prayer in the place of and for priests who believe they are too busy to make time for Eucharistic adoration on a regular basis, or ever;
9. Offer an hour of prayer for priests who have no interest in taking or making time for Eucharistic adoration;
10. Offer an hour of prayer for priests who have lost faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
11. Offer an hour of prayer for priests who are unable to celebrate or attend Mass or pray before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament because of illness or due to being denied the freedom to participate.
12. Offer an hour of prayer for deceased priests--for those who had a fervent devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist and for those who did not.

Only God knows how many will read this appeal for Eucharistic Holy Hours for priests, but I hope and pray that those who do will CAST A VOTE FOR JESUS AND HIS PRIESTS. Voting location is on the sidebar.

(The weakness of this poll is that the blogger widget used only allows one vote for each computer, and there could be households where more than one person will not be able to vote even if they want to. There probably are better widgets available, but not known to this computer novice.)

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 Mark Kirby: Chaplet for Priests

Father Mark Kirby's Chaplet for Priests is a beautiful, POWERFUL, easily memorized prayer. The POWER of the prayer comes from the Precious Blood of Jesus.

Each individual part of the prayer lends itself well to prayerful repetition. A very busy person, who has a desire to spiritually support priests, could make a habit of repeating these prayers (or a favorite one of them) throughout the day--even when it's not possible to pray the entire chaplet or to keep count on rosary beads. The prayer time possibilities are as numerous as an individual's ingenuity: while driving, while doing dishes, before meals, after meals, on awakening in the morning, before bedtime, before Mass, after Mass, after Rosary decades, etc., etc., etc.

Since we are supposed to "pray always", why not let it be for priests during this special Year of the Priest! What IS important is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God in supplication for our priests. A time set aside for personal daily prayer is very important, but why waste the other numerous opportunities for turning to God as we go about our daily duties? If you have trouble remembering to pray in this way, ask the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Mother to remind you. You might be surprised at how often you are reminded-- an indication of God's will for you.

CHAPLET FOR PRIESTS

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At the beginning of each decade:

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Eternal Father,

I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Thy Beloved Son,

Our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Lamb without blemish or spot (1 Peter 1:18)

in reparation for my sins

and for the sins of all priests.

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On the decades:

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By Thy Precious Blood, O Jesus,

purify and sanctify Thy priests.

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At the conclusion of each decade:

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O Father,

from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named,

(Ephesians 3:14)

have mercy on all priests,

and wash them in the Blood of the Lamb.

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Father Kirby has other suggestions of spiritual offerings for the sanctification of 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.

Thurdays of Adoration and Reparation for Priests

This beautiful prayer, composed by Father Mark Kirby was originally posted on his blog, Vultus Christi.

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THURSDAYS OF ADORATION AND REPARATION FOR PRIESTS

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O my beloved Jesus,

I give and consecrate to Thee this Thursday

and all the Thursdays of my life,

in praise of the adorable Mystery of Thy Body and Blood,

and in thanksgiving for that of the Priesthood.

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Moved by Thy Holy Spirit,

and full of confidence in the help of Thy Most Holy Mother,

the Virgin Mary, Mother of Priests,

I resolve to live each Thursday for the rest of my days here below

in adoration and in reparation for priests

and, especially, for those who do not adore Thee,

for those who are most wounded in their souls,

and for those who are exposed to the attacks of the powers of darkness.

I want to remain before Thy Eucharistic Face for them and in their place;

I want to draw near, in their name, to Thy open Heart,

ever-flowing with the Blood and Water

that purify, heal, and sanctify all souls,

but, first of all, those of Thy priests.

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Let each Thursday find me close to

the Sacrament of Thy Body and Blood,

in adoration and reparation for the sake of all Thy priests.

Make me an entirely Eucharistic soul,

according to the desires of Thy Sacred Heart

and the designs of Thy merciful goodness upon my life.

I desire nothing else.

I want to love Thee more each day;

I want to be the faithful adorer of Thy Eucharistic Face

and the consoling friend of Thy Sacred Heart

hidden in the tabernacles of the world,

where it beats, wounded by love, forgotten, forsaken,

and waiting for the adoration and love of even one priest. Amen.

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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.

Prayer to Offer Holy Communion for Priests

Spiritual Mothers for Priests is asking for others throughout the world to join them in receiving and offering Holy Communion for priests and for vocations on the first Sunday of every month. They were inspired by the mothers of Lu, Italy (in 1881) who offered their Holy Communions on the first Sunday of every month for the intention of being blessed with vocations from their families. After Mass, the mothers prayed a short, simple prayer from the heart. In answer to their prayers, God blessed the tiny village with 323 vocations! The Congregation for the Clergy's document, which tells this story on pages 18-19, says that the village attracted world-wide attention in 1946 when the majority of the 323 priests and religious met in their village of Lu. Every ten years the village celebrates with a reunion of the priests and religious born in Lu.

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The mothers of Lu also gathered every Tuesday for Eucharistic adoration, praying for vocations. What a testament their faithfulness is to the power of the Holy Eucharist-- the power of Eucharistic adoration--and the power of fervent, persistent, united prayer! If they were blessed so awesomely in a tiny, isolated village, just imagine what COULD be possible with the advantage of being able to reach out to Catholics of the world!

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MOTHERS OF LU PRAYER

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"O God, grant that one of my sons may become a priest!

I myself want to live as a good Christian

and want to guide my children to do what is right,

so that I may receive the grace, O God, to be allowed to give you a holy priest! Amen."

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Another beautiful prayer:

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PRAYER TO OFFER HOLY COMMUNION FOR PRIESTS

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Heavenly Father,

for the glory of Your Holy Name,

we offer You Jesus, the Incarnate Word,

whom we have received in the Sacrament of His love,

and in whom You are well pleased.

Through Mary Immaculate,

we offer ourselves united with Christ,

for the sanctification and increase of Your priests.

Pour Your Divine Spirit upon them,

grant them a great love for the Cross

and make fruitful their pastoral work.

Amen.

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(In accord with the sacramental and theological understanding of Holy Communion as an integrated part of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the traditional form of "Offering Holy Communion for Priests" should be understood and practiced as an offering of the entire Mass.) Prayer from Apostleship of the Cross.

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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.

Be Attentive to the Holy Spirit

If you feel inspired to do something spiritually beneficial for God's priests, don't let discouragement or fear stop you--they are two of the greatest weapons that the prince of darkness uses against us! He and his cohorts are always around to discourage us from any expression of love for God and neighbor. He uses our inclination toward pride in hopes of immobilizing us--our fear of failure, fear of looking foolish or inept in the eyes of others, fear of criticism, fear of unfavorable comparisons to others who are more gifted. What does it matter how gifted we are as long as we are as gifted as God wants us to be!

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There will always be someone who can do IT better than you whether it is leadership, writing, speaking, thinking, praying, etc., but no one can do it exactly like you. God made you who you are because He loves YOU and has given you the gifts you need to do what He wants of you. Thank God for the gifts He has given you and the ways He wants to use YOU! The important thing is to be attentive to what the Holy Spirit is asking of you and to do it to the best of your ability--as limited as that might be--and leave the results to Him.

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I admit that not so very long ago I did not even know what a blog was. I am a novice on the computer, not knowing much and learning as I go. That explains any lack of technical skills you might notice. I had to call for help to learn how to embed a video and how to highlight a link in the text without showing the whole long url address. When you see *** or +++ between paragraphs or lines, it is not because of some notion of style, but because I had problems with the spacing on the post not appearing where it should (and too busy to read all the blog helps to see how to correct it).

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I have much to learn, but I am confident that I will be able to learn what God considers important for me to know. If I had waited until I knew what I was doing--I still wouldn't have started; and before I knew it the Year of the Priest would be over, and I would not have followed the inspiration to start this blog. I am not someone who has ever kept a diary or journal and is naturally inclined to write. I depend every day on the Holy Spirit to inspire me.

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A beginning blogger might unwisely become discouraged after checking out some of the other Catholic blogs whose authors are much more knowledgeable, eloquent, computer savvy, and experienced. However, I am in absolute awe at what the Holy Spirit is doing through them--and also overjoyed! It is an encouraging and hopeful sign for the Church!

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As part of the mystical body of Christ, with Jesus as our head, we all benefit from the healthy spirituality of other members and from all of the good that they do. We should rejoice and thank God when others are spiritually enriching the mystical body of Christ!

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For many years I have been inspired to pray for priests. God has impressed upon me the great need to support and shield them with all of the spiritual means at our disposal. Because He gives me no rest on this issue, I want to share this urgency with others, but am usually able to share it with so few. This blog gives me the opportunity to reach out with an appeal on behalf of priests to all my brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world who might be led by the Holy Spirit to read it.

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I think most Catholics love and appreciate their priests, but think of them as providers and nurturers--spiritual Fathers providing for our needs. They often will do many things to support priests in temporal matters, but don't think of their spiritual needs, considering them to be stronger, more faithful, less tempted because of the graces of their vocation.

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The Holy Spirit has inspired the Congregation for the Clergy to ask for Eucharistic Adoration and Spiritual Motherhood for Priests (December 8, 2007), and has inspired the Holy Father to declare a Year of the Priest (June 19, 2009-June 19, 2010). It is obvious that He is asking us to spiritually uplift our Catholic priests. THEY NEED OUR HELP! He is asking it of all Catholics, including priests who are called to spiritually support their brother priests.

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With more than a billion Catholics in the world, if each of us who are able to do SOMETHING would offer spiritual gifts for priests DAILY, the benefits could be immense for priests, the Church, for Catholics, and for all the people of the world!

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I suggest that you pray and ask God what He wants YOU to do for His priests. Sincerely seek His enlightenment, if you haven't already. Some are called to do more than others, but most of us are called to do SOMETHING--and best if it is done DAILY because then it becomes a good habit. I encourage you to begin today to offer your spiritual gift for priests, if you haven't already started. Don't put off what you can do today. The prince of darkness loves it when we procrastinate and opportunities to do good are wasted!

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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.

Splinters From the Cross, Offerings for Priests

If you are a Catholic, have you ever thought of what the world would be like without priests? There would be no Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, no Holy Communion, no Blessed Sacrament reserved in church tabernacles for the sick and for the dying, and no opportunities for Eucharistic adoration. Pope John Paul II once said,

"There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood,

just as there can be no priesthood without the Eucharist."

There are more than a billion Catholics in the world to be ministered to by less than 500,00 priests. The priests have said "yes" to God's call to the priesthood and to all of the responsibilities and sacrifices involved in their vocation as other Christs and shepherds of souls.

If you love Jesus in the Eucharist and appreciate our Catholic priests, one way to express that love and appreciation could be to offer up some or all of your little daily splinters from the cross for the sanctification of all priests and for more vocations to the priesthood.

SPLINTERS FROM THE CROSS

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Little headaches, little heartaches,

Little griefs of every day,

Little trials and vexations,

How they throng around our way!

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One great cross, imense and heavy,

So it seems to our weak will,

Might be borne with resignation,

But these many small ones kill.

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Yet all of life is formed of small things,

Little leaves make up the trees,

Many tiny drops of water

Blending, make up the mighty seas.

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Let us not then by impatience

Mar the beauty of the whole,

But for love of Jesus bear all

In the silence of our soul,

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Asking Him for grace sufficient

To sustain us through each loss,

And to treasure each small offering

As a splinter from the Cross.

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.

Masses for Priests

St. Pio said, "Every Holy Mass, heard with devotion, produces in our souls marvelous effects, abundant spiritual graces which we, ourselves, do not know...It would be easier for the world to exist without the sun than without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!"

I have already appealed for Masses for faithful departed priests, but there is also much to be gained spiritually by having Masses said for all priests--benefits for priests, for those attending the Masses, for those having Masses offered, and for the world. How often do you think that priests--without whom there would be no Holy Sacrifice--are themselves the recipients of a Mass intention?

If you would like to do something special for a favorite priest or all priests, consider giving the gift of a Mass or Masses. What could be more appropriate or a greater gift in this Year of the Priest when the emphasis is on prayer for the sanctification of priests--especially considering that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the highest form of prayer?

If timely scheduling of Masses in your parish is not possible, a good place to send to have Masses scheduled quickly is http://www.spiritualtreasury.org/HolySoul.HTM . Missionary priests, who will offer the Masses, will also benefit from this support of their ministry.

St. Pio, pray for priests and pray for those they shepherd!

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.

Please Help Faithful Departed Priests!

Except for the Blessed Mother's "fiat", which resulted in the Word becoming flesh in her womb through the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:38), there is no greater privilege on earth than to stand in the place of Jesus Christ and repeat the words that change bread and wine into His Body and Blood.

There is also no greater responsibility before God. The men who are chosen by Him to be His priests are responsible for offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, for absolving the repentant of their sins in the name of the Holy Trinity, and for feeding the spiritually needy and hungry with the Bread of Life. During their lives as priests, they are called to be shepherds of souls and are responsible for the salvation of those entrusted to them. St. Padre Pio said, "...we priests have more responsibilities before God, and when we appear before Him it is with fear and trembling."

If all of us will have to give an accounting to God at judgment, including for every idle word (Matt 12:36), imagine what priests, even the holiest, will have to answer for--because the obligations of their vocation are so much greater. They deserve all the spiritual support Catholics can give them during life and after death. In today's world, all priests face many serious spiritual challenges. In his day, St. Alphonsus Liguori said, "For every one demon which attacks a layman, one thousand attack the priest." Can you imagine that the ratio would be any less today?

St. Pio knew more than most people about purgatory and the souls who wait for their release. He obtained permission from his spiritual director to offer himself as victim for sinners and for souls in purgatory. He suffered the wounds of Christ in his own body for fifty years along with countless other sufferings. Despite overflow crowds at his Masses, he said, "More souls of the dead from purgatory than of the living...attend my Masses and seek my prayers."

The existence of purgatory and the need for souls to be perfectly pure before seeing God in the Beatific Vision is a dogma of the Catholic faith. A dogma is something we are expected to believe as Catholics. Unfortunately, many Catholics no longer believe this dogma, or do not take it seriously. At many funerals the faithful departed are unofficially "canonized". It is comforting for the bereaved to believe their loved ones are already enjoying heavenly bliss, but the truth is we do not know if that is the case. The Catholic Church takes very seriously the process of canonization. It is a long, exacting process. St. Pio said, "...we must always pray. If they no longer need prayers, they are applied to other souls."

When priests who have dedicated their lives to God's service depart this world for their eternal home, it is an appropriate tribute and justice that those who have spiritually benefited from their ministry help hasten their entrance into heaven .

In this Year of the Priest, hopefully the faithful departed priests will not be forgotten. Those who value and practice their Catholic faith are indebted to countless priests. (Actually, the whole world is indebted to Catholic priests--but most people are unaware of it because they don't know about or believe in the value of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.)

A fitting and most beneficial offering for faithful departed priests, (who made the Holy Eucharist available for Catholics), is to have Masses offered for their souls. The Gregorian Masses (30 consecutive days) are especially beneficial because they provide Masses quickly for the relief of the soul of one priest--they could be an offering of one person, a few, or several.

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When Masses are not readily available in parishes, a good place to send for Masses--single. triduum (3), novena (9), or Gregorian (30 consecutive) is http://www.spiritualtreaury.org/ . The Masses will be offered by missionary priests--your donation helps the departed soul or souls, helps provide for the temporal needs of the missionary priests, helps make their evangelization and ministry possible, and benefits the people they are able to minister to because of donations. As if that weren't enough, God will bless you for your generosity!

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Following is a list of other possible offerings for faithful departed priests (for all priests, a particular priest, or a specific group of priests)--make the intention before the offering:

Attending Mass and offering your Mass and Holy Communion

Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament

Offering the Precious Blood of Jesus--the St. Gertrude prayer or in your own words

Offering the Holy Rosary and other prayers

Offering of indulgenced prayers, including the indulgence--there are special indulgences for the Year of the Priest (see Annus Sacerdotalis link).

Offering alms, fasting, mortifications, good works, joys, sufferings

Offering any short prayer in your own words--a lifting up of your mind and heart to God on their behalf

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To help faithful departed priests is an act of mercy, and most Christians know what Jesus said about mercy--"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." (Matt. 5:7). Every soul's day will come to be judged by God. Hopefully, others will be merciful to us when we are in need and unable to help ourselves, the exact situation in which the souls in purgatory find themselves. Like St. Pio said, "...we must always pray."

Only God knows how many priest souls are in purgatory and dependent on our generosity. To Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, Conchita, Jesus said:

"...I am not able according to the laws established by Me, I WHO CAN DO EVERYTHING, to diminish their purgatory, if the militant Church does not apply my infinite merits to them."

"...I am eager and yearning because souls on earth are able to do what I am not able to do in heaven."

"The mission of faithful souls lasts, to free priests from that place of purification, to gain for Me the joy of seeing them finally in the bosom of my glory. This will be an act of charity for them and a joy that they will give Me."

Knowing that helping His priests who are in purgatory makes Jesus happy should be enough reason for anyone who loves Him to offer up what they can to hasten their release from purgatory and entrance into heaven.

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.