Sunday, May 12, 2024

Just a quick reminder that if you know of a diocese with a prayers for priests calendar, please send the link or contact information so I can add them to our list.  And if you know of priests to be added individually, send me their information.  I will be adding that calendar in July.

The priests we are praying for in the Diocese of Rochester this week, and the bishops we are praying for in the United States, are:

PRIESTSBISHOPS
SUNDAY 5/12Fr. Timothy BrownBp. Edmund J. Whalen
New York NY
MONDAY 5/13Fr. Roman CalyBp. Gerald E. Wilderson
Los Angeles CA
TUESDAY 5/14Fr. Brian CarpenterBp. J. Kendrick Williams
Lexington KY
WEDNESDAY 5/15Fr. Joseph CataniseBp. Joseph A. Williams
St. Paul-Minneapolis MN
THURSDAY 5/16Fr. Thomas CelsoInternational
Bishops
FRIDAY 5/17Fr. Lee ChaseBp. William J. Winter
Pittsburgh PA
SATURDAY 5/18Fr. Jeffery ChichesterBp. Michael G. Woost
Cleveland OH

This week’s prayer is adapted from a letter from St. Mother Teresa to priests: 

Jesus, Your priests have said ‘yes’ to You and You have taken them at their word. You, the Word of God, became the poor one. And so they also experience this terrible emptiness. God cannot fill what is full – He can fill only emptiness – deep poverty – and their ‘yes’ is the beginning of being or becoming empty. It is not how much they really ‘have’ to give – but how empty they are – so that they can receive fully in their life and let You live Your life in them. You want to relive Your complete submission to the Father – may they allow You to do so. It does not matter what they feel but what You feel in them. Take their eyes from themselves and may they rejoice that they have nothing – that they are nothing – that they can do nothing. Let them give You a big smile – each time their nothingness frightens them. This is the poverty of You. They must let You live in them and through them in the world. May they cling to Our Lady for she too – before she could become full of grace – full of You – had to go through that darkness. “How could this be done…” but the moment she said ‘yes’ she had need to go in haste and give You to John and his family. Lead them to keep giving You to their people not by words – but by their example, by their being in love with You – by radiating Your holiness and spreading Your fragrance of love everywhere they go. Allow them to keep the joy of You as their strength – be happy and at peace, accept whatever You give – and give whatever You take with a big smile. They belong to You.  May they let You be the victim and the priest in them. Amen.

Ven. Fulton J. Sheen, pray for our priests.

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Saturday, May 4, 2024

Today is the Feast of the Shroud of Turin. I had no idea. Pope Benedict XVI, called the Shroud “a truly mysterious image, which no human artistry was capable of producing. In some inexplicable way, it appeared imprinted upon cloth and claimed to show the true face of Christ, the crucified and risen Lord.” Pope St. John Paul II simply called it “an image of God’s love as well as of human sin.”

The priests we are praying for in the Diocese of Rochester this week, and the bishops we are praying for in the United States, are:

PRIESTSBISHOPS
SUNDAY 5/5Pope FrancisBp. Ignatius C. Wang
San Francisco CA
MONDAY 5/6Fr. Robert BradlerBp. Michael W. Warfel
Great Falls-Billings MT
TUESDAY 5/7Fr. Alexander BradshawBp. William K. Weigand
Sacramento CA
WEDNESDAY 5/8Deceased PriestsBp. Gerald T. Walsh
New York NY
THURSDAY 5/9Fr. Richard BricklerDeceased
Bishops
FRIDAY 5/10Fr. Philip BrockmyreAbp. Thomas G. Wenski
Miami FL
SATURDAY 5/11Fr. Michael BrownAbp. John C. Wester
Santa Fe NM

This week’s prayer is adapted from an excerpt of “A Priest Forever” from In Love With the Church by St. Josemaria Escriva: 

Dearest Father, the priestly vocation is invested with a dignity and greatness which has no equal on earth.  You have ordered it that any respect and reverence which is shown to priests is not referred to them but to Jesus, by virtue of the Blood given to them to administer.  Help us to not offend them, for by offending them we offend You.  Keep them, too, faithful to their identity.  The identity of the priest is that of Christ.  This happens in a direct way by the virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders. We pray this in gratitude for our holy priests, and in petition for more men to answer Your call to the priesthood.  Amen.

Ven. Fulton J. Sheen, pray for our priests.

God’s peace,
Laurie

https://prayersforpriests.com

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Special Message on this World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests

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Friday, June 11, 2021

Today we celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.  It takes place each year on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in this month dedicated to His Sacred Heart.

There is no doubt that our world, our Church, is going through another period of adjustment and correction.  There are so many issues dividing us and honestly much of it comes from misunderstanding, a basic lack of knowledge of the Truth.  I believe…I need to believe…that the laity really do want to know what the Church teaches, what She has taught for almost 2000 years.  Knowing that truth, believing that truth, could resolve so many of the issues.

We need strong faithful priests and bishops who are willing to speak and teach that truth to us.  A phrase that comes to mind is “unapologetic apologetics”.  We deserve it.  Ven. Abp. Fulton J. Sheen knew it.  Many of our current bishops and priests know it.  But sadly, many do not.

This time in history provides a unique opportunity for us.  Here in the United States, our Conference of Catholic Bishops is holding its General Assembly from June 16-18.  My prayer is that they use this time to go back to our Truth.  Come out of the meeting with a message that honors the infallible teaching of Holy Mother Church, unwavering in its meaning and significance.  All of the wavering and compromise has left many wondering what the truth of the teaching is, or at least unsure of their ability to speak it with boldness.  Well, I refuse.  I will not fail to speak my faith with boldness.  It is similar to disciplining a child.  If he never gets a consistent message, and consistent consequences for challenging what he is taught, he will never learn what is expected of him.  And trying to reinforce the teachings becomes much harder and takes much longer.  He never really has a chance to learn from his history.

A priest recently spoke in his homily about the fact that, if we don’t learn from our history, we are bound to repeat it.  He’s right.  We need to learn.  Erasing our history because someone finds it problematic means we cannot learn from it.

It also means that “everything that’s old is new again”.  The challenges that we as a global Catholic Church are now facing are things we’ve faced before.  And we overcame them, thanks in large part to priests who were willing to die to teach us the truths of our faith.

I’ve been listening to a song recently by Fr. Bill Quinlivan from the Diocese of Buffalo.  It is entitled “Mass Rocks”, and speaks so powerfully about one such time in our history, though certainly not the only one.  I’ve included the full lyrics and a link to the song at the end of this message with his permission.  Let me just quote part of one verse here:  “… recall penal times and tears.  Teach each generation this history and the legacy of those years.”  Teach us, but teach us the truth worth dying for.  Don’t water it down.  Don’t cave to pressures that want the Church to change it.  Own it.  We are praying for you because we know this road is hard.

Lord, we pray for the Church, that it may always be faithful to the gospel.  Amen.

May God bless you all,
Laurie

https://prayersforpriests.com/

Find Fr. Bill Quinlivan at https://frbillsings.com/

For more information about the Mass rocks:
https://www.ncregister.com/blog/ireland-s-mass-rocks-are-becoming-popular-again
https://www.irishcatholic.com/upon-these-rocks
https://ahrc.ukri.org/research/readwatchlisten/features/mass-rocks/

Mass Rocks, by Fr. Bill Quinlivan (https://youtu.be/InZchMxcveE)

REFRAIN
To the Mass rocks came the priest for the holy sacrifice in persecuted years.  And though they faced great danger sure, faith came sailing through tidal waves of fear.  Our Church was suppressed by an enemy but our mighty God has a higher law.  And while sentinels stood to keep people safe, much heroic faith lived out is what they saw.

Contented with all our blessings, should days be full of peace, please do not forget the bravery of the best of Irish priests.  Today if you’re timing their homilies, recall penal times and tears.  Teach each generation this history and the legacy of those years!

Refrain

They met their people in the field to share the Eucharistic feast.  Beaten, betrayed and exiled too, somehow zeal and hope increased!  They stayed in lonely hiding places, camouflaged, in disguise.  They risked their lives to pastor flocks, servants proven to be prudent and wise.

Refrain

To the Mass rocks came the priest.”

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An Invitation

We would like to invite you to join us in praying for all of our priests and clergy.  Please feel free to forward this to any others that you think may want to participate.  Regardless of how you heard about us, please send a text to (607)259-1529 or an email to prayers4priests@gmail.com if you are interested in joining us. I’ll be sending an email or text at least weekly with prayers, novenas, etc., so let me know how you would prefer to receive notifications

We are a small informal prayer group made up of faithful Catholics, praying for the sanctification of our Church and our clergy, both here and abroad.  We are doing this in a few different ways.

We will be praying a series of novenas, beginning every other Wednesday.  I’ll send a notification for each one.

Some of us will be fasting on Thursdays for our priests.  It would also be wonderful if some of us could get together once a month to pray a Rosary or a Divine Mercy Chaplet.  We could consider sending cards of encouragement and gratitude to our local priests for their day on the calendar as well.
We are open to any and all suggestions that will help strengthen our Church and our current priests, and will increase new vocations to the priesthood.


Let the praying begin!
God bless,
Laurie Desmarais & Elena Cambio

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The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining us!
Please be patient as we begin our journey of praying for our priests.
Wherever two or more are gathered (even if it is a virtual gathering),
Jesus is with us.

 

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