This is the last full weekend of the month of the Precious Blood.
The priests we are praying for in the Diocese of Rochester this week are:
SUNDAY 7/25 Fr. William Coffas
MONDAY 7/26 Fr. John Colacino
TUESDAY 7/27 Fr. Daniel Condon
WEDNESDAY 7/28 Fr. Patrick Connor
THURSDAY 7/29 Fr. Brian Cool
FRIDAY 7/30 Fr. William Cosgrove
SATURDAY 7/31 Fr. Michael Costik
Our prayer this week is again from Our Treasure “The Blood of Jesus” prayer book, published by the Sister Adorers of the Precious Blood, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, 1969.
Lord Jesus, by the Precious Blood which You shed in the Garden of Olives, take pity on all aspirants to the priesthood who, through the temptations of the evil one, or dread of the responsibilities of the sacred ministry, are in danger of losing their vocation. Impart to these young men sufficient courage to make the sacrifices by which the Eucharistic Chalice must be purchased; and in return for their generosity, let them find strength and courage through the Blood Which in heaven shall be their eternal source of delight.
Lord Jesus Christ, by the Precious Blood which You shed in Your Crowning with Thorns, we beseech You to maintain our clergy in such filial submission to the Holy See and its representatives, as will forever secure them the veneration, confidence, and docility of the faithful children of Holy Church.
Lord Jesus, by the Blood of Your Crucifixion, inflame with ever-unceasing zeal the dispensers of Your Blood. Grant that thirsting like You for souls they may continue the work of Your Passion, increasing its efficacy by applying its merits. Assist most of all the poor missionaries who, after watering with their sweat and tears the soil in which they have sown the divine seed, may still be called upon to dye with their blood the land upon which they planted the cross.
Our Lady of the Precious Blood, watch over the living chalices of the Blood of Jesus. Amen.
God bless you all,
Laurie
https:prayersforpriests.com
Novena to St. Martha
Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Today we begin our novena to St. Martha. Her feast day is Thursday, July 29. She is known as the patron saint of cooks and servers. The last time she is mentioned in the Bible, we are told simply, “Martha served.” (John 12:2) That makes her a perfect saint for us to ask to intercede for our priests, who have been called to serve in such a profound way.
https://novenaprayer.com/2020/08/19/st-martha-novena/
God bless,
Laurie
https://prayersforpriests.com
Sunday, July 18, 2021
July, which is now half spent, is the month of the Precious Blood. The Precious Blood of Christ is a powerful reminder of the depth of God’s love for us. God not only sent His Son into the world out of love, but His Son literally shed His Blood on the Cross to seal that love in a covenant with us. May we all be ever more mindful of that gift.
The priests we are praying for in the Diocese of Rochester this week are:
SUNDAY 7/18 Fr. Thomas Celso
MONDAY 7/19 Fr. Lee Chase
TUESDAY 7/20 Fr. Augustine Chuo
WEDNESDAY 7/21 Deceased Priests
THURSDAY 7/22 All Missionaries
FRIDAY 7/23 Fr. Peter Clifford
SATURDAY 7/24 All Deacons
Our prayer this week is from the “Constant” Prayer of St. Catherine of Siena:
Precious Blood, ocean of divine mercy: Flow upon our priests! Precious Blood, most pure offering: Procure for them every grace! Precious Blood, hope and refuge of sinners: Atone for them! Precious Blood, delight of holy souls: Draw them! Amen.
God bless,
Laurie
https://prayersforpriests.com
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.”
Special Prayers for Our Priests
Monday, March 16, 2020
Great News!
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
I’m glad that this is an off week Wednesday. Some great news was released this morning.
Venerable Fulton J Sheen is scheduled to be beatified on December 21, 2019!
The beatification ceremony will take place at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois.
Here are links to two articles about the beatification:
https://www.pjstar.com/news/20191118/vatican-approves-beatification-of-fulton-sheen
https://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2019/11/19/venerable-fulton-sheen-to-be-beatified-in-december/
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
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.
