"Let us pray for all good and faithful priests who dedicate themselves to their people with generosity and unknown sacrifices." ~ Pope Francis
Pope Francis
In a letter to all priests, written on the occasion of the 160th anniversary of the death of the holy Curé of Ars, Pope Francis reminds us that it is God who takes the initiative and calls people to work in his vineyard:
"Vocation, more than our own choice, is a response to the Lord's unmerited call. We do well to return constantly to those passages of the Gospel where we see Jesus praying, choosing, and calling others "to be with him and to be sent out to proclaim the message" (Mk 3:14)."
The letter is available here.
In my journey to the priesthood, I was inspired by the beautiful example of a holy priest, St. Josemaría. He was a man with an extraordinary personality and a huge heart. He knew how to make himself all things to all people, trying to love everyone he met as God would love them.
Below are some paragraphs from his homily "Priest for Eternity" that I find heartening.
ORDAINED TO SERVE
"The sacrament of Holy Orders is going to be conferred on this group of members of the Work who have had very substantial experience, perhaps over many years, in medicine, law, engineering, architecture, and many other professional activities. They are men whose work would allow them to aspire to more or less prominent positions in society. They are being ordained to serve. They are not being ordained to give orders or to attract attention, but rather to give themselves to the service of all souls in a divine and continuous silence.
PRIESTS 100%
When they become priests, they will not allow themselves to yield to the temptation to imitate the occupations of laypeople — even though they are well able to do that work because they have been at it until now, and have acquired a lay outlook which they will never lose. Their competence in the various branches of human knowledge such as history, natural sciences, psychology, law, and sociology is a necessary feature of this lay outlook. But it will not lead them to put themselves forward as priest-psychologists, priest-biologists, or priest-sociologists: they receive the sacrament of Holy Orders to become nothing other than priest-priests, priests through and through. [...]
SOMETHING GREAT
The priesthood leads one to serve God in a state which, in itself, is no better or worse than any other: it is simply different. But the priestly vocation is invested with a dignity and greatness which has no equal on earth. Saint Catherine of Siena put these words on Jesus' lips: I do not wish the respect which priests should be given to be in any way diminished; for the reverence and respect which is shown them is not referred to them but to Me, by virtue of the Blood which I have given to them to administer. Were it not for this, you should render them the same reverence as laypeople, and no more... You must not offend them; by offending them you offend Me and not them. Therefore I forbid it and I have laid it down that you shall not touch my Christs.
CHRIST HIMSELF!
Some people keep searching for what they call the identity of the priest. How clearly Saint Catherine expresses it! What is the identity of the priest? That of Christ. All of us Christians can and should be not just other Christs, alter Christus, but Christ himself: ipse Christus! But in the priest, this happens in a direct way, by virtue of the sacrament. [...]
Here we have the priest's identity: he is a direct and daily instrument of the saving grace which Christ has won for us. If you grasp this, if you meditate on it in the active silence of prayer, how could you ever think of the priesthood in terms of renunciation? It is a gain, an incalculable gain. Our mother Mary, the holiest of creatures — only God is holier — brought Jesus Christ into the world just once; priests bring him on earth, to our soul and body, every day: Christ comes to be our food, to give us life, to be, even now, a pledge of future life. [...]
THE HOLY MASS
I ask all Christians to pray earnestly for us priests that we learn to perform the Holy Sacrifice in a holy way. I ask you to show a deep love for the Holy Mass and in this way to encourage us, priests, to celebrate it respectfully, with divine and human dignity: looking after the cleanliness of the vestments and other things used for worship, devoutly, without rushing. [...]
THE VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF PRIESTS
Let us return again to those members of Opus Dei who are being ordained next summer. Do please pray for them, so that they will always be faithful, devout, learned, committed, and happy priests. Commend them especially to our Lady. Ask her to take special care of those who will spend their lives serving her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Priest".
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