The Holy Eucharist. I had a scary thought today... what if we had no priests? How would we receive holy communion? We need our priests to confect the bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.
On Monday evenings at our church's Eucharistic Adoration we say the rosary at 7pm out loud as a group. One of the intentions is for our parish priest and I used to think... "Oh that's nice." But after today I thought, we need Father Noel to be a holy priest to lead our parish. If we want a holy church we need a holy priest. He needs our prayers probably more than we do because I'm sure it's not an easy life to be a priest.
The priests of the Catholic Church have long been under spiritual attack and even though they've been given special graces from the Holy Orders, they are still human and need prayer.
Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians requests the people of Thessalonica to "pray for us (Paul, Silas and Timothy) that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you."
(2Thessalonians 2:1)
May God's graces and blessings fall abundantly upon you Father Noel!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.jpg)
You are so right about praying for our priests. So many people only pray about themselves or people they know. Seldom do we remember that our church leaders also need our prayers so that they can continue to lead us well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit again Noreen! Always nice to hear from you. :D
I often think about the times of the Reformation when the priests had to go into hiding. Receiving communion was a rare event for most people but with what joy they celebrated when a priest managed to visit! I once visited some of the old stately homes in England where priest holes can be found. The priests must have had so much courage and such love for God. Have you read Monseignor Robert Hugh Benson's historical novels of this time?
ReplyDeleteYes, we should pray for our own priests. We do every day. People are quick to criticise, slow to pray. And to pray also for priests who might have gone a bit astray. God bless, Noreen!
We do need to pray for our priests, individually and as a group. God bless them!
ReplyDeleteHI Noreen,
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful post and I'm so glad you linked it up to NOBH! Yes, priests and women in the religious life need our prayers so much. Like you said, they are always under spiritual attack and in need of prayers. I try to remember to be very grateful that we have priests that confect the bread and wine into Jesus' Body and Blood. Without these men who have sacrificed so much we would not be able to celebrate Holy Eucharist which is a sad thought, like you mentioned. There is a very devout and holy priest that our family knows and he has an incredible story of conversion to the priesthood. He worked in the cooperate world, was away from the church and his Catholic faith for so long, was engaged at one time...As a priest, I remember him telling me that priests for 2000 years since the Last Supper have given up their lives and made sacrifices by answering God's call to the priesthood. He said priests don't give up their lives for just a piece of bread or grape juice that symbolizes Jesus' Body and Blood. Rather, priests answer God's call to bring us Holy Eucharist, Jesus' Body and Blood. Every day around the world there are Masses being said and God uses our priests to turn the bread and wine into the actual Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ! WOW! I pray often, "Lord I believe, help my unbelief."
God bless you Noreen and thank you for the reminder to continue to pray for priests and religious in our local and worldwide Church.