Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Many years ago, I remember my grandmother displaying a picture of the Sacred Heart in her house, and making sure that we did the same. 'If we display the Sacred Heart,' she said, 'the Heart of Jesus will always keep us safe, and love will always be part of our home'. OK, maybe the wording has been modified over the years, but the sentiment remains.
Catholics celebrate the love of God today, a love which is unbounded, unbridled and dispensed freely to all of us. If we truly understood the depth of Christ's love, all other earthly beauty would pale by comparison.
For some years now, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has also been designated as the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. Each year, the Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, the Vatican Office which promotes the life and ministry of priests, publishes a letter addressed to priests. It is meant to be a reflection for priests on the effectiveness of our ministry, and perhaps a help to facilitate a kind of evaluation of what we do.
Prior to the establishment of the World Day for the Sanctification of Priests, Pope John Paul II used to publish an annual Letter to Preists which he sent on Holy Thursday, the day which has traditionally been observed as the moment when Jesus instituted the priesthood.
Today, all the faithful are called to pray for our priests. Let us ask the Lord to draw all his presbyters closer to his loving heart, and to fill us with the infinite love which allows us to act in his name.
1 comment:
I pray for priests everyday. Without them the flock would quickly be scattered. I pray that priests are given the graces they require to lead the people to God. I pray that God makes them His saints. I pray especially for the priests that have helped me in some way.
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