Year for Priests - May 2009

On Friday, June 19 th, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Catholic Church will begin – at the request of Pope Benedict XVI – a year long observance dedicated to the priesthood. This Year for the Priest will commemorate the 150 th anniversary of the death of the famous Curé d’Ars, St. John Marie Vianney.

The life of this humble parish priest continues to inspire priests and future priests– and, hopefully, during the course of the next twelve months, Catholics will learn more about this saint who at a time of great religious indifference in post revolutionary France single handedly initiated a spiritual revival in his country. Up until the day of his death, thousands of pilgrims would arrive daily at the rural outpost of Ars so that they could confess their sins to him.

He moved sinners to conversion not through sophisticated schemes or eloquent words (He was a rather dull student and was not thought of as being very intelligent); nor did he win people over by his good looks (The old sepia photos of him reveal a rather homely man). What won people over was his holiness – people knew he was the real thing.

The story is that when he had first set out for Ars – on foot – to take up his assignment, he quickly realized he was lost and asked a young boy whom he encountered on his path if he knew the way to Ars. When the youngster said yes, Père Jean Marie Vianney told him: You show me the way to Ars and I’ll show you the way to heaven. When he arrived in Ars, he set about to do just that.

On May 30th, I ordained a new priest for our Diocese: Father Vilaire Philius. When called forward, he answered “Present” and thus expressed his willingness to put himself at the disposal of the Lord who “died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him…” (cf. IV Eucharistic Prayer, II Cor. 5: 15)

At the Chrism Mass, two years ago, Pope Benedict XVI said: “Being a priest means becoming an ever closer friend of Jesus Christ with the whole of our existence. The world needs God - not just any god but the God of Jesus Christ, the God who made himself flesh and blood, who loved us to the point of dying for us, who rose and created within himself room for man. This God must live in us and we in him. This is our priestly call:  only in this way can our action as priests bear fruit.”

Our priests respond “Present” each and every day, and in so many ways, through their ministry to the People of God. Here in the Diocese of Orlando, we are served by priests from every inhabited continent. They may speak in many different accents but thanks to their dedication and to their extraordinary love for the Lord they are here for us. Called to be “friends of Jesus”, these men have given their lives to show us the way to heaven

Let ask that, through the intercession of St. John Mary Vianney, our priests will continue to grow in holiness – and, in this way, take Christ and his gospel to the men and women of our times as John Vianney did in his times.