Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Pray for priests

I'm so sad for those people who have stopped going to church, using the scandals as an excuse.
The church is so much more than men who have made mistakes.
Leading the priestly life cannot be easy. I'm glad that Pope Benedict XVI has chosen to remind us to pray for all priests.



This is taken from Ryan Duns, S.J.'s blog
RyanDuns
He's a seminarian, studying to be a Jesuit.



Dear Lord,

we pray that the Blessed Mother

wrap her mantle around your priests

and through her intercession

strengthen them for their ministry.

We pray that Mary will guide your priests

to follow her own words,

“Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5).

May your priests have the heart of St. Joseph,

Mary’s most chaste spouse.

May the Blessed Mother’s own pierced heart

inspire them to embrace

all who suffer at the foot of the cross.

May your priests be holy,

filled with the fire of your love

seeking nothing but your greater glory

and the salvation of souls.

Amen.

Saint John Vianney, pray for us.

1 comment:

Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie) said...

thank you for posting this, Ann. I think it's so important to remember that it's not THE CHURCH that committed those acts ... it was A HUMAN BEING, as prone to sin as the rest of us. YES, they took a vow of chastity; YES, we expect a higher moral ground from them. But in the end, they ARE "only human". of course, there is the issue that some have trouble dealing with - that THE CHURCH "re-assigned" those priests on more than one occasion, causing people to FRENZY that it was THE CHURCH ... that "allowed" it to happen. But everyone needs to remember that THE CHURCH is also run by ... "human beings", who, again, can just as easily make errors in judgment. FORGIVENESS is key in this terrible situation. This PRAYER FOR PRIESTS is a starting point. -- Davi