When I first came to Spain, the very first day Father Placido our 90 year old Parish Priest came to say mass in the tiny little Chapel of rest at the bottom of my field, dedicated to Our Lady. But one of my neighbours said, 'He is only doing it for the money!'. This threw me a little and I wondered if it might be true. But I have been here over a year now and have come to understand that the Father is a deeply holy and dedicated man whom I admire deeply. But it reminded me how even a slight word of slander can do so much harm. There was a man who came to St Phillip Neri one time to confession and admitted a slander. As a penance who made the man take a dead chicken and scatter its feathers all over the streets of Rome and return. When he did so he told the man to collect the scattered feathers. The man said that this was impossible. The saint said that this was the same with slander. It is impossible to undo the harm it causes. Priests are the apples of God's eyes. We much be careful what we say about them. 2476 False witness and perjury. When it is made publicly, a statement contrary to the truth takes on a particular gravity. In court it becomes false witness.275 When it is under oath, it is perjury. Acts such as these contribute to condemnation of the innocent, exoneration of the guilty, or the increased punishment of the accused.276 They gravely compromise the exercise of justice and the fairness of judicial decisions. 2477 Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury.277 He becomes guilty: - of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor; - of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another's faults and failings to persons who did not know them;278 - of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them. 2478 To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way: Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. and if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved.279 2479 Detraction and calumny destroy the reputation and honor of one's neighbor. Honor is the social witness given to human dignity, and everyone enjoys a natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect. Thus, detraction and calumny offend against the virtues of justice and charity.
I remember in Ireland we had a priest who was quite rich. He had his own farm and owned several race horses and was always of to the Race Meetings. But he was a very good priest and a really lovely man. Archbishop Vigano comes from one of the richest industrialist families in Italy. I recall Our Lady of Good Counsel did not condemn Catholics in our day who have loads of money for having money. She condemned them for not using some of it to help the Church.
Stay with us and with our priests, LORD JESUS. Let’s remember all priests and consecrated souls (be they good, bad, indifferent, and/or suffering) in our prayers, particularly when doing a holy hour, whether in an Adoration chapel or at home.
With every Rosary i have started praying those three Hail Mary's at the beginning for all priests bishops cardinals and all consecrated souls living and dead. That is my base line. I try to pray for certain priests and bishops in a special way too. The first Our Father is always for the Holy Father which is traditional.
I would say at least 90% of the priests I ever met were very holy. Some of them saintly. I remain very positive about them all. The Bishops however. Well they stay silent when they should have been speaking out.
--- Source: The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion https://championshrine.org/shepherd-project/ Call to Prayer Our church leaders, especially our Bishops, are entrusted with this mission in their own communities and we, as the Church, have a great responsibility in praying for them as they continue the good work. As our world faces a shortage of peace and an increase in division and attacks within our families and the Church, our Bishops are facing extreme challenges. This is why they need our prayers, now more than ever, for the grace necessary to heroically lead people of faith in these uncertain times. This is what inspired the Shrine’s Shepherd Project – a season of prayer for each and every Bishop across the United States, starting from the Shrine’s location in Wisconsin and emitting outward as the year goes on. Join us as we offer up our prayers for a Bishop a day to the Blessed Mother from May 1 to the end of October. In addition, a perpetual candle will be lit in the Shrine’s Apparition Oratory on behalf of the Bishops. *Please note that the Shrine will specifically be praying for the Ordinaries of each diocese. Auxiliary and Emeritus Bishops, while not called by name below, will be included in our prayers for the Bishop and their Diocese. Download Full List of Bishops [My note: The list includes US bishops only. Those outside the US can pray for their own bishops.] Click the link: Daily Prayer for Bishops
For those interested in keeping priests in prayer ... Foundation of Prayer for Priests https://www.foundationforpriests.org/ Information from the website: Our Mission The mission of the Foundation of Prayer for Priests is to spiritually advance and protect the holiness and fruitfulness of the ministerial Priesthood by forming a global family of intercessors dedicated to prayer, sacrifice, service, and study. Rooted in the Church’s Eucharistic life, our members affirm the indispensability of priests, and our need to see Jesus in them (cf. Jn 12:21). Who We Are The Foundation of Prayer for Priests is a private association of the faithful founded in 2013 with explicit support from the then Prefect of Rome’s Dicastery for the Clergy, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza. Our ministry is a response to the 2012 initiative of the Dicastery for the Clergy that calls for an international movement of continuous Eucharistic adoration and spiritual maternity (and later, spiritual paternity) for the sanctification of priests. The Foundation of Prayer for Priests is a ministry at the service of the ministerial priesthood wherein the laity are formed to draw special, needed graces upon priests. Praying for priests is a divine mandate, the duty and privilege of the lay faithful. The art of intercessory prayer for priests has spiritual depths only discovered in union with the Holy Trinity and the Blessed Mother. A work of the Holy Spirit and Mary this initiative has spread to thirteen countries. Our international family includes men, women, families, parishes, and dioceses who generously work and pray for the sanctification of priests. Our Vision The vision of the Foundation of Prayer for Priests derives from the Church’s vision for increasing continuous prayer and sacrifice specifically for priestly holiness. This vision is vital since, as St. John Vianney wrote, “When people want to destroy religion, they begin by attacking the priest.” Priests serve on the frontlines of the perennial spiritual battle for souls. Priests rightly count on the prayers of their people. We take to heart the words of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, “As the shepherd, so the sheep, as the priest, so the people. Priest-victim leadership begets a holy Church. Every worldly priest hinders the growth of the Church; every saintly priest promotes it. Every slightest failing on our part brings the community under the judgment of God. Every least increase of priestly virtue brings it blessing. It is true: holy Christians guarantee holy priests. If we desire holy priests, we also should mirror holiness for them” (The Priest Is Not His Own, Ignatius Press, 2005, 76-77). Our Four Pillars PRAYER. Members are very intentional about praying for priests in a variety of ways including, private and public Eucharistic holy hours. The holy Rosary is prayed by individuals, families, and prayer groups gathered in homes, or church. Devotions such the Divine Mercy chaplet and consecration to Mary are also prayed. SACRIFICE - Members “offer up” personal suffering, fast in some form, give alms; and love sacrificially. SERVICE - Spiritual mothers and fathers of priests may graciously offer to support their priest in a variety of ways as needed. STUDY - Members have access to formation programs in areas such as the spiritual life, priesthood, intercessory prayer, spiritual warfare, and building Eucharistic hearts and homes. Our programs include but are not limited to: The personal or communal offering of Eucharistic holy hours. Praying the Rosary for the protection, fruitfulness and sanctity of priests and for vocations. The formation of family, parish, or diocesan prayer groups called “FPP Vianney Cenacles”. An Adopt-A-Priest program in which individuals, or families, parishes or dioceses assign intercessors for each priest, including missionaries and retired clergy. Formation on the vocation to spiritual motherhood and fatherhood for priests. Catechesis on the interior life of prayer for the clergy and laity. Retreats and conferences for the clergy and laity. A Movement Rooted in the Eucharist No Priest. No Eucharist. In accord with the Vatican’s initiative, our members pray Eucharistic holy hours and attend Mass faithfully.
There is a new movement steming from the Divine Will spirituality called Mystical Mothers in which a woman adopts an unknown priest, prays for him daily and offers her sufferings (which may increase) for his ministry. It has spread to many countries throughout the world and has the approval of the bishop in whose diocese it is active.
For those who are busy, here's a short prayer: St. Therese of Lisieux’s Prayer for Priests O Jesus, eternal Priest, keep Your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart, where none may touch them. Keep unstained their anointed hands, which daily touch Your Sacred Body. Keep unsullied their lips, daily purpled with Your Precious Blood. Keep pure and unearthly their hearts, sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood. Let Your holy love surround them and shield them from the world’s contagion. Bless their labors with abundant fruit, and may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here, and in heaven, their beautiful and everlasting crown. (Source: https://ascensionpress.com/pages/st-therese-of-lisieux-s-prayer-for-priests)
Let's continue praying for priests, all consecrated souls, seminarians, and those discerning religious vocations. Watch Fr. Mark Goring’s homily on how to receive the Divine touch that the Lord desires to give to each of us in a unique and personal way. Fr. Mark recently announced that after seven years as pastor at St. Mary’s parish in Ottawa, he has been assigned to a new ministry in full-time evangelization. The priest who concelebrated today’s Mass, Fr. Francis Ching, who also belongs to the Companions of the Cross, is legally blind. God calls, equips, enables and empowers whom He wants, notwithstanding a person's disabilities. Fr. Francis is engaged in “full-time evangelization work: providing formation and training for the Fountain of Love and Life, giving retreats, parish missions, and workshops wherever [he’s] called to serve. Click here for a subtitled episode on [his] vocation story. Click here for a clip of how [he celebrates] Mass without being able to read." Source: https://companionscross.org/project/ching-fr-francis-new/
