Thursday Prayer for Our Precious Priests!

Every Thursday I receive this prayer request from a dear friend (via email) for our Priests, of which I'd like to share with all of you, won't you join me in this weekly devotion?

Dear Friends,
As we begin our Lenten journey this year let us keep our priests close in prayer.
May we all enter deeply into this journey of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

Thursday prayer ~

My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount
of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special
helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as
a sacrifice of love.
With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of
all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart
into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels
out with this chalice to all priests! Amen. ~from Chalice of Strength

Divine Savior Jesus Christ, who has entrusted the whole work of your redemption, the welfare and salvation of the world, to priests as your representatives, through the hands of your most holy Mother and for the sanctification of your priests and candidates for the priesthood, I offer you this present day wholly and entirely, with all its prayers, works, joys, sacrifices and sorrows. Give us truly holy priests who, inflamed with the fire of your divine love, seek nothing but your greater glory and the salvation of our souls. And you, Mary, good Mother of priests, protect all priests in danger of their holy vocation and, with the loving hand of a mother, also lead back to the Good Shepherd those poor priests who have become unfaithful to their exalted vocation and have gone astray. Amen.

 

Beautiful prayers! Thank you for sharing! Our prirsts desperately need our prayers!

 

Dear Friends,
Today we can join our prayers with the great apostle of Ireland, St. Patrick. Pray the Lenten journey of our priests draws them even closer to Our Lord.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

Thursday Prayer ~

My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount
of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special
helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as
a sacrifice of love.

With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of
all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart
into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels
out with this chalice to all priests! Amen.

Pray that God may give to His Church today many more Priests after His Own Heart. Pray for all Priests under thy patronage, that they may be worthy representatives of Christ the Good Shepherd. May they wholeheartedly devote themselves to prayer and penance; by examples of humility and poverty; shining models of holiness; tireless and powerful preachers of the Word of God; zealous dispensers of God's Grace in the Sacraments. May their loving devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist and to Mary His Mother be the Twin Fountains of fruitfulness for their ministry. Amen.

 

Dear Friends,
Please keep praying for our priests. In this time of purification and persecution the prayers are so needed. Even now the fruits and blessings are abundant. I ask that you keep Father Randy Miller, a priest in Jackson, Michigan, in prayer. He collapsed while distributing Holy Communion last weekend and died shortly thereafter. God bless you.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

Thursday Prayer ~

My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount
of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special
helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as
a sacrifice of love.
With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of
all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart
into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels
out with this chalice to all priests! Amen.

A Prayer For Priests

Mother of our Redeemer, in this era dedicated to you, with great joy we call you blessed. You believed in the Word of God the father and declared yourself His handmaid, and so, through you, the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. We salute you as Mother, our Mother, the Mother of the Church. With what great love you must have watched over the infant Church and what motherly solicitude encouraged the apostles as they committed themselves to carry on the work of Your Divine Son on earth. Make the Church ever to be the sign and instrument of intimate union with God.
To you, our Mother, we entrust in a special way all priests. To them has been given a special sharing in the priesthood of Your Divine Son. He has chosen them to be ministers of His Word and Sacrament. Ask Him to fill them with zeal, to keep them faithful and joyful in His service, conscious of the fact that they care and so bring glory to the father and honor to the Church.
Holy Mother, increase the ranks of our priests by inspiring our young people to be more generous in their response to serve Jesus in the priesthood and in religious life.
Sustain all of us, O Virgin Mary, on our journey of faith and obtain for us the grace of eternal salvation.

Fr. Randy served in my parish when I lived in Jackson... May he rest in peace...

 

I was at Mass yesterday morning at a packed country Parish. The priest who much have been in his 90's struggled up the aisle on a zimmer frame , on which he leaned very heavily , slowly and painfully to the altar. He was so frail he couldn't get up to read the Gospel , which was proclaimed by a ly person and they had special lights on the altar to let him see. It was clear he should have been on his sick bad or a nursing home getting lifted and laid.

The reason, I suspect he had not retired was that a previous much younger priest is under investigation for child abuse and has been for quite some time. This priest although strictly ordered not to by the Bishop has returned to the Parish on several occasions to, 'See friends' a bad, bad sign.

But the mass was so devout, they had rosary procalimed publically before mass and when I went to the little Adoration chapel after mass three parishioners were saying another rosary!! In fact nearly every time I go into this little chapel there is someone there praying quietly.

But it reminded me how very,very much we need to pray for our priests. They must be very , very hard up for vocations if they have to keep this poor man in harness in this very large, very busy parish. (Did you know that back in the 1940's one small Diocese in County Kerry sent 56 young priests to the USA because there wasn't room for them in Ireland, oh well..enough said)

I went to another sea side Parish and the very large Church was paked..this on a week day, with the rosary said publically, beautiful hymns said loudly and forcefully, prayer of the Church after Mass, a large group praying continuouslly in the prayer cahpel and the young priest greeting each parishioner as they left...this on a WEEK DAY.

I thought I was back in the Early Church. !!

So yes I will pray, it strikes me you know that the problem is not so much amongst the Catholic Faithful themselves here in Ireland when there is Devotion like this. I suspect the rot has set in in the CLERGY, SO , YES , PRAYER, PRAYER, PRAYER.



Some thoughts of the Holy Curé of ARS:

Oh! how I love those words said the first thing in the morning: I will do and suffer everything this day for the Glory of God...nothing for the world or personal interest, all to please my Savior! - Counsel (T.).

Does our conduct correspond with our Faith? - Sermon on the Incarnation 1.

God does not require of us extraordinary things. - Catechism on Pride (Sp.).

A pure soul is with God, as a child with its mother.It caresses and embraces her, and its mother returns all its enderments. - Cathechisme on the Soul (M.)

With the Name of Jesus we shall overthrow the demons; we shall put them to flight. With this Name, if they dare to attack us, our battles will be victories... -Sermon on Temptation (Sp)

Our Guardian Angels are our most faithful friends, because they are with us day and night, always and everywhere.We ought often to invoke them. - Sermon of the Guardian Angels.

The Saints were so dead to themselves that they care a little whether others agreed or not. - Cathechisme on Pride (Sp.).

There are people who make capital out of everything, even winter.If it is cold they offer their little suffering to God. Cathechisme Saying (Sp.).

He who does see, does not know; he who does not know, does not love; he who does love God, love himself, and at the same time love his pleasures. - Catechisme on the love of God (Sp.).

The Wise Men overcame every difficulty and surmonted every obstacle, in order to follow the Star; - Sermon on the Magi. Have a pure intention. - Consel (T.) God speaks to us without ceasing by his good inspirations. - Consel (T.). Avarice is an inordinate love of riches and and the good things of things of life. Jesus Christ,to cure us of it, was born in extreme poverty, deprived of all conforts.He chose a Mother was poor. He willed to pass as the son of humble workman. - Notre-Dame d’Ars, Meditation 23.

How pleasing to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrement is the short quarter of an hour that we steal from our occupations,from something of no use,to come and pray to him, to visit him,to console him. - Catechisme on real Presence (Sp.).

You must accepte your cross; if you baer it courageously it will carry you to Haeven. - Counsel (M.).

Happy is who lives and dies under the protection of the blessed virgin; - Sermon on the feast of the rosary. Do not be like the proud who always want to assert their own opinion... I have known people with whom this had become a daily habit. - On Mortifying Self-Will (C.).

After the exemple of St Antony ,my children let us be always ready for the combat... - Sermon on temtation (Sp.).

"When I am about to talk to anybody",said a young village girl,I picture to myself Jesus Christ and how gracious and friendly he was to everyone". -Jesus Christ our exemple (F.).

My children, we are in reality only what we are in the eyes of God, and nothing more. - Sermon on Pride (Sp.).

We ought to love what He loved on earth, and to set no store by those things which He regarded as of no account. - Sermon on the Incarnation,1.

Directly anyone feels they are losing their fervour, they sould at once make a Novena to the Holy Spirit, asking him to give them Faith and Love. - Catechisme on the Holy Spirit (Sp.).

We can only receive God once a day; a soul enkindled with divine love makes up for this by the desire of receiving him every moment of the day. - Catechisme on the Holy EUcharist (M.)

God will forgive those who have forgiven: that is the law. - Homely (Sp.)

In your work, offer your difficuties and troubles quite simply to God... and you will find that his blessing will rest upon you and all you do. - On the sanctification of Daily Life (É).

A Christian either rules his inclinations, or his inclanations rule him... -Homely on Temptations (Sp.).

One serves God better by doing things which one takes neither pleasure nor delight. -Sayings (J.V.).

A Merchant does not consider the trouble he undergoes in his commerce, but the profit he gains by it. - The Curé of Ars in his Catechisme (Sp.).

The more we know of men, the less we love them. It is the contary with God; the more we know of him, the more we love him. - Catechisme on the love of God (M.).

"Are we in afflication?" says St John Chrysostom;"we shall find all manner of consolation at Mass.Are we tempted? Let us hear Holy Mass, and we shall find there a way of overcoming the Devil." - Eucharistic Meditation 24

 

Dear Friends,
We find ourselves just a little more than two weeks away from Easter. This is an incredibly demanding time--both physically and spiritually--for our priests. Your prayers are a treasure for them. In the spirit of Lent, encourage your family and friends to be adding special prayers for them.

Pax Christi,
Kathy


My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount
of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special
helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as
a sacrifice of love.
With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of
all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart
into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels
out with this chalice to all priests! Amen..

My God, I pray for all your priests and beseech you to sanctify them. Let them love
their sacrifice deeply so that they may live it lovingly.
I beg you, grant them obedience, a spirit of detachment, a chastity which is constant and true, a spirit of self-denial, humility, sweetness, zeal and dedication.
I beg you that all those who may approach them may leave them with a greater
love for you. My God, I pray that through them your kingdom on earth may grow and
be strengthened. O Jesus, I promise with all my heart to sacrifice myself with you.
Amen. -Canon Formingao

 

ForHimthroughHer,

Thanks for pestering me! I'll lift them up at Adoration tonight!

Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!

 

Hi, just on my way back home from Medjugorje, I'm in Vienna but but missed you all so much I had to check in.
As you know Medjugorje is all about praying for priest and the emphasis was even more pronounced this trip than ever before. I had the sense while there that the battle is gaining momentum and Our Lady is calling more and more to the frontlines. We had one priest during his homily and tell us that the night before he was quitting the priesthood but that he had received such a miracle of brotherhood in Medjurgorje he was arming himself with Our Lady's mantle and marching on. There wasn't a heart that was not touched.

I lifted you all up several times a day asking for special graces, as I know you are so needed in this journey.

 

Thank you and God bless you Lee...

 

Dear Friends,

As we approach Holy Week remember our priests. They will be giving all to Our Lord, and to us.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

Thursday Prayer ~

My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as a sacrifice of love. With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels out with this chalice to all priests! Amen.

Prayer for Priests
O Jesus, our great High Priest,
Hear my humble prayers on behalf of your priests.
Give them a deep faith
a bright and firm hope
and a burning love
which will ever increase
in the course of their priestly lives.
In their loneliness, comfort them
In their sorrows, strengthen them
In their frustrations, point out to them
that it is through suffering that the soul is purified,
and show them that they are needed by the Church,
they are needed by souls,
they are needed for the work of redemption.

O loving Mother Mary, Mother of Priests,
take to your heart your sons who are close to you
because of their priestly ordination,
and because of the power which they have received
to carry on the work of Christ
in a world which needs them so much.
Be their comfort, be their joy, be their strength,
and especially help them to live and to defend the ideals of consecrated celibacy. Amen.

 

I think the problem is that throughout Europe, particularly in countries with France and Germany, the problem is a crisis of believers, or unbelievers. In Ireland, however, the opposite is true: there is a clergy crisis. We do not have enough priests and many priests that we do have choose to remain silent from preaching the whole truth, and many Bishops could be accused of this as well.

 

I think the clergy problem is the same in the US too, not enough and they are so complaicent...though a few are trying to preach the truth. Many are silenced by bishops here too, though. And here in the US, there seems to be a massive ignorance of the faith, the Catholic faith...even among the Catholics! Practically every day I am astounded by this. Sometimes the ignorant one is me! Other times it is my mom, or other parishiners and friends. There is so much to our faith that people just plain do not know. The Divine Mercy is a perfect example. I spent the day collecting information pamphlets and making some myself for the church to hand out to try to raise awareness. In doing this, I myself learned some things, and got to chat with a Poor Clare Nun...whose Monistary I didn't know existed within a city I have worked in for 25 years...until a few weeks ago! Truly, I am amazed every day, happily or sadly, but amazed nonetheless, by a faith that is 2000 years old, and yet so unknown to many as if it were something brand new. I pray for all priests to lead their flocks with truth and to teach them amazing facts, old facts, now seeming to be new!

 

Dear Friends,
Today we enter into the Sacred Triduum and recall the inestimable gifts that Our Lord gave us this day--The Eucharist and the Priesthood. Our prayers for our priests are a gift most of us cannot fully understand. They are under attack every second by Satan.

On this Holy Thursday I have a special prayer request for Fr. Joe Kallani in Kerala, India. He has ministered to persecuted Catholics in India for many years. God will surely reward his courage and faithfulness.

Remember the Divine Mercy Novena begins on Good Friday and ends on Divine Mercy Sunday, the Octave of Easter (the Sunday after Easter Sunday).
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm
Pope John Paul II had a great devotion to Saint Faustina, whom he canonized in 2000, and to the Divine Mercy, and over the past decade, the practice of the Divine Mercy novena has grown by leaps and bounds. This year, on Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI will preside at the beatification of Pope John Paul II. That makes participation in the Divine Mercy Novena this year all the more significant.

Pax Christi,
Kathy


Thursday Prayer ~

My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount
of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special
helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as
a sacrifice of love.
With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of
all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart
into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels
out with this chalice to all priests! Amen..


O Mary, Mother of Jesus
you were with Jesus
at the beginning of His life and mission.
You stood beside Jesus when He was lifted
on the cross and gave His life for all.
We ask you now to be with our priests,
who give themselves in service to God's people.
Intercede for them that they may grow in holiness;
proclaim God's word with courage;
celebrate the sacraments with joy;
and be among God's people as Jesus,
the Good Shepherd, was.
We offer this prayer to God, the Father,
through your intercession,
in the name of your Son, Jesus,
and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen

 

ForHimThroughHer,
Thank you for that wonderful post!

 

Your welcome...

 

Greetings this Thursday in the Octave of Easter,

Just a reminder to have Masses said for our priests as you are able. This is a beautiful way to express our gratitude to them and certainly a beautiful way for Our Lord to provide them with needed strength and grace. Here is a great website worth checking out: http://encouragepriests.org/site/home-page/
God bless you for taking time to thank a priest and pray for them! Enjoy the beautiful prayer for priests below composed by our almost Blessed John Paul II.

Please share this with friends who may also be interested in praying for our priests!

Pax Christi,
Kathy

My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount
of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special
helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as
a sacrifice of love.
With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of
all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart
into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels
out with this chalice to all priests! Amen.

Lord Jesus, once you called the first disciples in order to make them fishers of men. Continue to let resound today your sweet invitation: "Come and follow Me."
Grant to young men and women the grace of responding promptly to your voice.
Sustain our bishops, priests and consecrated souls in their apostolic work. Give
perseverance to our seminarians and to all those who are fulfilling the ideal of a life of
total consecration to your service.
Enkindle in our communities a missionary zeal. Send, Lord, workers into your fields
and do not let mankind be lost because of a lack of pastors, missionaries and people
dedicated to the cause of the Gospel.
Mary, Mother of the Church, model of vocations, help us say "yes" to the Lord who
calls us to collaborate in the divine design of salvation. Amen.
~Pope John Paul II

 

Sorry this is so late...

Dear Friends,
As I watch many of our priests struggling to care for parishioners in multiple parishes, I see them worn and weary sometimes. Action item for the week: ask a priest what you can do to help him. Everyone can do something from the practical to the spiritual. It can be as simple as offering to run an errand (pick up dry cleaning etc), cooking a meal (most priests do not eat properly because they are always taking care of us), helping out a group at church that needs support or praying a rosary for them. Pass this along and ask your friends to do it too! God bless you.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

Thursday Prayer ~

My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as a sacrifice of love. With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father, in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels out with this chalice to all priests! Amen.

Prayer for Priests Through the intercession of St John Vianney (patron saint of priests)

Eternal God,
Please bless our priests, who represent you on this earth. Make them more greatly aware of the grace that you pour out through them when they minister the sacraments, and help them to fall more deeply in love with you after each and every Mass that they celebrate. Please strengthen our priests, who shepherd your flock, when they are in doubt of their faith, that they may be examples of your truth and guide us always on the path to you. We ask these things of you our Eternal Priest. Amen

 

Friends,
Your gift of prayer for our priests will be blessed a hundredfold. God bless you for keeping them close.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount
of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special
helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as
a sacrifice of love.
With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of
all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart
into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels
out with this chalice to all priests! Amen.

Dear Lord, we pray that the Blessed Mother wrap her mantle around priests
and through her intercession strengthen them for their ministry.

We pray that Mary will guide priests to follow her own words, "Do whatever He tells you" (Jn 2:5).

May 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 priests be holy, filled with the fire of your love seeking nothing
but your greater glory and the salvation of souls. Amen.

St John Vianney, pray for us.

 

Dear Friends,

Especially during this Easter Season we remember the great treasure of His gift of the priesthood. God bless you for taking a minute to pray for them and encouraging others to do so.

Pax Christi,
Kathy

Thursday prayer ~

My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount
of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special
helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as
a sacrifice of love.
With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of
all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart
into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels
out with this chalice to all priests! Amen. ~from Chalice of Strength


Most gracious Heavenly Father,
We thank you for our faithful priests and bishops, whose spiritual fatherhood and example of fidelity, self-sacrifice, and devotion is so vital to the faith of your people.
May our spiritual fathers be guided by the examples of Saints Peter and Paul, all the Apostles and their saintly successors. Give them valiant faith in the face of confusion and conflict, hope in time of trouble and sorrow, and steadfast love for you, for their families, and for all your people throughout the world. May the light of your Truth shine through their lives and their good works.
Assist all spiritual fathers, that through your Grace they may steadily grow in holiness and in knowledge and understanding of your Truth. May they generously impart this knowledge to those who rely on them.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Dear Friends,
Your continued prayers are most appreciated by all priests and religious. May, dedicated to Our Lady, is a wonderful time to ask for her intercession on behalf of her beloved priests. Ask your friends and family to pray also. We all know how many prayers are offered for us by our priests.

Pax Christi,
Kathy


My God and Father, in response to the word of your Son on the Mount
of Olives, "Watch and pray with me," we ask you to accept us as special
helpers for your priests, on behalf of whom, we offer you each Thursday as
a sacrifice of love.
With a fervent desire of being such a helper of priests, I offer you, Father,
in complete confidence, each Thursday as a sacrifice of love on behalf of
all priests. Take this sacrifice of my poor love and transform it in your Heart
into the wine for the Chalice of Strength. Then, Father, send your angels
out with this chalice to all priests! Amen.

Prayer ~

O Jesus, Eternal Pontiff, Good Shepherd and Fountain of life, who by the special goodness of your Most Sweet Heart, have given us priests to fulfill in us the designs of sanctification which your grace inspires in our hearts, we ask you: come to their aid with the assistance of your mercy.
O Jesus, may they have in their labors a lively faith; in trials an unwavering trust; in
their decisions a burning charity.
Grant that your Word, the irradiation of the Eternal Wisdom, may become through
continuous meditation the never failing nourishment of their interior life. Let the
example of your life and passion animate their actions and sustain them in their
suffering, so that they may teach, enlighten and comfort us in our sorrows. Lord, grant
our priests the grace of detachment from purely worldly concerns. Let them be first
and foremost solicitous for your glory and keep them faithful to their duties.
Keep them pure in conscience till their last breath, so that when death comes to the
body, they may place into your hands their mission faithfully accomplished so that they
may find in you, Lord Jesus Christ, who on earth were their Master, the prize of the Crown
of Justice, in the glory of the saints. Amen.
-Pope Pius XII