P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H
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INTENTION : |
That the priests, united to the Heart of Christ, may always be true witnesses to the caring and merciful love of God.
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The Pope's intention this month invites us to pray lovingly for priests and for their service to God's people. Let us ask first of all that they may be united with Christ's Heart. It cannot be otherwise, given that their ministry springs from the Heart of the One Priest, Jesus Christ, mediator of the New Covenant. It is in his Heart that Christ has surpassed the old, external, ritual priesthood, and has changed it for an existential priesthood, interior and grounded in love. His Heart itself is the centre and source of the new Covenant. His priesthood is active for ever in heaven, where he never ceases to intercede for us with the Father.
The priestly Heart of Jesus is also the centre and foundation of the common priesthood of all the faithful which we receive at baptism. Because Jesus is priest in his Heart, all Christians can be priests with him and in him, offering their lives to the Father for their brothers and sisters, uniting their own hearts to his Heart. This is the interior, existential priesthood which the baptised are called to exercise on behalf of others. Thus they become apostles through prayer, offering on the interior altar of the heart the daily tasks lived for God: the work, prayers, joys and sufferings of each day.
The ministerial priesthood is at the service of the baptismal priesthood. We see that in the second part of the Pope's intention for prayer we are to ask that priests may 'always be true witnesses to God's solicitous and merciful love.' Ordained ministers celebrate the sacraments to nourish the Church's life. They are shepherds of the people, especially of the poorest. They accompany persons, families, communities, those who are called to reflect Christ's Heart.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations in 2008, speaks of the priest's role in the community:
Among those totally dedicated to the service of the Gospel, are priests, called to preach the word of God, administer the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation, committed to helping the lowly, the sick, the suffering, the poor, and those who experience hardship in areas of the world where there are, at times, many who still have not had a real encounter with Jesus Christ.
The Pope invites us to pray for priests because they are weak human beings, like everyone else, capable of feeling disheartened, sad and lonely. They need the support of our prayers. They also need to feel supported and loved by their communities. So, together with our prayer, we can also promote specific actions designed to consolidate, in parishes, schools and movements, an atmosphere of appreciation and valuing of their priests, not of criticism or antagonism. We want to teach our children and the members of our Christian communities to be close to their priests, to work with them, to offer them closeness and specific support. Creating a climate of affection and respect for the priestly ministry in the Christian community and in families will also have an effect on the priestly vocations that we need, pray for and hope for.
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