Christ, the Eternal High Priest

Join host Brian Patrick and I tomorrow at 8:40 AM for our continued series on 740 AM, Sacred Heart Radio, covering the annual Holy Thursday Letters to Priests.

We have arrived at the letter for 1997, during the proximate preparation for the Great Jubillee Year of the New Millennium. The letter begins with a reflection by Pope John Paul on his 50th Anniversary of Prietly Ordination and concludes with a reflection of Christ, the Eternal High Priest, using the Litany of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim, as a starting point. The Litany was prayed in the seminary in Krakow the night before a priestly ordination, and the Holy Father brings us back to that momentuous day in his life.

"To guard the deposit of faith"

Tomorrow morning, host Brian Patrick and I continue our series on Pope John Paul's 'Holy Thursday Letters to Priests.' We have arrived at the year 1993, and the publication of the 'new Catechism.' A snippet:


It is fitting to include in our thanksgiving this year a particular element of gratitude for the gift of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This text is a response to the mission which the Lord has entrusted to his Church: to guard the deposit of faith and to hand it down intact, with authority and loving concern, to coming generations.

The result of the fruitful cooperation of the Bishops of the Catholic Church, the Catechism is entrusted above all to us, the Pastors of God's People, in order to strengthen our deep bonds of communion in the same apostolic faith. As a compendium of the one perennial Catholic faith, it constitutes a trustworthy and authoritative means for bearing witness to and ensuring that unity in faith for which Christ himself prayed fervently to the Father as his "hour" drew near (cf. Jn 17:21-23).

The Catechism sets forth once more the fundamental and essential contents of Catholic faith and morality as they are believed, celebrated, lived and prayed by the Church today. It is thus a special means for deepening knowledge of the inexhaustible Christian mystery, for encouraging fresh enthusiasm for prayer intimately united with the prayer of Christ and for strengthening the commitment of a consistent witness of life.

Join us at 8:30 AM on 740 AM Sacred Heart Radio, or online at www.sacredheartradio.com

Get Ready for some Explosions

Bishop Olmstead, rector of the Josephinum during my time there as an undergrad, pens another extraordinary article for the Year for Priests in his diocesan paper:

Conclusion:

Get ready for explosions

The history of the Church is a history of martyrs. The 20th century saw more martyrs than any previous ones. Rather than stifling her growth, fierce persecution has had the opposite effect. It has made the faith grow stronger. This is certainly true in Mexico, through the faithful witness of Blessed Miguel Pro and his many companion-martyrs.

Should we expect, in our day, not to face opposition for the sake of the Gospel? Should we priests expect to be treated with honor in the public square, or should we rather expect to share not only in Christ’s priesthood but also in his mission as victim? We would do well to remember the words of the Maryknoll missionary to China, Bishop James Edward Walsh, who wrote: “Christianity is not a private way of salvation and a guide to a pious life; it is a way of world salvation and a philosophy of total life. This makes it a sort of dynamite. So when you send missioners out to preach it, it is well to get ready for some explosions.”

Thanks to New Advent

1989 Letter to Priests

Join host Brian Patrick and I on the Son Rise Morning Show tomorrow morning at 8:40 AM for our continuing discussion of Pope John Paul's annual Holy Thursday Letter to Priests. We will tackle the 1989 Letter which follows on the heals of the release of Apostolic Exhortation on the Laity and deals with the role of the priest in building the laity into the People of God.

Are you resolved....

In the continuing 'Reflections from the Archbishop Secretary' for the Year for Preists, comes this note from Archbishop Mauro Piacenza:


Dear Brothers in the Priesthood,

The one motivation for our lives and for our ministry is Jesus of Nazareth, Lord and Christ! The existence of Priests finds in Him, and only in Him, its origin, its aim and the development proper to it in time. The intimate and personal relationship with the Risen Lord, living and present, is really the only experience which might drive a man to give himself completely to God for his brethren.

We know well, dear brothers, how the Lord seduced us, how his fascination was irresistible for everyone, as the prophet says, “O LORD, you seduced me, and I was seduced; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed” (Jer. 20: 7). This fascination, like every truly valuable thing, needs to be continually defended, treasured, protected and cultivated lest it be lost or, perhaps worse still, lest it become a faded memory which is unable to take on the sometimes aggressive thrust of the world’s reality. The divine intimacy, the origin of every apostolate, is the secret for treasuring in an enduring fashion the fascination of Christ.

We are priests prior to any other reason, however good, to be “united more closely to Christ the High Priest”, united to Him who is our only salvation, the Love of our hearts, the Rock on which we build every act of our ministry, He who knows us more closely than we know our own selves, and whom we desire more than any other thing. Christ the High Priest draws us within himself. This union with Him, which the Sacrament of Order is, carries with it a participation in His offering: “Being united to Christ calls for renunciation. It means not wanting to impose our own way and our own will, not desiring to become someone else, but abandoning ourselves to him, however and wherever he wants to use us” (Benedict XVI, Homily, Holy Mass of Chrism 9th April 2009). The expression, “to be united” reminds us that none of this is our work, the result of our own efforts, but the work of Grace within us: it is the Spirit who unites us ontologically to Christ the Priest and gives us the strength to persevere, all the way to the end, in this participation in the divine work and thus also in the divine life. The “pure victim” then, which Christ the Lord is, reminds each of us of the irreplaceable value of celibacy, which implies perfect continence for the Kingdom of Heaven, and that purity which renders our offering for our fellow man “pleasing unto God”.

May the intimacy of Jesus Christ and the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the all-beautiful” and “all-pure”, sustain us in this daily journey of participation in that Work of Another, in which the priestly ministry consists, knowing that such a participation is replete with salvation above all for us who live it: Christ, in that sense, is our life.

+Mauro Piacenza
Titular Archbishop of Vittoriana
Secretary

Jesus, The New High Priest

My next series in the Catholic Telegraph, on the Year for Priests runs this week.

We have been examining the development of priestly identity in the Jewish Scriptures over these last few months, culminating my last column with Jesus fulfilling the Passover rituals during His entrance into glory through His Paschal mystery.

Even with these discussions, there remains debate among Scripture scholars about Jesus’ own identity as a priest: ‘Did Jesus identify Himself as a priest?’ It seems like such an obvious question, yet debate rages.

A major factor that argues against Jesus’ self identity as a priest is that His ancestry is through the tribe of Judah, not Levi, the priestly tribe. We have already discussed how the tribe of Levi took over the priestly duties because of their zeal, so we see Jesus returning to an even older source of the priesthood in Melchizedek, which remains the source of the Catholic Priesthood..

But it still does not answer how Jesus identifies himself as a priest, and while we can certainly look to the events of His passion to see Jesus as a priest; for those who can see, Jesus’ priestly identity is manifest even from the beginning of his public ministry.

Turning to the Gospel of Mark, we see Jesus affect three healings that would, in the Mosaic Law Code, cause Him to contract ritual impurity: the healing of a leper, the curing of the woman afflicted with the hemorrhage, and the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead. In the Jewish mindset, all three of these events brought impurity upon the one who touched the other. Yet, especially in the curing of the woman with the hemorrhage in Mark 5:25-34, Jesus feels power going out of him. His purity and close connection with the Father enables Him to perform a priestly function in restoring others to health, to wholeness.

Admittedly, these references do not seem to have much to do with a priestly identity, but they come to light through a reading of the Passion Narratives. While all the Passion Narratives have priestly language, it comes through strongest in the Gospel of John. In fact, chapter 17 is known as the Great Priestly Prayer of Jesus in which he prays for His disciples that we might be drawn into the unity that exists between Him and His Father in Heaven. (Which is what priests still pray during the Mass.)

Even more telling is the confrontation between Jesus and Caiaphas and Annas, the high priest and his father, respectively, at the time of Jesus’ trial. In John’s account, Jesus is clearly in charge of the proceedings. He does not go as an unwilling lamb, meek and humble; He goes forward as a priest willingly offering Himself as a sacrifice.

A deeper sign that Jesus truly does identify Himself as the new High Priest is easy to miss. When he is stripped prior to being nailed on the Cross, there is a curious detail that His tunic was ‘woven in one piece from top to bottom and had no seam. (John 19:24)’ While seemingly insignificant, in the description of the High Priest’s garments in the Old Testament (See Leviticus 16), we see that the high priest as a descendent of Aaron would wear a seamless tunic made of linen during the Day of Atonement, when he offered sacrifice for the sake of the people, creating strong parallels with Jesus’ self sacrifice. These are but some of the intricate details that show Jesus truly as the new High Priest, fulfilling all the promises of the Old Covenant, and inaugurating the New and Everlasting Covenant in His own blood.

****

To learn more about Jesus, the High Priest, the faithful of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati are invited to the next Call of the King Conference, which is taking place at 7:00 PM on September 27^th at Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center in Norwood or October 11^th at Holy Angels in Sidney. Archbishop Dennis Schnurr is delivering the keynote address on building a culture of vocations in the parish and diocese. Please see http://stmichaelprayerwarriors.wordpress.com for more information, and join us in support of your priests during this Year for Priests.

Year for Priests

Lighthouse Catholic Media's monthly release is entitled 'Year for Priests,' a talk given by Prof. Michael Barber, with a bonus talk by Chase Hilgenbrinck, who recently gave up a career in professional soccer to enter the seminary. I'm tempted to go drive around for an hour or two just to listen!

Find more on Lighthouse at: www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org

Michael Barber is one of a trio at The Sacred Page (along with Brant Pitre and John Bergsma). Prof. Barber's weekly reflections on the readings are of particular note.

Vocation Advice

from one of the best in the Biz, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York.

His four points:

1) Emphasize the Vocation of Marriage and Family

2) Re-creat a culture of vocations

3) The laity need not be afraid of asking their priests to help them to be holy

4) Priests must be reminded that they are here to help the laity get to heaven

It's just that simple, no?

Preach on, Holy Father

Tomorrow morning sees the continuance of our series on Sacred Heart Radio of John Paul's 'Letters to Priests.'

We've made it up to 1984, but it's not a letter. Rather, his homily to a gathering of priests during the Holy Year of Redemption.

Listen in at 8:40 AM on 740 AM, Sacred Heart Radio, or online at www.sacredheartradio.com (They usually replay during the national hour on either Thursday or Friday, too.)

1983 Year of Redemption

Join host Brian Patrick and I as we discuss Pope John Paul's 1983 Letter to Priests tomorrow morning at 8:40 AM on 740 AM, Sacred Heart Radio.

1983 was a Jubilee Year for Redemption, as it was the 1950th anniversary of Christ's redeeming death on the Cross. We'll focus on how the priest's zeal affects the laity's zeal, among the call for increased use of the Sacrament of Confession.

Go Up to the Altar of God

My next article for the Catholic Telegraph appears this week, focusing on the rise of Temple Sacrifice in Old Testament Judaism. Connections to Christ will be made in my next article.

As the Israelites moved from a nation on the move to settling in cities in the newly conquered Promised Land, one of the first desires was to build a suitable house for the Lord, as David desires in Second Samuel. The People of Israel had been worshiping God in the Tent of Meeting since the time of the Exile some 200 years prior, and now that they were established, a permanent structure was seen as fitting.

However, because David had too much blood on his hands, God chose his son Solomon to build the original Temple in Jerusalem, on the highest mountain within the City of David, where it continues to stand, now under the Dome of the Rock Mosque.

The location that was chosen was not accidental. Throughout the Scriptures, sacrifice is offered to God not in the low places, swamps and marshes; but rather on the mountains so that they could be ‘closer’ to God, at least metaphorically: Noah offers his sacrifice on coming out of the Ark on Mt. Ararat, Abraham ‘sacrifices’ Isaac on Mt. Moriah, Moses’ sacrifice upon Mt. Sinai, and Solomon builds the Temple upon Mt. Zion. This ‘ascent’ represents a lifting of hearts and minds to the God of Heaven and orients us towards the life to come, rather than life here on earth. We can see this reflected in architecture that raises the altar and the main sanctuary in Catholic church buildings so that we, too, may lift our eyes to the Lord.

Worship in the Old Covenant, however, was not just the ‘lifting of eyes to the Lord.’ It was very much centered around sacrifice. Daily in the Temple, at 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, the Tamid would be offered before the Lord. This offering of a lamb, bread and wine was a continual reminder that the People of Israel were to be offered to God. They are marked as God’s Chosen People, and the lamb is symbolic of an offering of self to the Lord God. In this way, all the people participated in Temple worship on a daily basis.

Yet, there was more than one type of sacrifice offered in the Temple, so that while the Tamid was the high point of the day, animals were being offered continually to the Lord through the ministry of the priests, of particular note for our discussion here is the Sin Offering discussed in Leviticus 4. Here, the layman brought an animal before the priest and laid his hands upon it, confessing his sins to the priest as he did so, symbolically placing them upon the head of the sacrifice. The layman then slits the throat and cleans and prepares the animal, which is then presented to the priest. The priest has caught the blood of the animal, and, with the rest of the carcass, burns the sacrifice on behalf of the layman on the Altar of God.

In looking at the Catholic Mass of today, strong parallels leap forward to bring us not just to Jesus’ offering of self on the Cross, but back to the very foundations of sacrifice as instituted by God, through Moses, on Mt. Sinai. God truly has planned this out from the beginning. As we enter into the deep mysteries we celebrate at every Mass, all of history becomes present in an eternal, and now even greater, offering back to God the Father, for it is now the offering of Christ back to His Eternal Father. Reality is never more “real” than in the Eucharist!

Hence, as Catholics, we see the great need for our priests. It is the priest alone who, unworthy though he is, presides at these great cosmic mysteries. Here, he offers not just the bread and wine to be turned to the Body and Blood of Christ, but also himself and his people, who are no longer just chosen, but adopted to be sons and daughters of God, in Christ.

For more information on the priesthood and the Year for Priests, visit www.cincinnativocations.org

No one can take His place

“The priest offers the holy Sacrifice in persona Christi, this means more than offering “in the name of” of “in the place of” Christ. In persona means in specific sacramental identification with “the eternal High Priest” who is the author and principal subject of this sacrifice of his, a sacrifice in which, in truth, nobody can take his place.”

Wanna hear more? Join us this Wednesday at 8:40 AM on 740 AM Sacred Heart Radio, for discussion of John Paul's 1980 Letter to Priests: Dominicae Cenae, On the Mystery and Worship of the Eucharist

Article #3 for the day!

comes from Adoro and the importance of priestly celibacy.

Another article

this one the editorial from the Catholic Telegraph.

Thanks, Tricia!

The Priesthood - A Priceless Gift

As the Year for Priests begings, articles on the priesthood are popping up everywhere, from all different sides.

I found this one, by Gary Zirnak, to be edifying.

Zeal for Salvation

My next submission to the Catholic Moment in the Catholic Telegraph, paper of record in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati:

In my last column, Melchizedek was upheld as the first model of priesthood in the Scriptures. This initial model was rather short lived, unfortunately. During the Exodus, the Tribe of Levi claimed the priestly responsibilities of the Jewish people. This shift proves pertinent for our ongoing discussion regarding the Year for Priests.

As the People of Israel moved out of Egypt, they were to sacrifice the animals that represented the gods of Egypt: goats, sheep and bulls. This was a time of purification so they could worship the One True God with clean hearts and souls. The purification, however, was long in coming, and as Moses was atop Mt. Sinai in conversation with The One Who Is, his older brother Aaron shaped the Golden Calf for the people to worship. Israel’s constant struggle with Idolatry, the worship of false gods, had finally born fruit; and God’s wrath was ablaze.

We pick up the story in Exodus 32 as Moses returns to the camp to rally “whoever is for the LORD.” The Levites rush to the aid of Moses, who then commissions them: "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Put your sword on your hip, every one of you! Now go up and down the camp, from gate to gate, and slay your own kinsmen, your friends and neighbors!" The Levites carried out the command of Moses, and that day there fell about three thousand of the people. Then Moses said, "Today you have been dedicated to the LORD, for you were against your own sons and kinsmen, to bring a blessing upon yourselves this day." (Ex 32:27-29)

This seems like a very harsh treatment on God’s part against those who sinned, setting up the false dichotomy of this seemingly hard handed approach versus the image of a Loving God as presented in the New Testament.

At this time in history, God was working to purify and cleanse the people of Israel from the lasting effects of several hundred years in Egypt. When it comes to ritual and worship, He demands a purity of heart, as well as a purity of experience. When the leaders of the people, who should have known better, lead the people into sin, there must be an account to pay, and the Levites, with their zeal for serving the Lord before all else, gladly rise to the challenge. Dialogue is not the answer, purity and a quest for the Truth are. For the Levites, living according to God’s plan was more important than living, and such an extreme response might call their kinsmen to repentance.

Therefore, we start to realize that the main opposition that Jesus had against the Levitical priests in his day is that they have fallen from their original zeal in serving the LORD above all else. They placed a desire for prestige among men before the desire to serve God.

This initial zeal for the salvation of souls as exhibited by the Levites is what caused them to be selected and consecrated to serve the LORD exclusively. It is this same zeal for the salvation of souls which must be a constitutive aspect of the character of men studying for the priesthood today. The men in formation must put the desire for serving God above the desire for prestige and honor; for even though these come to the priest by virtue of his office, the question he will be asked upon his final judgment will more likely be along the line of: “How many souls did you save?”

This orientation towards salvation of souls is one that can be difficult to achieve, for Jesus promises that as He has been persecuted, so will those who follow Him. Yet, we all work to build a place in the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us all model and imitate the zeal of the Levites in striving for purity of heart in worship, and if the LORD is calling you to spend your life for the salvation of your brothers and sisters, visit www.cincinnativocations.org.

These are supposed to run at Catholic Exchange and on NCDVD.org as well, but I haven't seen them there, yet.

The Year for Priests

An email received from the Congregation for the Clergy:

Dear Priests,

 

          The Year of Priesthood, announced by our beloved Pope Benedict XVI to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the death of the saintly Curé of Ars, St. John Mary Vianney, is drawing near. It will be inaugurated by the Holy Father on the 19^th June, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. The announcement of the Year of Priesthood has been very warmly received, especially amongst priests themselves. Everyone wants to commit themselves with determination, sincerity and fervour so that it may be a year amply celebrated in the whole world – in the Dioceses, parishes and in every local community – with the warm participation of our Catholic people who undoubtedly love their priests and want to see them happy, holy and joyous in their daily apostolic labours.

         

It must be a year that is both positive and forward looking in which the Church says to her priests above all, but also to all the Faithful and to wider society by means of the mass media, that she is proud of her priests, loves them, honours them, admires them and that she recognises with gratitude their pastoral work and the witness of the their life. Truthfully priests are important not only for what they do but also for who they are. Sadly, it is true that at the present time some priest have been shown to have been involved in gravely problematic and unfortunate situations. It is necessary to investigate these matters, pursue judicial processes and impose penalties accordingly. However, it is also important to keep in mind that these pertain to a very small portion of the clergy.  The overwhelming majority of priests are people of great personal integrity, dedicated to the sacred ministry; men of prayer and of pastoral charity, who invest their entire existence in the fulfilment of their vocation and mission, often through great personal sacrifice, but always with an authentic love towards Jesus Christ, the Church and the people, in solidarity with the poor and the suffering. It is for this reason that the Church is proud of her priests wherever they may be found. 

         

May this year be an occasion for a period of intense appreciation of the priestly identity, of the theology of the Catholic priesthood, and of the extraordinary meaning of the vocation and mission of priests within the Church and in society. This will require opportunities for study, days of recollection, spiritual exercises reflecting on the Priesthood, conferences and theological seminars in our ecclesiastical faculties, scientific research and respective publications.

         

The Holy Father, in announcing the Year in his allocution on the 16^th March last to the Congregation for the Clergy during its Plenary Assembly, said that with this special year it is intended “to encourage priests in this striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends”. For this reason it must be, in a very special way, a year of prayer by priests, with priests and for priests, a year for the renewal of the spirituality of the presbyterate and of each priest. The Eucharist is, in this perspective, at the heart of priestly spirituality. Thus Eucharistic adoration for the sanctification of priests and the spiritual motherhood of religious women, consecrated and lay women towards priests, as previously proposed some time ago by the Congregation for the Clergy, could be further developed and would certainly bear the fruit of sanctification.

 

          May it also be a year in which the concrete circumstances and the material sustenance of the clergy will be considered, since they live, at times, in situations of great poverty and hardship in many parts of the world.  

 

          May it be a year as well of religious and of public celebration which will bring the people – the local Catholic community – to pray, to reflect, to celebrate, and justly to give honour to their priests. In the ecclesial community a celebration is a very cordial event which expresses and nourishes Christian joy, a joy which springs from the certainty that God loves us and celebrates with us. May it therefore be an opportunity to develop the communion and friendship between priests and the communities entrusted to their care.

 

          Many other aspects and initiatives could be mentioned that could enrich the Year of Priesthood, but here the faithful ingenuity of the local churches is called for. Thus, it would be good for every Dioceses and each parish and local community to establish, at the earliest opportunity, an effective programme for this special year. Clearly it would be important to begin the Year with some notable event. The local Churches are invited on the 19^th June next, the same day on which the Holy Father will inaugurate the Year of Priesthood in Rome, to participate in the opening of the Year, ideally by some particular liturgical act and festivity. Let those who are able most surely come to Rome for the inauguration, to manifest their own participation in this happy initiative of the Pope.

 

          God will undoubtedly bless with great love this undertaking; and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Clergy, will pray for each of you, dear priests.

 

Cláudio Cardinal Hummes

Archbishop Emeritus of São Paulo

Prefect, Congregation for the Clergy.

Plenary Indulgence for Year for Priests

Well, you can't get a plenary indulgence for visiting Ten Reasons, but the host over there is celebrating a birthday today! (SHHHH!!! Don't tell anyone!)

BUT, word comes from the friendly folks at the Son Rise Morning Show (who's friendlier, Matt or Anna? I'll let you all decide) that you CAN get a plenary indulgence for the year for priests!

Details from the Vatican Information Service:

VATICAN CITY, 12 MAY 2009 (VIS) - According to a decree made public today and signed by Cardinal James Francis Stafford and Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, O.F.M. Conv., respectively penitentiary major and regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Benedict XVI will grant priests and faithful Plenary Indulgence for the occasion of the Year for Priests, which is due to run from 19 June 2009 to 19 June 2010 and has been called in honour of St. Jean Marie Vianney.

The period will begin with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, "a day of priestly sanctification", says the text, when the Pope will celebrate Vespers before the relics of the saint, brought to Rome for the occasion by the bishop of the French diocese of Belley-Ars. The Year will end in St. Peter's Square, in the presence of priests from all over the world "who will renew their faithfulness to Christ and their bonds of fraternity".

The means to obtain the Plenary Indulgence are as follows:

(A) All truly penitent priests who, on any day, devotedly pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle, and ... offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Penance, will be granted Plenary Indulgence, which they can also apply to their deceased confreres, if in accordance with current norms they take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Priests are furthermore granted Partial Indulgence, also applicable to deceased confreres, every time they devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them.

(B) All truly penitent Christian faithful who, in church or oratory, devotedly attend Holy Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mould them to His Heart, are granted Plenary Indulgence, on the condition that they have expiated their sins through Sacramental Confession and prayed in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. This may be done on the opening and closing days of the Year of Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.

The elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain Plenary Indulgence if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the usual three conditions, "on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles".

Partial Indulgence is offered to all faithful each time they pray five Our Father, Ave Maria and Gloria Patri, or any other duly approved prayer "in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life".

It's our turn!

The Holy Father announces a Year for Priests, from 19 June, 2009, to 19 June, 2010.

More later, gonna be a busy day here. heading out for a dermatologist appointment, then off to Dayton for a Discernment Group meeting at the University of Dayton (which is preceded by a few individual meetings as well.)