Prayer for Priests
O Jesus, I pray for Your faithful and fervent priests; for Your unfaithful and tepid priests; for Your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields; for Your tempted priests; for Your lonely and desolate priests; for Your young priests; for Your dying priests; for the souls of Your priests in purgatory. But above all I recommend to You the priests dearest to me: the priest who baptized me; the priest who absolved me from my sins; the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion; the priests who taught and instructed me; all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way. O Jesus, keep them all close to Your heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen. St. Therese of Lisieux
On the Priest
Extracts from the Writings of St. John Vianney
“What is the priest? A man who holds the place of God, a man clothed with all the powers of God. Go, our Lord said to the priest, As my Father hath sent me , I also send you. “At the consecration the priest does not say, “This is the Body of our Lord.” He says, “This is my Body.” “At sight of aspire you may say, “What is there? The Body of our Lord — Why is it there? Because a priest has been there and has said Holy Mass. The priest is everything, after God!...When men want to destroy religion they begin by attacking the priest, Because where the priest is no more, there is no more sacrifice [of the Mass], and where there is no more sacrifice, there is no more religion. The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus. When you see the priest, think of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Lord God, Thank you for all priests. We know they do not seek or desire recognition for the Priesthood you have chosen them for, yet it is to You we wish to give thanks for calling them to guide and nourish our parish during the years of our existence. We ask You to bless them, wherever they are now, for providing the Eucharist for us - our “Food for the Journey” and for proclaiming “The Good News” with conviction and enthusiasm at St. Paul Parish.
Grant them the joy experienced on their Ordination Day all the days of their lives and look kindly upon them as they strive to do Your will. Bless them abundantly, care for them tenderly and above all, let them feel the love and appreciation We have for them. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.