Initiatives for the Year for Priests

Posted on 20 June 2009 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I asked at another time what your personal initiatives are for this Year for Priests.

What are your local organized initiatives at the parish, school, diocesan level?

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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24 Responses to Initiatives for the Year for Priests

  1. Martha M. Pavlick says:
    20 June 2009 at 10:27 am

    A small newly-formed group of Regnum Christi members is surprising our three Capuchin friars by decorating permanently mounted bulletin boards at the rear entrance to the church. Each board will have a photographic history of one friar’s career; the fourth board holds the iconic Y of P poster as well as two prayers for priests and a message of well-wishing from the parish family.

  2. Servant of the Liturgy says:
    20 June 2009 at 10:32 am

    All that’s in the works right now is a prayer written by the Bishop and two members of the Chancery that is not yet widely known about. In other news, the local Church where the EF is celebrated regulary is having a Solemn High Mass to close the Pauline Year. I’m confident the Diocese will have such events for the Year of the Priest as well. Well wishes to all of our priests in their celebrations and contemplations throughout this year!

  3. inillotempore says:
    20 June 2009 at 10:56 am

    I wished my priest well and kissed his hand.

  4. cath says:
    20 June 2009 at 11:07 am

    You might like to see the video to his diocese of Westminster of Archbishop Nichols – I was delighted to see his call for recitation of the Rosary, weekly eucharistic adoration and revival of the 40 Hours devotion. You can see the video on the following link.
    http://vimeo.com/5200273

  5. William H. Phelan says:
    20 June 2009 at 11:15 am

    I am very fortunate in that although I am in an FSSP chapel with four superb priests (this no boast, but the caliber of their sermons is college level and above), we are in the Diocese of Paterson, N.J. Our Ordinary is Bp. Arthur Serratelli who is doing all in his power to restore orthdoxy to the diocese. Bp. Serratelli was recently written up by Father Z. as Bp. S. has been spearheading the new ICEL translation for approval by the American bishops. I heard that a great priest who has been on the “outs” due to his orthodoxy (he is also trained as an attorney)for decades was recently given a parish by Bp. S. to be the pastor!

    Very good news indeed.

  6. Jayna says:
    20 June 2009 at 12:12 pm

    I keep checking the website for the Archdiocese, hoping that they’ll mention it – nothing so far. There’s an article praising liturgical dance, though…so we got that going for us. I’m going to try and lobby for some kind of organized activity in my parish. Perhaps a prayer group that meets in the chapel to pray for vocations/priests on some kind of regular basis over the year.

  7. Seminarian says:
    20 June 2009 at 12:15 pm

    Our Archbishop (God bless him!) composed a prayer for vocations to the Priesthood, and asked that it be prayed at the end of every Mass, in every parish of the Archdiocese, for the entire Year of the Priest! He also set up a chapel for Perpetual Adoration to pray for vocations in the Archdiocese.

    Who can doubt that such Faith-based initiatives will bear much fruit in terms of priestly vocations?!!

  8. Dominican says:
    20 June 2009 at 12:48 pm

    Prayer and penance! This can be a year of great holiness not just for priests but for the whole Church if we don’t get caught up so much in activities but desire for our priests and for the Church a great holiness and union with God.

  9. carl says:
    20 June 2009 at 2:11 pm

    I’m organizing prayer for the priests of my diocese (Denver). I need to see every priest ‘adopted’ by one of the faithful, so that each priest is prayed for each day throughout the Year for Priests. If anyone here is interested in supporting Ap. Chaput’s priests, please contact me through my blog.

  10. Ken Simpson says:
    20 June 2009 at 3:18 pm

    The parish priest of Marychurch, Hatfield, Westminster Diocese, UK, Fr Philip Knights, has challenged his parishioners to raise the cost of training a priest in Africa for the Year of the Priest; a target of £5000, I think. No small challenge. I wish them success.

  11. Charivari Rob says:
    20 June 2009 at 4:02 pm

    Our Archdiocese has a section on the front page of the main website – information about the Year for Priests, St. John Vianney, a link to the Pope’s address on the topic, a link to the USCCB, and a link to information on related indulgences. No particular events posted yet.

    Our parish hasn’t planned anything formal, yet.

    We just got a new pastor (shared), so most people have just been getting to know him and along the way expressing their gratitude that he is here (the parishes involved have been bumping along for years with temporary administrators).

    We also have a newly ordained priest, for whom we’re grateful, and have made a point to welcome. Some of us have been discussing our group behavior in terms of not ruining or alienating this young man with actions that would bounce off one of the thicker-skinned, more-experienced priests we’re more used to.

  12. Dee says:
    20 June 2009 at 4:17 pm

    A young man in our parish (a convert)has applied to get into the diocesan seminary. He’s waiting now to learn if he was accepted. Before he could even apply, though, he had to have made some progress toward getting his undergrad degree. Since he works full-time and is from a lower-working-class background money is a real problem for him. I paid for one of his college classes (anonymously)to do what I could to help him qualify for the seminary. I also pray for vocations at Eucharistic adoration.

  13. Dee says:
    20 June 2009 at 4:23 pm

    Oops — looks like I posted the previous in the wrong section. Please feel free to delete the post, Fr.Z., since it doesn’t belong in this section.

  14. qfnol31 says:
    20 June 2009 at 4:32 pm

    The National Shrine, where I frequent Mass, opened the Year for Priests with a Mass with Cardinal McCarrick and invited local priests to concelebrate. I know they will be praying for priests each week and will add three hours of Adoration from Tuesday through Thursday mornings.

    There are a few more things happening, but I will give these for now.

  15. ckdexterhaven says:
    20 June 2009 at 5:14 pm

    There’s a prayer and fasting for 40 days starting on June 19- August ? (whatever 40 days is, can’t look it up right now.)- Diocese of Raleigh.

  16. Phoenix says:
    20 June 2009 at 5:22 pm

    Prayer for priests after every Sunday Mass throughout the Year
    Litany for priests after every Thursday evening Mass
    Plus, explanation of available plenary indulgences for the Year in bulletin

  17. Stephanie says:
    20 June 2009 at 6:18 pm

    Although it is just someting small…., i started a group on facebook called “Year of the Priests” and in it I hope to help promote praying for priests and showing that they deserve our respect and kindness :-)

  18. Matthew G. Hysell says:
    20 June 2009 at 9:28 pm

    As for this year’s Pauline jubilee, the Mark Seven Bible Institute is focusing on Luke-Acts. Next year, for the Year of the Priest, we will study Hebrews to better understand the priesthood of Christ and the participation of ordained priests in His one Great High Priesthood.

    Your prayers are most welcome.

  19. Patricia Gonzalez says:
    20 June 2009 at 11:00 pm

    AFAIK, there is nothing planned in either or diocese of Valleyfield, Quebec, or in our parish. If anyone reading this is aware of any activities, I hope they will post them. I’d hate to think that this year will be unacknowledged by either the diocese or my own parish.

  20. Anna says:
    21 June 2009 at 2:39 am

    We had Mass Friday evening, Father has placed a statue of St. John Vianney on altar near the front, with a bowl and papers to write the names of priests to be remembered in our prayers at Mass, to be kept there all year.

  21. Another says:
    21 June 2009 at 4:23 am

    The Melkite Eparch of Australia and New Zealand has commended to his priests the Servant of God, the Venerable Father Bechara Abou-Mourad, the Salvatorian monk, as an example of a pastor and shepherd, saying “Let us imitate his virtues and his missionary zeal”, and promises to provide a detailed biography of this monastic priest in his weekly letters over the next year (his letters on St. Paul for the Pauline year were recently published in Lebanon).
    http://www.saintelias.org/beta/SaintsMain.html

  22. California Girl says:
    21 June 2009 at 7:31 pm

    Our diocese has long had a \”pray for a priest a day\” calendar–1st of the month, pray for the Pope; next 3 days, pray for our bishops; then the rest of the month, each priest is listed in alphabetical order, one per day. It takes quite a few months to go through them all, then restarts.

    In our parish, our pastor had a Holy Hour/Vespers service at 6PM Friday evening, to launch the Year of the Priest. (Then everyone was invited to a great dinner over in the parish hall!)

  23. Gareth says:
    22 June 2009 at 5:55 am

    I’ve suggested that priests of the diocese who have not yet had the opportunity, be sponsored on a trip to Rome.

  24. Robert says:
    22 June 2009 at 12:55 pm

    Here is what the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Grand Rapids, Mich) has planned following the 12:30pm EF Mass on Sundays:

    Attention Mothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Community
    On June 19, 2009, (The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) Pope Benedict XVI will dedicate the year 2009-2010 to the “spiritual perfection” of priests.
    Beginning the following Sunday, June 21, we would like to join our prayers with those of the whole Church by beginning a brief devotion to be prayed by the mothers of the parish directly after the 12:30 p.m. Latin Mass.
    We will gather briefly after the Mass, before Our Lady’s altar to recite a short prayer for vocations. This prayer originated among mothers of a small Italian parish in the 1800s; their prayers were heard and there was a beautiful increase in vocations among both young men and women.
    The prayer reads as follows:
    “Oh God, grant that one my sons becomes a priest! I promise to live as a good Christian woman and will lead my children to all that is good, where with I hope to receive the grace to be able to give to You, oh God, a holy priest.”
    Please join us for an extra five minutes to enjoin God to grant us holy priests for our precious Church!
    For the complete story of the “Mothers of Lu” please pick up a copy of the June “Bits and Pieces”.
    If anyone is interested in leading this prayer at one of the other Masses, or for more information call Diane Black
    at 874-8930.