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Bishop Dewane reflects on ‘Year for Priests’Posted: 06.30.09 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Pope Benedict XVI has inaugurated a “Year for Priests” which officially began on June 19, 2009, and is to conclude on June 19, 2010. Our Holy Father has stated that “the aim of this Year for Priests is to support each priest’s struggle towards spiritual perfection, upon which the effectiveness of their ministry depends.” For laypeople, this year provides an opportunity to pray for and to support priests. This special year also serves as a reminder to rediscover and revive an awareness of the extraordinary and indispensable gift of Grace, which the priestly ministry represents to all Catholics. The priesthood is a sublime gift for the person who receives it, for the Church, and for the world, which would be lost without the real presence of Christ. PRAYER FOR PRIESTSDear Lord, we pray that the Blessed Mother wrap her mantle around your priests and through her intercession strengthen them for their ministry. We pray that Mary will guide your priests to follow her own words, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). May your 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 your 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. Further, in this context of the “Year for Priests,” I take this opportunity to thank all the priests of the Diocese of Venice in Florida for their ministry and service. In their faithfulness to their priestly vocation, they act in the person of Christ, administering the Sacraments and ministering to His people. Priests are Christ’s servants, in the sense that they are configured to Him. Pope Benedict XVI affirms that the priest is “in Christ, for Christ and with Christ at the service of humankind.” The Holy Father has entrusted this special year to Our Lady and has asked her to intercede for all priests, “to awaken in the heart of every priest a generous and renewed commitment to the ideal of complete self-oblation to Christ and the Church.” During this “Year for Priests,” I kindly ask you, the faithful of the Diocese of Venice, to pray for and encourage all priests in their vocation, especially those who serve you in your parish. We priests are in need of your prayers, which are of inestimable value in our ministries. It is also asked that you remember to pray for all the seminarians of the Diocese, and for those who will follow us. As you may know, our Diocese has been blessed with an increase in seminarians and they, too, need your prayers and support. Indeed, our seminarians are a central part of our Diocesan community, and are a sign of hope and continuity for the entire Church. It is my hope that this “Year for Priests” may lead all priests to identify evermore completely with Christ Who died and rose again. In this way, we can better imitate St. John the Baptist; “to diminish” ourselves, that Christ may grow. In closing, this opportunity is taken to thank you, on behalf of all priests here in the Diocese of Venice, for your prayers and support. It is truly a blessing to be a priest and to serve in the Diocese I extend to you the assurances of my continued consideration, as well as my prayers. Sincerely yours in Christ,
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