Vocations
Thanks to Shane Leisegang, past Parish Pastoral Council Chairman, who compiled this section for The Year of The Priest (2009-2010).
Pope Benedict XVI pronounced the Year of the Priest to be June 2009 - June 2010, and also dedicated it to St. Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, the Patron Saint of Parish Priests. The Holy Father closed The Year of The Priest on June 19, 2010, at a "World Meeting of Priests" in St. Peter's Square.
Read Pope Benedict XVI Letter to Clergy for the Year for Priests>
In this article, the life of a Priest is beautifully described through references to St. Jean Vianney, the Cure’ D’Ars, and makes us think how extraordinarily fortunate we are to have a dedicated Parish Priest in our Parish where so many people around the world do not have regular access to priests due the decline in vocations in the economically developed countries of the Western World.
Even in our own country this shortage is evident with many parishes in urban areas having to share priests, a situation which is exacerbated in the rural areas due to the shortage of missionary priests.
In the words of St Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney "O, how great is the priest! … If he realized what he is, he would die. […] God obeys him: He utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host."
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ_588cHu50 ]
Related links...
Our prayers for our beloved priests, the sacred priesthood, and much needed vocations are earnestly needed.
Some interesting articles (on other websites) about the Year of Priests that ended June 2010 are:
- Thousands of priests in Rome during the International Gathering of Priests >
- Video: Watch the video of closing gathering in Rome >
- Priests Close Their Year With Successor of Peter >
- Priests Called to Confession as Year Closes >
- For priests, close of special year is moment of grace >
- Southern Cross: After the year for priests >
- The Sacred Priesthood > (an essay by Father Fr. John Zuhlsdorf - who is also a moderator on Catholic Online Forum).
Read more (on this website)...
The Life of St. Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney
The article, The Life of St. Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, written by Paolo Risso, was published in the 27 July 2005 Weekly Edition in English of L’Osservatore Romano, the newspaper of the Holy See.
St. Jean-Baptiste- Marie Vianney – A Brief History
The Cure of Ars, the son of Matthieu Vianney and Marie Beluze, was born at Dardilly near Lyons, France, on 8 May, 1786 and died at Ars on 4 August 1859.
Read about visiting Ars today.
Prayers to St. Jean Vianney
Prayers for Priests
What can we do to support our priests?
Read more about the things we can do to show our support for our priests.
