The Year of Priests

The year of priests was another providential gift from the Holy Father to the Church. In a year in which we had to suffer as we heard of the horrors committed by a few priests we had the time to reflect on our vocation and our mission.
Other gifts are in store for us this Friday as we celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the conclusion of the year dedicated to priests.
The Holy Father is expected to declare Saint John Mary Vianney, the Holy Cure`of Ars, as Patron of all priests. He will also, at the end of the Mass he will celebrate, consecrate priests to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here is the prayer he shall use:

Immaculate Mother,

in this place of grace,

called together by the love of your Son Jesus

the Eternal High Priest, we,

sons in the Son and his priests,

consecrate ourselves to your maternal Heart,

in order to carry out faithfully the Father’s Will.

We are mindful that, without Jesus,

we can do nothing good (cf. Jn 15:5)

and that only through him, with him and in him,

will we be instruments of salvation

for the world.

Bride of the Holy Spirit,

obtain for us the inestimable gift

of transformation in Christ.

Through the same power of the Spirit that

overshadowed you,

making you the Mother of the Saviour,

help us to bring Christ your Son

to birth in ourselves too.

May the Church

be thus renewed by priests who are holy,

priests transfigured by the grace of him

who makes all things new.

Mother of Mercy,

it was your Son Jesus who called us

to become like him:

light of the world and salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5:13-14).

Help us,

through your powerful intercession,

never to fall short of this sublime vocation,

nor to give way to our selfishness,

to the allurements of the world

and to the wiles of the Evil One.

Preserve us with your purity,

guard us with your humility

and enfold us with your maternal love

that is reflected in so many souls

consecrated to you,

who have become for us

true spiritual mothers.

Mother of the Church,

we priests want to be pastors

who do not feed themselves

but rather give themselves to God for their brethren,

finding their happiness in this.

Not only with words, but with our lives,

we want to repeat humbly,

day after day,

Our “here I am”.

Guided by you,

we want to be Apostles

of Divine Mercy,

glad to celebrate every day

the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar

and to offer to those who request it

the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Advocate and Mediatrix of grace,

you who are fully immersed

in the one universal mediation of Christ,

invoke upon us, from God,

a heart completely renewed

that loves God with all its strength

and serves mankind as you did.

Repeat to the Lord

your efficacious word:

“They have no wine” (Jn 2:3),

so that the Father and the Son will send upon us

a new outpouring of

the Holy Spirit.

Full of wonder and gratitude

at your continuing presence in our midst,

in the name of all priests

I too want to cry out:

“Why is this granted me,

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:43).

Our Mother for all time,

do not tire of “visiting us”,

consoling us, sustaining us.

Come to our aid

and deliver us from every danger

that threatens us.

With this act of entrustment and consecration,

we wish to welcome you

more deeply, more radically,

for ever and totally

into our human and priestly lives.

Let your presence cause new blooms to burst forth

in the desert of our loneliness,

let it cause the sun to shine on our darkness,

let it restore calm after the tempest,

so that all mankind shall see the salvation

of the Lord,

who has the name and the face of Jesus,

who is reflected in our hearts,

for ever united to yours!

Amen!