Maybe it's time to stop concentrating on redefining Church teachings for today, closing parishes and building collaborative styles of church leadership, but actually show some leadership and start doing the things that encourage vocations. Eucharistic Adoration, male only altar servers, consistent orthodoxy in teaching and praxis. These things have worked for thousands of years, and seem to still work today.
It is also pretty obvious that young men are not willing to devote their lives to the Church with some watered down version of the priesthood. Priest as social worker and some sort of Sacramental specialist. Seems that the call to be Father, Shepherd, and fisher of men is what attracts young men. Christ knew this when he called James and Peter from their boats. "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." They dropped their nets and came with him as so many men have over the centuries.
It is time to abandon the wasted effort of trying to change the Church for the time, and the continued feminization of the Church to the point where the Church Militant is completely shrouded. If the trends continues in Rochester there won't be a Church in Rochester.
We must pray for the conversion of the hearts and mind of our Bishop and the Chancery to reach out for devout men to become true priests for our Our Lord God our Father, our Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
Prayer to Saint John Vianny, Patron of Parish Priests
Dear Saint John Vianney, your childhood dream was to be a Priest, to win souls for God. You endured years of toil and humiliation to attain the Priesthood. You became a Priest truly after God's own heart, outstanding in humulity and poverty; prayer and mortification. Totally devoted to the service of God's people. The Church has exalted you as model and patron saint of all Parish Priest, trusting that your example and prayers will help them to live up to the high dignity of their vocation to be faithful servants of God's people, to be perfect imitators of Christ the Savior Who came not to be served but to serve, to give His Life in ransom for many.
Pray that God may give to His Church today many more Priests after His own Heart. Pray for all the Priests under your patronage, that they may be worthy representatives of Christ the Good Shepherd. May they wholeheartedly devote themselves to prayer and penance; be examples of humility and poverty; shining modelss of holiness; tireless and powerful preachers of the Word of God; zealous dispensers of God's Grace in the Sacraments. May their loving devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist and to Mary His Mother be the Twin Fountains of fruitfulness for their ministry. Amen.
0 comments:
Post a Comment