How to show appreciation for our priests?

[Khoria_Anna]

I hear a lot of griping and complaining about priests. . . Father A is too strict! Father B has this many abuses in his Mass! Father C is too outgoing! Father D doesn’t seem to care! all the way up to Father Z squared.

Come on, the majority of these men have studied for many years, learning how to be faithful pastors, they struggle daily with the zillions of details it takes to keep a parish running, they keep their own spiritual disciplines more faithfully than the majority of us, they struggle to teach hard truths in an increasingly hostile world, and what thanks do their flock give them? Maybe most of them are not everyone’s ideal of a holy priest, who could be!?, but most are struggling on their way to holiness, and probably further along that way than most of their parish is willing to recognize. . .

Anyway, what kind of thanks do we offer them? I’d like to start a thread on suggestions of how we can support our priests on their mission to care for us and in their journey toward holiness. Here’s a few suggestions for starters:

1. PRAY for your priest daily! Then PRAY some more.
2. Thank Father sincerely every time you receive a Sacrament from his hand. After Confession, after Mass, after Benediction, just whenever. . .
3. Wake up and listen when Father preaches – wipe the bored look off your face and actively listen. You could even smile or nod. You might just learn something and encourage him in the process.
4. When you hear something meaningful/ enlightening/ convicting/ in his homily, mention it briefly and thank him for it.
5. Be twice as ready to compliment him as you are to criticize.
6. Refuse to participate in the “let’s pick Father apart” conversations you encounter, and let them know why.

Any other ideas?

 

[Fortiterinre]

If you have never had your house blessed, I think it’s great to invite your parish priest(s) over to do this. Invite your priests to dinner once in awhile, especially if it’s just a simple chili supper or backyard barbecue. They don’t want to critique your table setting–they want to feel involved in the lives of their flock. It’s a very kind gesture to treat your priests to golf or other sports if you are in a position to do so, and you will most likely enjoy the conversation a lot.

 

[system]

I truly have a priest whom the Lord used to change my life (and I wasn’t looking for my life to change either, which is what made it even more difficult). My conversion/reversion was powerful and quite disruptive, yet this priest was the one comforting constant during that/this time.

I make sure he knows when I feel a particular affecting homily. Always thank him (for real, not just the obligatory words) after confession, but instead of holiday cards, I’ll write him a note/letter thanking him and just recapping some of the ways the Lord uses him for our/my good.

I can’t imagine how the recent scandal(s) affects priests, especially good ones, and I almost feel like we need to protect the ones who really do care about the flock.

JELane

 

[KCT]

Be kind, charitable and generous to them. Vocation.com website is promoting adoration for diocesan priests. You can go to the website, sign up for an hour (at your local parish) and have an e-mail thank you sent to your priest.

—KCT

 

[Beaver]

A Father’s Day Card is always nice.

 

[DrCat]

Beaver:

A Father’s Day Card is always nice.

Definitely. How many of us remember the priest is our spiritual father.

John