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beckycmarie
Guest
There are ordination anniversary cards available at Aquinas & More Catholic Goods.
The link contains both cards for ordination and cards for ordination anniversaries.
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The link contains both cards for ordination and cards for ordination anniversaries.
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MrsHall
Guest
How about a “Father’s Day” card?
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LaLucia
Guest
I am a single senior lady and when I buy a large 10lb. bag of potatos… I take a few and put them in a bowl at home and I take the rest to the priests. They have to do their own cooking and take turns cooking. They like the potatos.
Plus, I heard that their bread is just white simple bread so I bought them some nuts & Seeds bread. Sometimes I take them a whole baked chicken, with a loaf of french bread, sides of salads when there is a sale at my store.
Whenever I give them money I tell them it is personally to buy themselves something they may need. They look really surprised when I do that.
I try to treat our priests like equals but in a respectful manner and they love it. Sometimes they are in the mood of just doing small talk when they have some free time.
They get tired of getting sweets like cookies and candies during the Holidays. Lucy
Plus, I heard that their bread is just white simple bread so I bought them some nuts & Seeds bread. Sometimes I take them a whole baked chicken, with a loaf of french bread, sides of salads when there is a sale at my store.
Whenever I give them money I tell them it is personally to buy themselves something they may need. They look really surprised when I do that.
I try to treat our priests like equals but in a respectful manner and they love it. Sometimes they are in the mood of just doing small talk when they have some free time.
They get tired of getting sweets like cookies and candies during the Holidays. Lucy
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MarieVeronica
Guest
The Year of the Priest… begins today. Dear friends, please remember to PRAY for your priests; those who are living and serving the Church, those who have died and those who have wounded the Holy Priesthood.
God bless them all.
St. Jean-Marie Vianney… pray for your brother priests; and for us.
God bless them all.
St. Jean-Marie Vianney… pray for your brother priests; and for us.
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beckycmarie
Guest
A prayer for Priests from the USCCB Year for Priests website:
Dear 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.
Saint John Vianney, pray for us.
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gez722
Guest
Sorry if this is a bit lengthy, but here is something that I’ll be publishing in the July 2009 issue of The Catholic Truth email newsletter. It comes from an out of print pamphlet that I obtained several years ago. I tried to extract the key concepts from the pamphlet…
Six Ways To Encourage A Priest
An out-of-print pamphlet from Ligouri Publications (1989 by Florence Wedge) provides some excellent advice on how the laity can encourage our priests. It is based on the following acrostic:
Pray
Reflect
Imagine
Esteem
Support
Thank
Pray – In addition to praying for vocations, we should pray for our current priests. Praying for our priests, bishops and Holy Father will help them to carry out their difficult duties. We should also pray for ourselves as we deal with our priests. “Dear Jesus, give me a heart that appreciates Father ____. Help me to respect and honor him. If my image of him has become tarnished, please grant me the grace to brighten it. May I revere all your priests as ordained servants of the family of God. Keep them close to your merciful heart now and forever.
Reflect – Think about the involvement of your priest in the journey of your life. See it as “a series of sorrowful and joyful mysteries, all leading to the glorious ones later.” Priests share in the laity’s joys and sorrows, as well as administering the Sacraments. “Every priest’s life has its series of sorrowful episodes. In such times it’s the consoler who needs consolation. The encourager may need encouragement.”
Imagine – To develop a higher appreciation of the clergy, Ms. Wedge recommends that we try to imagine what life would be like without them. Imagine no Mass, no Confession, no Anointing of the Sick, no Confirmation, no adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (which only exists because of the priesthood).
Esteem – The priest acts in the person of Christ as he offers His Body and Blood to the Father at each Mass. Isn’t that reason enough to hold him in high esteem? How about the fact that he voluntarily gives up the possibility of having a wife and children in order to assist us in getting to Heaven? “For every priest who shirks his duties, there are hundreds bravely clinging to their profession and vocation. For every priest whose preaching endangers the listeners’ faith, there are hundreds of stalwart preachers who faithfully resist allowing doctrine to be tossed about by every wind of popular thought or prejudice.”
Support – Giving support will mean different things to different people. It can involve volunteering in the parish, contributing monetarily to the best of your ability, or giving moral encouragement to your priest. When was the last time that you complemented your priest on a homily or his work in the parish? When people criticize him, do you join in or do you defend him?
Thank – “When you tell a priest “Well done, Father!” be assured that your encouragement is a gift that God’s ordained servant will treasure for years to come.”
God Bless,
Gary
Six Ways To Encourage A Priest
An out-of-print pamphlet from Ligouri Publications (1989 by Florence Wedge) provides some excellent advice on how the laity can encourage our priests. It is based on the following acrostic:
Pray
Reflect
Imagine
Esteem
Support
Thank
Pray – In addition to praying for vocations, we should pray for our current priests. Praying for our priests, bishops and Holy Father will help them to carry out their difficult duties. We should also pray for ourselves as we deal with our priests. “Dear Jesus, give me a heart that appreciates Father ____. Help me to respect and honor him. If my image of him has become tarnished, please grant me the grace to brighten it. May I revere all your priests as ordained servants of the family of God. Keep them close to your merciful heart now and forever.
Reflect – Think about the involvement of your priest in the journey of your life. See it as “a series of sorrowful and joyful mysteries, all leading to the glorious ones later.” Priests share in the laity’s joys and sorrows, as well as administering the Sacraments. “Every priest’s life has its series of sorrowful episodes. In such times it’s the consoler who needs consolation. The encourager may need encouragement.”
Imagine – To develop a higher appreciation of the clergy, Ms. Wedge recommends that we try to imagine what life would be like without them. Imagine no Mass, no Confession, no Anointing of the Sick, no Confirmation, no adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (which only exists because of the priesthood).
Esteem – The priest acts in the person of Christ as he offers His Body and Blood to the Father at each Mass. Isn’t that reason enough to hold him in high esteem? How about the fact that he voluntarily gives up the possibility of having a wife and children in order to assist us in getting to Heaven? “For every priest who shirks his duties, there are hundreds bravely clinging to their profession and vocation. For every priest whose preaching endangers the listeners’ faith, there are hundreds of stalwart preachers who faithfully resist allowing doctrine to be tossed about by every wind of popular thought or prejudice.”
Support – Giving support will mean different things to different people. It can involve volunteering in the parish, contributing monetarily to the best of your ability, or giving moral encouragement to your priest. When was the last time that you complemented your priest on a homily or his work in the parish? When people criticize him, do you join in or do you defend him?
Thank – “When you tell a priest “Well done, Father!” be assured that your encouragement is a gift that God’s ordained servant will treasure for years to come.”
God Bless,
Gary
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kristie_m
Guest
I like that A LOT!!!
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AlexisLivia
Guest
These are all great ideas. I’ll add mine. In our parish, we received two new priests, a pastor and a parochial vicar. I overheard the younger priest say “we’ll do dinner” to several parishioners after Mass one evening, so I asked if he would allow me to take him out to lunch. We went on his day off (I rearranged my work schedule to accommodate his). I took him to a restaurant he’d never been to and we talked for 3 1/2 hours. What a treat. Now the new pastor is not a warm and fuzzy type. I complimented him on his Easter Triduum liturgy and asked if there was something I could do for him. He mentioned he was in need of a Marian vestment. I was able to donate a lovely vestment he picked out himself, and in the vestment are the names of my deceased mother, Maria, and my husband’s deceased mother, Mary! It turned out wonderfully and is something that would never have occurred to me – I’m so glad I asked!
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churchsecretary
Guest
Priests are notoriously overworked and I agree with all of you here who said that a simple thank you can go far!!! My pastor once told me that he believes most parishioners envision their priests outside of Mass sitting in their lounge chair watching TV with a beer!
I will admit, before I became the parish secretary, I really didn’t know the amount of “stuff” that Father does…everything from meeting with the contractors weekly when our new hall & ed. ctr. was being built, to diocesan meetings, to weekly visits to the hospitals, to monthly visits to shut-ins, to taking the altar servers for their “fun” outing every August (& believe me, standing there & watching kids climb a rock wall or roller skate for hours would not be fun for me!)…to many other things. He went on vacation & called me three times about church business!
I know that he likes going out to eat, as has been mentioned before. He often goes out to breakfast after morning Mass with parishioners; also out to dinner on a Saturday after 4:30vigil. As far as food, one of the parishioners (who is an excellent Italian cook) volunteers to cook for him weekly.
Sometimes just telling him a good joke (clean, of course!) is a nice touch. One of our parishioners, age 85, loves to send him funny cards. The last time he got one, he had to come show it to me–really liked that.
I will admit, before I became the parish secretary, I really didn’t know the amount of “stuff” that Father does…everything from meeting with the contractors weekly when our new hall & ed. ctr. was being built, to diocesan meetings, to weekly visits to the hospitals, to monthly visits to shut-ins, to taking the altar servers for their “fun” outing every August (& believe me, standing there & watching kids climb a rock wall or roller skate for hours would not be fun for me!)…to many other things. He went on vacation & called me three times about church business!
I know that he likes going out to eat, as has been mentioned before. He often goes out to breakfast after morning Mass with parishioners; also out to dinner on a Saturday after 4:30vigil. As far as food, one of the parishioners (who is an excellent Italian cook) volunteers to cook for him weekly.
Sometimes just telling him a good joke (clean, of course!) is a nice touch. One of our parishioners, age 85, loves to send him funny cards. The last time he got one, he had to come show it to me–really liked that.
E
elts1956
Guest
Someone mentioned giving your priest a Father’s Day Card. Today after Mass as I shook his hand, I wished him a Happy Father’s Day. He seemed soooooooo surprised and had a good laugh. I had also put a Father’s Day card and a gift card to Paneras in the collection basket during Mass. I hope he likes it. He has been our only priest for over fifteen years and serves two parishes. He hops around on Sundays from 8:00 a.m to the next one at 9:15 a.m at the Church a little under ten miles away, and then back to the larger parish for Mass at 10:30. AND we have a Mass at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
Then of course there are the daily 8:00 a.m. masses during the week except for Wed. when we have a 6:00 p.m. Mass.
And he NEVER appears to be grouchy. With a schedule like that, I think I might get a bit frayed at the edges.
Then of course there are the daily 8:00 a.m. masses during the week except for Wed. when we have a 6:00 p.m. Mass.
And he NEVER appears to be grouchy. With a schedule like that, I think I might get a bit frayed at the edges.
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