We pray, also, for the priests who have wounded priesthood

[blackice]

Prayer for Priests

You came from among us
to be, for us, one who serves.
We thank you for ministering Christ to us
and helping us minister Christ to each other.

We are grateful for the many gifts you bring to our community:
for drawing us together in worship,
for visiting us in our homes,
for comforting us in sickness,
for showing us compassion,
for blessing our marriage,
for baptising our children,
for confirming us in our calling,
for supporting us in bereavement,
for helping us to grow in faith,
for encouraging us to take the initiative,
for helping the whole community realise God’s presence among us.

For our part, we pray that we may always be attentive to your needs
and never take you for granted.
You, like us, need friendship and love,
welcome and a sense of belonging,
kind words and acts of thoughtfulness.

We pray, also, for the priests who have wounded priesthood.
May we be willing to forgive
and may they be open to healing.
Let us support one another during times of crisis.

God our Father, we ask you to bless our priests
and confirm them in their calling.
Give them the gifts they need
to respond with generosity and a joyful heart.

We offer this prayer for our priest,
Who is our brother and friend,

Amen

 

[EasterJoy]

This is a beautiful prayer.

Concerning those priests who have wounded the priesthood, consider this: which of us has not wounded the witness of Christ in His Church? Which of us has accepted the deep sanctity and love of every one of God’s children and creatures which is our duty as servants of God? Which of us has not gone to a priest to be forgiven of our sins? Have we not always been given absolution and been reconciled?

I am not saying that priests who have abused trust should not lose their position of trust. No one in their right mind would forgive a repentent thief, then put him in charge of guarding the cash box.

I am saying that a priest who falls should be given the compassion that we hope for when we fall ourselves. For remember that their brother priests are watching. They see how they will be treated if falsely accused. They see how they will be treated if they fall themselves. Let them fear only the natural consequences of their actions that come from the refusal of the great grace that they have received, but not that they will be shunned or denied the love that God desires for every sinner who approaches the Church for forgiveness. Our willingness to forgive those who fall will not embolden the unrepentant–such as those are beyond caring whether we accept them or not–but will encourage those who bear their yokes daily for our sakes.

 

[blackice]

This is a beautiful prayer.

Concerning those priests who have wounded the priesthood, consider this: which of us has not wounded the witness of Christ in His Church? Which of us has accepted the deep sanctity and love of every one of God’s children and creatures which is our duty as servants of God? Which of us has not gone to a priest to be forgiven of our sins? Have we not always been given absolution and been reconciled?

I am not saying that priests who have abused trust should not lose their position of trust. No one in their right mind would forgive a repentent thief, then put him in charge of guarding the cash box.

I am saying that a priest who falls should be given the compassion that we hope for when we fall ourselves. For remember that their brother priests are watching. They see how they will be treated if falsely accused. They see how they will be treated if they fall themselves. Let them fear only the natural consequences of their actions that come from the refusal of the great grace that they have received, but not that they will be shunned or denied the love that God desires for every sinner who approaches the Church for forgiveness. Our willingness to forgive those who fall will not embolden the unrepentant–such as those are beyond caring whether we accept them or not–but will encourage those who bear their yokes daily for our sakes.

As you rightly say, God loves us all, and forgives all, they our Priests, need our love and support, and let us all pray to God that many more will join the Priesthood and spread the word of our Lord.

 

[maurin]

I am not saying that priests who have abused trust should not lose their position of trust. No one in their right mind would forgive a repentent thief, then put him in charge of guarding the cash box.

.

beautiful sentiments, and please do not construe my comment as argumentative or in contradiction to them. But I do believe it is worth noting that it is the Lord Himself who gives Peter the Keys to the Kingdom, the very same Peter who denied Him three times and fled from Calvary.

Of course parallels can be drawn between your statements and mine, but *of course *we are not speaking of the same circumstances–Peter was not a thief. And yes, it is better to be safe than sorry. I just thought it was worth tempering your fine post (sincerely) with Peter’s example.

 

[Trishie]

Strayed or faltering shepherds

Jesus, please safeguard priests as true shepherds of Your people. Be mindful of those who have left Your service. Give them the grace of knowing that You love them and that the Church care for them.

Some priests abandon their ministry due to overstrain of their human resources, or because of doubt or loneliness. Please grant them renewal and the support of others. Love them back to full use of their faith, courage, generosity, and ability. Return them to Your service, with loving-kindness, right judgement, and peaceful balance in acceptance of human limitations that are made fruitful only through You in faith.

Jesus, do not allow You priests or people to flounder in doubt. Give them grace to repeat humbly—“I believe. Help my unbelief.” To Your priests and Your people, give trust that reaches beyond human limitations into eternal truth.

Heal those weakened by illness, worldliness, sensuality, or discouragement. In healing Your priests, please enable them to serve according to realistic judgement. To renewed and faithful priests alike, please grant wholeness and peace. Grant them encouragement, with prayerful, practical support of brother priests and parishioners. Every person has responsibility to share in care and support of others and in the mission of Christ. Let all experience Your love and reality in sharing gospel charity with Your ministers and fellow humans.

Where Your love does not animate their witness then egoism, pride or despair may compromise ministry or cause desertion. Do not allow Your priests to be overwhelmed by material desires. Inspire them to approach everything in a balanced manner. Please give renewal of love and grace to all whose hearts falter in self-reliance, in pride, rebellion, in neglected prayer-life, in mechanical, reluctant, or self-congratulatory good works. Let their humanity help them understand others’ needs and difficulties. Do not allow them to fall to scandal that harms others and results in their discredit and dismissal.

Let Your priests neither abandon You in worldliness, nor despair with Judas. Let them learn of Peter. He whom You had so highly favoured, abandoned You in time of greatest need, denying You before men—thus calling upon himself a similar judgement before heaven. Repenting, he trusted Your mercy. To his contrite heart, You imparted grace to reaffirm love for You, responding by raising him to guardianship of Your continuing life on earth, the Church.

Merciful Jesus, who longs to have Your chosen ones with You forever in the glory of Your Kingdom, have mercy on Your strayed and faltering servants. Please give them grace to return or to remain in Your faithful, loving service.

Jesus, where scandal shadows Your priests, remember that Your own integrity was often questioned. Yet You are sinless God. Even so, You assumed the burden of our sin and died as a criminal. Your followers scattered in shame and fear, and Your cause was discredited. Have mercy, then and restore those hounded by scandal. Where offence is genuine, grant contrition, and pardon the offenders, granting them to rise again in You with courage, love and trust.

Do not permit Your priests to merit the curse of ‘he who gives scandal to Your little ones’. Where others are damaged or disillusioned by Your minister’s offence or misfortune, please grant repentance and pardon, or exoneration. Heal anyone wounded by his fault, sin, omission, misjudgement or misfortune. Please pardon and heal those who accuse or judge Your priest, for in doing so they may fall into grave sin. You alone may judge Your chosen ones.

By Your incarnation and life, death and resurrection, You restore humankind to a state more enriched than our original state of innocence. You achieved this out of a situation where humankind had so fallen from grace that only the Son of God Himself could redeem us. Please grant such restoration to Your chosen ones, to any soul, who have fallen from grace or reputation.

Renew in them the joyful consciousness of the miracle and mystery of Your love for each person. Grant them insight of the preciousness of each child of God, filling them with gratitude that You allow them to serve.

 

[EasterJoy]

beautiful sentiments, and please do not construe my comment as argumentative or in contradiction to them. But I do believe it is worth noting that it is the Lord Himself who gives Peter the Keys to the Kingdom, the very same Peter who denied Him three times and fled from Calvary.

Of course parallels can be drawn between your statements and mine, but *of course *we are not speaking of the same circumstances–Peter was not a thief. And yes, it is better to be safe than sorry. I just thought it was worth tempering your fine post (sincerely) with Peter’s example.

This is a distinction worth pointing out. Nevertheless, there are many Christians who believe that forgiveness always requires forgetting that the offense ever happened. This is not true. That may or may not happen, depending on the circumstances. Forgiveness, rather, requires accepting the person and letting go of animosity towards them as persons because of what they have done. Deciding whether and when a person may be placed in a position of trust is a separate matter for discernment, whether they have offenses in their past or not.

To be more blunt: forgiving a priest who has committed a grave offense against the priesthood does not mean automatically putting him back in the position of pastor. It does mean putting him back in the position of being a fully-loved member of the Body of Christ.