We dare to say  

“At the Saviour’s command, informed by Divine teaching, we dare to say..”

The Gospel of Matthew gives us the perfect prayer: the Our Father (Matthew 6: 7-15). I don’t know how many years I attended mass before I actually heard what the priest says preceding this prayer.  Every word has significance in the Liturgy and so it is here too. How dare we say anything to God, let alone petition Him! But we are His adopted children, and He wants us to talk with Him. And our Saviour instructed us to, so we follow; but only after first taking on that humble disposition. 

“There are other spiritual things that one doesn’t know how to explain, but through them one knows how lowly our nature is when there is question of understanding the sublime grandeurs of God.” (St. Theresa of Avila, Interior Castles)

All of our prayer moves in the Holy Spirit through Jesus to God, and God in return gives us love and grace. Our human nature is the only kind in the entire planet that has been created to receive His grace too. And He never leaves us without grace, even if we do not feel His presence with us. When we bend our will and let Him lead, we are always given sufficient grace to push through anything. St. Ignatius taught this in rule 7 of his first set of rules on discerning spirits: 

“…since he can resist with divine help, which always remains with him, though he does not clearly feel it; for the Lord has taken away from him His great fervor, abundant love and intense grace, leaving him, however sufficient grace for eternal salvation.” (Sp. Ex. 313)

Meanwhile, scriptures give us instructions on how to live this life of grace. Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament allows God to further cultivate the Baptismal Gifts of the Holy Spirit within us. And receipt of the Eucharist with a contrite heart permits Jesus to form us from the inside-out. Can a relationship with Jesus be more personal than that? Thanks be to God for our priests!

“The more Christian and conscious people are of their dignity and of their vital role in the Church, the more they urgently feel the need for priests who are truly priests. ” (Pope John Paul I)

As we transition from the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus into the month of the Precious Blood of Jesus, it is good to consider what the priesthood truly is and what it means for our world today. 

An Alter Christus: Too often people think priests are the same as a protestant pastor. This misunderstanding then leads to other questions like why Roman priests cannot marry and why women cannot be priests. In the documentary series Alter Christus, clips from a series of interviews with priests of all ages give the heart & meaning of the priesthood. They provide for us what no other clergy can. Part 2 overviews St. John Vianney, explains clerics, celibacy & more. Part 3 includes the Priest’s relationship with the Vicar of Christ, and how when we pray for the Holiness of our priest, we are like the few who gathered around Jesus while dying on the cross. 

The Church has given us many incredible saintly priests too. Two lesser-known priests provide valuable role models and intercessors for our modern troubles. Blessed Joseph-Marie Cassant was learning disabled. His spiritual father was always at his side mentoring, coaching, and encouraging him. It took Joseph-Marie eight years of study to become a priest only to die shortly thereafter of tuberculosis. Meanwhile St. John Francis Regis established hostels for prostitutes to get them out of the trade, while setting up girls in meaningful trades so they could avoid going to the city & becoming prostitutes. He also established safe houses for at-risk women and children, finding them employment and leading them to freedom from poverty and exploitation. His approach is much needed today too.  Fr. Ed Broom wrote “There was nothing outstanding in any of the actions of Father Regis during the eight years he traveled as a home missioner, but the results were extraordinary.” A similar mission awaits us to evangelize our own mission field, beginning with our family, friends, and one another.  

Alas, well-meaning friends, neighbors, coworkers and relatives will not understand that the deepest possible personal relationship with Jesus is only found in the Catholic church. But when we allow Him to transform us, we become the face of grace to those around us. 

You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on your hearts, to be known and read by all men; and you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2Cor 3: 2-3)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam 😊

(Image by Jacob Bentzinger from Unsplash)