Fr. German’s Message
Wednesday June 29th, Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI,
celebrates 60 years of priestly ordination.
The American Bishops wanted to take this opportunity to invite us to:
- Thank the Pope
- Pray for priests
- Ask the Lord for priestly
vocations
Thank the Pope.
Criticizing is easy. It is very easy to find everything that displeases
us about someone and above all when it has to do with a public person.
To thank someone for what he is and for having accepted the
responsibility of guiding and assuming a spiritual paternity for all humanity
is perhaps a little difficult.
This week we are invited to thank Benedict XVI for his having consecrated
the last years of his life to helping us to know Christ better and to bringing
us closer to God.
I know that we have an older Pope and that we were accustomed to John
Paul II who arrived at Rome young, sportive and dynamic. But, I also know that
we have, at this time, at the head of the Church, an extremely intelligent,
very humble man who, above all, is someone the Holy Spirit gave to the Church
to guide us today.
Thank you, Benedict, for being with us. We ask the Lord to enlighten you
and give you the strength necessary to comply with your mission with joy.
Pray for priests.
I don’t know if you pray for your priests, but I would like to take this
opportunity to invite you to pray for us. We are men with good qualities and
defects. We are men who try to convey the Gospel with who we are. We are men who have happy times and times of
sadness who take advantage of our health and who suffer sickness. We are men
who struggle to come closer to God each day. We are human like you and like
everyone else. We need your prayers and we pray every day for the people
entrusted to us. We want to love and guide you, following the example of the
Good Shepherd. Pray for us and be indulgent with our mistakes and our
difficulties in giving witness to God’s love for all.
Ask the Lord for priestly
vocations.
We cannot resign ourselves to seeing priests disappear. No, they will
not disappear before the end of the world. The Lord loves His Church and will
provide pastors for His people. Then, in face of the vocation crisis that we
are presently experiencing in certain countries, we should ask the Lord to send
workers to His vineyard. I know that in our midst there are children and young
people who have already questioned themselves about priestly vocation. Do not
be afraid to open your heart to Christ. He will not
disappoint you.
All the community is responsible for the future of the Church. We need
priests and if children and youth do not hear anyone speak about the priesthood
they will not discover the beauty of this vocation.
Parents, do not be afraid to speak to your children of the priestly
vocation and of the joy of serving God and others.
Let us pray for priestly vocations and surely the Lord will make men of
good will flourish in our midst who will not be afraid of saying yes to
Christ’s call.
Happy birthday Benedict, and may the Lord bless you.
Have a great week
Fr. Germán June 25th / 26th 2011