Pope Benedict XVI declared a “Year for Priests” beginning with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on 19 June 2009, which concluded in Rome with an international gathering of priests with the Holy Father from 11-19 June. The main purpose of the Year for Priests is to encourage priests in their “striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends” and to highlight “the importance of the priest’s role and mission in the Church and in contemporary society” (Pope Benedict XVI).
As our priests reflect and renew their commitment to Christ and the Church in the Year for Priests, we the laity are also asked to support them through various ways, especially in prayers and to thank the Lord for the gift of priests. Bearing in mind that priests are also human like any one of us, they too need encouragement and affirmation as they give themselves to the service of God’s people and the Church.
Today’s Catholic received many love letters from the faithfuls to priests in the Archdiocese:
