This weekend our parish will celebrate two important events…first it will be “Priesthood Sunday” where we will ask all who are attending Mass to give a prayer of blessing to your parish priests. The second is the universal Church, that is Catholics all over the world, are praying for migrants and refugees as we celebrate the 105th anniversary of “World Day of Migrants and Refugees”. As you can see this area of concern has been with us for many years and we know that even before the official recognition the pain and suffering of refugees and migrants has been a tragic story throughout history. Pope Francis in his letter to us this year writes, “In a word, it is not only the cause of migrants that is at stake; it is not just about them, but about all of us, and about the present and future of the human family. Migrants, especially those who are most vulnerable, help us to read the “signs of the times”. Through them, the Lord is calling us to conversion, to be set free from exclusivity, indifference and the throw-away culture. Through them, the Lord invites us to embrace fully our Christian life and to contribute, each according to his or her proper vocation, to the building up of a world that is more and more in accord with God’s plan.” (Pope Francis, Letter on World Day of Migrants and Refugees)
Pope Francis calls each of us to witness in hope for the safety of all our brothers and sisters recognizing the blessing of peace and security that is the desire of all.
And with that we return to priesthood Sunday. I remember clearly the first year, 2005, when I received this blessing from the parishioners of St. Martin of Tours Parish. I had been ordained barely four months and had not expected much other than “just another blessing” and boy was I wrong. I don’t want to say I cried, but I may have as the grace and blessing of God was spoken in the voices of the prayers of the faithful people asking God’s love to flow into my life and service of His Church as His priest. It caught me off guard at the first Mass of the weekend but each additional Mass that was celebrated deepened the blessing and my call to follow Jesus Christ.
I know that we are in the midst of two important prayer ministries at St. Lucy, “Creating a Culture of Vocations” and the prayer book “A Parent Who Prays” and I only remind us of these to actions because just as my life as a man, a disciple and a priest is deepened and strengthened by your prayers for me and all priests so too is the life of the family and especially when we pray directly for our children asking God’s blessing to surround them in love. Prayer is the gift of deepening and strengthening an unseen but powerful bond of grace which can never be broken. It is desiring in the purity of heart (see the first virtue of prayer from “A Parent Who Prays”) where the greatest hope we have for another is their growth in holiness and life. “Creating a Culture of Vocations” in the family isn’t simply about vocations to the priesthood but rather it is the sanctification of the family through following Jesus Christ…if that happens then our children’s call to their proper vocation whether it be Holy Matrimony, Priesthood, the Consecrated Life or the Single Life will naturally flow from the all families as God calls each of us by name.
Please pray for me and all of your parish priest.
God bless
Fr. Mark