Posted on 06/14/2009 5:42:16 AM PDT by NYer
This Friday, June 19th, begins the Year of the Priest, as announced by Pope Benedict XVI back in March. That means that for 10 days, between June 19 and 29, the Church is celebrating both the Year of St. Paul and the Year of the Priest.
What’s planned for the Year of the Priest? Many dioceses and seminaries are planning special events and activities to highlight the year. Here are some examples.
Because it’s the 150th anniversary of the patron of diocesan priests, St. John Vianney, many dioceses are planning events centered around his example.
The Archdiocese of Denver is kicking off the Year of the Priest with a special Mass, celebrated by Archbishop Charles Chaput, on June 21 at the Cathedral at 6:30 p.m. For that Mass, the archdiocese has taken an image of a statue of St. John Vianney from Denver’s St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, which they’ll put on display along with a relic of the saint. They’re also creating a special holy card with the image and a prayer for priests that will be distributed throughout the diocese.
According to Archdiocese of Denver Auxiliary Bishop James Conley, the most important thing the archdiocese is doing is organizing holy hours in all of the deaneries of the diocese and inviting all the priests, and the faithful, in each deanery to come pray before the Holy Eucharist.
“For priests, the most important act that he does every day is offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,” said Bishop Conley. “Without the Eucharist, there is no Church, and without the priest there is no Eucharist.”
The Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis plans to place special emphasis on the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a trademark of St. John Vianney.
Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary will be hosting a symposium in honor of the Year of the Priest, on October 3, from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. at the Knott Auditorium at Mt. St. Mary’s. The symposium will feature speakers on various themes on priestly spirituality. At 4 p.m., the public is invited to “Vianney” - the one-man play by Leonardo Defilippis.
“The priests, especially in this country need a shot in the arm, both spiritually and emotionally,” said Monsignor Steven Rohlfs, rector at Mt. St. Mary’s. “We’ve taken it on the chin for a number of years and it’s time that we spend the year reinvigorating ourselves spiritually and reenergizing ourselves to be prooud of who and what we are.”
For further information on the Year of the Priest, visit the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ special web page.
The answer to that has been getting the gays out of the seminary. Where that's happened there's been a vocations boom.
And one other poster said it - the only women I know who want to be priests are liberal whackos with, IMO, psychiatric disorders.
Allowing priestesses would not decrease homosexualists in the clergy because the women who want to become priestesses seem to be lesbians more often than not, and invariably are sympathetic to homosexual culture.
Freegards
Back in the 1960s, many seminaries attracted candidates by suggesting that the celibacy discipline would soon be dropped. It was a time of social change and, sadly, Catholics expected that Vatican Council II would bring about many changes, including approval for artificial birth control. I know several men who left the seminary to marry. The Latin Church, as another freeper noted, maintains this discipline. The Eastern Catholic Churches have always allowed for married men to become priests.
That said, there are a multitude of reasons why the Latin Church will not change this discipline anytime soon, primary of which is the societal trend in marriage. More people today choose to live together prior to marriage - a mortal sin. More than 50% of all marriages in the west, end in divorce (this is not the case in the east but the trend is emerging). Here are some of the other reasons.
5 Arguments Against Priestly Celibacy and How to Refute Them
I’m glad my dad chose the way he did or I wouldn’t exist. Like I said before this isn’t an issue that would cause me to leave the church either way. Just my opinion. The birth control issue is also tough. We have 2 children, my wife was pregnant with our second the whole time I was in Iraq. It was very tough on her at home being pregnant and already taking care of our 1-year-old while I was gone for 15 months. I’ll be deploying again in less than a year and my wife says she can’t handle another pregnancy while I’m gone. I guess alot of true blue Catholics think God wouldn’t understand that and we still shouldn’t use birth control. I’ll take my chances with God when I meet him on that one.
Have you considered Natural Family Planning?
Although the discipline of priestly celibacy is not required by Christian doctrine (unlike the requirement that priests be men), the experience of Protestant ministers suggests that, in modern Western society, there’s a fundamental incompatibility between the ministerial vocation and the married vocation.
And it’s typical that a person pushing married priesthood (in the Latin-rite Church) rejects fundamental aspects of doctrine such as the ordination of men and “Humanae Vitae.” One might as well be Episcopal if everything in the faith and morals is up for individual reinterpretation.
Definitely a cafeteria Catholic. REAL Catholics don’t pick and choose.
NFP — It Ain’t Your Momma’s Rhythm
Responsible Parenthood in a Birth Control Culture, Part Two [Open]
Responsible Parenthood in a Birth Control Culture, Part One [Open]
Contraception v. Natural Family Planning — Part 5 of 6 [Open]
Journey to the Truth (Natural Family Planning) [Open]
Enslaving Women One Pill at a Time (Birth Control Pills and Natural Family Planning)
New Study Shows Natural Family Planning Technique More “Effective” Than Contraception
Fargo) Diocese set to require pre-marriage course in natural family planning
Making Babies: A Very Different Look at Natural Family Planning
Clerical Contraception (Important Read! By Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer)
(Fargo) Diocese set to require pre-marriage course in natural family planning
Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, July 25, 2004
IS NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING A 'HERESY'? (Trads, please take note)
Thanks Doc: More (and Younger) Doctors Support Natural Family Planning
Couple say Natural Family Planning strengthens marriage
Reflections: Natural family planning vs sexism
British Medical Journal: Natural Family Planning= Effective Birth Control Supported by Catholic Chrch
Natural Family Planning
How many kids do you have? How many tours of Iraq have you done? How many times were you nearly killed in combat? Yes, I will gladly let god judge me and my wife.
The Year of the Priest
We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.
Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.
Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.
Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.
Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.
Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.
O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.
Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests
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