How blessed we are to have our priests

Four recent things in recent days have prompted me to write this article.
First, we honor our fathers and pray for them on Father’s Day, June 16. Dads are immensely important. Every societal ill that can be measured is worse for both sons and daughters when the father is absent from the family. Studies show that when the father is absent, sons and daughters are more likely to live in poverty, do poorly in school, use drugs, carry a weapon, get involved in the criminal justice system, drop out of school, be depressed, end up in jail. Many sociologists tell us this is because kids look to their mothers to tell them how to behave within the home, but kids look to their father to tell them how to behave outside of the home. Without the guidance of the dad, kids can become lost in the outside world.
Second, I was blessed to attend the annual archdiocesan priest retreat with 70 of our wonderful priests. What consistently impresses me at a gathering of our priests is how different they are. There is no one model of being a priest. Our priests have different ages, temperaments, talents, outlooks on societal, political and theological issues, yet God works with and through each one of them. Just as a carpenter needs many different tools to accomplish his tasks, so Jesus, the Carpenter of Nazareth, needs many different types of priests for His work to be accomplished.
Third, I recently have had discussions with some young men who wish to enroll in the seminary in order to discern whether God is calling them to be a priest. Their sincerity, openness to God’s will, desire to serve and faith are inspirational to me.
Fourth, I celebrated the priesthood ordination of Father Joseph Schultz and the diaconate ordination of Deacon Rich Perkins (who, God willing, will be ordained a priest next year.) Their enthusiasm to devote their lives to serving God and His people and their trust in God are inspiring and moving.
All of this reminded me once again of how blessed we are to have our priests. Our priests break open the Gospel so our hearts may be nourished with the word of God. Our priests consecrate the Eucharist so that our souls may be nourished by the Real Presence of the Lord. Our priests impart upon us the sacramental forgiveness of the Lord in Confession. They comfort the troubled, serve the poor, share in our joys as well as in our tears. They are there in our hospitals, our baptisms, first Communions, confirmations, weddings and funerals. In all of this, they remind us, just as a good father of the family, how we are to live in the world. They remind us of our worth – that we are loved by God, who loves us so much they we are worth dying for. St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that, “I became your Father through the Gospel” (1 Cor 4:14). This is why we call our priests “father.” Our priests share the Gospel message of Christ with us in so many ways.
Please pray for our priests and encourage them. Prayer is powerful and words of encouragement are priceless. Priests certainly have enough happening in their ministry which can challenge them. In small ways, each parishioner can help to renew their priest in his ministry as they serve us.
Also, please pray for vocations to the priesthood, especially in our Archdiocese. God hears our prayers. Please pray fervently for more priests to serve the family of God in our Archdiocese and if you know a man whom you think would be a good priest, please tell him so. Please be willing to share with him what you see in him which makes you think that he would be a good priest.  May God use you to plant the seed of a vocation in that man’s heart.
May God continue to send priests into His fields to bring about the harvest which God wishes to reap.