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MONDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF EASTER, APRIL 17, 2023

Olivia M. Bannan







Gospel


"Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God,

for no one can do these signs that you are doing

unless God is with him."


REFLECTION


Nicodemus said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God,

for no one can do these signs that you are doing

unless God is with him."


Priests pray for people. St. John Vianney, the Universal Patron of Priests, has this to say: “A priest goes to Heaven or a priest goes to Hell with a thousand people behind.”


PAPA prays for priests. Amidst the current media and public frenzy against priests and bishops accused of improper and criminal behavior, some might cringe at the mention of a priest, at the site of a Roman collar or a priest who prays before meals at a restaurant.


There was a time when all understood the need for a priest to be by the bedside of a dying person, when their speaking with authority was respected and when his advice was sought for ourselves and for our family.


We can be indifferent to their problems, or we can demand justice and lump all priests with one grievance or we could pray for the priests to take responsibility for their life and be accountable for their deeds. After all, they are to lead us to God.


We all know priests who remind us of Jesus constantly in their behavior, their reverence at Mass and in their prayer life of who they are- In persona in Christi capitis in ecclesiae--in the person of Christ, the Head, in the Church."


A priest is a man called by God to serve Christ and the Church through the reception of the sacrament of Holy Orders. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, the priest serves the faithful by building up and guiding the Church in the name of Christ, who is head of the body (CCC #1547).


John Paul II said, “The world looks to the priest, because it looks to Jesus! No one can see Christ; but everyone sees the priest, and through him they wish to catch a glimpse of the Lord! (September 3, 2016)


The priest is given a sacred power to serve God's people, to lead them to union with God. He does this principally by teaching the people, shepherding them through leadership, offering pastoral care and spiritual guidance and sanctifying them through the Sacraments (CCC 1592).


Why does PAPA pray for priests? On page 11 of our PAPA handbook it gives our reason to pray for priests. "Many priests have faltered in their vocation. Allegations against priests increase every day. For this reason, PAPA comes into being to support the priests through prayers and personal sacrifices." PAPA chooses to pray for the priests to be holy like Christ. We want to see priests who adore Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, who love His Church and who are willing to live and lay down their life for His people.



We pray that when people see and talk with the priest that they, like Nicodemus, would say, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him."


"Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord"

Psalm 2


God Bless You





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