Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
REFLECTION
This year during Pentecost, the fourth pillar of the Eucharistic Mission begins. It is a call to evangelize and spread the Good News about the Eucharistic Lord. "Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing."
PAPA is a prayer apostolate. We believe that the Lord has given us the tools to spread His Good News. The priesthood is the most important tool for us to "remain" in the Lord. St. John Vianney said, "Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption here on earth. Therefore, our mission is to pray for priests.
Jesus promised us that He would be with us always. At the Last Supper. Jesus instituted two sacraments Holy Orders and the Eucharist. A priest is ordained to be a servant for us. He is anointed to be Christ, "a living and transparent image of Christ" (St. Pope John Paul II- p6-7 PAPA Handbook). Only the priest can administer the Sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ. Jesus is with us and in us through the Sacraments.
As Jesus explains, we must remain in him. How? We need to remain in Him through the Sacraments. The Holy Eucharist, who is Jesus Himself, can only come to us through the Priests. At the consecration of the bread and wine, the priest acts in "persona Christi capitis in ecclesiae - in the person of Christ, the Head, in the Church" (PAPA Handbook, p.6) to give us His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity under the appearance of bread and wine.
The point is that we, PAPA (Priest Always Prayer Apostolate) members pledge and Consecrate to pray for priests to remain faithful to their vows to the priesthood. We believe that our prayers will be heard by God to continue His work of salvation through the priests.
Let us pray that we can remain in Christ by praying for our Priests. Here is our PAPA Prayer for Priests.
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