Powerless and joyful
At heart, a priest is a poor; he cannot bless himself, baptize, absolve, marry or ordain himself. The power to celebrate the Eucharist is given him as a pure gift, but - even if he should be the only person present - he says the Eucharist for and on behalf of the whole Church. He is like bread; he is there to be eaten by others, his life and his time do not belong to him, he is there for others, as a servant. This is a challenge; it can be pure joy part of the time and pure drudgery for the rest. It is not about power or privilege; it is about servanthood.
To have a Year for Priests, drawn out of the image of the great evangelist St Paul in to the icon of the humble Parish priest St John Marie Vianney is a moving gesture at a time when the conduct of a few has dragged the ideal of Priesthood through the mire and when fear and a diminished identity tempt even the finest priests. We think that it is a magnificent idea of our Father, Benedict XVI - and we get to pray for him, too. A friend from Vatican Radio was staying in the guest quarters, and being contacted by Father Lombardi, remarked, casually, “They pray for the Holy Father three times a day here!” And Father Lombardi replied. “I’ll tell him!”
Living prayer
We, the little sisters, wanted to be part of this special year. For the Great Jubilee of the Millennium in 2000 we had offered the prayer for the Jubilee Indulgence, each day of the year, for people who had asked us to do so. This was not just a few words said, in someone else’s name for a spiritual end which, though apparently benevolent was not particularly well expressed or even clear, it was something that we were very concretely involved in. It felt, as one of the Sisters said at the time like going out for a walk with a baby in a pram, but as the year progressed it seemed that the baby got heavier and heavier and the road was all uphill and by the end we felt like the character out of The Mission who is hauling the symbols of his past crimes up a mountain, sliding in the mud. But they weren’t our crimes (already settled!) - but those of others who could not carry them. It was a life-changing experience in intercessory prayer. We began to take the Gift of Mercy very seriously - as part of our own history with the Portiuncula Indulgence and, like Luther as something too precious too be sold. It is worth bearing in mind that Luther kicked off his religious rebellion on the subject of indulgences, not because he thought they were useless, but because he thought, unlike an unholy Dominican called Tetzel, that they were more that money could buy!
At the root of prayer for others is our Lord’s word that what ever we agree to ask in his name we will receive. We want to do this for our Priests.
The Gift of Mercy and Love
For the Year for Priests, through the ministry of our Father, Benedict XVI we are offered the possibility of a great grace and blessing in prayer which we might claim for ourselves, or, if we wish, offer for another and perhaps, very specially, offer on behalf of a priest. That is what your little sisters at Ty Mam Duw are doing.
This gift of mercy, through prayer, is a Plenary Indulgence for the healing of the wounds that result from lovelessness and sin - or to use more formal language - the remission of the temporal punishment due to sin.
We may receive the Plenary Indulgence if we have recently availed ourselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, attend the Holy Eucharist and offer prayers to Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest, for the priests of the Church, that he may make them completely holy and form them in accordance with His Heart. We are invited to offer, as a gift in prayer, the work which we may have done on that day, and to remember the Holy Father’s intentions before the Lord.
The Gift of Mercy may be received on the following days: the beginning of the Year for Priests; 19 June 2009, the end; 19 June 2010, the feast day of St John Marie Vianney; 4th August 2009 (it is his 150th anniversary!) and on the first Thursday of each month.
