Year for Priests

A priest is a man, clothed in tenderness, who speaks of God’s mercy, who prophetically pronounces the truth, unpleasant though it might be and who reflects God’s love to a hurting world. Sometimes he is shoring up souls and sometimes he is breaking up concrete. He’s comforting the grieving and challenging the young. He’s soothing the dying and blessing the newborn.

In the 25 years since I founded Project Rachel, the post-abortion healing ministry of the Church, I have witnessed firsthand the gift that priests are to the world. I have seen the heart of the priest repeatedly. It is generous, compassionate, willing to sacrifice for others. [Read more…] about Who is a Priest?

The image of priesthood with its ideal of priestly service has been shaped by the apostles, especially Paul, but the later form of priesthood differs in at least one significant way.

The apostle was a missionary figure founding communities, then moving on. Contact was maintained through letters, messengers and occasional visits. The priest who emerged in history was to be predominantly a residential figure living among the congregation for whom he cared. [Read more…] about Paul, Presbyters, Priests and Pastors

‘In the daily rhythm of receiving and being given, the priest allows himself to be shaped by the ebb and flow of grace, alive in the rhythm of the Spirit breathing in him.’ As part of Thinking Faith’s series to mark the ‘Year of the Priest’, James Hanvey SJ describes how the life of a priest is shaped by the relationships to which he is committed, yet is characterised always by the mysterious surrender of himself to the life of the Church. [Read more…] about The Hiddenness of Priestly Life

A little known fact, and a prompt to us as members of the Society of Mary today, is that none-other than the Cure of Ars[1] tried several times to retire to a Marist Community. [Read more…] about The Cure of Ars and the Society of Mary