June 3, 2009

Inaugural Mass for Year for Priests set

By Roxanne King

There’s a story that when St. John Vianney was assigned to be pastor of Ars, France, as he walked toward the village pushing a cart with his few meager belongings on Feb. 9, 1818, he met a little boy in the fields. The day was drawing to a close and he asked if the town was much further. The boy pointed ahead and accompanied the priest, bringing him to the poor church.

“Thank you for showing me the way to Ars,” Vianney is said to have commented, “I will show you the way to Heaven.”

Indeed, his personal sanctity and pastoral care soon converted the remote town of some 200 people.

“Within 10 years people were coming from all over Europe to see and hear him preach and to go to him for confession,” said Denver Auxiliary Bishop James Conley.

There’s a statue just outside of the village of Ars to mark the spot where that conversation took place.”

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of St. John Vianney’s death, Pope Benedict XVI has proclaimed a Year for Priests to open on June 19, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and to close one year later with a World Meeting of Priests in St. Peter’s Square. During the special year, which was announced March 16, the Cure d’Ars, who is currently the patron of parish priests, will be named the patron of all priests. The theme for the special year is “Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of Priests.

The Archdiocese of Denver will inaugurate the Year for Priests with a 6:30 p.m. Mass June 21 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. The principle celebrant will be Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. A relic and statue of St. John Vianney will be available for veneration.

All clergy and lay faithful are invited to attend and may earn a plenary (full) indulgence by doing so and by fulfilling the usual conditions for one, organizers said. An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due for sins that have been forgiven.

According to a May 12 Vatican decree, a plenary indulgence will be granted to those who fulfill the conditions of going to confession, receiving Eucharist and praying for the pontiff’s intentions—and who attend Mass on any of the following days: the opening and closing days of the Year for Priests, the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.

Those who due to illness or some other condition are unable to leave their homes, may earn the indulgence by fulfilling the three conditions as soon as they can and on the days concerned, pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles.

Priests may earn the indulgence on any day in which they pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle, and offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the sacraments, especially penance. Priests can apply the indulgence to their deceased brother priests.

“The purpose of the Year for Priests is for the sanctification of priests,” explained Bishop Conley, who serves as chair of the planning committee for the archdiocese’s Year for Priests events.

Among the liturgies and activities the archdiocese is planning are Holy Hours, a prayer calendar for people to pray for particular priests, a holy card and workshops for clergy.

“When the Holy Father announced the special year,” noted the bishop, “he said it’s ‘to encourage priests to strive for spiritual perfection, upon which above all the effectiveness of their ministry depends.’

“The Cure (pastor) of Ars transformed a whole parish through his dedication to his daily priestly duties, particularly his dedication to the sacrament of penance,” the prelate said. “There were no programs or gimmicks used; it was his own personal witness, holiness and works of mercy that transformed a dying parish.

“He was not a charismatic or gifted priest,” Bishop Conley continued, adding that Vianney struggled to get through the seminary and was nearly not ordained.
“He was a humble man who knew what it is to be close to Christ,” he said. “That’s what this year is about: it’s for a priest to identify himself with the One High Priest, Jesus Christ.”

Lay people can learn from the saint’s perseverance and openness to God’s will, the bishop said.

“In St. John Vianney, we see the face of Christ,” Bishop Conley said. “This Year for Priests will go a long ways to rekindle that desire for holiness and perfection in the life of the faithful and in the life of the Church in general.”

Watch future Denver Catholic Registers for other events related to the Year of Priests.

Year for Priests Inaugural Mass

When: 6:30 p.m. June 21
Where: Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, 1530 Logan St., Denver
What: Relic of St. John Vianney to be venerated; opportunity to earn a plenary indulgence