July 1, 2009

Hundreds fill cathedral for Mass marking start of Year for Priests

By Roxanne King

“A good shepherd, a pastor after God’s heart,” said St. John Marie Vianney, “is the greatest treasure the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy.”

Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., shared that quote with the congregation attending the Denver Archdiocese’s opening Mass for the Year for Priests on the evening of June 21 in the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception downtown.

“A good pastor,” the archbishop explained, “shows us what God’s love is like.”

St. John Vianney was a 19th century pastor in Ars, France, who became renowned for his personal sanctity and as a confessor and director of souls. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the saint’s death, Pope Benedict XVI has proclaimed a Year for Priests, which started on June 19, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. During the special year, the Cure d’Ars, who is currently the patron of parish priests, will be named the patron of all priests.

“The pope tells us this Year for Priests has two purposes,” Archbishop Chaput said during his homily. Addressing the two dozen Mass concelebrants, including Auxiliary Bishop James Conley, he added, “The first purpose, my dear brother priests, is ours. It’s a time when we’re supposed to recommit ourselves to our priestly vocation. It’s a time when the Holy Father is asking us to engage in spiritual renewal. So if this Year for Priests is going to be successful, it lies in our hands.”

“The first mover in the Year for Priests,” he asserted, “is the Holy Spirit. The second mover is us, whether or not we receive the grace that God wants to give us—the grace of spiritual renewal.”

Turning his attention to the congregation, the archbishop noted that by virtue of their baptism, the laity “share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ” and as God’s “priestly people” also share responsibility for the Church. The laity’s role in the special year, he said, is to show love and respect for the ordained priests God has given his Church.

“Part of the purpose of this year,” the archbishop added, “is for you to pray for us and to encourage us to be faithful to our responsibilities, and the best way you can encourage us to be faithful to our responsibilities is for you to be responsible to yours.

“The greatest joy for a priest,” he emphasized, “is to see holy people.  We depend on that very, very much. Otherwise our lives are a failure because we exist for you.”

Sharing a second quote by St. John Vianney, the archbishop said, “A priest is not a priest for himself but is a priest for you.”

“The essence of the priesthood,” explained the archbishop, “is to build up the body of Christ—to be another presence of Christ in the community.  So we exist for you. Without you we have no meaning. Working together as God’s holy priests, as God’s faithful people, we can make all the difference in the world in this Year for Priests.”

The archbishop urged the faithful to pray the Year for Priests prayer, available on holy cards at the parishes and online at the Year for Priests link at archden.org. He noted that the archdiocese has created a Year for Priests prayer calendar that designates a particular priest or prayer intention for each day. Like the holy cards, the prayer calendars are available at the parishes and may be downloaded at archden.org.  In addition, the daily prayer intentions are published in each issue of the Denver Catholic Register.

“The day you were supposed to pray for me is today,” noted the Archbishop Chaput, eliciting laughter. He drew more laughter when he added, “It’s almost over, so you better get busy!”

As the concelebrating priests stood for recognition at the archbishop’s request, the congregation expressed gratitude to their “spiritual fathers” with applause.

Earlier, acknowledging that the day was Father’s Day, the archbishop had asked all fathers in the congregation to stand and the congregation had applauded heartily for them as well. Exhorting the faithful to thank their fathers and to pray for them, the prelate urged fathers to recommit themselves to being good husbands and fathers. 

 “St. Paul,” the archbishop added, “tells us that all fatherhood in heaven and on earth receives its name from the fatherhood of God, so those of you who we call father have a great responsibility.”

Following the Mass, many faithful in the congregation lined up to venerate a relic of St. John Vianney that the archbishop had blessed during the liturgy. An icon image of the saint was also on display.

Those attending the Mass had the opportunity to earn a plenary indulgence. An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due for sins that have been forgiven. The indulgence, according to a May 12 Vatican decree, will be offered throughout the Year for Priests. It 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 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.

Several Little Sisters of the Poor, including Mother Paul Magyar, administrator of the order’s Mullen Home for the Aged Poor, were among those who filled the cathedral for the archdiocese’s Year for Priests opening Mass.
“Our hopes are that our priests will know they have the love and support of all the people behind them,” Mother Paul said after the liturgy. “They have such a beautiful, holy vocation and they need a lot of encouragement and support. That’s what we want to give to them—our prayers and our respect.”

Cathedral parishioners Stephanie and Brice Buchess and their seven children also attended the Mass. Expressing the family’s hopes for the special year, Stephanie Buchess said, “It’s as the archbishop said, to support our priests—to pray for them to grow in holiness so they will help us do the same.”

As he readied to depart the cathedral grounds for his own parish, St. Catherine of Siena Church in northwest Denver, Community of the Beatitudes Father John Gregory Cieutat shared his goal for the special year.

“My hope is to renew my love for Jesus,” he said. “And to renew my joy serving him through this priesthood ministry.”