Dear Friends and Parishioners of Saint Jerome,
Pax Christi semper vobiscum!
Last Thursday, August 4th, was the Memorial of Saint John Mary Vianney. He was a French priest from a small town in Ars, France. He is the patron saint of diocesan priests, as he lived a heroic ministry and an exemplary life of a parish priest. His fame was made known by many who witnessed his dedication to prayer and care for souls. The sanctity of his life is the inspiration for many of us who also live the priesthood within the context of parish ministry.
Once, my spiritual director told me that to become a priest is easy. To become a good priest is difficult. To become a holy priest is impossible unless one is helped by the Holy Spirit. I think I have experienced and lived the reality of what my spiritual director was talking about. I once preached that the ministerial priesthood is God’s gift to the Church. It is a humbling call to be the minister of the Sacraments that sanctify the lives of God’s people. On the other hand, it is also challenging for us priests to meet the demands of governance while we remain as bridges of God’s grace, especially amid a world of conflict, unhealthy criticisms, confusion, and uncertainties.
Do you remember your priests in your prayers? Do you feel connected to the ministries that your pastor has in the parish? Do you believe that our parish is the Kingdom of God that He entrusted to His people with your pastor? Up to what extent do you intend to collaborate with other parish members to make God’s dream for us a reality? Our collaboration with the mission of Jesus Christ here at Saint Jerome is critical because it defines our spiritual connection with each other and with God. Our stewardship, our collaboration towards a realistic fulfillment of the parish mission and our profound reverence in the worship of God make us the people that He has chosen to be His own. How do you support the parish ministries in collaboration with your priests?
We pray for holy vocations to priesthood and religious consecrated life after our daily evening Mass. We also have our Sunday evening vespers for holy vocations. I strongly encourage each one of you to come and participate. This is our responsibility to respond to the command of Jesus to pray for holy laborers. The ministerial priesthood ought to bring God’s people together with the purpose of sanctifying the life of each one. The baptismal priesthood makes us sharers in sanctifying grace. The Sacraments are meant to anchor us with God so that we may be graced and transformed into the person that God would like us to be. This is the goal of the ministerial priesthood of which we ask the Lord to send us from our community and from the entire Church. Prayer for vocations may sound irrelevant if we do not consider the Sacraments as the source of grace that transform us into the image of Jesus Christ. When there is no priest, there is no one to break the bread of the Eucharist. When there is no priest, there is no one who would anoint the agonizing person that asks for healing of soul. When there is no priest, no one in the Name of Jesus Christ would forgive our sins. Yes, as a community of faith we ought to ask the Lord to send us more priests, religious men and women and missionaries who would continue the work of Jesus Christ with us today. The Memorial of Saint John Mary Vianney is a reminder to us that God does not want us to be separated from Him so He gives us priests according to His Heart who care and gather us like a Good Shepherd.
Send, O Lord, holy apostles into Your Church!
Sincerely in Christ and Mary,
