Vatican's Cardinal Piacenza points priests to Mary for Advent

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Vatican City, Nov 29, 2011 / 03:14 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholic priests should ask the Virgin Mary for a heart able to “relive Christ’s coming” during Advent this year, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza said.

Read the rest here

Source: Catholic Culture

Pray for our Church and Priests

Every Catholic Church is busier than it has always been before Advent and Christmas. The Third Edition of the Roman Missal will be in full implementation at the First Sunday of Advent.

This video with Fr. Robert Barron will help to clarify some of the common misconceptions that have emerged ever since our Latin Church has agreed to implement the new translation.

Let us say extra prayers for our Church and its priests that their efforts will be blessed and that the body will be given the openness to receive the richness and fullness of the theological truths of the Church found in the new translation of the Roman Missal.

Another part of a video series from Wordonfire.org. Father Barron will be commenting on subjects from modern day culture. For more visit http://www.wordonfire.org/

"There is much richer theological density to it. You see it clearly in the Latin prayers; it's hard to miss. There is theological complexity in the language. It honors these great doctrinal truths of our tradition." --Fr. Barron

Why Confess our Sins to a Priest?

2 Minute Apologetics: Should We Confess Our Sins to a Priest?
On June 6, 2011, in Apologetics, by uCatholic

Fr. Donald Calloway Invites You To His Free Talk

“Discovering The Immaculate Conception:  Unlocking the Hidden Keys
to Becoming a Saint.” by Father Donald Calloway

We are so excited to annouce that Fr. Donald Calloway has agreed to do a talk exclusively to the email subscribers of the the Courageous Priest Apostolate.  We are calling it “Discovering The Immaculate Conception: Unlocking the Hidden Keys to Becoming a Saint.”
This wasn’t easy.  Father is so busy he has been given his own event cordinator.  The event cordinator told us that she can’t believe we got ahold of him; let alone to have him agree to give a talk.
This will be given live over a telephone conference service.  So, there will be no flying, no driving, no hotels, no expensive restaurants.  All you need is a phone, the telephone number and a pin code.  Trust us this will be very simple.
We are doing this to kick off our first ever special event called  ”The Immaculate Conception Bootcamp: How to be a Saint in a Sinful World.” What this entails is a hard hitting, no holds barred prepartion with the purpose of preparing the way to the Immaculate Conception Feast day on December 8th.  Fr. Calloway’s talk will not be the only special scheduled event.  So, stay tuned and keep coming back for special post geared to leading us to the Immaculate Conception.

Here is what you must do to listen for the free talk with Fr. Calloway.

Email Subscribers:  Simply watch your email from Courageous Priest.  The information will be in an email titled “Fr. Calloway’s FREE Talk.”  The information will be in the email delivered on Wednesday and Friday.
Non Email Subscribers:  This is important.  The only way you will receive to this information is through an email given only to Courageous Priest Subscribers.  Do you see the box to the right of this post, titled “FREE! Subscribe to Follow Courageous Priest”?  Just enter your primary email address in the box.  Then go to your email inbox and opened the email titled “FeedBurner Email
Subscriptions.”  Click on the link to confirm.  It’s simple, quick and your security is guaranteed.  We have used Google’s subscription service since 2007 and never had any privacy complaints.

DATE: Saturday, November 19th – Book mark this date!

• 5:00 PM Eastern
• 4:00 PM Central
• 3:00 PM Mountain
• 2:00 PM Pacific

Who: Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC; hosted by John Quinn co-founder of Courageous Priest
Where:  Over the phone on a conference call
Cost:  FREE
Why:  Kick-off for “Immaculate Conception Bootcamp”
Why Only Subscribers?  It is a thank you gift to our faithful 3500+ subscribers.  Subscribers are the life blood of this little apostolate.  And, yes, it is a honest bribe to get more subscribers.
How Many People will be there?  You can call us crazy, but we expect full capacity.  With over 1000 dedicated phone lines this will be Fr. Calloway’s single biggest live presentation, excluded Catholic radio and EWTN appreances.  What alot of people will be doing is having some friends come over to their house or if possible some will be three waying a friend.  That would be smart.  We can’t wait!

 Who is Fr. Calloway

Fr. Donald Calloway will kick off the "Immaculate Conception Bootcamp" with a talk exclusively available to Courageous Priest subscribers.

Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, a convert to Catholicism, is a member of the Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception.  Before his conversion to Catholicism, he was a high school dropout who had been kicked out of a foreign country, institutionalized twice and thrown in jail multiple times.  After his radical conversion he earned a B.A. in Philosophy and Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH, M.Div. and S.T.B. degrees from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, and an S.T.L. in Mariology from the International Marian Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio.
He has written many academic articles and is the editor of two books: The Immaculate Conception in the Life of the Church (Marian Press, 2004) and The Virgin Mary and Theology of the Body (Marian Press, 2005).  He also is the author of the book Purest of All Lilies: The Virgin Mary in the Spirituality of St. Faustina (Marian Press, 2008). His radical conversion story is now shared in his latest book, No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy
____________
We can’t wait to have Father Calloway lead us during our first ever  ”The Immaculate Conception Bootcamp: How to be a Saint in a Sinful World.” 
Please go ahead and share this with a friend or Facebook it.
God bless,
John Quinn & Jeff Gares
Founders of Courageous Priest

Priest's Father … To Become Father - Baltimore, Maryland News Story - WBAL Baltimore

Priest's Father … To Become Father - Baltimore, Maryland News Story - WBAL Baltimore

Mahalo to one of our spiritual moms for sharing.

Promoting Ave Maria Press Webinars

Join Ave Maria Press online for a series of free, professional development webinars for parish ministers! Enjoy access to free presentations by experts in every area of parish ministry from the comfort of your home or office. Log in to the live webinars to participate in our question-and-answer sessions or watch the free recordings at your convenience.

Why Priests Are Happy
November 15
3:00 p.m. ET
Presented by: Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti

In partnership with the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership and the National Association for Lay Ministry, Ave Maria Press is pleased to present this FREE Webinar:

Why Priests Are Happy
Presented by
Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti
November 15, 2011
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. EST
(Show this in my timezone)
Register for the event here

Join Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti, a psychologist, professor of pastoral studies, and frequently consulted expert on clergy and religious for a presentation on his groundbreaking study of the psychological and spiritual health of priests. From this survey of nearly 2,500 priests from twenty-three dioceses in the United States, Rossetti discovered that, contrary to popular media portrayals, American priests enjoy an extraordinarily high rate of happiness and satisfaction, among the highest of any profession.They like the priesthood and are committed to it. In fact, 92 percent say they are happy in their ministry, among the highest rate of satisfaction of any profession in the United States.

This webinar is a must-attend for every Catholic! Sign up today. Space is limited.

Visit Ave Maria Press for more details.




Thank you for the info passed on to me by Lina Carahasen, wife of Dcn. Fred Carahasen.

St John Vianney Speaks about the Priesthood

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“The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.”

“O, how great is the priest! ...If he realized what he is, he would die.”

“Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption here on earth…What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of His goods…Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest and they will end by worshiping the beasts there..The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you.”

Mahalo to Catherine of Spiritual Motherhood for sharing.

Pope speaks about priestly celibacy during general audience

Psalm 119

On Vocations

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The following are from a series of vocation post by the Suffering with Joy blog:

1. What is Vocation?

2. Distinct Vocations

3. Vocations are not...

4. Discerning One's Vocation

Thank you Barbara!

Thoughts on Priesthood and Adoration

by Francisco de Zurbarán

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A Priest's One Necessary Sermon

The Lamb who is adored in the glory of heaven is present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar here on earth. If a priest were to preach but one sermon from the day of his Ordination until his death, that one sermon could be this: Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi; Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

Disappear Into Adoration

The priest is but a herald. He announces the presence of the Immolated Lamb, and then annihilates himself in humble adoration. Adoration leads inexorably to self-effacement. The Lamb is exalted; the herald of the Lamb disappears. The Bridegroom shines forth in all His beauty; the friend of the Bridegroom withdraws, content to listen to the sound of his voice.

You can read Father Mark Daniel Kirby's entire post here.

Priests

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O Unspeakable Mystery!

Oh sublime divinity of priests

To whom is given that which

is not granted to angels.

From an old holy card.

PRIESTS: COMMITMENT TO GOD, SERVICE, EXEMPLARY LIFE

"...The Pope then went on to identify three preconditions for a priest's life to ensure its conformity to Christ: "the aspiration to collaborate with Jesus in spreading the Kingdom of God, the gratuitousness of pastoral commitment, and an attitude of service"..." Read the entire article here

Farewell and RIP, Msgr. Daniel J. Dever

November 2nd is a special day for priests and those who have been a part of the Catholic educational system in Hawai'i. Because it is All Souls Day, it makes it more special to celebrate the life of a good priest and a good man, Fr. Daniel Dever. On that day also, he would have celebrated in person his 86th birthday. The gathering of the faithful at the 6 p.m. funeral Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace celebrated -- as he probably looked on and was among those present -- his very life, a life well lived.

I didn't know Fr. Dever, but the homily of Fr. Gary Secor gave a wonderful image of what a beautiful priest he was. In a gist, Fr. Dever lived his life not for himself, but truly and wonderfully, for Christ.

About Fr. Daniel Dever by Patrick Downes, Editor of the Hawaii Catholic Herald.

EWTN Live - 11-02-2011 - Praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Please remember to pray for the souls of our deceased priests. One of the priests in our diocese continuously asks that we not forget them after they die.

Catholic Church Teachings on Communion of Saints

Catechism of the Catholic Church
Communion of Saints

957
Communion with the saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven; we seek, rather, that by this devotion to the exercise of fraternal charity the union of the whole Church in the Spirit may be strengthened. Exactly as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace, and the life of the People of God itself"498:

We worship Christ as God's Son; we love the martyrs as the Lord's disciples and imitators, and rightly so because of their matchless devotion towards their king and master. May we also be their companions and fellow disciples!499


958
Communion with the dead. "In full consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and ‘because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins' she offers her suffrages for them."500 Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.

959
In the one family of God. "For if we continue to love one another and to join in praising the Most Holy Trinity—all of us who are sons of God and form one family in Christ—we will be faithful to the deepest vocation of the Church."501

== == == == == == == ==

Let us, therefore, love one another in the spirit of prayer by continuing to pray for one another.

We pray for our priests: the deceased, the living who continue to minister to God's people, those in formation or sabbatical leave, and those who are sick or dying.