The Catholic Priest in the Modern World: A Living Martyr for His Faith in the Priesthood

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...Consequently, as a society becomes more secularized and materially preoccupied, there will be a corresponding lack of interest in the priesthood. Once flourishing Catholic cultures that have become materially wealthy, become proportionally de-Catholicized and, to coin a term, desacerdotalized. Vocations to the priesthood decrease, as departures from the active priesthood increase. As we might add, naturally.

The modern media in societies like our own are, with rare exception, not friendly to the Catholic priesthood. Or, more accurately, the media are friendly in so far as Catholic bishops and priests do not challenge the secular values of a society—like contraception, sodomy or adultery. But once these values are challenged, the opposition is a plain fact of contemporary history.

However, this is not, in my judgment, the main grounds for claiming that a Catholic priest must expect to live a martyr’s life in the modern world. I believe the main reason is the spread of alien ideas in nominally Catholic circles about what exactly is a priest...

You can read Father John Hardon's article in its entirety here.

Thanks Sue Cifelli.

Two new priests, one year later: Fathers Cabico and Bearis

On the first anniversary of their ordinations, two local men talk about the challenges, the apprehensions, the joys, the mysteries of their new life, what it is like being called “Father,” celebrating Mass, hearing Confessions, anointing the sick, and more

Interview and photos by Anna Weaver | Hawaii Catholic Herald Read it here.

Happy Anniversary, Fr Maurice Cardinal, MS

From the Diocese of Honolulu:

Fr Maurice Cardinal, MS celebrated his 60th anniversary as a priest & his retirement at age 85 at Sacred Heart Hawi on Saturday, June 19th.

Please say a prayer for Father Cardinal or spiritually adopt him.

Text messages to Pope reaches 20,000

Our beloved pope, Pope Benedict XVI


Hey, Hawai'i! Have you ever thought of sending text to our Pope?

This day and age, with technology, communication keeps getting better. The best part of it is, living on a small island doesn't quite bring us Islanders anymore to the feeling of isolation from the entire world.

Rome, through the cyberspace, seems only a few miles away. News about our Holy Father comes to us in just a few minutes; that, for me, is one of the blessings of blogging and having joined Facebook.

Pope Benedict receives 20,000 text messages in support.

Origin of text messaging Pope Benedict XVI.

LAY CATHOLICS LAUNCH EXPANDED WEBSITE TO ENCOURAGE PRIESTS

From Catholics Come Home

ATLANTA, Ga. (June 22, 2010)—The new lay Catholic outreach effort EncouragePriests.org™ has just launched its new interactive and expanded website to support priests. The apostolate launched on Holy Thursday and the new interactive website went live this Father’s Day, June 20, 2010.

The new website comes on the heels of the “Year for Priests” in an effort to extend the Holy Father’s call for the laity to show our love and support for the many holy Catholic priests around the world.

“This audacity of God who entrusts himself to human beings – who, conscious of our weaknesses, nonetheless considers men capable of acting and being present in his stead – this audacity of God is the true grandeur concealed in the word ‘priesthood,’” said Pope Benedict XVI.

Collar-HollerThe mission of EncouragePriests.org™ is to promote vocations and support ordinary men who do extraordinary work as Catholic priests, celebrating Mass and the sacraments, preaching, evangelizing and tirelessly serving the needs of their communities and the world.

On the new EncouragePriests.org™ website, visitors can learn more about the priesthood and vocations through audio, visual and written material on the site and on the blog. People will also find resources to show their gratitude for the priests in their lives through spiritual bouquets, written and video greetings, and short “Collar-Holler℠” e-cards. Encourage Priests™ can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

EncouragePriests.org™ has already been welcomed by priests and lay Catholics around the country. “Great concept…Will be a tremendous help to the morale of priests,” said Bishop Sam Jacobs from the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. Several Catholics have submitted words of encouragement about their priests, like Rose who said, “He is truly a great priest who is always there for God's people, no matter what. His presence alone is a blessing to his parish and ours. I pray that he stays strong throughout his priesthood to continue to be a great priest.”

Rosary Rally - Ending the Year of the Priests

At 10 o'clock AM today, a group of us gathered in front of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace.  We prayed the Holy Rosary for the intentions of all our priests and in union with other dioceses around the United States, to close out the Year for Priests.

We used Cardinal Carberry's Rosary for priests to pray for priests' special intentions.  That very beautiful rosary can be found here.

Following the Rosary recitation, Father Vince Inghilterra, graciously thanked us on behalf of all the priests, for remembering them and for praying for them.  He asked us to continue praying for all priests.

Father gave us a beautiful blessing and thus ended the Year for Priests in the Diocese of Honolulu.

I do want to thank everyone who attended and especially Cami for making this possible.  She really worked fast in organizing considering the late notice.

Remember:  Pray for our Priests!!

Rosary Rallies for Priests Give Final Flourish to Their Special Year

Have you heard about the Rosary for Priests? People will be gathering on the steps of Cathedrals in many dioceses on June 19 at 10am, to offer a Rosary for priests to commemorate the last day of the Year for Priests. While last Friday was the ceremonial ending, the indulgences are available until June 19. And on top of that, it is Father’s Day weekend — what more fitting time could there be to pray for our spiritual Fathers?

Read the rest here