Praising God for Priests!

From the Friars (or the Sisters)
May 20, 2006

The greatest blessings of my life have come to me through the hands of a priest. At an Easter Vigil Mass in 1974, I was held in the arms of a priest and incorporated into the Body of Christ at my Baptism, beginning my personal relationship with God. Seven years later, when I had my first conscious encounter with the Mercy of God in my first confession and then received the Body and Blood of Jesus for the first time in Holy Communion, it was by the power of the priesthood. In 2004, 30 years after my Baptism, it was a priest who placed the wedding band of espousal to Jesus Christ on my hand at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at which I made my Perpetual Vows.

Because there are still men in this world who have said "yes" to the Father, are willing to lay down their lives, and by His mercy have been incorporated into the Priesthood of Jesus Christ, I am able to know God in the most intimate ways possible on earth. Because there are priests, I can be present at the Last Supper 2000 years later. Because there are priests, I can stand with our Lady at the foot of the cross at every Mass, every day. Because there are priests, I can touch Jesus, taste Jesus as I consume His living, resurrected Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist. Because there are priests, I can hear the sound of Jesus' voice saying to me, "I absolve you from your sins," every time I go to confession.

Three of our friars were ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ last weekend and I am still reeling from the awesome wonder and power, the mystery and majesty of what has taken place - for the three of them, for our Church, indeed for the whole world.

My gratitude has deepened and my awe has increased. The gift of the priesthood is not to be taken for granted. The line from the Psalms comes to mind: "What nation has gods so near to it as our God is to us." It is so because we have priests. Let us pray for all our priests everywhere! Let us support them and encourage them and thank our Merciful Father in Heaven for the gift of the Holy Priesthood.

Sr. Clare Matthiass, CFR

May God give you His peace!