Priesthood Sunday is Oct. 29
By CHRISTIE L. CHICOINE
CS&T Staff Writer
Without priests, there would be no Eucharist. That alone is reason enough
to give thanks to those men who have given their lives to God.
You can do just that on Oct. 29, which has been designated as Priesthood
Sunday. This year’s theme is priest heroes.
“What we want to do is just assure them that we think they’re
doing a great job,” said Bill Grogan, the father of Father William
E. Grogan, who was ordained in 1983. Father Grogan is director of the
Newman Center at Drexel University and a parochial vicar at St. Agatha-St.
James Parish in West Philadelphia.
“Basically, that comes down to saying, ‘Thank you, Father,
for the fact that you’ve dedicated your life for God, for the Church
and for each and every one of us,’” added Grogan, 83, a member
of the Association of Priests’ Parents and the Delchester Serra
Club.
The nationwide observation is being coordinated by the USA Council of
Serra International, an organization of lay men and women whose mission
is to foster vocations to the priesthood, and vowed religious life, in
the United States. The event is sponsored by the council and the Serra
International Foundation.
Praying for priests is the most crucial purpose of the celebration, Grogan
said: “We should constantly pray for them to receive the grace of
perseverance — that they keep doing what is so good.”
Priests appreciate the thanks, said Msgr. Timothy C. Senior, the Archdiocese’s
Vicar for Clergy.
By nature, priests are pleasers who try to accommodate their flock, he
said. And on any given day, there are many people to accommodate —
perhaps a family that just lost a child, a couple needing marriage preparation,
and someone dropping by to complain the gym had been locked when a team
needed it for basketball practice.
“Being a priest is 24-7,” Msgr. Senior said. “It’s
very rich and very rewarding, but it’s also a very demanding life.
We have really good priests who are very much aware of [their many responsibilities]
and really want to do a good job.
“And they would never want that person who needs to get into the
gym to feel as though they didn’t care,” he said.
A priest must be a man of prayer, celebrating the sacraments with great
reverence and, at the same time, be able to relate to people.
“He needs to be a leader, but he also needs to be able to facilitate
leadership among lay people,” the vicar said.
Msgr. Senior said the priests of the Philadelphia Archdiocese do that
work “very effectively, with appreciation for the traditions of
the Church, the importance of an orthodox faithfulness … and fidelity,
obedience to their Bishop.
“We have a very balanced and well-integrated presbyterate. That’s
a tremendous blessing,” he said.
How might the laity best show appreciation for a priest in their lives?
“Tell him that something he has done has made a difference in their
life,” Msgr. Senior said. “He probably does things like that
all time. …. And he’s surprised when he finds out that it
is making a difference.”
Having realistic expectations is another way to honor the clergy, understanding
they often shoulder many different responsibilities simultaneously, Msgr.
Senior said.
And don’t forget the priest who is not the pastor but who, also,
“everyday, is celebrating Mass fervently, visiting the sick, burying
the dead, preparing couples for marriage, reaching out and being present
to his people in very ordinary ways … holding the fiber of the Church
together in the community of the faithful…
“Tell him he’s doing a good job,” the vicar said. Then
he added,“Tell him when he’s not doing a good job, too.”
Prayers for vocations, and for the health of priests, are also important,
Msgr. Senior said.
Another way to spend Priesthood Sunday is by taking an autumnal stroll
on the campus of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood. In conjunction
with its 175th anniversary celebration, the Seminary will hold its annual
open house from noon to 4 p.m. on Oct. 29.
Take the Sacred Arts tour and the Seminary Life tour, and along the way,
you will meet our future priests.
Afterward, join the Seminary community for Evening Prayer and Benediction
at 5 p.m. in the Chapel of St. Martin of Tours.
“The day provides an opportunity for families and individuals of
all ages to tour the campus with our seminarians and to learn more about
priesthood and life at the Seminary,” said Msgr. Joseph G. Prior,
rector of St. Charles Seminary.
Priesthood Sunday is a most appropriate time to promote vocations to the
priesthood. Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Warminster recently launched
a year-long vocation awareness campaign. Beginning with the parish’s
annual Forty Hours Devotions Oct. 13-15, Nativity embarked on the parish-wide
effort to pray for, support and raise awareness of the Church’s
extraordinary need for vocations to the priesthood and religious life
— particularly, the priesthood.
An icon depicting Jesus calling the Twelve Apostles in scenes from the
Gospel is traveling through the parish into the homes and neighborhoods
of parishioners.
Nativity’s vocation awareness endeavor has pleased one priest in
particular.
“I am very happy and encouraged by the vocation initiatives taken
by the priests and people of Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Warminster,”
said Father Christopher B. Rogers, the Archdiocese’s director of
the Vocation Office for Diocesan Priesthood.
“So often we can forget where our future priests come from —
future priests come from our parish families,” he said. “Therefore,
the real heart and focus of vocation work needs to be the parish community.
When a parish prays and is attentive to the need for vocations, vocations
are born and come forth.”
Evidence of that is clear, Father Rogers said. “A number of our
seminarians are from the same parish. These parishes are clearly parishes
that have made vocations a priority and, as a result, vocations have come
forth.”
He suggested various initiatives for parishes to pursue: recitation of
a prayer for vocations before Masses; a traveling vocation icon; bulletin
reminders, and individual parishes “adopting” particular seminarians.
All such initiatives, Father Rogers said, will receive support from the
Vocation Office for Diocesan Priesthood.
“But the number-one parish vocation initiative is a happy parish
priest, who, together with his people, takes seriously God’s call
in the lives of the young people of the parish,” he said.
“When families and parishes pray, vocations come forth.”
Treating the priests to dinner is another way to honor the clergy on their
day, Grogan said. Members of the Delchester Serra Club who belong to Our
Lady of Charity in Brookhaven — that includes Grogan and his wife,
Nora — will treat their parish priests and other priests who served
the parish in the recent past to a dinner on Priesthood Sunday.
“No speeches, no awards — [we] just get together and say,
‘Thank you, Father,’” Grogan said.
Others might want to express gratitude by sending their favorite priests
gift certificates to a restaurant, department store or bookstore. Keep
the thanks simple, but sincere, Grogan suggests.
“Don’t overdo it. They can get a little embarrassed if too
many people are gushing over them,” he said. And be ready for some
resistance on the part of the humble priests, Grogan added.
“They don’t like to blow their own horn,” he said. “You’re
not going to find any priest standing up at the pulpit next Sunday saying,
‘Look at me. This is Priesthood Sunday. Everybody applaud.’
That won’t happen.”
Grogan said it is up to the parishioners and others to let the priests
“know how you feel.”
And don’t stop thanking them after Priesthood Sunday is over, he
said: “All that we’re doing should not be just one Sunday.
Let’s make it a year-round event.”
For more information about Priesthood Sunday, access the Web site:
www.priestsunday.org.
For more information about St. Charles Seminary’s open house on
Oct. 29, call (610) 785-6231. To learn more about St. Charles Seminary,
access the Web site www.scs.edu.
For information about the diocesan priesthood, contact Father Christopher
B. Rogers at the Vocation Office for Diocesan Priesthood at (610) 667-5778,
e-mail frcrogers@adphila.org, or access the Web site: www.scs.edu/vocations.vocations.html.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine can be reached at (215)
587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.
Priesthood Sunday is Oct. 29
What is Priesthood Sunday?
• Priesthood Sunday, Oct. 29, 2006, is a special day set aside to
honor the Catholic priesthood in the United States, to reflect on and
affirm the central role of priests in the life of the Church.
Celebrated on the last Sunday in October, Priesthood Sunday was established
in 2003 to provide a way for Catholic communities to express appreciation
for the devoted priests who serve them so faithfully.
The nationwide event is coordinated by the USA Council of Serra International,
and sponsored by the USA Council of Serra International and the Serra
International Foundation.
What happens on Priesthood Sunday?
• The laity of all parishes in the country develop their own special
way of marking the day and honoring their parish priests, both at Mass
and other parish events, including socials and school activities.
Priesthood Sunday was designed to be led by the laity, but your parish
priest may participate by talking about how he experienced and answered
his own calling, the need for vocations to keep the priesthood vital,
and about priests who have inspired him.
Priesthood Sunday will also offer an opportunity for priests and their
parishioners to build stronger working relationships for the future. Together,
they can consider the challenges of the future and how they can collaborate
to meet those challenges together.
Arthur J. Burke, Governor, Serra District 28, which encompasses the Archdiocese
of Philadelphia, expects Priesthood Sunday to expand in the future.
Added Burke, a member of Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Abington:
“We encourage all the laity to participate and promote the observance
of Priesthood Sunday.”
What is the USA Council of Serra International?
• The USA Council of Serra International is an organization of lay
men and women devoted to fostering and affirming vocations to the ministerial
priesthood and vowed religious life in the United States.
More than 12,500 Serrans in 300 clubs nationwide collaborate with their
bishops, parishes and vocation directors to fulfill that mission and to
further their common Catholic faith.
Learn more about Serra at www.serraus.org.
For information about Serra Clubs across the Philadelphia Archdiocese,
contact Arthur J. Burke, Governor Serra District 28, at (215) 885-6588
or e-mail him at ajburke11@verizon.net.
Sources: PriestSunday.org, Archdiocese of Philadelphia 2006 Catholic Directory.