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| From my Catholic Book of Prayers |
Today, the feast of St. Patrick’s
Day was a special treat. Not for the beer and cabbage. For the homily at mass.
As a young college student Father
was in Ireland on vacation and visited a pub while there. As a spiritual fast and discernment of a life
decision decided he was not going to drink, which was pretty unusual for a
college student. His spiritual director was there and he didn’t have a drink
either and father took notice of this and asked him about it. He shared with
him that when he was 16 years old he made an oath and I’ve never had a drink
since. He went on to tell him that he was Irish, and he prays offering this up
as a Pioneer for those that have difficulty with drinking so that our graces
are with those that struggle with addictions. I mean after all the Irish are
known for their hardy drinking. So father decided on that day himself to also
become a Pioneer and since that day has not had a drink either. Every morning
and every evening in his prayers he asks for mercy for those that struggle with
addictions. He equates this offering with love, a love that is selfless. He gains
no benefit to do these sacrifices but is convinced it benefits others, those he
is called to shepherd. I was blown away by this act of charity.
The night before mass I was
researching information on our latest upcoming podcast on holiness and I read
Lumen Gentium chapter V on the universal call to holiness. I skimmed over the
part about priests and focused on the laity, since that is more our audience.
But I did glean a few things about offering up sacrifices for their flock and
such.
After mass I stopped by the
vestibule and thanked him for his commitment to holiness and we had a brief
chat. I decided to look back up what the chapter said about priests and the
call to holiness.
Here is what it says, (and I
paraphrase)
Priests, who resemble bishops by way of their sacrament of
Orders, form the spiritual crown of the bishops. Exercising their office
through Christ, participating in the grace of their office, they should grow
daily in their love of God and their neighbor by this mediator. They should be
plentiful in every spiritual good and present to all men a living witness to
God preserving the bond of priestly communion. Doing all this in imitation of
the priests who often, down through the course of the centuries, left an outstanding
example of the holiness of humble and hidden service. In this office of praying
and offering sacrifice for their own people and the entire people of God, they are
called to rise to greater holiness. In their apostolic labors, rather than
being ensnared by perils and hardships, should use these struggles to rise to
greater holiness. Their actions ever strengthened from an abundance of
contemplation, doing all this for the solace of the entire Church of God. All
priests should keep continually before their minds the fact that their faithful
loyalty toward and their generous communion with their bishop is of the
greatest value in their growth in holiness.
As I reflect on this call to holiness
for priests I see wonderful witnesses in my community of these faithful priests
and now more than ever I pray for them daily. In my catholic handbook I have
written the names of some of my personal priest friends and pray for their
vocation, that it be pleasing to the Lord.
Then being the research dork that I
am I looked up this Pioneer group. From their website it states:
The Pioneer Total Abstinence
Association of the Sacred Heart (PTAA) is an Irish organization that seeks to
promote and support healthier lifestyle choices so one can lead a joy-filled
life without the involvement of drugs or alcohol.
The Association was founded by Fr.
James Cullen S.J. in 1898 in response to widespread alcoholism among Irish
Catholics.
In the 20th Century, the term Pioneer
became synonymous with teetotallism among Irish Catholics, and the PTAA
influenced public policy. By 1948, the PTAA claimed 360,000 members.
Fr. Cullen was always concerned
with social issues, and his motivation in setting up the Pioneers was to address
the enormous damage that he saw excess alcohol was doing in the Ireland of his
times. Many workers were heavy drinkers, and alcohol was the greatest drain on
the weekly earnings of the family.
Pioneers gain strength and support through prayer and
meditation, demonstrating unconditional love and friendship, and leading by
good example, and it is those characteristics that distinguish it from other
secular temperance organizations.
Members take a pledge of
abstinence for a period of time (Lent is common), or for a lifetime.
While total abstinence is the personal choice of the Pioneers for themselves,
their overall message is temperance, moderation, and self-control in all
things. https://www.pioneerassociation.ie/
The fact that this was
fathers independent choice, one that he kept to this day some 30 years later is
so impressive. We chuckled in our brief conversation that the call to holiness
is a lifetime pursuit and he said I’m sure trying. It really inspired me to try
harder too. I’ll leave you with a quote I also discovered in my research.
“The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only
great tragedy on life, is not becoming a saint.”
Léon
Bloy French novelist
Prayer for Priests
Almighty Father,
Grant to these servants of Yours the dignity of priesthood.
Renew within them the Spirit of Holiness.
As co-workers with the order of bishops may they be faithful to the order of bishops, may they be faithful to the ministry they receive from You, Lord God, and be to others a model of right conduct.
May they be faithful in spreading the good news, so that the words of the Gospel may reach the ends of the earth, and the family of nations, made one in Christ, may become God's one, holy people.
Amen
