Introduction by the Commentator:
Jesus chose someone to help us walk as His disciples. He is the Good
Shepherd, and He cares about His sheep. And just as Jesus gave His life to
serve the human family, so too, He calls certain men to stand in His place
today and continue to give their lives in service to us. A priest is a priest
twenty-four hours a day. During the day, he must celebrate Mass, visit the
sick, and counsel people who need his help. He must stay close to his
young people and the parish school; he must watch over and guide the
many groups that are part of his parish family. He must prepare his
sermons so that they help his people understand and live out the word of
God. He must pray daily for God’s help – for himself and for his people.
He must stay in touch with families to encourage them as followers of
Jesus. At night, he must be ready to get out of bed and be there when
someone is sick or dying or in an accident and in need of the sacraments.
A priest’s heart is an open door that many people knock on at all hours.
The priesthood is not a job. It is a calling from Jesus, to bring Jesus to His
people, and to bring the people to Jesus. We are so glad Fr. Ariel said “Yes”
when Jesus called him.
So today, we give God our praise and thanksgiving. We have so much to
be thankful for. ONLY the hands of the priest can bring us the Body and
Blood of Jesus; ONLY the priest is given God’s power to forgive sins.
Grateful for the gift of vocation, we all stand and with shouts of joy, let us
sing our entrance hymn.
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL
We now turn to the Father in prayer,
confident that he will hear us and will respond in love.
Let us pray to him and say:
BLESS US, O LORD.
1. For Pope Francis, our bishop Victor and all bishops, all who share in the
leadership ministry of the Church:
May they continue to serve our Church wisely, and encourage men
and women to take responsible leadership at many levels in the life
of the Church, thereby enabling them to fulfill their Christian
vocation to serve their brothers and sisters. We pray:
2. For all priests and especially for Fr. Ariel;
May they remain always close to Christ, the Good Shepherd, and
lovingly serve the people entrusted to their care. May they find
encouragement and joy as they celebrate with one another and with
their parish families the beautiful gift of their priesthood. We pray:
3. For Christians in the world who are without priests:
May God send them generous priests to shepherd them, preach the
word of God and bring them the renewing, nurturing and healing
power of the sacraments. We pray:
4. For those who lead the nations of the world:
May they may work for justice, truth, forgiveness and lasting peace
for our world community, and work tirelessly to address the plight of
refugees and victims of war, and redress the balance between the
poor and rich nations. We pray:
5. For those who are parents and teachers:
May they nurture faith, prayer, and love for you, and cultivate an
environment in homes and schools in which ordained ministry and
consecrated life are valued, and explored as a possibility for their
children's vocation. We pray:
6. For those whom God is calling to the priesthood and religious life:
May they respond with courage and conviction. May we,
seminarians persevere in our discernment and formation, and receive
the support of our families, friends, and parish community. We pray:
7. For all those priests who served God on earth and have gone before us to the
kingdom of heaven:
May we remember them with love and may they rest from their
labors and continue to intercede for us and bless us with their
prayers at the heavenly banquet. We pray to the Lord.
Father,
teach us to follow Christ your Son more faithfully.
By listening to his voice
may we become a community
more attuned to your call in our lives.
We ask you to hear the prayers we make to you today
and to grant them through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL
We now turn to the Father in prayer,
confident that he will hear us and will respond in love.
Let us pray to him and say:
BLESS US, O LORD.
1. For Pope Francis, our bishop Victor and all bishops, all who share in the leadership ministry of the Church:
May they continue to serve our Church wisely, and encourage men and women to take
responsible leadership at many levels in the life of the Church, thereby enabling them to fulfill
their Christian vocation to serve their brothers and sisters. We pray:
2. For all priests and especially for Fr. Ariel;
May they remain always close to Christ, the Good Shepherd, and lovingly serve the people
entrusted to their care. May they find encouragement and joy as they celebrate with one another
and with their parish families the beautiful gift of their priesthood. We pray:
3. For Christians in the world who are without priests:
May God send them generous priests to shepherd them, preach the word of God and bring them
the renewing, nurturing and healing power of the sacraments. We pray:
4. For those who lead the nations of the world:
May they may work for justice, truth, forgiveness and lasting peace for our world community,
and work tirelessly to address the plight of refugees and victims of war, and redress the balance
between the poor and rich nations. We pray:
5. For those who are parents and teachers:
May they nurture faith, prayer, and love for you, and cultivate an environment in homes and
schools in which ordained ministry and consecrated life are valued, and explored as a possibility
for their children's vocation. We pray:
6. For those whom God is calling to the priesthood and religious life:
May they respond with courage and conviction. May we, seminarians persevere in our
discernment and formation, and receive the support of our families, friends, and parish
community. We pray:
7. For all those priests who served God on earth and have gone before us to the kingdom of heaven:
May we remember them with love and may they rest from their labors and continue to intercede
for us and bless us with their prayers at the heavenly banquet. We pray to the Lord.
Father,
teach us to follow Christ your Son more faithfully.
By listening to his voice
may we become a community
more attuned to your call in our lives.
We ask you to hear the prayers we make to you today
and to grant them through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
PRAYER AFTER ‘PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION’
Commentator:
We all kneel as we pray for our beloved priest Fr. Ariel on his special day.
O Jesus, our great High Priest,
Hear our humble prayers on behalf
of your priest, Fr. Ariel Benan Degan.
Give him a deep faith, a bright and firm hope
and a burning love which will ever increase
in the course of his priestly life.
In his loneliness, comfort him.
In his sorrows, strengthen him.
In his frustrations, point out to him
that it is through suffering that the soul is purified,
and show him that he is needed by the Church,
he is needed by souls,
he is needed for the work of redemption.
O loving Mother Mary, Mother of Priests,
take to your heart your Son
who is close to you because of his priestly ordination,
and because of the power which he has received
to carry on the work of Christ in a world
which needs him so much.
Be his comfort, be his joy,
be his strength, and especially help him to live
and to defend the ideals of consecrated celibacy. Amen
St. John Marie Vianney
