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Twelfth Sunday Of The Year
21 June 2009
Dear Friends in Christ,
The Year of St. Paul, dedicated to studying the life, ministry, and writing of the Apostle to the Nations, ends on Monday 29 June, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. I hope that during this past year you have taken the opportunity to learn a bit more about this extraordinary man whom the Lord Jesus called to be a powerful instrument of grace for the preaching of the Gospel. There are still eight days remaining in the Pauline Year, so there is still plenty of time to study and pray with one more of St. Paul’s letters in the New Testament.
Even before the Year of St. Paul ends, however, we begin a new special year in the Church dedicated to a single topic. Pope Benedict XVI has declared a “Year for Priests” which is meant, in the Pope’s words, “to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a more incisive witness to the Gospel in today’s world.” In other words, the Year for Priests is dedicated to assisting priests in the renewal of their own interior lives for the sake of the Church’s mission: preaching the Gospel. The Year for Priests begins in 2009 and ends in 2010 on the Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy, and this special Year is timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, patron saints of priests, who died on 4 August 1859.
In the coming months, we will explore the life and ministry of the Curé of Ars (the traditional title of St. John Vianney) and consider the ways in which the life and ministry of priests in our day can be renewed for the sake of the Gospel. To learn more about the Year for Priests and the ways in which you can participate, simply do an internet search for “Year for Priests.” A wealth of information is already available online, and you can begin now praying each day for the renewal of the priests who serve the Church right here in our own diocese and parish.
Finally, there is another date of note for me in the coming week. Next Sunday, 28 June, is the eighth anniversary of my service as pastor of St. Mary’s. It seems impossible that only eight years ago, with the old air conditioner broken, I stood before you for the first time in a sweltering church promising only three things: to replace the air conditioner, to make mistakes, and to give myself entirely to preaching the Gospel in the service of the New Evangelization. Eight years on we have a turbocharged air conditioner, and I’m still making mistakes. But I am also still doing my best to preach the Gospel, in season and out, in the service of leading everyone to know, love, and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for these last eight years, and please pray for my service in the next eight, beginning now in the Year for Priests.
Father Newman