(Sr. St. Paul and Sr. Fidelis with the new Bishop of Gallup, NM – our good friend Bishop-elect James Wall.  We ask that keep him in your prayers as his episcopal ordination is on April 23, 2009)

Recently Pope Benedict XVI announced the Year of the Priest – to begin on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, June 19, 2009.  This news came as a great surprise to us – and A GREAT JOY!!!  The theme of the Year is “Faithfulness of Christ – Faithfulness of Priests”.  
As Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, this Year has special significance for us – as an prominent part of our charism to pray for Priests.  In December 2007, a beautiful document was released on Spiritual Maternity – intercession for  Priests.  Here is a link to the document: http://www.clerus.org/clerus/dati/2008-01/25-13/Adoration.pdf  
 If you have not read it yet, please do so.  It’s awesome and would be a wonderful resource to connect with to prepare for this upcoming Year.  In any case, we are praying and discerning how we can best live this YEAR of intercession and thanksgiving for Priests.  If you have any thoughts or ideas (especially for those priests  out there who read this blog…) about what we can do, what initiatives of prayer might be introduced and so on, we would love to hear from you.  Please keep this in prayer – and if you get an inspiration…let us know!  In the mean time, we will continue to pray for our Priests and to prepare to intensify this intercession in the upcoming Year.
(Our faithful friend, Fr. Fred Adamson)
 
THANK YOU, POPE BENEDICT XVI…for this YEAR OF THE PRIEST.
Saint John Marie Vianney – please intercede for all priests – 
especially those who have most need of your prayers and those priests who have administered the Sacraments to us or assisted us in any way.

(Enjoying some time with Fr. John Caulfield from Washington DC 
and Fr. Matthew Lowry from Phoenix)
 
O Jesus, our great High Priest, Hear my humble prayers on behalf of your priest, Father [N].  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.

John Joseph, Cardinal Carberry (+1998)

Archbishop of St. Louis 1968-1979