From the Catholic New Agency:

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Sep 17, 2009 / 10:27 am (CNA).- In an audience this morning with bishops visiting from Brazil, Pope Benedict XVI advised them on how to respond to the lack of priests, emphasizing that the shortage cannot be solved by having lay people substitute for the clergy.

The Holy Father began his address to the Brazilian prelates by pointing out the difference between the identity of priests and the laity. While the lay faithful share in the “common priesthood,” they are not ordained ministers of Christ and His Church. “Hence,” the Pope cautioned, “it is important to avoid the secularization of clergy and the ‘clericalization’ of the laity.”

Fulfilling the lay vocation, he explained, involves working to “give expression in real life – also through political commitment – to the Christian view of anthropology and the social doctrine of the Church.”

On the other hand, “priests must distance themselves from politics in order to favor the unity and communion of all the faithful, thus becoming a point of reference for everyone,” Benedict said.

When dioceses are faced with a lack of priests, the Pope emphasized that they should not resort to “a more active and abundant participation of the laity” since it could take away from their own calling.

“The truth is that the greater the faithful’s awareness of their own responsibilities within the Church, the clearer becomes the specific identity and inimitable role of the priest as pastor of the entire community, witness to the authenticity of the faith, and dispenser of the mysteries of salvation in the name of Christ the Head,” Benedict XVI stated.

“The function of the clergy is essential and irreplaceable in announcing the Word and celebrating the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist,” he insisted, saying that for this reason it is “vital to ask the Lord to send workers for His harvest; and it is necessary that priests express joy in their faithfulness to their identity.”

Looking to the future, the Pope made it clear that “the shortage of priests must not come to be considered as a normal or typical state of affairs.”

He exhorted the bishops resolve the crisis by combining efforts to “encourage new priestly vocations and find the pastors your dioceses need, helping one another so that all of you have better-trained and more numerous priests to support the life of faith and the apostolic mission.”

As the Church celebrates the Year for Priests and the 150th anniversary of the death of the “Cure of Ars,” Pope Benedict pointed to the French priest as a model for priests, “especially in living a life of celibacy as a requirement for the total giving of self.” This total gift of self is “expressed through that pastoral charity which Vatican Council II presents as the unifying center of a priest’s being and actions,” he reminded.

The Holy Father ended his address on a positive note, assuring the prelates that “many signs of hope” exist for the future of particular Churches. This future, he said is one that “God is preparing through the dedication and the faithfulness with which you exercise your episcopal ministry.”

From Zenit:

VATICAN CITY, AUG. 31, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Year for Priests is also for those men who have left priestly ministry, according to Benedict XVI’s secretary of state.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone made this observation Friday in L’Osservatore Romano, in an interview that also explains how the Year for Priests became a reality.

“I remember that after the synod of bishops on the Word of God, at the Pope’s table there was talk of a proposal that had already come up in the past, of convoking a year of prayer, which was very linked to the reflection on the Word of God,” the cardinal recounted.

Nevertheless, he said, “the 150th anniversary of the death of the Curé d’Ars and the situation of the problems that have affected so many priests brought Benedict XVI to declare a Year for Priests.”

With this initiative, Cardinal Bertone affirmed, the Holy Father wants to show “special attention to priests and to priestly vocations” and to promote “a movement within the whole people of God, of a growing affection and closeness to ordained ministers.”

“The Year for Priests is bringing about great enthusiasm in all of the local Churches and an extraordinary movement of prayer, of fraternity with and among priests, and of vocational ministry,” the cardinal added.

He continued, “Moreover, the sometimes weak fabric of dialogue between bishops and priests is being strengthened, and special attention is being given to those priests who have been put to the side in pastoral ministry.”

The year is also a “renewal of contact, fraternal help, and if it is possible, a reuniting with those priests who for various reasons have left behind their priestly ministry,” Cardinal Bertone stated.

Finally, he affirmed, “The holy priests who have been part of the history of the Church will not cease to protect and support this road to renewal that Benedict XVI has proposed.”

Ninth Day – Aug 4

St. John Vianney, Good and Holy Priest

O holy Priest of Ars, you lived in an age of much upheaval, in a time when men turned their backs on God. Your bishop told of a parish to which he wished to send you where there was no love. He assigned you to Ars and said that you would be the Priest who would enable the people to know the love of God. Not only did you draw these people back to God, but your saintly reputation soon spread and many people were converted to a life of holiness. You said that a good Priest, a Priest after Christ’s own heart is the greatest treasure that God can give a parish. Give us such Priests!

O great St. John Vianney, once again we are living in day of upheaval. There is much evil in the world. Obtain for our Priests the grace to persevere in faith and never to despair. May they walk with the Lord and trust in Him all the days of their lives. Obtain through your heavenly intercession, for each Priest the grace of modeling his life after that of Jesus Christ, that his people will know the love of God. More than ever the people need them to be able to bring the world to Christ. O great Priest of Ars, on this, your Feast Day, please pray for our Priests!

Recite the Novena Prayer.

Novena Prayer

O holy Priest of Ars, St. John Marie Vianney, you loved God and served Him faithfully as His Priest. Now you see God face to face in heaven. You never despaired but persevered in your faith until you died. Remember now the dangers, fears and anxieties that surround our Priests and intercede for them in all their needs and troubles especially console them in their most difficult moments, grant them serenity in the midst of crisis, and protect them from evil.

O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, I have confidence in your intercession. Please pray for us and our Priests! Please pray especially for the needs of Father(s) ____________ and for an increase in vocations to the Priesthood.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

(say 5x in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to receive a Partial Indulgence*)

Eighth Day – Aug 3

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney, Lover of Penance and Mortification

O holy Priest of Ars, you led a life of detachment from worldly pleasures. Your meals consisted of a boiled potato each day; you slept a few hours each night. But you did all of this so that you would be able to serve God to the best of your ability. Your life was portrayed by the saying: “We complain when we suffer. We have much more reason to complain when we do not suffer, since nothing likens us to our Lord as the bearing of His cross.”

O great St. John Vianney, in these days when we are surrounded by so many comforts and pleasures, it can be so difficult for us to do penance for our sins and live a life of detachment. I resolve to offer some sacrifice today for the expiation of our Priests sins and the sins of all mankind. Assist Priests in accepting the cross God chooses to send him. May they embrace the life of sacrifice to which Priests are called. May they willingly offer their whole lives to God! Obtain for each Priest the grace to imitate the life of Christ by the bearing of His cross.

Recite the Novena Prayer.

Novena Prayer

O holy Priest of Ars, St. John Marie Vianney, you loved God and served Him faithfully as His Priest. Now you see God face to face in heaven. You never despaired but persevered in your faith until you died. Remember now the dangers, fears and anxieties that surround our Priests and intercede for them in all their needs and troubles especially console them in their most difficult moments, grant them serenity in the midst of crisis, and protect them from evil.

O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, I have confidence in your intercession. Please pray for us and our Priests! Please pray especially for the needs of Father(s) ____________ and for an increase in vocations to the Priesthood.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

(say 5x in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to receive a Partial Indulgence*)

Seventh Day – Aug 2

St. John Vianney, Humble in all Things

O holy Priest of Ars, your life was filled with humility. You wore an old cassock. You ate meager meals. You realized that before the throne of God, you were one of His creatures made to glorify God and praise Him in all things. You said that the “first virtue is humility; the second, humility; and the third, humility.” You counseled people to remain humble, remain simple and the more one is so, the more good he will do. Your simplicity of soul and your uncluttered way of life led you to sanctity.

O humble St. John Vianney, when our Priests forget they are totally dependent on God for everything, intercede for them with Almighty God, to allow them to see that without His Creator nothing is possible and that they must rely on God for everything. He is their Creator, who keeps them in existence at every moment. Obtain for each Priest the grace of humility. May their lives exemplify your humility and simplicity, a life uncluttered, a life totally dependent on God.

Recite the Novena Prayer.

O holy Priest of Ars, St. John Marie Vianney, you loved God and served Him faithfully as His Priest. Now you see God face to face in heaven. You never despaired but persevered in your faith until you died. Remember now the dangers, fears and anxieties that surround our Priests and intercede for them in all their needs and troubles especially console them in their most difficult moments, grant them serenity in the midst of crisis, and protect them from evil.

O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, I have confidence in your intercession. Please pray for us and our Priests! Please pray especially for the needs of Father(s) ____________ and for an increase in vocations to the Priesthood.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

(say 5x in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to receive a Partial Indulgence*)