Dear Parishioners:
This Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. As the Shepherds of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, I humbly ask for your prayers for Father Barrow and myself. Also, I invite you to please remember in your prayers all priests, bishops, and our Holy Father, Pope Francis. There is a poem entitled "The Beautiful Hands of a Priest," which reads, in part, "At the altar each day we behold them, and the hands of a king on his throne are not equal to them in greatness. It's the hand of a priest that will absolve us. When the hour of death comes upon us, raised over us in blessing the beautiful hands of a priest."
This Sunday is also World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The purpose of World Day of Prayer for Vocations is to publicly fulfill the Lord's instruction to "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest." While appreciating all vocations, the Church concentrates its attention this day on vocations to the priesthood. Please pray for an increase of vocations in the Diocese of Providence. Today is a day to pray particularly for more men to hear the call to the priesthood. Saint Pope John Paul the Great, in his book Gift and Mystery: On the 50th Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination, stated: "There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood, just as there can be no priesthood without the Eucharist."
No priest, no Eucharist. A simple yet profound statement. It echoes the language of St. John Paul II in his last encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia. In that 2003 encyclical, the Pope wrote that "the most holy Eucharist contains the Church's entire spiritual wealth: Christ himself, our Passover and living bread." He added that "the Eucharist builds the Church and the Church makes the Eucharist."
The Church is also called the mystical body of Christ. We are incorporated into this mystical body at baptism. This body — indeed, each of us — needs to be nourished to maturity in the faith. That nourishment comes, in part, from the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Little wonder that the Catechism, says, "The Eucharist is 'the source and summit of the Christian life.'"
The Eucharist is the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ himself, under the appearances of simple bread and wine. We believe Christ is truly present in the Eucharist because he said so at the Last Supper. At the Last Supper, he also instituted the priesthood, giving mere men the power to consecrate bread and wine in his name and under his authority. Every Mass is a solemn re-presentation of what Christ gave us at the Last Supper: the gift of himself in the Eucharist.
The fruit of this sacrament, worthily received, are nourishment for the soul and growth in holiness, charity, and stronger bonds of unity within the Church. The Eucharist brings us closer together and helps us think, act and love in union with one another.
The Eucharist is the source of unity and charity for Catholics. If a community wants the Eucharist, it needs a priest. A priest receives ordination from a bishop and assists him in ministering to the flock. The bishop is a successor to the Apostles and named by the Pope, the successor of St. Peter, whom Jesus designated as the visible head of the Church on earth. Hence we can see a link between the Eucharist and the Vicar of Christ.
““At the altar each day we behold them, and the hands of a king on his throne are not equal to them in greatness. It’s the hand of a priest that will absolve us. When the hour of death comes upon us, raised over us in blessing the beautiful hands of a priest.””
And from where do priests come? They come from Catholic families, but the call to the priesthood comes from Jesus. Our Lady of Mercy has been a source of vocations to the priesthood in the recent past. Let us with our prayers ensure it is today and in the future. We remember with great pride that Father Brain Morris, a graduate of OLM School, was ordained a Priest of Providence in 2017. Father Morris serves as Chaplain at Bishop Hendricken. He is also the Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Providence. Please pray for him and for his work in promoting vocations to the priesthood.
On this Good Shepherd Sunday, pray for priests and also more vocations to the priesthood especially in the Diocese of Providence and from Our Lady of Mercy Parish. Your prayers for vocations are vital to the work of the Church. "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest."
Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless.
Father Healey