Your Son's Vocation

OUR SON THE FATHER
Parents (and Siblings) Are Blessed by 'the Priest in the Family'

BY Marge Fenelon
August 23-September 5, 2009 Issue of NCRegister.com (Reproduced with permission)

If you ask parents of priests what they did to foster their sons' vocation to the priesthood, you're likely to get an uncertain answer. Not many actually know what role they played - apart from simply living out the Catholic faith and doing their best to pass it on to their children.

But ask those same folks how having a priest in the family has affected their lives and there's very little fumbling for expression.

A few of the answers to the latter question are worth considering in this Year for Priests declared by Pope Benedict XVI - especially as the Church commemorates two of the all-time model priests, St. Augustine on Aug. 28 and St. Gregory the Great on Sept. 3.

"Having a priest in the family has given us the strength to go through some difficult times," says Shirley Dolan, mother of New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan. ...READ MORE

The "Adventure" of Priesthood is Necessary for the World

VATICAN CITY, 2 FEB 2008 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, the Holy Father visited Rome's Major Pontifical Seminary for the occasion of the feast of its patroness, Our Lady of Trust. After presiding at Vespers, the Holy Father expressed his joy at having the opportunity, as Bishop of Rome, to visit "his seminary".

"Because the gift of being adoptive children of God has illuminated your lives", the Pope told the seminarians, "you have felt the desire to share this with others. That is why you are here, to develop your filial vocation and prepare yourselves for your future mission as apostles of Christ. ... Savouring the joy of life with God the Father means that you feel the ever more urgent need to become messengers of the Gospel of His Son, Jesus".

"All this cannot but induce great trust, because the gift received is amazing, it fills us with wonder and sates us with intimate joy. And thus you are able to understand the role Mary has in your lives. ... Just as 'the Son was born of woman', of Mary Mother of God, the fact that you are children of God means you have her as mother". ...READ MORE