By Chris Sparks
My godfather died a year ago, the day after Father’s Day. I had called him on Father’s Day, as is my custom, to wish him a happy Father’s Day and just to talk for a while.
We were still grappling with the explosive force of the death of Marc Massery, a colleague and friend of mine here on Eden Hill, and so my uncle offered me advice as I was discerning what God’s call was in the present situation.
“Follow your heart,” he said. “You’ve got a good heart, and it’s led you well so far.”
Tragically, the next day, he’d be dead of a heart attack. I’ve just now realized he died in the month of the feasts of the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts, too. I choose to take that as a reason for hope.
Fathers matter
He was a good man, father to three boys, and a man of much achievement in his lifetime. He’s sorely missed by our family and by the broader community, for whom he’d done so much.
He was proof that fathers matter, and that good fathers, reliable fathers, hardworking and loving fathers make all the difference in the world. He’d be the first to tell you he wasn’t perfect, and that none of us are (I’d always add the caveat of Jesus and Mary), but I can tell you that his funeral was filled to bursting, even in the midst of the pandemic in Washington state, and that he is still loved, remembered, and missed.
Fathers matter. That’s true of biological fathers. My own dad has been a model of fidelity and love, both to Mom and to my sister and me. He has been an outstanding witness to respect for Catholic teaching for decades as a Protestant who regularly attends Mass with my mom and refrains from receiving Communion. Dad consistently supported and assisted Mom in raising my sister and me as Catholics. He has been a good provider, a loving father, and a man of virtue, including through some tough times over the years.
Yes, biological fathers matter, and so do spiritual fathers, including our mentors, our godfathers, and our clergy. A holy priest can transform whole regions into hotbeds of Christian practice, as proven again and again by priests from Jesus and the Apostles on down.
Spiritual fathers
Yes, biological fathers matter, and so do spiritual fathers, including our mentors, our godfathers, and our clergy. A holy priest can transform whole regions into hotbeds of Christian practice, as proven again and again by priests from Jesus and the Apostles on down.
Consider the ministry of St. John Vianney (1786-1859), for instance, patron of priests and someone who loved the Sacred Heart and Mary, the Immaculate Conception. He arrived in a small French village, so small it had a chapel rather than a full parish church, and through prayer, fasting, faithful priestly ministry, powerful preaching and catechesis, and an extraordinary devotion to hearing confessions, the Eucharist, the Blessed Mother, and the saints, turned Ars into a spiritual destination. In the face of the ravages of the French Revolution, he proved again the truth of the Catholic faith through his ministry of miracles and supernatural signs.
“The priest is not a priest for himself … he is for you. The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus”
— Saint John Vianney
Saint John Vianney is an outstanding example of a holy priest, and the power of a spiritual father to make a difference in the world. Jesus reaffirmed this when He said to St. Faustina, “Tell My priests that hardened sinners will repent on hearing their words when they speak about My unfathomable mercy, about the compassion I have for them in My Heart. To priests who proclaim and extol My mercy, I will give wondrous power; I will anoint their words and touch the hearts of those to whom they will speak” (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 1521).
Pray for our priests
That makes it all the more indispensable for us to pray for our priests. We parishioners need to be praying for our pastors. We Marian Helpers need to be praying for the Marian Fathers. As Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, likes to say, when men are ordained, their “wanted posters” go up in the Post Office in hell. The devil seeks to destroy priests. He knows the truth of Jesus’ words in Scripture, when the Lord quoted the prophet Zechariah: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed” (Mt 26:31). We need to be praying for our shepherds, especially when we least feel like it, especially if they’ve ever disappointed us, hurt us, or impeded our path to God.
We need to pray for our priests! Every time they give a good homily or say just the right thing to a friend or family member, we need to thank and praise God for having given the gift of those words, for the grace of this priest’s ministry. And every time we hear a bad homily or a priest says the wrong thing, we need to pray for them and for those in their care.
Every time we go to Mass, we should give thanks to God for the gift of the Sacraments through the hands of priests, knowing that in various regions of the world such as the Amazon River Basin or northern Canada, our Catholic brethren all too often go long months without access to the Sacraments. Every time we go to Confession, we should pray for our confessor and for all confessors.
Global Rosary Relay
And we need to take advantage of special times of prayer for priests. That’s why the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy takes part in the annual Global Rosary Relay for the Sanctification of Priests, held every year on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart (this year, June 24).
Father Jim McCormack, MIC, will give an inspirational talk on the priesthood in the Diary of St. Faustina, beginning at 4 p.m. Then at 5 p.m., we will take up our Rosaries and join the thousands of prayer locations worldwide in praying the Rosary for the sanctification of our priests. The National Shrine is scheduled to pray the Joyful Mysteries. Everyone is welcome to attend at the National Shrine, or to join in via livestream on Facebook or on YouTube. To learn more about Worldpriest and the Global Rosary Relay, please visit Worldpriest.com.
Pray for priests. It’s one of the most consequential works of mercy you can do, because fathers make all the difference in the world — and good fathers change the world for the better.
Happy Father’s day! Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us and on all our fathers, godfathers, and priests.
Chris Sparks serves as senior book editor for the Marian Fathers. He is the author of the Marian Press book How Can You Still Be Catholic? 50 Answers to a Good Question.
Photo by Harika G on Unsplash
{shopmercy-ad}
