Celebrating this 'Year for Priests' Print E-mail
By Archbishop John C. Nienstedt   
Thursday, 14 January 2010
This past June 19, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, inaugurated a “Year for Priests.”

Nienstedt.jpg That They May All
Be One
Archbishop John C. Nienstedt
In doing so, he asked that all Catholics would prayerfully set aside these 12 months as a time: 1) to reflect on the great gift of the ordained priesthood as essential to the church, 2) to acknowledge with gratitude those men who have accepted God’s call to the priesthood and, at the same time, 3) to pray for all priests and seminarians that they lead virtuous lives in holiness of heart.

This year is also a call for priests to enter into a deeper “interior renewal for the sake of a stronger and more incisive witness to the Gospel.”

Patron for priests

The model the Holy Father has raised up as a patron for this year is St. John Vianney, the famous Cure of Ars, whose 150th anniversary of death coincides with this year (1859).  St. John was known as a humble, self-effacing parish priest who demonstrated a great zeal for pastoral ministry.

He once said, “The priest holds the key to the treasures of Heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord: the administrator of his goods . . .

The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you.”

When he was first assigned to Ars, the bishop warned him of the poor state of religious practice by the parishioners of that village.  Through his prayerful eucharistic devotion, his care for the sick and the orphans, his tireless teaching of the faith, in the course of time new life was awakened in the spirituality of his people.

It is said that he also spent up to 16 hours a day in the confessional, because his reputation as an understanding confessor had spread throughout the whole of France.  His pastoral fervor was the direct re­sult of his attentiveness to his daily celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

He once commented: “The reason why a priest is lax is that he does not pay attention to the Mass!  My God, how we ought to pity a priest who celebrates as if he were engaged in something routine!”

Love and holiness

In my 35 years of priesthood, I have experienced the high expectations that Catholics place on their priest: They want him to be prayerful in his life, gentle in the confessional, dynamic in the pulpit, reverent at the altar, understanding in the office, compassionate, concerned, kind, forgiving, well-mannered and charitable to everyone at all times.

This puts tremendous pressure on the priest who understands just how difficult it is to be “all things to all men.” At times his own inadequacy weighs heavily upon him.

This, however, is but a reminder that he must return to the source of his priestly strength, which is the love he finds in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

As Blessed Teresa of Calcutta once said, the priestly vocation must be lived in love and holiness:

“The priest today is the one who has been sent also, to be the living love, God’s love for the world today.  The priest is that sign, he is the living flame, he is the sunshine of God’s love for the world . . . because today God loves the world through each priest who takes the place of Christ himself. He is another Christ.”

Last June, I had the privilege of attending my first Archdiocesan Presbyteral Assembly in Rochester with our priests. I am told that at one point, there were 290 of us present. I was deeply touched by the positive morale of these ordained men as our speakers invited us to reflect on who we are, what we do and what is the purpose that holds us together.

I was especially impressed with and grateful for their acceptance of me, a relatively new member of this presbyterate, who had been appointed their episcopal leader.

To me, their love for the church was so evident in their desire to serve her members.

It is also true and indeed humbling that neither I nor any priest can bear alone the responsibilities we have been given. That is why priest friends and priest support groups are so important.

At the same time, a priest looks to the families in his parish to reinforce his teaching of the faith as well as his ability to model joyfully the practice of living out that faith in daily life.

This is why I believe that you cannot have a year for priests without also making it a “Year for Families.”  The family is, after all, the place where a vocation is inspired and nurtured. Strengthening the religious context of the family is, I believe, the most favorable and proven formula for assuring that we have good, faith-filled priests in the years to come.

Local commemorations

I have asked Father Eugene Tiffany, archdiocesan director of clergy and ongoing clergy formation, to assemble a committee to plan some events to mark this “Year for Priests.”

You might also go to the USCCB Web site, which is www.usccb.org/yearforpriests/index.shtml. There you will find special prayers, projects and other materials promoting this year. Above all, the Holy Father has asked us to set aside the first Thursday of the month to pray for priests, particularly for their growth in eucharistic devotion.

My dear friends, please join with me to ensure that this present opportunity bears much fruit. Let us use every opportunity that is available to celebrate this “Year for Priests” in our archdiocese, our parishes and our homes.

God bless you!

Archbishop interview airing on Channel 6


Metro Cable Network, Channel 6, in both Minneapolis and St. Paul is airing its 30-minute “Mirror on the Metro” interview with Archbishop John Nienstedt at 6 p.m. Wed­nes­days throughout January and at various times in the upcoming months.

The archbishop shares information about his life and the history of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

See the video HERE.