On June 19, 2009, on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed a Year for Priests in remembrance of the 150th anniversary year of the death of St. John Marie Vianney, the Curé of Ars and the Universal Patron of parish priests.
The theme for this priestly year is “Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of Priests.”
Please consider saying the following prayer every day for our earthly shepherds...
SUNDAY: Pope Benedict XVI
MONDAY: Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J.
TUESDAY: Priests of the Archdiocese of Ottawa
WEDNESDAY: Missionary Priests and Religious Order Priests
THURSDAY: Wayward Priests
FRIDAY: Seminarians
SATURDAY: Vocations to the Priesthood
Keep them, I pray thee, dearest Lord,
keep them, for they are Thine
Thy priests whose lives burn out before
Thy consecrated shrine.
Keep them, for they are in the world,
though from the world apart;
when earthly pleasures tempt, allure
shelter them in Thy heart.
Keep them, and comfort them in hours
of loneliness and pain,
when all their life of sacrifice for souls
seems but in vain.
Keep them, and O remember Lord,
they have no one but Thee,
yet they have only human hearts, with human frailty.
Keep them as spotless as the Host,
that daily they caress;
Their every thought and word and deed,
Deign, dearest Lord, to bless.
Our father...
Hail Mary...
Glory be...
(IMPRIMATUR: D. Cardinal Dougherty, Phil., PA)
A printable booklet for daily prayers for the Year of the Priest is available.