“Father Ken is the previous Pastor of St. Thecla Catholic Church. He left the church in late 2010 to accept another position within the Archdiocese of Chicago. Through my life I have participated in the church but not as actively as I am now. Through Father Ken my faith was renewed and I am now a more active member in my faith and in my parish. Thank you Father Ken for your support and generosity.”
- Hilda, Chicago, IL
“Fr. Tom Shoemaker has encouraged me to stay the course with my faith. Currently going through some sort of Dark Night of the Soul has, at times strained my faith commitment. Fr. Tom has encouraged me through these times to continue on with prayer, sacraments, etc to grow closer to God even if I don’t see/feel/touch him. Thank you Fr. Tom for your commitment as a Priest – one of the best!”
- Margaret, Highland, MI
“We must know that we have been created for greater things, not just to be a number in the world, not just to go or diplomas and degrees, this work and that work. We have been created in order to love and be loved.” -Blessed Mother Teresa, No Greater Love
Pray for your priests today, that they may live in recognition of the fulness of God’s love for them and share that love with others.
You and your priests are in the prayers of our EncouragePriests.org team!
“She [Mary] stands there as the woman in whom what is humanly impossible has become possible, through God’s saving mercy. And thus she becomes a symbol for us all. For if it is up to us, if it depends on the feeble flame of our goodwill and the paltry sum of our actions, we cannot achieve salvation. However much we are capable of, it is not enough for that. It remains impossible. Yet God, in His mercy, has made the impossible possible. We need only to say, in all humility, ‘Behold, I am a servant of the Lord.’” -Credo for Today
Are you heading our Holy Father’s advice to open your heart to God’s service?
Check out this great article from WordOnFire.org by Fr. Robert Baron: The Family is a “Little Church.”
“The paradox is this: precisely in the measure that everyone in the family focuses on God’s call for one another the family becomes more loving and peaceful. John Paul II admirably summed up what I’ve been driving at when he spoke of the family as an “ecclesiola” (a little church). At its best, he implies, the family is a place where God is worshipped and where the discernment of God’s mission is of paramount importance…”
Thanking and Encouraging Those Who Serve
Very Reverend Richard M. Erikson, Ph.D., V.G.
Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia
Archdiocese of Boston
A few weeks ago, I had a very encouraging experience as I flew on an overnight trip to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. For the first time in many years, in my service as an Air Force Reserve Chaplain, I was on a commercial airline in military uniform. I was inspired and humbled by the thanks offered to me throughout the trip by total strangers. At Logan Airport, for example, as I headed to the baggage claim area, I heard someone calling out to me, “Excuse me, sir.” I turned around, thinking perhaps I had dropped something, to be greeted by a young woman, with her hand extended to shake my hand, saying, “I just want to thank you for your service to our country.”
The people who greeted me did not know me personally; it was seeing the uniform that I was wearing that prompted them to offer their words of support and gratitude. Consistently, I am struck how strongly the people of the United States support and encourage our troops who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the country. Indeed, in numerous churches, liturgies and parish bulletins, prayers of support and care are offered regularly for our young men and women serving overseas. Viet Nam veterans will tell you this was not always the case. I am delighted that we make a special effort today to express our gratitude to veterans who were not often thanked during the time of their service. Thankfully, our Veterans Day honors all veterans…
“My Story is very simple. I say the Rosary for all the Priests and Seminarians and for more Vocations to the Priesthood.”
- Patrick, Miami Shores, FL
“On Priesthood Sunday I would like to encourage Fr. Joseph Kraker, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Akron, Ohio. Our parish is 175 years old and I’m sure everyone would agree that Fr. Kraker is the best loved priest we have had. Fr. Kraker celebrated the TV mass for the diocese of Cleveland for twenty years before coming to St. Vincent. He is the author of two religious books inspired by his Labrador retrievers, a weekly column printed in the church bulletin and the Catholic Universe Bulletin, and is also an accomplished musician, who sings to his congregation every Sunday. Father always seems to enjoy saying mass, even at 6 :30 a.m. Monday through Saturday. On certain Saturdays he might offer the morning mass, confessions, a wedding or two and maybe the vigil mass all done cheerfully. His homilies are amazing and are inspired by his early morning meditations. They should be recorded, written and even televised. as short thoughts on the liturgy. But all this is not what makes Father so well loved. It’s his charm, wit and caring about people that’s been his greatest contribution to the parish. When his dog Vinnie passed away last summer, his eulogy to the congregation was so touching that he moved some people to tears with his honest heartfelt emotions. By the way, Father Kraker didn’t retire at age 70. I think he knew we would miss him too much.”
- Catherine, Cleveland, OH
Catholic Men of Georgia and surrounding areas: Join hundreds of other men for the 2010 Georgia Catholic Men’s Conference on Saturday, November 6th! It’s a day of motivational speakers and spiritual enrichment. For information and to register, go to: www.gacatholicmen.org. Tom Peterson, President and Founder of CatholicsComeHome.org will be the lunch time key note speaker! Don’t miss this great event!
Check out this article from Catholic News Agency.
“The saints are ‘fascinating guides’ to faith, hope and love who show that ordinary people bring God’s comfort and light to the world.” -Fr. Lombardi
