| Year of the Priest: Archbishop-Elect Aymond Shares Reflection on Priestly Ministry |
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The Year of the Priest, as announced by Pope Benedict (June 19, 2009 – June 19, 2010) marks a special time for the shepherds of the Church. During this jubilee year, the pope will proclaim St. John Vianney to be patron saint of all the world’s priests.
As we look toward the wonderful celebrations of the year ahead, Catholic Leadership Institute's Episcopal Moderator Most Rev. Gregory M. Aymond (Archbishop-Elect of New Orleans, LA) took the time to share his personal reflections on how the priestly ministry has impacted his vocation.
It is with gratitude to God that I acknowledge that I was ordained to the priesthood 34 years ago. It has been a very blessed journey and I am grateful to God for calling me to priestly service. I also remain grateful to those whom God has used to awaken his call in me and torespond to that call to serve as a priest of the Church.
I distinctly remember two priests in my life who were very significant to me as a child. God placed them in my life at a very early age. I was an altar server for them. In a very fatherly
way, they took an interest in me personally and encouraged me to live a life of discipleship. Both of them, in their own way, asked me if I had ever considered the priesthood and that they thought I had the qualities to serve the Church as a priest.
During my elementary school years, as well as in high school, I watched these men give of themselves generously from day to day, rising early in the morning to celebrate Mass, visiting families, especially the sick and the shut-ins, taking seriously their role of being present
to God’s people and visiting us in the parish elementary school.
In my ministry as a rector of a seminary, I heard from seminarians over and over again it was not TV advertisements or billboards that awakened in them the call to the priesthood, but it was the example of priests whom they got to know and whom they admired for their ability to lead and to serve God’s people.
I am grateful for the priests who have influenced my life and have helped me to say yes to God. I also thank God for all of those priests who have been a sign of hope and a model to young men to think about service in the Church as an ordained priest.
Celebrate the Year of the Priest:
- Sponsor a Priest: Your generosity can afford a priest the opportunity to participate in Catholic Leadership Institute's Good Leaders, Good Shepherds program. Contact Dan Cellucci for more information on how you can make a difference in the life of a shepherd: dcellucci@catholicleaders.org or 610-363-1315
- Prayers for Priests: http://www.usccb.org/yearforpriests/
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