Year for Priests Closing Mass | Credit: Getty Images

On June 19, 2009, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the opening Mass of the Year for Priests, a special jubilee year celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the “dies natalis”—“day of birth”—of the Curé de Ars, St. John Vianney.

In a letter announcing this year for the Holy Priesthood, Pope Benedict wrote: the purpose of this year is to “deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a stronger and more incisive witness to the Gospel in today’s world.” Following the example of St. John Vianney, the Year for Priests encouraged all priests to “reflect…with heartfelt gratitude on the immense gift which priests represent, not only for the Church, but also for humanity itself.”

In recent years, the priesthood has taken quite a beating after news of the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests erupted in the early 2000s. The Annus Sacerdotalis was intended to further renew the priesthood in order to bring an end to these most devastating crimes against some of the most vulnerable among us.

Video Source: CatholicTV

During today’s Mass signifying the close for the Year for Priests, as expected, Pope Benedict XVI touched on the recent outbreak of news detailing years of sexual misconduct and abuse by Catholic priests. In the homily, the Holy Father begged for God’s forgiveness  and forgiveness by those who have been affected by clerical abuse over the years. He has vowed to protect the Church from these kinds of failings in the future, by beginning with young men discerning the priesthood of Jesus Christ. “We will do everything we can to weigh the authenticity of [seminarians' vocations] and make every effort to accompany priests along their journey, so that the Lord will protect them and watch over them in troubled situations and amid life’s dangers.” Below is the full text of the Pope’s homily.

Pope Benedict arriving at the prayer vigil for the close of the Year for Priests | Source: AP

Dear Brothers in the Priestly Ministry,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Year for Priests which we have celebrated on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the death of the holy Curè of Ars, the model of priestly ministry in our world, is now coming to an end. We have let the Curé of Ars guide us to a renewed appreciation of the grandeur and beauty of the priestly ministry. The priest is not a mere office-holder, like those which every society needs in order to carry out certain functions. Instead, he does something which no human being can do of his own power: in Christ’s name he speaks the words which absolve us of our sins and in this way he changes, starting with God, our entire life. Over the offerings of bread and wine he speaks Christ’s words of thanksgiving, which are words of transubstantiation – words which make Christ himself present, the Risen One, his Body and Blood – words which thus transform the elements of the world, which open the world to God and unite it to him. The priesthood, then, is not simply “office” but sacrament: God makes use of us poor men in order to be, through us, present to all

Source: CatholicTV

The first Vocations Awareness Weekend at St. John Vianney College Seminary for the 2009-2010 academic year will be held from November 13th to the 15th. For anyone from the Diocese of Orlando interested in coming on this weekend, please call the Office of Vocations at 407-246-4875.