Digital Marian Helper Winter_2019

14 M arian H elper • W inter 2019-20 • marian . org A ministry that ‘never stops’ P arishioners at a Mid- west Marian parish have a rejoinder to the lurid headlines generated by the small percentage of clergy whose grave sins have rocked the Church and shaken the faith of many. These parishioners have no intention of wallowing in disillusionment, no intention of leaving the Church. Instead, they gather weekly specifically to pray for priests. “I just feel so strongly about it — that it’s a ministry that should be in every parish,” says Sue Kramer of St. Mary Church in Plano, Illinois. “The priests need strength. They need prayers. They need support — people backing them up — and prayer is the most powerful thing you can do for them as a lay person. It should be a ministry that starts and never stops.” “I can tell it’s really supporting our priests,” says parish- ioner Teresa Stawiarski. “Whenever we pray, they know it, they feel it, and they say, ‘Thank you for the prayers.’” Parishioners meet each Friday from 9 to 11 a.m. in St. Mary’s Adoration chapel. They pray for the Marian priests who serve St. Mary and nearby St. Patrick’s Parish inYorkville. Their prayers include the Rosary and the Chaplet of the 10 Evangelical Virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They specifically ask Mary to inter- cede on behalf of their priests — that they model themselves on Mary and remain humble, holy, wise, and joyful instru- ments of God’s divine grace. Think about the objects of their prayers. These are men who said “yes” to God and “yes” to a life of continual self- sacrifice. Faithful and devoted to the Church, fervently loving our Lord and the Blessed Mother, they became Catholic priests. And not just Catholic priests, but Marian priests mod- eled on Blessed George Matulaitis-Matulewicz who led the renewal and reform of the Marian Fathers in the early 20 th century. Blessed George articulated the self-sacrificial dimension of Marian spirituality that has served as a ral- lying cry for Marians around the world: Lord, give us the courage and strength to forget and grace that Jesus offers us through the Church. The devil relishes attacks on the priesthood because the Sacraments help us reach Heaven. He doesn’t want us in Heaven! In a homily on Sept. 8, Fr. Dan considered a word from St. Paul’s Letter to Philemon. “Saint Paul and all of the other apostles were always called ‘Father’ because they were the ones who baptized everyone, and they were the ones who became the spiritual fathers to their faith com- munity.” The practice of calling a priest “father” continues to this day. “If you know a priest whom you do not think is living the life that he’s supposed to be living as a holy man of God, you have been given the task to pray for him,” Fr. Dan said. Prescribed prayer “We all have a responsibility for one another,” Fr. Dan explained. “In the guidelines for celebrating the Liturgy, there’s the Prayers of the Faithful. And there are guidelines even in the Prayers of the Faithful that say, first of all, you need to pray for the Holy Father. No one is in more need of prayer than the Holy Father” because he is the main target for the adversary, the evil one. “You need to pray for your bishop every time you cel- ebrate Mass. You name your bishop by name because he needs prayers more than anyone else in the diocese. And you need to pray for priests and religious.” Nowmore than ever, our Church needs us to pray for holy priests, men who will teach and preach the truth, men who will be the visible presence of Christ in the world, men who will act in the name of the whole Church when presenting to God the Church’s prayer (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1552). If you’re angry, that’s understandable. But in the name of Jesus Christ and out of love for His holy Roman Catholic Church, let’s get to work. A recent meeting of St. Mary Church parishioners who pray for priests included (from left) John Saeli, Tammy Hanna, Maria Saeli, Lydia Krantz, Sue Kramer, and Teresa Stawiarski. MH 14 M arian H elper • W inter 2019-20 • marian . org