God's Shepherd's Are Always There For Us

Today I had the opportunity to meet with a fellow friend and parishioner that I don’t often have the opportunity to sit down and talk with, and during our visit, we got on the subject of “Priests”. We started to recall how priests over the years had influenced and affected our lives in so many different ways.

With all the negativity that's been printed in tabloids, newspapers, magazines and spoken about on television concerning our Catholic priests, we stopped to consider all the positive things they’d done, and continue to do, for God’s people everyday.

Speaking from my own personal experience, there's never been a time when a priest wasn't there for me or my family in some way or another, whether it was to administer the sacraments; pass along the words of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and his disciples through the daily readings and gospels at Mass; to administer Communion, whether at Mass or in the hospital; or just to simply be there no matter what the need may have been.

Over the years, my family has welcomed our parish priests into our home for many different occasions, such as dinners and birthday parties, and because my husband and I were Eucharistic Ministers and my boys were altar servers, my family had the pleasure to do things with them, like go ball games, participate in various church events, and get to know them on a more personal level. One parish priest, in particular, who visited our home quite often, my family and I grew quite fond of. We treasured his friendship. He'd bring ice cream to the house and often play the board game ‘Life’ with my family. What fun we had playing that game! I remember those days fondly.

Personally, when I think back through all the years of my life, I couldn't begin to tell you how, in so many ways, they’ve been there in my life for me.

When I was growing up, it was my parish priest that offered me support and guidance. When my dad suddenly passed away at a very young age, it was my parish priest who rushed to the hospital to administer him last rites and comfort me. And when I went through a very tough surgery, it was again my parish priest who administered to me the Sacrament of the Sick and visited me. But most importantly, when a family member was very ill, it was a very special parish priest that gave me strength and courage when I needed it most.

Throughout the years, it really didn't matter whether the reasons were joyous reasons or not, what's been important is that there's ‘Always’ been a priest there for me and my family.

I could go on and on, and still only lightly touch on how much priests have touched my life and my family's life, and I'm sure my friend could also, that's why we both agreed that their sacrifices were immeasurable and shouldn't go unmentioned.

We agreed we should recognize and give praise to these wonderful priests who sacrifice so much everyday for God’s people, and it was best accomplished by writing about the positive acts they do every day, 24/7, and not the negative.

I know everyone has positive stories to share and I hope they will share them with others, because we need God’s Shepherds to hear how grateful and appreciative God’s Lambs are for all they've done and continue to do!

God Bless Our Priests!