Priests answer call to fraternal prayer
By Josh Low
Priests of the Archdiocese recently united in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in the heart of the state to pray for their priestly ministry and their brother priests.
Held at St Michael’s Church in Campbell Town on Friday 16 June, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the priests joined Archbishop Julian in a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration followed by a meal in the presbytery.
The Holy Hour has been run annually for several years, and is a response to the call of Pope Benedict XVI, who recommended that priests use the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart each year as an opportunity to pray for the sanctification of their own priestly ministry and that of all priests.
Archbishop Julian said Pope Benedict XVI was particularly keen on encouraging priests to look more deeply at their own spirituality, life, and to pray that they grow in holiness.
“At the end of the Year of the Priest, Pope Benedict XVI in his final address recommended to priests that the Feast of the Sacred Heart each year would be a very ideal time for priests to pray for the sanctification of themselves as priests, and for the sanctification of all priests,” Archbishop Julian said.
“In response to that initiative of Pope Benedict XVI, the priests of the Archdiocese have been gathering at Campbell Town Parish for several years now, for a Holy Hour in Eucharistic Adoration beginning at 3pm in the afternoon every year on the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
“Once again, we’ve done that this year and had a number of priests gathering from both the north and south of Tasmania.
“We come together, spending an hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament and the priests came with that simple idea of praying for their brother priests, particularly those of the Archdiocese of Hobart.
“Together as brothers, we pray for one another, to be strengthened and deepened in our faith, and particularly that we might grow in holiness so that we can be the priests that God wants us to be in the service of our people,” he said.