Priesthood Sunday is a special day set aside each year to affirm the role of the priesthood in the church in the United States. It is celebrated on the last Sunday of September, which will be September 29 this year. This day honors priests, without whom the Mass and most other sacraments could not be celebrated.

Throughout the year, but especially on Priesthood Sunday, I invite everyone to reflect upon the importance of our priests and to express gratitude to them. The number of Catholic priests and ordinations in the United States has generally declined in the past fifty years. The men who answer the call to the priesthood are working harder than ever before. They make considerable sacrifices in order to be available to serve their parishioners in this ministry.

A parish priest is not just a “hired hand.” His parishioners become like a family to him. He is a human being, with human weakness and error. He is not perfect. He makes mistakes. He is not a robot. He has feelings. His heart can be broken. He mourns and grieves his losses. He sometimes gets hurt, tired, or discouraged. Sometimes he cannot live up to people’s expectations.

Priesthood Sunday is a chance to say thanks and honor our priests in unique ways. This could be during the Mass or at other times. We should include our priests in the General Intercessions that day. Some priests may share words of witness about their own personal experience of their calling and the meaning they find in their ministry.

What are some concrete ways that you might show appreciation to your priest? Pray for him. Let him know you are praying for him. Write him a note or card with words of gratitude. Tell him something specific in his ministry that you are grateful for. Be hospitable. Say hello to him. Greet him. Invite him to special events in your life and the life of your family. Invite him to share a meal sometimes. When you extend an invitation to him, don’t be intimidated; just be yourself. Occasionally bring him some food that he can eat when he has the time, especially food that is healthy for him.

With deep and abiding faith in Christ, a Catholic priest is ordained to serve the people of God in three principal ways: (1) by preaching the word of God and explaining the teachings of our faith; (2) by celebrating the sacraments; and (3) by exercising leadership through his shepherding of the community that has been entrusted to him. He does not exercise his ministry in isolation or in a vacuum. He needs the active collaboration of the members of the parish.

He stakes his life completely on Jesus Christ. Jesus is his Lord, his Savior, his teacher, his mentor, and his constant companion. The priest is a spiritual father, a “doctor of souls,” applying the spiritual resources that Christ gives the church to bring healing and hope, and to help his people get to heaven.

Every priest who comes to a parish brings his own unique set of gifts and talents. He is not exactly the same as his predecessor. Therefore, we should not expect him to lead in exactly the same way. Each priest helps the parish to grow in a new way.

As we look to the future, we will need more priests to serve the needs of our people. God continues to call men from our local families and parishes to enter the seminary and prepare for the priesthood. If you know someone who you think has some qualities that would be good for the priesthood, mention it to him. Your simple suggestion could be the spark that the Holy Spirit uses to awaken a man to his vocation.

The website of the Vocation Office of the Diocese of San Angelo can be found at dosavocation.org. It includes many helpful resources to help a man to discern his vocation, including an informal discernment quiz. It also has a feature called “Vocation Suggestion,” whereby anyone can recommend someone they think might make a good priest or religious. The site also includes a growing series of videos which tell the beautiful vocation stories of some of our priests.

If you would like more information about the priesthood or the seminary, I invite you to contact Father Ryan Rojo, our Diocesan Vocation Director, at 325-651-7500, or [email protected]. His postal address is P.O. Box 1829, San Angelo, TX 76902.

Our priests pray for us every day. We should also pray for them and give thanks to God for their priestly vocation. We should ask the Lord Jesus to love them, sustain them, and draw them ever closer to his loving heart.