When you see Psalm 55 in the Office of Readings of Liturgy of the Hours, you’d recognize immediately it’s speaking of the lament of Jesus Christ for his traitor Judas Iscariot. This goes on to our present time – we also know some people who are supposed to ‘Friends’ to whom God entrusted us to be their spiritual children, but turn out to be ‘Traitors’… or the priests who have not stayed true to their vows and fallen into mortal sins or sinful lifestyle.
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We sometimes hear of priests who betray the trust of parishioners – like breaking their vows of celibacy, or living luxurious life.
These horrendous things really wounds the Church. Not only the parties involved get affected and wounded, but the whole community. It becomes the talk of the town and the gossips of many who then are lead to sin. People get doubts with their faith. I doubted the faith, even when I was just a small kid. Protestants get the wrong opportunity to mock the true faith.
St. Paul describes the Church as a body in 1 Corinthians 12:26-27,
“And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.”
The Church is like a body with many parts and members. When one member suffers when he or she commits a sin, the whole body is effected. It’s like when a part of your body is injured, it affects the whole body. Sin a community matter.
Despite the disgrace of the few, these are the sins of the individual, and the Catholic faith remains unblemished. We also must not forget, like the highlighted words above, this is also the work of the enemy, or the devil, from the Latin word, who divides the faithfuls. Everywhere the Evil One tries to infiltrate. He likes infiltrating the parishes. And his tactic is to also create ‘Christian’ sects. But all of us who know the truth must invoke the Holy Spirit for strength. We also know there are many holy priests who remain true to their vows, and we must always be here to pray for them.
Once, I had a seminarian friend. He was in the seminary for a long while, nearing his final vows. But with his words, it came out to me that he wanted to enter priesthood for ‘unclean intentions’. He thought this would take away his responsibilities as a man and responsibilities back home. Then he also said he wanted to feel the ‘perks’ of being a priest. He saw this as an opportunity for material gain.
I offered Rosaries for him, prayed before the Blessed Sacrament, and mentioned him in my intentions during the Divine Office, that if it’s His will, please don’t let him become a priest because of his bad motives, and give reasons for him to leave the seminary at once!
Shortly after, my prayers were answered… Originally he wanted to be a priest to leave his personal responsibilities, and now he chose to leave the seminary, for realizing he also couldn’t take the sacrifices and responsibilities the seminary required of him, that it gave him so much anxieties! I thanked God!
If he went on pretending in the seminary, how horrifying it would have been, to everyone, if he was able to reach priesthood!
This only shows we must also pray for men and women discerning religious vocation.
Only God knows why there are priests have done that treachery. Probably they entered priesthood from the start with strayed intentions. Or they got tempted, but with lack of sincerity and spiritual life, they were defeated. We could only pray. Let God take care of them. “It is God the eternal judge who will hear and humble them, bring them down, the deceitful men.”.
But we’ve got many faithful and holy priests, and we must also include them in our prayers, like this:
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| A priest in Traditional Latin Mass – we pray for all our priests that they remain holy. |
Prayer for Priests
may touch them. Keep unstained their anointed hands, which daily touch Your Sacred Body. Keep unsullied their lips, daily purpled with your Precious Blood. Keep pure and unearthly
their hearts, sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood. Let Your holy love surround
them and shield them from the world’s contagion. Bless their labors with abundant fruit and
may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here and in heaven their
beautiful and everlasting crown. Amen.
***
Let us all stay in God’s friendship.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, the country's Pontifical and Catholic university, with an AB in Legal Management and minor units in Theology.
As an unmarried woman, prayer holds a central place in her daily life, with a focus on the Rosary and the Divine Office. Embodying her faith, she emphasizes the growth of her inner spiritual life, guided by the wisdom of Carmelite spirituality.
God manifested to her in a unique and radical manner, which made her know Who He truly is and led her to total surrender of her life to Him.
She has studied the Bible with her family, developing a particular fondness for the Old Testament.
Her adorable and intelligent toy poodle is a delightful companion in her daily life, bringing warmth and joy to her home.
Her hobbies include reading about everything, learning Japanese and German, listening to music and playing the flute.
In her leisure time, she enjoys gaming on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OS, and collecting things related to PlayStation and Nintendo.
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