Serra Boston » Support priests

Cy Laurent of Labouré Society on CatholicTV

serraboston — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 02:09:22 +0000

In July, our monthly speaker was Cy Laurent, Executive Director of the Labouré Society. As stated on their web site, since 2003, the Labouré Society has assisted over 200 individuals into priestly and religious formation through the resolution of financial impediments; substantially, in the form of school loans. Cy gave a very engaging talk, and did a great job of explaining the need to support current aspirants in financial need.

Cy recently appeared on CatholicTV to explain the mission of the Society. The clip can be viewed below:

For more information on this society, and to discover how you can help donate, please see the links below:

EncouragePriests.org to promote and encourage priests

serraboston — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 19:19:55 +0000

CatholicsComeHome has announced a new web site to promote and encourage priests:

A lay Catholic organization announces the formation of a new movement to support Catholic priests called EncouragePriests.org™ . This announcement comes on Holy Thursday, the day Christians celebrate the anniversary of Christ instituting the priesthood and the Eucharist.

Throughout the centuries, over a billion people around the world have witnessed the service and dedication of Catholic priests. Some recall the heroic and sacrificial example of military chaplains, priests who serve in nursing homes and hospitals, fathers who feed the poor, pastors who serve as peacemakers during marriage counseling, or priests who have celebrated a family wedding or funeral Mass.

View the full press release at: CatholicsComeHome.org blog: Catholic Priests Supported by Emerging Grassroots Effort

Adopt-a-Priest Apostolate complete – all priests adopted!

serraboston — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:48:29 +0000

The Serra Club of Boston is pleased to announce that all 750 of our beloved diocesan priests have been spiritually adopted individually by name by the lay faithful via the Adopt-a-Priest Apostolate!

The apostolate was inaugurated on Priesthood Sunday 2009 and will run until Priesthood Sunday 2010 (Oct 31, 2010). Already we have heard very positive and wonderful feedback from both priests and Adopters with regards to this apostolate.

We are certain that the fervent, daily prayerful support of so many committed souls on behalf of the priests of the Archdiocese of Boston will bear much good fruit, especially during this Year of the Priest.

Thanks to everyone who has adopted a priest. Please keep praying for and supporting our priests!

Prayers requested at November 2009 meeting

serraboston — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:21:14 +0000

At our recent meeting on Saturday November 21, the following prayers were requested of all Serrans:

Men entering the seminary and current seminarians always require prayer. Fr. Dan Hennessey (Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese of Boston) said that men entering the seminary are extremely serious and knowledgeable about their vocation, and are the “cream of the crop” from MIT, Harvard, and Ivy League and state schools. Prayers are requested for these men, who seem to be able to see beyond the current issues facing the church to a revitalized church in the future.
Please pray for Marie Lucci, a young woman who entered the Fraternidad of Reparation to the Heart of Jesus the Priest. We pray for Marie as she continues to discern her vocation to religious life.
Please pray for the purchase a statue of St. John Vianney for the St. Leonard of Port Maurice in the North End. While scouting locations for the upcoming Eucharistic Congress 2010, Fr. Dan Hennessey noted that the current statue garden does not have a statue of this priest who was so devoted to vocations.

As always, please pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life. May God grant peace and wisdom to all those who are currently discerning their vocations!

400 priests “adopted” through Adopt-a-Priest Apostolate

serraboston — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:59:40 +0000

The Adopt-a-Priest Apostolate has met with great success, thanks to the efforts of Serrans and Catholics throughout the Archdiocese. As of today, 400 priests (out of 750 total) have been adopted by spiritual parents. That’s more than half the priests in the Archdiocese of Boston!

At our most recent meeting in Waltham, Mary and Francis Jesch noted that when they asked a woman in their parish if she would adopt a priest, she said “Yes – but how much will it cost?” She was amazed to find that spiritual adoption was free and that she could receive a booklet with a specific priest’s name at no cost.

Our goal is to have every priest in the Archdiocese of Boston adopted by the end of the year. Please adopt a priest today, and let others know of this worthwhile apostolate!

New “Adopt-a-Priest” apostolate for Priesthood Sunday 2009

serraboston — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:03:28 +0000

As a gift to the priests of the Archdiocese of Boston during this special “Year of the Priest,” the Serra Club of Boston has organized a unique apostolate of prayer which is being initiated on October 25: Priesthood Sunday 2009.

We are inviting all members of the archdiocese to pray and sacrifice for our priests in a more personal and committed manner by “spiritually adopting” a priest for one year. Serra Boston has prepared prayer folders for each of the current 751 diocesan priests and will distribute them randomly on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information on this new apostolate, please visit our page on the Adopt-a-Priest Apostolate at the link below:

Learn more about the Adopt-a-Priest Apostolate

You can also read the Boston Pilot’s press release on this new apostolate at: Boston Pilot: Serra Boston initiates Adopt-a-Priest Apostolate

Priesthood Sunday on October 25

serraboston — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:49:33 +0000

Be sure your parish celebrates Priesthood Sunday on Sunday, October 25!

“Priesthood Sunday” is a day to reflect upon and affirm the role of the priesthood in the life of the Church. This annual nationwide event is coordinated and sponsored by the USA Council of Serra International. Especially during this Year of the Priest, we should all remember our priests in a special way on this day designated for doing so.

For more information and a complete Planning Guide for Priesthood Sunday, click on the link below:
http://www.priestsunday.org/pdfs/englishguide09.pdf

Honor your priest with an ad in the Boston Pilot

Our archdiocesan newspaper, The Pilot, will again this year be accepting ads honoring priests whom the faithful would like to remember on this special occasion.

For more information, contact Larry Ricardo at the Pilot by e-mail: advertising@thebostonpilot.com or call him at (617) 746-5835.

Be sure “your” priests are included in this special Pilot edition!

Vatican announces Jubilee Year for Priests

serraboston — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:01:29 +0000

Pope Benedict XVI announced that the universal Church will celebrate a Jubilee Year of the Priest, beginning June 19th, 2009, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and celebrating the 150th anniversary of the death of the saintly Cure D’Ars.

On the forthcoming Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 19 June 2009 – a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy –, I have decided to inaugurate a “Year for Priests” in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the “dies natalis” of John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests worldwide…

I think of all those priests who quietly present Christ’s words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world, striving to be one with the Lord in their thoughts and their will, their sentiments and their style of life. How can I not pay tribute to their apostolic labours, their tireless and hidden service, their universal charity? And how can I not praise the courageous fidelity of so many priests who, even amid difficulties and incomprehension, remain faithful to their vocation as “friends of Christ”, whom he has called by name, chosen and sent?

Read the full letter from Pope Benedict XVI at: Vatican web site:
Letter of His Holiness Benedict XVI proclaiming a Year for Priests

Other media coverage of this event can be found at the links below:

Finally, the video below from RomeReports shows the Pope’s speech as he declares the Year for Priests:

Everyone is invited to pray for priests during this special year.

7th year of ordination for Fr. Dan Hennessey

serraboston — Tue, 26 May 2009 02:08:07 +0000

Congratulations to Fr. Dan Hennessey, Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Boston and Chaplain of the Serra Club of Boston, on his 7th year as an ordained priest. Fr. Dan was ordained on May 25, 2002.

Fr. Dan is a tireless promoter of the cause of vocations and a great promoter of the Serra Club of Boston. We are truly blessed to have him working in the Archdiocese of Boston.

Congratulations Fr. Dan!

Congratulations to the 2009 Ordinandi

serraboston — Sun, 24 May 2009 04:14:50 +0000

Congratulations to the six new priests ordained in the Archdiocese of Boston:

Fr. Seán M. Maher from St. John’s Seminary in Brighton
Fr. Huy H. Nguyen from St. John’s Seminary in Brighton
Fr. Frank D. Camp from Blessed John XXIII National Seminary
Fr. David W. Gunter from Blessed John XXIII National Seminary
Fr. Israel J. Rodriguez from the Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan House of Formation
Fr. Shawn P. Carey from the St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif.

God bless these new priests as they begin their new life as ordained priests!

Thanks also to Fr. Dan Hennessey and Fr. Michael Harrington of the Vocations office for helping to bring these new priests into the archdiocese:

Fr. Mike Harrington of the Vocations Boston office

Fr. Dan Hennessey of the Vocations Boston

For the Pilot’s coverage of the ordination, please click on the link below:

The Boston Pilot: Six new priests for Boston