Fr Lawrence Ogundipe SDV

Rev Fr Lawrence olumide Ogundipe SDV is a priest of the Society of Divine Vocations The Vocationist . He is currently the Delegate Superior of the Nigeria Vocationist Delegation, a lecturer of Mass Communication in Grajos college of Communication and information technology in affiliation with Estam University Cotonou, also a lecturer in School of Pastoral and Religious Education Dominican Institute, Samonda Ibadan. And the Vice Rector of Vocationist International School for formators Inu-Odi Ibadan.

A man, who regularly attended Community meetings suddenly without any notice stopped participating.

After a few weeks, one very cold night the leader of that Group decided to visit him.

He found the man at home, alone, sitting in front of a fireplace where a bright fire burned.

The man welcomed the Leader. There was a great silence.
The two Men only watched the dancing flames around the logs that crackled in the fireplace.

After a few minutes the Leader, without saying a word, examined the woods that formed the fire and selected one of them, glowing most brightly of all, removing it to the side with a pair of tongs. Then he sat down again.

The host was paying attention to everything, fascinated. Before long, the lone Member flame subsided, until there was only a momentary glow & the fire soon went out.

In a short time what was previously bright light and heat had become nothing more than a black & dead piece of wood.
Very few words had been spoken since the greeting.

Before preparing to leave, the leader with the tongs picked up the useless piece of wood & placed it again in the middle of the fire. Immediately, the member piece of wood was rekindled, fueled by the light & heat of the burning coals around him.

When the leader reached the door to leave, the host said: Thank you for your visit and for your beautiful lesson. I’ll return to the group soon.

Why is a Group important? Very simple:

Because each member that withdraws takes fire & heat from the rest.

It’s worth reminding group members that they are a part of the flame.

It’s also good to remind us that we are all responsible for keeping each other’s flame burning

And we must promote the union among us so that the fire is really strong, effective and lasting.

THE GROUP IS A FAMILY
It doesn’t matter if sometimes we are bothered by so many messages, quarrels, misunderstanding etc.

What matters is to be connected. We are here to meet, learn, exchange ideas or simply to know that we are not alone.

Let’s keep the flame Alive.

Life is Beautiful with good Friends & Family

Rosaries in the Rear View Mirror

Q. I’ve seen people hang rosaries over the rear view mirrors in their cars and a few of them wear them around their necks. Is it OK to do that?

A. First of all, let me give a simple answer and say that I think these practices are fine. I’ve seen many rosaries hanging from rear view mirrors of people who are quite devout and love our Lord and His Blessed Mother. For them I believe it is a way of letting their love for Mary show forth for all to see. I think the same would be said for those who have worn them around the neck. So I think that if someone chooses to do either of these practices they are most likely doing it out of a devotion to and love for our Blessed Mother. Personally I do not hang the rosary from my mirror or wear it around my neck but I always have it in my pocket. And at night I sleep with it wrapped around my wrist. I suppose that keeping the rosary close to us is similar to wearing a cross or scapular or like hanging a sacred picture in our room. Rosaries are blessed objects so, for that reason, are good to have around.

With that said I think it must also be said that the Rosary is, first and foremost, an instrument of prayer. And I suggest to you that it is one of the best prayers we can pray. Rather than explain the Rosary in my words, allow me to offer you some of my favorite quotes from the great saints regarding the rosary.

“Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray. This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood.” St. Louis de Montfort
“Of all prayers the rosary is the most beautiful and the richest in graces…love the Rosary andrecite it every day with devotion.”  St. Pope Pius X
“How beautiful is the family that recites the Rosary every evening.” St. Pope John Paul II
“The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in its simplicity and its depth.” St. Pope John Paul II
“The Rosary is a priceless treasure inspired by God.” St. Louis de Montfort
“There is no surer means of calling down God’s blessings upon the family… than the daily recitation of the Rosary.” Pope Pius XII
“The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is no more excellent way of praying.” Pope Leo XIII
“Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world.”

Pope Blessed Pius IX
If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors.” Pope Pius XI
“Our Lady has never refused me a grace through the recitation of the rosary.”

St. (Padre) Pio of Pietrelcina
“The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary.” St. Francis de Sales
“One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world.” St. Dominic

Fr Eric Olatunji CDA

THE SACRAMENTS OF HEALING BY FR ERIC OLATUNJI CDA

CATHOLIC DOCTRINE. THE SACRAMENTS OF HEALING
 Through the sacraments of Christian initiation, man receives the new life of Christ. Now we carry this life “in earthen vessels,” and it remains “hidden with Christ in God.” We are still in our “earthly tent,” subject to suffering, illness, and death.  This new life as a child of God can be weakened and even lost by sin.
 The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health,  has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation, even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.
I. What is This Sacrament Called?
 It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus’ call to conversion, the first step in returning to the Father  from whom one has strayed by sin. 
It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner’s personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction.
 It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a “confession” – acknowledgment and praise – of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man. 
It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest’s sacramental absolution God grants the penitent “pardon and peace.”
It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the live of God who reconciles: “Be reconciled to God.” He who lives by God’s merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord’s call: “Go; first be reconciled to your brother.”

PRAYING TO JESUS THROUGH MARY

What do we mean when we say, we are “praying to Jesus through Mary”? It means that we do not pray to Jesus directly, rather, we pray to Jesus through Mary. The next question is, does this contradict the scriptures as recorded in Tim-1, 2:5 “For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human” why then should we pray through Mary to God if Jesus is the one mediator? What are the benefits of praying through Mary?
After the fall of man from the glory of God in Genesis chapter 3 where man consciously committed himself, a gulf was created between God and man. Mankind threw itself into a sinful situation and man can no longer go directly to God; its consequence includes deprivation of communion with God and exclusion from sharing in the eternal life. To remedy this, God became man to pay for the sin of man thereby reconciling man with God. But God did not just appear on the surface of the earth; there ‘Is’ Incarnation which took place in the womb of Mary, a union of Divine and human. Alphonsus Liguory in his book “Glories of Mary” teaches that the mother and Son are inseparable. Therefore if God came to save us through Mary, it is more pleasing to return back to God through the same channel. For this reason we communicate with God through the same channel “Mary”
WHO IS MARY
According to the teaching of the Church, Mary of Nazareth was an obscure Jewish maiden chosen from all eternity and formed to the Divine plan who from the first moment of her existence, was exempted from any stain of the original sin. She cooperates with the will of God for the salvation of Man. By this most significant fact, the Church made it clear indeed that the conception of Mary is to be venerated She was called Mary which signifies “light Giver” for she gave birth to the light of the world. Mary means “lady”, since she gave birth to the lord. She is the Mother of God thereby mother of the church. Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix. Let us speak a little about this name, which is said to mean “star of the sea,” and which so well befits the Virgin Mother. Rightly is she likened to a star? As a star emits a ray without being dimmed, so the Virgin brought forth her Son without receiving any injury. The ray takes naught from the brightness of the star, nor the Son from His Mother’s virginal integrity. This is the noble star raised out of Jacob, whose ray illumines the whole world, whose splendor shines in the heavens, penetrates the abyss, and, traversing the whole earth, gives warmth rather to souls than to bodies, cherishing virtues, and withering vices. Mary is that bright and incomparable star, whom we need to see raised above this vast sea, shining by her merits, and giving us light by her examples.
SOME FACTS ABOUT THE VIRGIN MARY FOUND IN THE HOLY QURAN
Mary, otherwise known as Maryam to Muslims, is highly revered in the Christian faith for being the Mother of Jesus. However, not many are aware of her high and noble standing in Islam. Her elevated status is in fact explicitly mentioned in the Quran and also described in the authentic narrations of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The Messenger had in fact listed her as one of the four greatest women of all time who had reached perfection. I compiled a short list of important facts about Mary mentioned in the Quran for you Christians to know how important she is to God.

1. She gave birth to Jesus despite being a virgin. She said, “How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste?” He said, “Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, ‘It is easy for me…” Quran 19:20-21
2. She was chosen by Allah above all women. When the angels said, “O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the world. Quran 3: 42
3. An entire Chapter is named after her in the Quran. Her name is the centre-point of the 19th Chapter of the Quran, ‘Surat Maryam’. In fact, Mary is the only woman referred by her first name in the Quran. This is an honourable status granted by the Quran only to few, mostly to the Prophets, Messengers and Angels.
4. She experienced many miracles. Every time Zechariah entered upon her in the prayer chamber, he found with her provision. He said, “O Mary, from where is this [coming] to you?” She said, “It is from Allah . Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account.” Quran 3:37 In the interpretation of this verse, scholars say that every time Zachariah would visit her, he would miraculously find her with the fruits of summer during winter and the fruits of winter during summer. These are just a sample of some of the important qualities and features of Mary the mother of Jesus as found in the Holy Quran. Yet some Christians did not know her.
   WHY PRAY THROUGH MARY?
   We pray through Mary because she was able to turn a stable into a home for Jesus, with poor swaddling clothes and an abundance of love. She is the handmaid of the Father who sings his praises. She is the friend who is ever concerned that wine is not lacking in our lives. She is the woman whose heart was pierced by a sword and who understands all our pain…. As she did with poor souls, Mary offers [us] maternal comfort and love, and whispers in [our] ear: “Let your heart not be troubled…
   Every Mass brings us to the womb of Mary, where Christ first became present in His Body and Blood. Every Tabernacle is a copy of that first Tabernacle, which is Mary’s womb, where Christ spent the first nine months of His life. The Israelites carried a tabernacle of tablets of stones for victory yet Mary Carried the real God soul and divinity in her womb. If we want to be close to Jesus in His Body and Blood, even to hide ourselves away in the Tabernacle with Him, then we can do that through Mary, by hiding away in her womb. Jesus remains there in all His glory and might, in that first Tabernacle. Are we too big too fit in, too full of ourselves, too busy with the things of the world? Or can we let ourselves be hidden in love to find the Hidden Love who remains wrapped in love? Can we allow ourselves to be confined to God’s will, which is nothing other than the womb, than the heart of Mary, who was always freely confined to God’s will? Mary teaches us to make a home in ourselves for Jesus, a Tabernacle, a womb in our hearts for Him to remain always.
   BENEFITS OF PRAYING TO JESUS THROUGH MARY
   A story was told of a king who had a big farm-land with many workers, at the end of the planting season, each of them will present the farm produce to the king in gratitude. But there comes a year where the farm produce was so poor, the servants took the poor gift to the king but in anger he ordered them to be killed. But one of the servants took his farm produce to the mother of the king who wrapped the apple in a golden plate surrounded with beautiful flowers. The king who loved his mother so much received the apple with joy, while enjoying the apple, the queen presented the servant as the one who brought the apple, in response, the king said “what a precious apple” and he gave him more farm land.
   The same way Mary turns our rotten apples into precious gift before her Son. The bible makes it clear that the prayer of a sinner is an abomination before the throne of grace but if we pray through Mary who is ever sinless the king of glory will accept our prayer.
   There are many ways to climb a tall building. One can use lifter, stair case, ladder or rope, all of these are various means reaching the destination but the lifter is the easiest hence we you go to Jesus through Mary it is like someone who uses a lifter, its faster, easier, and safer.
   Are you aware that God gathers all the waters of the world and called it the sea, so also he gathers all his graces and called it Mary, meaning no grace comes to the earth except through her.
   St. Bernard of Clairvaux gives a detailed litany of benefits of approaching Jesus through Mary.
   While it is true that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10), God also endowed upon the name of Mary a deep spiritual power. Being the “queen mother,” Mary has a special role in salvation history and continues to come to the aid of God’s people whenever they call upon her. It is a great mystery, but countless saints have reinforced over the centuries that the closer one gets to Mary, the closer one is brought to her Son. Pope Benedict XVI similarly promoted this reality and pointed to a quote from St. Bernard of Clairvaux when visiting Heiligenkreuz Abbey in Austria. The quote is a summary of Catholic belief when it comes to Marian intercession, and reassures us that whenever we invoke the name of Mary, we will be brought closer to Jesus.
   CONCLUSION
   To pray through Mary is logical because Mary being the physical mother of Jesus, who is the head of the Church, is also the spiritual mother of the members of his mystical body, that is, the Church. Consequently, Mary is the mother of the whole Christ, both head and body. Interestingly, she is the mother of the Church as well a daughter and member of the Church. Finally, as a result of her role in the economy of salvation, she is the mother of God and the Church equally invokes her as her own mother also. By her example she encourages the other members of the Church to entrust themselves generously to the mysterious action of the Paraclete, and to live with him in constant communion of love.
   RESOURCES
   Anthony,Akinwale, Soteriology and Grace class discussion, Dominican Institute Ibadan, unpublished February 26, 2014

Cf Pius IX, Apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus (8th December, 1854), no 2

Cf Marian consecration 33- day preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary, PDF file
Gambero L, Mary and the Fathers of the Church (U.S.A: Ignatius Press, 1999), p.375.

Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution of the Church Lumen Gentium, no. 62

http://www.onepathnetwork.com/6-facts-virgin-mary-in-the-quran assed on Friday 23rd October 2020 12pm.
http://www.google.com/amp/s/aleteia.org/2019/0….

The Holy Quran Diakonia
The Holy Bible
Mama Benedicta Igwebe unpublished materials from the Mary Grotto apostolate

THE EFFECT OF SILENCE

According to ancient Scholars, silence is Golden, and pivotal for a good listener. Blessed Justin Russollilo teaches that Silence makes one to have control over the self and to put the tongue under control. In fact, a Judicious silence is far better than truth said without Charity .

However, silence can make one feel really bad and terrible especially when one expects/demands a response and this response is not offered. In other words, silence can be positive and can be negative; it is an instrument of destruction and a path to Grace; it can heal and it can kill.

There is a time for everything: a time to talk and a time to be silent (cf. Ecclesiastes 3:7-8); for the quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools (Ecclesiastes 9:17). Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent (Proverbs 17:28).

POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF SILENCE
S source of wisdom in conflict
I inevitable when someone is confused
L leaves room for understanding
E emphasizes empathic listening
N needed in discernment and Grace
C creative art and act in counselling
E expresses self control

NEGATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF SILENCE
S silent killer
I conflict worries
L leaves one in confusion
E exposes leader’s incompetency
N nurses hatred
C creative feeling of helplessness
E enchants anger

Remember, Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble (Proverbs 21:23). Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign LORD (Zephaniah 1:7) as He speaks the Word of life to your soul (1 Samuel 3:9).

Be Blessed. Rev Fr Joyzy Pious Ogunjobi

Edited by Fr Lawrence Ogundipe Sdv

PRAYER TO PROTECT OUR PROTESTERS FROM THE WICKED KILLERS

God of Justice, as Youths asking for justice we are marked as enemies. We need protection from bullies, from misguided avengers, and killers .

Lord our God Hold our loved ones tightly, and never let them go astray.
Command Your angels, to keep us, so that no harm or disaster will come near to our youth and our lives. Our trust is not in our ability but in Your stability as our Father. Our weapons of warfare are spiritual, and we look to You for victory. Show us when to speak up, when to listen, and when to act, always aware that You are fighting our battles for us and with us.

Save us Lord
Save our country
Amen

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER AND TONIC OF SPIRITUALITY

Prayer is the direct communication with God who is always close to us . If God is so close to us why are you shouting as if he is far away? Why are you repeating the words as if he did not hear you the first time? Do you know that NO is a valid answer? Why then are you compelling God to answer yes always.  Always remember these when you pray:

1. Prayer nourishes the soul just as food nourishes the body

2. Prayer brings out the best of all virtues in a person whose life is a prayer to others

3. Prayer is a way of life, just as communication is a way of life

4. Prayer bridges the gap between God and man; between man and man

5. Prayer gives consolation, relieves burden, builds up faith and trust in God

6. Prayer makes one humble, because humility is the first attribute of spirituality; a person who lacks humility can never be spiritual.

7. God is humility and humility is God. So, to be like God, is to be humble, and prayer helps to attain such a stage.

8. Prayer builds up confidence in oneself and God

9. St Theresa of Avila said that “our soul is the CASTLE OF THE LORD. A learned man once told St. Theresa that “a soul without prayer is like a person whose body or limb is paralysed; such person possess feet and hand, but cannot control them”

10. Prayer and meditation is the key to great spirituality. To meditate what you pray for, and to pray what you meditate on.

This is a tonic of spirituality.

And may the almighty God bless you Father,  Son and Holy Spirit Amen

Be A Digital Saint

DIGITAL SAINTS

How can we become Saints in this contemporary society, where materialism, relativism, selfism, consumerism and all the ‘ism’s, have become the skeletal mode where we glued our societal model. God is no longer the algorithm, many schools of thought had re-formed our natural spirituality, and People no longer want things at Gods time everyone wants to be digital.

Do you know that presently in Europe, even in other parts of the world many students no longer use paper and pen, everything is computerized? “The digital age” they call it. Students go to school with their lap-tops, high pads and flash drives. whenever the lecturer finished lecture the students goes to the digital board to copy the lecture even those who could not attend the lecture can have both video and audio of the lecture from the digital board, to read from books is longer a priority because you can Google anything. Father Paul was telling us the other day that some liberalists in United States are clamoring for digital communion; some are asking that confession be done through cell phones, and social Medias, yes! They want to get everything easy. 

Soon therefore, perhaps the next generation will no longer read from books, how then, will they know about St Lawrence, Augustine, Aquinas and others. Most of them will even not understand what we meant by martyrdom, so, we that cut across analog to digital will need to put them through, the implication is; we must become digital saint for them, since the only language they may understand is Microsoft, PowerPoint, IPod, etc. 

We must reshape our way of life despite the lousy world to do ordinary things in an extra ordinary way. Like the market monk my brothers and sisters, we must learn to shun the noise of the market and stay alone with the alone.

Let us remember the story of a hunter who set out with his colleagues to hunt for Elephant, an hour later, they ran into a rabbit hole and began to dig, they dug all day that they forgot their main task, unfortunately for them the rabbit also escaped. If we allow the distractions of this world we will surely lose divine union which is our ultimate goal.

We must be aware that there are challenges waiting to limit our efforts to being a saint. The modern society needs a new approach. Let us learn from the soldier-ants. Whenever there is a grain of food; they march out to get it. They are always ready to fight in order to protect the queen. The mother Church has giving us an apostolate, let us work together to achieve it. I am therefore calling for a retreat like soldiers, for a tactical, strategic military planning so as to go back to the field of battle to combat the ancient serpent in modern clothing. Let us learn to read the modern signs. Our challenges are no longer Emperors or ancient persecutions. Rather we are currently fighting with modernity where all the “isms” are against us. Let us not be like my father who went on hunting alongside with Monsignor Somide with a double barrel only to be confronted by a big buffalo, we need the modern weapon to combat modern war. 

Let me re-echo the words of Pope Francis “We need saints that drink Coca-Cola, that eat hot dogs, that surf the internet and that listen to their iPods… we need saints that are not afraid or embarrassed to eat a pizza or drink a beer with their friends. We need saints who love the movies, dance, sports, and theatre. We need saints that are open sociable normal happy companions. We need saints who are in this world and who know how to enjoy the best in this world without being callous or mundane. We need saints.” We need Digital Saints

An extract from the book Be A Saint

Fr Lawrence Sdv.

​A SUMMARY ON THE APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION: PASTORES DABO VOBIS

A SUMMARY ON THE APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION: PASTORES DABO VOBIS

INTRODUCTION

In his introduction to the Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, pope John Paul II maintains that without priests the church would not be able to live out the fundamental obedience which is at the very heart of her existence and her mission in the world. Moreover, this fundamental obedience is evangelical: go and make disciples of all nations (matt. 28:19) and do this in remembrance of me (Luke 22:10).

Nevertheless, he emphasizes the need for the church to propose to each new generation the vocational call, and help people to discern the authenticity of their call from God and respond to it generously and give care to the formation of the candidates for priesthood. Pope John Paul II considers the future formation of priests (whether diocesan or religious) and their personal sanctification in the ministry as the most demanding and important task for the church for the future evangelization of humanity.

 SUMMARY

“I will give you shepherds after my own heart” (Jer. 3:15). In the formation of future priest, the pope identifies the need for openness to the Holy Spirit in order to discover the tendencies of the contemporary society, its deepest spiritual needs, and the most concrete task, and method to adopt in order to adequately respond human expectations. 

Since priests are part of this contemporary society, aforementioned are to be included in their formation at various phases. Going further, the documents elaborate the contemporary challenges of modern priesthood to include consumerism, individualism, materialistic and hedonistic interpretation of human existence, and distortion of human sexuality and freedom. 

Thus, search and longing for vocation to the ministerial priesthood is distant from the interested of the young. However, hope lies in the unfailing love of Christ, and our certainty that the priestly ministry in the life of the church and in the world knows no substitute.

Certainly, there is an essential aspect of priest that does not change: the priest of tomorrow, no less than the priest of today, must resemble Christ. When Jesus lived on this earth, he manifested in himself the definitive role of the priest, by establishing a ministerial priesthood, with which the apostle were the first to be invested. This priesthood is destined to last in the endless succession throughout history. In this sense, the priest of the third millennium will continue the work of the priest who, in the preceding millennia, has animated the life of the church. In the third millennium, the priestly vocation will continue to be the call to live the unique and permanent priesthood of Christ.

Nevertheless, while being taken from amongst men and appointed for men in the things that appertain to God that they may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, live with the rest of men as with brothers. So also, the Lord Jesus Christ the son of God, a man sent by the father to men, dwelt amongst us and willed to made like to his brothers in all things save only sin. The priests of the New Testament are, it is true, by their vocation to ordination, set apart in some way in the midst of the people of God, but this is not in order that they should be separated from that people or from any man, but that they should be completely consecrated to the task for which God chooses them. They should not be the servant of Christ unless they were witnesses and dispensers of a life other than that of this earth.

The many contradiction and potentialities marking our societies and cultures, as well as ecclesial communities, are perceived, lived and experienced by our young people with a particular intensity and have immediate and very acute repercussions on their personal growth. Thus, the emergence and development of priestly vocations among boys, adolescents and young men are continually under pressure and facing obstacles.

The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God. It is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude. It is essential to a human being freely to direct himself to his fulfillment. By this deliberate action, the human person does, or does not, conform to the good promise by God and attested by moral conscience. Human beings make their own contribution to their interior growth; they make their completely sentient and spiritual lives into means of this growth.

Christ, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, makes man fully manifest to himself and brings to life his exulted vocation. It is in Christ, the image of the invisible God, that man has been created in the image and likeness of the creator. 

Often the world of young people is a ‘problem’ in the church community itself. In fact, if in them; more so than in adults; there is present a strong tendency to subjectivize the Christian faith and to belong only partially and conditionally to the life and mission of the church, and if the church community is slow for a variety of reasons to initiate and up-to-date and courageous pastoral care for young people, the risk being left to themselves, at the mercy of their psychological frailty, dissatisfied and critical of a world of adults who, in failing to live the faith in a consistent and mature fashion, do not appear to them as credible models.

Moreover, in this way the church feels that she can face the difficulties and challenges of this new period of history and can also provide, in the present and in the future, priests who are well trained to be convinced and fervent ministers of the “new evangelization”, faithful and generous servants of Jesus Christ and of the human family. We are not unmindful of difficulties in this regard; they are neither few nor insignificant.

CONCLUSION

“I will give you shepherds after my own heart” (Jer. 3:15). This short verse of the bible has shown that God has a great plan for his people and his ministers, who are called to minister to the people. The Church, the people of God, constantly experiences the reality of this prophetic massage and continues joyfully to thank God for it. She that Jesus Christ is the living, supreme and definitive fulfillment of God’s promise: “I am the good shepherd” (Jn. 10:20). He the great shepherd of the sheep, entrusted to the apostle and their successors the ministry of shepherding God’s flock.

Perhaps, without priests the church would not be able to live the fundamental obedience which is at the very heart of her existence and her mission in history, an obedience in response to the command of Christ: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nation” (Mt. 28:19) and “Do this in remembrance of me” (Lk 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24).

Moreover, every aspect of priestly formation can be referred to Mary, the human being who has responded better than any other has to God’s call. Mary became both the servant and the disciple of the Word the point of conceiving, in her heart and in her flesh, the Word made man, so as to give him to mankind.

Fr Lawrence Sdv