“God, who alone is holy and who alone bestows holiness, willed to take as His companions and helpers men who would humbly dedicate themselves to the work of sanctification.” (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 5) In order for His salvific mission to be carried out in the Church and ultimately across the world, the Lord Jesus established the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Christ’s mission of world salvation is continued through the priesthood.
It is the priest who continues Christ’s salvific mission. “Through a gratuitous participation in the grace of Christ, [they are to] prolong throughout history to the end of time the same mission of Jesus on behalf of humanity.”(Pastores Dabo Vobis, 14) In the person of Christ, the priest speaks and acts. By baptizing believers, the priest receives them into the Mystical Body of Christ. Men and women are reconciled to God under the priest’s guidance. The priest is the one who prays on behalf of everyone and calls upon God for health and power. God blesses every event in the faithful’s lives through the priest’s mediation. The priest is responsible for continuing the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
But they, too, are human beings. They are also prone to the world’s lure and temptation. This is where our prayers for them are so important. As they pray for all of us, let us also pray for them.
Prayer for Priests
Sovereign God, we praise and thank You for sending us priests to minister and lead us to the holiness of life. Thank You for not abandoning us as we journey toward the Kingdom that Your Son has prepared for us. Thank You for these, our priests, for their selfless sacrifice of themselves for the service of the Church.
We come to you today, Father, to pray for and lift up all priests in our hearts and minds. We appreciate their dedication to proclaiming the Gospel of salvation and administering the Sacraments, as well as their unselfish service to your people.
Please bless all our priests, deacons, and other clergy members who toil so assiduously to bring Your love and salvation to the world. May their work never be put in vain.
We ask for strength and wisdom as they continue to lead Your flock. To be real shepherds of Your beloved Church, we implore You to grant them knowledge, humility, and compassion.
Lord, we humbly ask You to grant them happiness and contentment in their personal life as well as in their work. We humbly implore that You grant them the grace to continue having a close, intimate relationship with you in order to help them be more effective in their ministry.
We offer our prayers for priests who are dealing with issues like illness, loneliness, or spiritual crisis. We beg You to provide them the solace and healing they require to carry on in their duty.
We also pray for the newly ordained priests. We ask You to give them the wisdom and fortitude they need to fulfill their calling with courage and trust.
We pray for all priests who approach retirement. Please grant them a sense of serenity and contentment as they reflect on their lives of service.
We pray that Your wisdom and grace may guide the bishops as they lead and care for Your people.
We also offer prayers for peace and joy for the souls of all the deceased priests, so that they may rest in the comfort of Your heavenly presence after their selfless service in Your vineyard.
We pray that You grant all of us, Your faithful flock, a profound and enduring love for Your priests so that we may assist and uplift them in their work.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Short daily prayers for Priests
Most gracious God, we pray for all our priests. Grant them grace and strength as they continue Your saving mission here on earth. Comfort them in their tiredness. Be their fortitude in their struggle with temptation. Bless them with Your love and abiding presence. Reward them for their selfless commitment and passion for the Church. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Word of God
For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 2:7 NRSVUE
I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
John 15:15 NRSVUE
St. Therese Prayer for Priests
Saint Therese of Lisieux, God’s Little Flower, your prayer and intercession before God are so powerful. During your lifetime, you devoted much of your time and sacrifice to the sanctification of all priests. Hear our prayers as we, too, pray for all our priests.
Pray on behalf of our priests. May God keep them in His most Sacred Heart. May they be protected by Him who has called and chosen them to be His priests.
May their consecrated hands always be devoted to blessing, forgiving, healing, and invoking the Holy Spirit upon God’s people.
May their lips always speak of the Gospel of Christ. May they preach about love, justice, and truth.
Protect them from the temptations of this world. Remind them always of the dignity of their priesthood. May they always carry out their vocation in the spirit of sacrifice and service.
Pray for them, o blessed Therese, that all their labors here on earth will be remembered and rewarded by God whom they ministered to here on earth.
St. Therese, pray for priests. Amen.
Further reflection
One extremely significant aspect of church life is the holy priesthood. It is correctly referred to as a Sacrament at the communion service alongside the Sacrament of Matrimony. This is so that it grants the Church a particular mission and so helps to strengthen God’s People.
“Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1536). Priests, however, are called to a more complex and difficult duty than simply serving as ministers of the Sacraments. They are called “to prolong the presence of Christ, the One High Priest, embodying His way of life and making Him visible in the midst of the flock entrusted to their care.” (Pastores Dabo Vobis, 15).
The Church needs priests, and She realizes that She will always have the need for priests. The Holy Priesthood is still the sacrament to which Christ continues to commit the performance of His salvific action in the world in our contemporary context, where it appears to be “lost” and even opposed by many.
Priests are human beings, just like the rest of humanity. These men are not superhuman beings. They are mortal beings with the same capacity for thought, speech, and action as any other “typical” person. With the tremendous weight of their vocation, it is our sublime duty to pray for them. They, too, struggle with worldly temptations. They need our prayers as much as we ask them to pray for us.
