My Priest Friends – A Blessing beyond measure!

There is a certain bond – we call it a fraternity – among priests. We priests all share in the Priesthood of Jesus Christ – a gift we have not merited and a mystery we feebly try to understand. Yes, through no merit of our own, the Lord Jesus calls us to be His priests and gifts us with the graces we need to carry out the mission entrusted to us. Why he calls certain people – and not others – who are often more gifted and talented – we will never know. But priests, despite their own unworthiness, accept the call and do their best to become who the Church needs them to be. Priests are human – we fail – we go to confession like all other Catholics. We know our human frailty and our brokenness. Hopefully, like scripture says, “Since he himself is weak in many ways, he is able to be gentle with those who … make mistakes.” Hebrews 5:2

For a priest to remain faithful to his calling, he needs the certainty of a prayer life rooted in a deep and personal connection with Jesus Christ, a commitment to the celebration of Mass every day, the burning desire to serve people and to bring them closer to God, the support of the people in good days and in days when life is tough. However, it has been my experience, through the years, that besides these essential needs – the one thing that is life-sustaining and life-giving is the support of Priest friends. Most priests have some good lay friends who they can count on to be there for them. However, the support of priestly friendships is without equal. Priests understand what their brother priests are experiencing. There are certain conversations that a priest can only have with one of his peers who knows exactly what to say – or what not to say – because he himself has been there/done that!

The one other reality, from my experience, is that a close priest friend who really knows his brother priest can keep him honest. He sees that something is not right and can question him and say: “What’s going on?”, “Do you need to talk?”, or “Is there some way I can help?”. This brotherly love is something I have been blessed with throughout my ministry and what a great blessing it has been to me! I hope I can be that type of priest friend as these priests have been for me.

I have experienced both personal losses and some life-changing illness in my lifetime. My family and my lay friends have been present and filled me with abundant support and encouragement. But having priest friends for whom I will be eternally grateful are among the greatest blessings in my life. To them I say many, many thanks and express my sincere gratitude!

Please be supportive to the priests you know. They need your prayers and your trust. Please encourage them to spend time with God in prayer and let them know that you realize their need for priestly friendships. When they take their day off or their vacation and spend it in the company of a close priest friend – encourage that way of living. They will be better priests for you and more effective in the role they play because they have been nourished and strengthened in their vocation/calling by a faithful priest friend.