Tuesday of week 18 in Ordinary Timem Feast of St. John Marie Vianney

Priests Day

Matthew 14:22-36

It brings joy to my heart as a priest that in the Feast of St. John Marie Vianney, patron of parish priests, people would celebrate this day and call it "Parish Priests Day" and remember their priests through prayers and give tributes to them.

But let us also remember that we all in a way priests, sharing in the priestly function of Jesus Christ.

And this is the priestly spirituality of a laity, that through sacrifices, people might be consecrated to God and witness of the offerings of life.

The three things that give joy to my life as a priest are the following:

1. Conversion - We priests are witness to metanoia or radical change from sin to grace.  St. John Marie Vianney stayed in the confessional everyday for more than 12 hours to witness the conversion of people.

2. Consecration - the joy of the priests is the overflow of consecrated people. made holy by God himself.  St. John Vianney restores holiness to people in the every way, most especially in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

3. Witness of lives of generosity and sacrifice.  The priest in a parish simply becomes a seed that grows in peoples' hearts, witnessing to a life of generosity, service and sacrifice.  St. John Vianney didn't think of his own personal comfort.  Even in his deathbed he served the Lord.

The very heart of the priest is Christ himself.  We joy, we can also say the same thing for our brother and sister laity.