World Priest Day Prayers and Thank You Notes

Dear Brothers in Christ,

It is with great joy that we celebrate the "Year for Priests" promulgated by our Holy Father. We thank God every day for you and your service to His people. We have seen how priests unselfishly spend their lives sharing God's grace in the Sacraments, ministering to the sick and dying, preaching the Word of God and living the Sacramental vocation of Holy Orders. We have experienced Reconciliation with the Father through your ministry. We have been fed the Bread of Heaven at the Eucharistic table. We have been loved and touched by your goodness. Thank you for your "yes" to God's call.

As part of our Spiritual Bouquet for you, we will pray a Rosary each day of the month of October for your intentions. We will offer our daily prayers and small sacrifices for you. Once a week, we will offer our Mass and Communion in thanksgiving to Our Lord for you.

May Our Lord Jesus and His Blessed Mother hold you in their loving embrace.

We love you,
John and Ann Geer
Encountered Lovers

Our Dear Brothers in Christ --

Your most endearing quality is your Yes, Yes, Yes!!! When we spelled it out, we believe it means the following:

Y is for yearning - to love and serve your spouse - God's people, all over the world with all your heart
E is for enthusiasm - your enthusiasm for your ministry to change the world is infectious and electric
S is for smile - your beautiful smile is so contagious and lights up a room as it instantly spreads to everyone

Y is for youthful - your youthful attitude helps us all stay young- at-heart and fall in love again and again with you
E is for eagerness - your eagerness and sincerity to serve God's people unconditionally with a selfless heart
S is for sensitivity and sacrifice- a very special sensitivity you possess and great sacrifice you make to love the needy and less fortunate all around the world

Y is for Yes, Lord - "Here I am, Lord - I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart."
E is for excitement - your excitement and energy give us life and make being on the journey with you so much fun
S is for selfless - your weekend suitcase is packed and you are always ready to give your love this way to God's couples regardless of another sacrifice you must make

Thank you for the gift of your love, sacrifice, and your commitment to serve the people of God. For sure, you have demonstrated again and again that Happiness is not found at the end of our journey, it is found along the way with you by our side.

With deep gratitude,

Nick & Dianne Monje
Encountered Couple
Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church
Loudoun County, VA

On World Priest Day, my family and I would like to thank y'all for all you do. You've made my young daughters feel better by blessing our house, and been faithful servants spreading the good news of the gospel and uplifting all our spirits. Thanks for doing God's work!

Carl & Karen, Emily & Jessica DeSpiegelaere
St Raymond Parish

We are so gracious for the service, dedication, and commitment that our priests give to us. In honor of World Priests Day we will commit to saying a rosary and fasting for these wonderful men who help us through our spiritual journey. We are so thankful for you!

Tradd & Julie Rosebrock
1516 Wellesley Circle
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29466

Dear Priests,

Dave and I have enjoyed our friendships with many priests throughout the years. Many of those friendships have gone to a deeper level because of both the Marriage Encounter and the Retrouvaille programs.

We remember Fr. Tom on our first Marriage Encounter weekend in May 1987. What an experience to hear him talk about his relationships in his family and parish, with other priests and encountered couples! His honesty challenged us to be honest. His affirming positive attitude supported our desire to be a better couple. We have become especially close to Fr. Doug and have had the opportunity to hear his story and share good times, laughter, and tears with him. We have heard many priests give the encounter weekend - and the Retrouvaille weekend. As we attended the national conventions we talked to many priests and heard many bishops speak. All of these priests impressed us with their dedication, their liveliness, their wisdom. Many times Dave and I have talked about the blessing our priests have been to our lives.

We offer a spiritual bouquet to all priests, especially those in the Marriage Encounter and Retrouvaille communities. Our bouquet will be our fast on World Priest Day. Just as during Lent, our fast will remind us of how much we hunger for God's kingdom. This Priest Day it will remind us of the priests who have proclaimed the gospel to us with the way they live their lives.

Affectionately,

Dave & Fran
Spiritual Bouquet for Priests

It is with deep gratitude that I add to the spiritual bouquet that is being gathered by our WWME for the many holy priests who have chosen a life of ministry in our beloved Church.

I am reminded of the ritual of the washing of the feet observed on Holy Thursday. For me, this humble act inspires an overwhelming gratitude for God's love and mercy in sending us servant leaders in our priests. In this way and many others, our priests devote themselves to an unparalleled servant leadership Thanks be to God for calling them to serve Him as priests in the Catholic Church, and our gratitude to them for accepting God's will and serving Him in obedience.

As they serve the Lord, we witness their dedicated servant leadership; working with them, we become community. In a song based on John 13, where Jesus washes the disciples' feet, songwriter Michael Card speaks about the profound nature of their ministry of service:

"In an upstairs room
A parable is just about to come alive.
And while they bicker about who's best,
With a painful glance, He'll silently rise.
Their Savior Servant must show them how
Through the will of the water
And the tenderness of the towel."

Just as "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:29), our priests offer each day the best they have to serve God's people, relying on the Holy Spirit to equip them for service.

We ask the Lord to strengthen our priests for their awesome tasks and make them a blessing to all whom they serve. May their ministries may bear much fruit and may your peace and strength undergird all they do. We ask, too, that you help each of us to support our prayers with a willingness to be sent forth from the Mass to work in building up the Kingdom of God in our families, in our communities, and beyond.

Our spiritual bouquet is offered to encourage and support all holy priests who labor in a world that cries out for the help and hope they so unselfishly offer. We will remember by name the priests whom God brings to our minds each day through the Year of the Priest and beyond. We commit to the following as a part of this spiritual bouquet:

• Attend Sunday Mass each week.
• Begin to attend daily Mass with some regularity.
• Devote time to Scripture and to prayer daily, including the Rosary .
• And, with God's help, may our dedication to serving the Lord and each other grow in the months ahead!

Most respectfully,
Deanie & Bill Tourville
ME Weekend February 2009
Hilton Head, SC

Father Frank has been an amazing gift to the South Carolina Marriage Encounter community. We enjoyed presenting Weekends with him, and he always seemed to be able to say exactly what the couples need to hear.

Peace, love, & joy,
Bob & Mary

Dear Wonderful Priests,

You are a sign of God's faithfulness to His people. Through you we come to know the voice of Christ. On this special day - World Priest Day - we especially keep you in our thoughts and prayers. Today we will pray a morning offering to you and keep a prayer candle burning so we are reminded to pray for you throughout the day. Thank you for your faithfulness to the calling you received from God and for all you do for your parish and community.

Love,
Michele & Jim Renaud

Father Joseph A. Fitzmyer (retired)
Georgetown University

Father Peter Daly
St John Vianney, Prince Frederick, MD

Father Bill Cleary
Villanova, PA

Msgr Raymond East
St Theresa Avila, Washington DC

Thank you for your love.
Thank you for giving your lives so others may share in the body and blood of Christ.
Thank you for the gift of reconciliation.

Every night when I pray with my children before I put them to bed, we always pray for all soldiers and for all priests - that the Holy Spirit guide and protect them.

Peace and Grace to each of you.
You are appreciated.
You are loved.

SOME SPECIAL WORDS FOR OUR SPECIAL PRIESTS.

Love is our true destiny
We do not find the meaning of life alone
We find it with another
Thomas Merton

For where your treasure is, there also your heart will be.
Matthew 6:21

So faith, hope, love remain, But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Blessed Mother Teresa

From the Fitzmyer family
Steve & Glenette, Stevie and Alexy
St John Vianney; Prince Frederick, MD

To: Rev. Michael J. King
Jesus the Good Shepherd
Owings, MD

Dear Fr. King:

Our family has adopted you as our priest to pray for during this year of the priests.

Our daughter, Maria, was excited to hear that we were adopting a priest because of her own adoption into our family. She also feels a special connection to you because she attends Cardinal Hickey Preschool where she sees you often. We will offer our evening family prayers for you and Fr. Daly - as we thank the Lord for the rich blessing he has given us in the two of you.

You are indeed a Shepherd, as you watch over your flock. Thank you for being a special blessing to those little ones and we pray that God will continue to bless you in your vocation, bringing you good health and peace in your journey.

Love and God's Blessings to you always,
Dan & Angie, Maria & Joseph Rank

To: Rev. Peter J. Daly
St. John Vianney
Prince Frederick, MD 20678

Dear Fr. Daly:

We would like to extend our thanks to you for being our very special parish priest. Our family will be praying for you, for your health and peace as you continue your journey helping your parish family.

Thank you for all of the wonderful things you are to our family. You have been the Lord's instrument in helping us grow our family and we have received the honor of you baptizing both of our children. There are many blessings in our life, you being one of the most important.

Maria was excited to learn that we are "adopting" a priest; she feels a connection in doing this because of her own adoption to our family. So, you and Fr. King will be remembered during our family prayer time each evening.

God Bless you.
We love you,
Dan & Angie, Maria & Joseph Rank

To Fr. John Barry, St. Edwards, Bowie

Fr. Barry, thank you so much for being such a wonderful priest. You are a very, very special friend and consider you a part of our family. We miss you and hope to see you soon.

Jim & Lori Russell & Family

To Fr. Bill Gurnee, Holy Angels, Avenue

Fr. Gurnee, thank you for being such a wonderful priest. You are truly a beacon of light in our community and we are all very happy that you are our parish priest.

Jim & Lori Russell & Family

Fr. Doug Reed - Fr. Doug, you mean the world to us. You have helped us grow in our spirituality and in our marriage. We appreciate all you have done for us over the years and you have a very special place in our hearts. For World Priest day we will pray the rosary in your name.

Fr. Peter Alliata - Fr. Pete, it has been our pleasure to have known you for 17 years. We enjoyed our times together at WWME meetings and conventions. For World Priest Day we will pray a rosary in your name.

Fr. Tom Lehning - Fr. Tom, we enjoyed all our times together with you, presenting weekends, eating meals with you, and participating in mass at your parish. We will pray a rosary in your name on World Priest Day

Reggi & Mike

Dear Father,

In honor of World Priest Day and all that you do for the church we will undertake the following devotional acts: we will pray the rosary and read our favorite chapters of the bible together. This is only a small token of our appreciation for your constant love and devotion to the Lord, the Catholic Church, and us, the parishioners. Your spiritual guidance is not only important and necessary, but also is an example of God's grace and love, hard at work. Thank you so much, you are loved and appreciated!

Love,
Jason & Sarah Talley

Dear Brothers in Christ,

We have been blessed because you have chosen to serve others and bring us closer to God through our interaction in our own sacramental relationship. Thank you for caring enough to want to be involved in our lives.

God bless you on your own spiritual journey. As you give and give to others, we would like also to give back and our offering back to you involves sharing of ourselves in time and affection toward the elderly and infirmed at a nearby nursing home facility where we plan ongoing visitations to bring a little love and attention into the lives of some of our forgotten elderly. It's only a small part but we believe it can make a big difference to many.

Many blessings to you on World Priest Day!

With love, Rick & Sue France, Wilmington, NC

Priests are so very important to their "flock." They must not distance themselves from us as we are the "flock they shepherd for the Lord." Likewise, we owe them so much for bringing Jesus to us.

Kevin & Maria McMahon

To All Our Wonderful Priests of Section 4,

I cannot thank you enough for your time and commitment to Marriage Encounter. Without you our marriage would not be as rewarding, deep, and honest as it is today. We learned how to treat each other as Jesus believes we should. Thank you for your dedication the one of the most important sacraments!

Love and Prayers,
Ed & Shelly Sordellini

To our Spiritual Fathers:

Thank you for all that you do every day to bring your flock closer to their heavenly reward. We see you working with our children, young couples just starting out, couples with troubled marriages, the faithful that have lost their way, older parishioners who come to each mass with a joyful look on their face, and so many more on their earthly journey. All of us you reach out and touch in a way no one else can possibly do. You do this with loving compassion and a firm desire to see us all in our Fathers house. Thank you for all the sacrifices, and hard work that you do for us.

Especially to the loving Priests of Our Lady of Angels, in Woodbridge, VA, past and present:

Thank you for your support of our vocation as a married couple. You have each made a difference in our lives and we are deeply grateful.

Steve & Karen and Kristina Bow

Jeff will offer up 10 masses (daily) for the intention of our priests. Kathy will offer special prayers for those ten days.

Jeff & Kathy Foley

Section 16 is offering up their Team Enrichment Weekend for the priests!

Ricardo ? Soly Moreno
ENCUENTRO MATRIMONIAL MUNDIAL
Worldwide Marriage Encounter
Section 16

"El fruto de la fe es amor y el fruto del amor es servicio"
"The fruit of faith is love, and the fruit of love is service"

I'll pray the rosary & Ron can wear his scapular.

Ron & Deb Malay

We will say 7 Rosaries and offer 7 Masses for priests.

Dot & Charlie Bradford

The Harpers................one rosary.

Dan & Beth Harper

As part of the spiritual bouquet for our Washington DC Archdiocese priests, Will and I would like to contribute the devotional act of praying the rosary and making Sundays a dedicated Family Day.

Carol & Will Frazier

I will participate in the spiritual bouquet by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet each morning.

Liz Calabrese

Pat and Joe Doane have offered up their communion on Tuesdays for our priests.

I will offer a recitation of the rosary each week for our priests.

Cathleen Shannon (St. Raphael's, Rockville, MD)

We will dedicate one daily rosary between us, for the rest of September to priests.

Mary & David Hand

For Father Don Worch, Our Lady of Mercy, Potomac MD:
The Divine Mercy Chaplet will be prayed for your intentions in gratitude for shepherding us back to the fold.

For Father Lee Fangmeyer:
The Divine Mercy Chaplet will be prayed for your intentions.

For Father Ralph Kuehner:
The Divine Mercy Chaplet will be prayed for your intentions.

From Lenny & Betty Baklarz

Thank you for your spiritual guidance.
Thank you for listening to my confessions.
Thank you for choosing to be a priest.

Laura Reinhold

I had your "Spiritual Bouquet" letter with me on retreat last weekend and decided to dedicate several of the devotional acts to our priests. The following is a list of them: Three masses, three rosaries, five visits to the Blessed Sacrament, five morning offerings and an hour of spiritual reading.

Dick Bissell

Jason and I would like to offer up a rosary for the priests. We definitely want to thank all of the priests for the guidance and devotion that they give to their Catholic communities.

Our priests are true examples of God's love for us.

Sam & Jason Lord

Felicia and I will pray the Rosary for priests. In addition, I will endeavor to be more mindful of my responsibility to regularly pray for priests in the future.

Also, I'd like to share this inspiration: "Lord, may I never take your dedicated priests or the priestly vocation for granted. Fill me with a deeper realization of the sweet gift you have bestowed upon us by giving us priests as reminders of your presence among us, especially in your sacraments. May their example inspire me to fulfill my role as Priest, Prophet and King in all the circumstances of my daily life."

Felipe & Felicia Lulli

To honor the current and former priests of St. Patrick's Church in Rockville, MD, the Lyons family will say a daily prayer of gratitude for their service and sacrifice, and we will increase our time spent reading the Bible or other spiritual materials.

Kathy & John Lyons

For Our Priests on World Priest Day 2009

We faithfully attended daily mass this week, keeping you in our hearts and prayers. We shared prayers of thanksgiving for the gift of your sacrament to us as couple, to our family, to our parish, and to our community.

We know firsthand the joys and struggles of the commitment to our sacrament of matrimony. We know you experience similar struggles and joys in your sacrament of Holy Orders.

We thank you for your gift of self, and ask God to continue to support and bless you.

You remain in our hearts and prayers,

Maria & Rick Wharton

Worldwide Marriage Encounter

Michelle and I will keep priests in our bedtime prayers with Benjamin and will pray the rosary for the priests of our archdiocese.

Greg & Michelle Bast

I will offer up my daily mass attendance in honor of our priests and pray for them. Thank you to all our priests for all they do for our parishes and communities.

Jim Russell

We will do a couple of things on behalf of our priests. We will attend a Mass, pray the Rosary, and go to

a Eucharistic Adoration.

Sabine & Jean Paul

I will say the morning offering for our priests with a weekly rosary this next month in their honor.

Tina Even

I will say 10 Hail Marys for Father Pete.

Brooke Haney (10 years old)

I will say 10 Our Fathers for Father Pete.

Amanda Haney (8 years old)

Caitlyn prayed the Guardian Angel prayer for Father Pete.

Caitlyn Haney (3 years old)

We pray that God's blessings will be bestowed on priests everywhere. We thank God for their dedication, devotion, sacrifice, and love.

We have been blessed by knowing so many priests throughout this country and the world. Our hearts have been filled, and our spirits lifted from the warmth of God's love we have received through all of these priests.

We offer 5 masses and dedicate 8 rosaries for the intentions of all of our priests. We will continue to keep priests and vocations in our daily prayers.

We love you,

Don & Wink Flanders
Worldwide Marriage Encounter