A Unique Moment of Grace
23 November 2009
Our Assistant Priest in Cheltenham Father Tom Smith writes reflecting on a recent retreat during this Year for Priests.
A unique event in the life of the Church recently took place in the small village of Ars in South East France. About 1200 priests, 30 bishops (including six cardinals) representing 75 countries, gathered for the International Priests’ Retreat, organised to mark the Year for Priests and the 150th anniversary of the death of St John-Marie Vianney.
The retreat was the inspiration of the Beatitudes community (an international lay institute) and was organised with the collaboration of the St John Vianney society (a society for diocesan priests who want to live more deeply the spirituality of St John Vianney) based in Ars.
The theme of the retreat, preached by the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, was ‘The Joy of Priesthood, Consecrated for the Salvation of the World’. Cardinal Schönborn led the talks each morning covering the following themes: ‘The Priestly Calling - Consecrated for the Salvation of the World’; ‘God Rich in Mercy; Prayer and Spiritual Battle’; ‘The Eucharist and Pastoral Charity’; and ‘The Importance of Mary in the Life of the Priest.’ He departed from his planned talk for Friday and engaged in a question and answer session with the priests.
I have to rate thisretreat as one of the most truly profound experiences of my life. I’ve been a priest for only four years and my recent time spent in Ars ranks just behind my ordination! I was blown away by the prayer, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and by the depth of knowledge, faith and spirituality of all the lay people, bishops and cardinals involved.
The liturgy of the Church, the Divine Office and the Mass, were prayed in Latin, French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Polish, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese and dialects from India. It was a joyful and moving witness to the catholicity of the Church. The prayer underpinned a real fraternity among the priests.
We were encouraged by Patti Mansfield (from the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States) who prayed for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, using the Ancient Hymn of the Church, ‘Veni, Creator, Spiritus.’ This was a very emotional moment for me, witnessing over 1000 priests praying in the language of the Church, inspired by a lay woman involved with a modern movement of the Church. The blend of both the ancient and the new was mind blowing and I was filled with great joy at seeing so many priests touched by the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit was also present in the many talks that were given by lay people, cardinals and bishops. Cardinal Schönborn’s talks were steeped in theology, scriptural analysis, pastoral experience and social comment and were delivered with gentleness and humour. He emphasised that the priesthood was at the heart of the Church and that God’s mercy was at the heart of the pastoral mission of the priest today.
I count myself privileged to have been part of this retreat in Ars; to have encountered such deep faith at the heart of the Church is something I never want to forget.
Father Tom Smith
There’s more from Father Tom is our article from last week.
Our Assistant Priest in Cheltenham Father Tom Smith writes reflecting on a recent retreat during this Year for Priests.
A unique event in the life of the Church recently took place in the small village of Ars in South East France. About 1200 priests, 30 bishops (including six cardinals) representing 75 countries, gathered for the International Priests’ Retreat, organised to mark the Year for Priests and the 150th anniversary of the death of St John-Marie Vianney.
The retreat was the inspiration of the Beatitudes community (an international lay institute) and was organised with the collaboration of the St John Vianney society (a society for diocesan priests who want to live more deeply the spirituality of St John Vianney) based in Ars.
The theme of the retreat, preached by the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, was ‘The Joy of Priesthood, Consecrated for the Salvation of the World’. Cardinal Schönborn led the talks each morning covering the following themes: ‘The Priestly Calling - Consecrated for the Salvation of the World’; ‘God Rich in Mercy; Prayer and Spiritual Battle’; ‘The Eucharist and Pastoral Charity’; and ‘The Importance of Mary in the Life of the Priest.’ He departed from his planned talk for Friday and engaged in a question and answer session with the priests.
I have to rate thisretreat as one of the most truly profound experiences of my life. I’ve been a priest for only four years and my recent time spent in Ars ranks just behind my ordination! I was blown away by the prayer, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and by the depth of knowledge, faith and spirituality of all the lay people, bishops and cardinals involved.
The liturgy of the Church, the Divine Office and the Mass, were prayed in Latin, French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Polish, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese and dialects from India. It was a joyful and moving witness to the catholicity of the Church. The prayer underpinned a real fraternity among the priests.
We were encouraged by Patti Mansfield (from the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States) who prayed for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, using the Ancient Hymn of the Church, ‘Veni, Creator, Spiritus.’ This was a very emotional moment for me, witnessing over 1000 priests praying in the language of the Church, inspired by a lay woman involved with a modern movement of the Church. The blend of both the ancient and the new was mind blowing and I was filled with great joy at seeing so many priests touched by the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit was also present in the many talks that were given by lay people, cardinals and bishops. Cardinal Schönborn’s talks were steeped in theology, scriptural analysis, pastoral experience and social comment and were delivered with gentleness and humour. He emphasised that the priesthood was at the heart of the Church and that God’s mercy was at the heart of the pastoral mission of the priest today.
I count myself privileged to have been part of this retreat in Ars; to have encountered such deep faith at the heart of the Church is something I never want to forget.
Father Tom Smith
There’s more from Father Tom is our article from last week.
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23 November 2009
23 November 2009