Diocese of San Angelo - Texas
I was very happy to receive your latest letter of February 12, 2010, in
which you encourage all of us to be more active in supporting our priests
during the Year for Priests. I first want to let you know that I am very grateful to you for the constant
reminders you send our way and for the suggestions you have made for all of us
as regards how we can help our people come to a new appreciation of the gift of
priesthood and to show gratitude to our many, many faithful priests. In accord with your request, I point out the initiatives, programs and
plans that I have been supporting in the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas – West
Texas – during the Year for Priests.
First, at the beginning of
this Year, I set up prayer and reflection meetings with groups of priests
throughout the Diocese, sharing with them information about the Year for
Priests, inviting their comments and stressing how we all need to imitate the
model and patron of priests, St. John Vianney.
After this prayer and reflection, a meal was shared with all in a spirit
of fraternal charity.
I have also invited the
Pastoral Councils of each of the 73 communities of our Diocese to have a
special program to honor their priests twice during the Year for Priests. One of these occasions was designated to
happen before Christmas, and the other appreciation event or ceremony is to
take place between Christmas and the end of the Year for Priests in June. At the monthly Deanery meetings for our
priests, I have prepared questions taken from the document of Vatican II
for reflection by our priests and to seek their comments as to
how we can all better live out our priesthood in the context of the reality in
which we find ourselves.
I have also invited youth
groups of each community to send a letter to me, expressing their reflections
on priesthood and how much they appreciate the priests who are serving them.
This is a way of encouraging vocations
to priesthood and religious life.
During the Year for
Priests, on almost a monthly basis, I have featured one or other article in our
local diocesan newspaper about priests and the beautiful gift of priesthood and
Eucharist. I have also invited our
seminarians to share their reflections about priesthood with me. I have sent a special letter to each
seminarian offering them reflections from the life and writings of St.John
Vianney.
During the Year for
Priests, all of our communities are constantly asked to pray for our priests
and for more vocations for priesthood.
These are some of the
initiatives and plans that we have been working on to celebrate the Year for
Priests in the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas.
May our kind God continue
to pour out many blessings upon you and
the good service you give our Church.
Your humble servant in
Christ and Mary,
+Michael Pfeifer, OMI
Most Rev. Michael D. Pfeifer, OMI
Bishop of San Angelo