Priest of God . . . say this Mass . . .

 

Priest of God

say this Mass

as though it were

Your First Mass

Your Last Mass

Your Only Mass

**On November 12, 2015, I went to Gift of Hope Convent in Baltimore, Maryland, to celebrate the Mass with the sisters and the residents of the home.  That day, I posted the following on social media:

<<I just finished celebrating Mass with the Missionaries of Charity.  I hope I was faithful to the sentiment of the admonition on this plaque located in the sacristy. (see photo)>>

**Today, seven years later on November 12, 2022 I posted the following: 

<<Last year, I faced a few challenges in my personal and ministerial life (in 2021), but one thing I can say with absolute certainty, is that I have ALWAYS been faithful to the sentiments expressed in this well known admonition to priests, and this has been true even on my darkest days.  

I have never once celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with anything but a clear mind, a sense of great devotion, and with gratitude to Jesus our Lord and Savior, who completely shares the Father’s unconditional love for us in every Sacramental celebration of the Eucharist.  

If my saying this is somehow a sin in the area of pride, then I will humbly place my trust in God’s infinite mercy which aims to wipe away every one of our transgressions, and that always seeks to restore us to lives full of Grace—I know and believe this to be a central theme of the Mass we pray and celebrate—something for which I will continue to yearn and to aspire with devotion and thanksgiving, and with the hope of future glory!>>