Pray for Priests

In this dark era of chaotic change and moral breakdown, we are urged to pray for priests, bishops and of course, our Pope.  I had originally planned on writing a follow-up post to my latest post which discusses diabolic infestation, but then realized that I wanted to take this in a slightly different direction.

Yesterday I read some very sad news: Father Thomas Euteneuer’s resignation as president of Human Life International was due to violations of chastity.  You can read about it here.  This priest has been heavily involved in not only the Pro-Life Movement, but also in the exorcism ministry.  I’ve referred to him a number of times in this blog in my posts concerning demonic affliction and have admired his efforts through the months.  I even planned on purchasing his book called Exorcism and the Church Militant. A few months ago my mother and I were talking about the fact that the book was suddenly out of print and unavailable for purchase.  Well, if you click on the link you will see that there are now only a handful of copies available, and at astronomical prices.

The Pope Asks Us to Pray for Priests

There is a growing need for us, as Catholics, to continually pray for priests and really all members of the clergy, as we are finding ourselves facing a multitude of spiritual challenges that are a direct result of the war between good and evil.  Pope Benedict XVI said that “the priesthood is a gift from the heart of Christ, a gift for the Church and for the world.”  He also said that we should continue “to remember all priests in our prayers, thanking Christ for this great gift of His love and asking Him to keep them in His grace as faithful friends and ministers.”  This was from a June 14th, 2010 article from Catholic News Service which outlined the Pope’s Angelus address on June 13th, 2010.

Pray for Priests Facing Spiritual Conflict

Regarding Father Tom Euteneuer’s situation, it is of course, only my opinion, but I firmly believe that his work as an exorcist may have brought about the temptation which caused him to cross a moral boundary.  I think that he was spiritually vulnerable, as he was casting out demons and speaking out against abortion.  He wasn’t your ordinary priest, by any means, and the fact that he was doing such good for people probably made him even more of a target for the evil one than he would’ve been if he weren’t in the spotlight.  After all, he was pretty well-known in the Catholic circuit and beyond, so why wouldn’t that be all the more of a challenge for Satan to strike out against him in order to bring him down and ruin his good name and spiritual reputation?

We need to pray for priests because they are spiritually vulnerable as they are doing the work of God and promoting the peace of Christ.  Just because they are priests, that does not mean that they are insulated against the wickedness of the world and the traps of Satan.  If anything, they are even more vulnerable because of their position in the Church and their close relationship with the Lord.  And when we pray for priests, we must remember to include the ones who have already been targeted, such as Father Tom Euteneuer and several others who have fallen prey to the snares of the enemy.  I read the paragraph below about Father John Corapi’s perspective on the matter:

The Priesthood of Jesus Christ

Father Corapi gives this timely exposition on two absolutely interrelated sacraments: Holy Orders and the holy Eucharist.  The contemporary crisis can be stated very simply: No priest, no Eucharist.  There is an attack on the priesthood in order to remove the Eucharist, which is the source, center, and summit of the Church’s life.  The only tactician evil enough or intelligent enough to orchestrate this strategy of evil is Satan himself, “the father of lies and murderer from the beginning.”

Pray for Priests and for Vocations to the Priesthood

On April 22, 2010, I received a letter from my parish priest in response to a letter I wrote to him.  (I also sent a copy to the Bishop.)  In my letter I expressed my concern that on Divine Mercy weekend, the priest that was supposedly going to be hearing Confessions had instead announced that he “couldn’t be in two places at the same time” and proceeded to prepare for the Saturday evening Mass, leaving myself and three other parishioners stranded at the Confessional.  This is another good example of why there is a serious need for us Catholics to not only pray for priests, but to pray for vocations to the priesthood as well.

Here is the letter (with my name misspelled):

Dear Marge:

I received your letter on my return from being out of town for 10 days.  I apologize for your unfortunate experience here at Cathedral.

Unfortunately having lost my associate and having two parishes has created some scheduling conflicts.

I left for my first vacation in a year on that Saturday afternoon.  Since there is a 4PM Mass at St. John’s that went longer than expected the priest was unable to get back for confessions in time.

I appreciate your sending a copy of this letter to the Bishop.  Perhaps he will understand that I cannot pastor two parishes without help and that more occurrences like this one will happen as the shortage of priests continues.

Please accept my apologies for this most unfortunate incident.  Let us both pray that God will intervene and there will be more vocations so that your spiritual needs can be met.

Please introduce yourself to me the next time you are at Mass.

Sincerely,

to be continued..

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