World Priest News

Loving God,

As a Christian community we believe that you work in all things for our good, and that you make use even of what is bad to open our hearts to you. So we turn to you at this critical time when humankind is being assaulted by the coronavirus, and ask you to bless all those we love and care for.

We pray especially at this time for your beloved priests. Some of them have already died from the virus: they are martyrs of charity. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13). Receive them into your glory and keep safe all others who are in the front line of the pandemic while caring pastorally for your people.

We commend our priests to the tender care of Mary your Mother, and we make this prayer in confidence through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Brian Grogan SJ

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

We wish a Happy Christmas to all bishops, priests, friends, benefactors, Worldpriest representatives, volunteers and the Worldpriest global apostolate team.

2020 – Date for your calendar The Worldpriest Annual Global Rosary Relay for the Sanctification of Priests 19 June. Be There!

Worldpriest recently received an account of the highly impressive participation in the Worldpriest Annual Global Rosary Relay for the Sanctification of Priests, held all around the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The account was sent to us by the Worldpriest representative for Pakistan, Naveed Anjum and Rev Fr Nazar Nawab, Parish Priest of St. Paul’s Parish of Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi. It was a truly astonishing contribution from a country where Christianity is very much a minority religion in that huge, predominantly Islamic state.

No less than forty-seven prayer locations joined in prayer – twenty-four from the Archdiocese of Karachi, one from the Archdiocese of Lahore, five from the Diocese of Faisalabad, six from the Diocese of Hyderabad and eleven from the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi. There was also a significant, planned participation from the Way of the Sacred Heart, a lay organisation, led by Mr Christopher Zahid.

This year Catholic Christians in metropolitan, cantonment, urban and desert areas of Pakistan participated in this unique worldwide prayer meeting with the help of our local parish priests and social media. Good News Web TV, Catholic TV and many more Facebook live broadcasting arrangements were made on that day. The Urdu newspaper Agahi News of the archdiocese of Karachi also published a comprehensive report of this unique prayer event.

The National Novena of Our Lady of Good Help at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA, is taking place on 1–9 October. This year marks the beginning of the celebrations of the 160th anniversary of Mother Mary appearing to Adele Brise at Champion.

Marion Mulhall founder of the Worldpriest Global Apostolate – which includes the inspired Worldpriest Annual Global Rosary Relay for the Sanctification of Priests – will be a guest speaker at 12 noon on the Sunday, during a lunch at the Knights of Columbus – Vince Lombardi Council Family Day at Champion Shrine, during the National Novena of Our Lady of Good Help at America’s only Church-approved Marian apparition site. Marion will also lead the group rosary on site at the major events. https://www.shrineofourladyofgoodhelp.com

When the 24-hour Worldpriest Annual Rosary Relay for the Sanctification of Priests ended this year, every priest worldwide had been prayed for during this global prayer event, which in 2019 celebrated its tenth anniversary. Millions of people in no less than 260 prayer locations dotted around the globe participated in this professionally planned event, all coordinated by the Worldpriest team.

It would be impossible for Worldpriest founder Marion Mulhall to thank all the wonderful people at the 260 prayer locations worldwide who contributed yet again to this year’s prayer event with such dedication, hence Marion personally wishes to take this opportunity to congratulate each and every one of you who made it all possible through your prayer-filled enthusiasm and loving devotion to Our Lady in praying the Rosary for her priests. The original inspiration received ten years ago of ‘20 countries 20 mysteries’ has now become a huge spiritual phenomenon of global proportions.

Marion would also like to extend a sincere thank you to our Worldpriest partners EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network), who promoted the event so widely for all of the ten years through their extensive networks, and carried so many live broadcasts worldwide in celebration of the tenth anniversary. Thank you Peter Gagnon and team.

JOIN IN THE WORLDPRIEST GLOBAL ROSARY RELAY FOR THE SANCTIFICATION OF PRIESTS – AS IT HAPPENS – AROUND THE WORLD

Worldpriest has organised global, national and international television broadcasts around the world on 28 June. Just click on your choice of link and join with those at prayer, wherever you are located.

Be sure to tune in to our Facebook page where we will be sharing live broadcasts from all over the world, bringing good news to all in celebration of our tenth anniversary.

See live broadcast schedule by clicking here:
LIVE-BROADCAST-SCHEDULE-FOR-GLOBAL-ROSARY-RELAY.pdf

People ask us how the Worldpriest Global Rosary Relay for the Sanctification of Priests works so efficiently … all within a single day. In fact the prayer event is quite a simple concept, born from the inspiration of twenty countries and twenty mysteries a decade ago.

In this our tenth anniversary year, the prayer event starts with the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary in Soul, South Korea, before being spiritually sent to Our Lady of Magadan in Russia, and then travelling all over the world to every continent, every country and every parish, finishing at Hermosillo, Sonora State in Mexico at the Shrine of the Divine Child Jesus, praying the Luminous Mysteries.

If your church is not currently listed on the Worldpriest website just join in prayer with the nearest prayer location to you by visiting the link here to check locations: https://www.worldpriest.com/participating-shrine-list/. If you do not have internet access tell you friends to spread the word or we suggest you join with an elderly person or someone living alone or a person who may be unwell and unable to travel to a prayer location and pray together with that person. You might also consider participating from your home with your family, or from your workplace. Participation then becomes almost like prayer as you go!

Our goal is to have an amazing one billion Hail Marys prayed on 28 June, but this goal can only be reached through every support from you personally and all other people praying at the 250 approx prayer locations worldwide.

Please let us know if you are going to participate and where you are located by pledging your rosary if not already registered online at the following: info.worldpriest@gmail.com

We have many new participating prayer locations this year but to mention just one The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal C.F.R. who are joining the Global Rosary Relay for the first time at their community church Newburg, New York, praying the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary at 15.30 local time join prayerfully with the Friars from where ever you may be located worldwide.

What the Rosary Relay means to one Africa priest

‘This event touches the bottom of my heart and I feel I am called to participate in this divine mission.’ Fr. John Baptist Nsubuga C.S.C. Fort Portal Diocese, Western Uganda, Africa.

New special Rosary Relay novena

This nine-day novena is like a pilgrimage journeying to the Annual Global Rosary Relay Day from 20 June to 28 June. Look at https://www.worldpriest.com/novena-2019/ which will be posted daily through Worldpriest social media outreaches on Facebook and Twitter.

Do you have all your promotional material?

All prayer locations have been very busy planning for this great day. By now you should have received all your promotional material with full explanatory documentation from Worldpriest. Please check your e-mail inbox to make sure you have all the information you need. If you are missing any important guidelines or if you have any questions, please email us right away at info.worldpriest@gmail.com

How you can help us to promote the relay at your prayer location

Here are some ways you can help us to maximise the promotion of the Worldpriest Worldwide Rosary Relay:

• By organising a global, national or local television or radio broadcast – in each case providing us with the television or radio station link to include in our broadcast schedule.

• Webcam, YouTube and Facebook presentations will also require a link to place on our broadcast schedule.

• A short write-up afterwards about how your prayer location participated would be greatly welcomed and would allow Worldpriest to produce a full overview news story in thanksgiving for a great day of prayer as we actively prepare for 16 June 2020 the next Global Rosary Relay day.

After 28 June we will place all of the above on the media hub of our website, so please send everything to info.worldpriest@gmail.com

A full live broadcast schedule of global, international and local television coverage, along with streaming links will be available on the Worldpriest website visit www.worldpriest.com to view and follow on 28 June.

Final planning is moving briskly ahead for the 2019 Worldpriest Annual Global Rosary Relay for the Sanctification of Priests. Building on the wonderfully high levels of participation in 2018, when the event touched the lives of 14 million people worldwide, on all five continents, the indications are that the tenth anniversary year of 2019 will see participation easily exceed the amazing statistics of last year.

The number of participating prayer locations has risen substantially yet again this year, with new prayer locations from Finland, from Canada at a beautiful church close to Niagara Falls, from Costa Rica in Central America, from Bangladesh and from many new participating locations in the United States, including those in Minnesota, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Nebraska and Virginia, which are all growing in numbers.

We invite the world in a special outreach gesture to join in solidarity with Sri Lanka at their local prayer time of 10.00 a.m. from the Shrine of Our Lady of Matara, in praying the Sorrowful Mysteries.

Pakistan is in full preparation mode for their participation this year, having been the winners of the 2018 Worldpriest Global Rosary Relay special award for outstanding promotion and participation. This resulted in half a million people uniting in prayer in what was a wonderful gift to our dear priests the world over.

The Worldpriest Annual Global Rosary Relay for the Sanctification of Priests Tenth Anniversary Thanksgiving Mass takes place at the Shrine of Our Lady Queen of Ireland, Knock, County Mayo on 28 June 2019 with the participation in the Global Rosary Relay of Knock National Marian Shrine praying the Luminous Mysteries. There will be a live stream for all to join prayerfully worldwide, with full details being provided in the next newsletter.

We have a new Worldpriest Annual Global Rosary Relay Novena starting on 20 June and finishing on 28 June, including daily reflection to camera, with more details being available in our next newsletter.

Global media interest is rising in many counties as the planning begins for live broadcasts thorough social media and all communication channels to be utilised in order to invite many people of all ages, all cultures and all nationalities to join from wherever they may be located. We are profoundly grateful to our partners The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) for the tremendous coverage they give to this unique global gathering of a world at prayer, which allows millions and millions of people to join in prayer from all corners of the world.

Please mark 28 June 2019 in your prayer schedule on your phones and computers so that you may participate in the Worldpriest Annual Global Rosary Relay – a global event not to be missed. The clock is ticking and we are ready for takeoff for Mother Mary and her Rosary Relay.

This is actually a live spiritual relay as each prayer location picks up the Rosary prayer from the previous location and spiritually sends forth to the next prayer location, so it is moving all day worldwide. You may check your location at this link https://www.worldpriest.com/participating-shrine-list/

Please pray for a great success of the world at prayer on 28 June. We need your participation, wherever you are. The world needs prayer every day, but especially on Annual Global Rosary Relay day on the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

So please pray the Rosary, unite with your country and help encircle the world in prayer. Be there!

‘If families give Our Lady fifteen minutes a day by reciting the Rosary, I assure them that their homes will become, by God’s grace, peaceful places.’ – Venerable Patrick Peyton CSC.

We have many more surprises to come, so stay in touch and keep informed by visiting www.worldpriest.com. And please sign up to our newsletter at www.worldpriest.com

THE IDEA OF A NOVENA

The word “novena” comes from “novem”, the Latin word for the cardinal number nine. Since the foundation of the Church, believers have prayed with confidence over a period of nine days for all sorts of intentions.

The focus on nine days has been a feature of prayer in the Church from its very beginnings. In fact we learn from the Acts of the Apostles that the Church came into existence at the end of a “novena”.  It began on the afternoon of Ascension Thursday and ended on the morning of Pentecost Sunday, nine days later.

The Scriptures give us a detailed account of what happened over those nine days:

“While Jesus was at table with His disciples (after the Resurrection) he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. “It is”, he had said, “what you have heard me speak about……you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit which will come on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria and indeed to earth’s remotest end”………..So from the Mount of Olives, as it is called, they went back to Jerusalem, a short distance away, no more than a Sabbath walk; and when they reached the city they went to the upper room (cenaculum) where they were staying; there were Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas , Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Jude son of James. With one heart all these joined constantly in prayer, together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers” cf. Acts I: 1-14.

This is the only passage in Scripture where we learn that the eleven Apostles, some women, and “his bothers”, described in the Bible of Jerusalem as “close relations of Jesus” were privileged to be constantly in the physical presence of Mary the mother of Jesus over a period of a “novena”.  We can be sure that this Mother of All Goodness will be with us in spirit over the period of our own Novena as we prepare for the Annual Global Rosary Relay for the Sanctification of Priests on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, her Divine Son, on Friday, June 28^th.

Bernard J.McGuckian S.J.

DAY ONE

SOLEMNITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI: THURSDAY, JUNE 20.

REFLECTION:
Today’s Feast of Corpus Christi was first entered into the Liturgical Calendar of the Universal Church 775 years ago in 1264. This initiative came from revelations by the Risen Lord Himself to Saint Juliana in her Congregation near Liege, Belgium. To this humble nun, He revealed His desire that a day be set apart to celebrate with special solemnity the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. Although the inestimable gift of the Blessed Eucharist was made possible through the cruel, unjust slaughter of the Lamb of God, for which all of humanity should be ashamed and ask forgiveness, the special emphasis of today’s feast is the joyful celebration of the Supper of the Lamb. Without our priests, there would be something missing in our efforts to respond to this divine call to joyful celebration. So, let us lift up our hearts! Sursum corda!

St Juliana, pray for our Priests, especially those who minister to us in our Church community……

As there are people participating in our Novena on all five continents, we suggest that you pray for your priests through the saints of your own country. While there are thousands of canonised saints and blessed in heaven, there are only 365 days in the year. So, not all of them find their names in the Universal Calendar of the Church. Without the ministry of their priests none of these great saintly people would have reached the heights of sanctity to which they attained.

Final Prayer:
O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament have left us a memorial of your Passion, grant us, we pray, so to revere the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood that we may experience in ourselves the fruits of your redemption. Who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever.

Click Here To Download Novena 2019 (PDF)

www.worldpriest.com/helpful-resources/