Real Women Praying for Real Priests- a blog

Hello RED-C listeners,

We introduce to you a Blog that we recently stumbled across- Real Women Praying for Real Priests – It is a new Blog, which started this past February and is already loaded with tons of great reads for both female and male.

Offering Daily Devotions, help with Examination of Conscience, their Secrets to Holiness, and showing how and why the need for women to become Spritual Mothers for Priests through sacrifice and prayer.

We will be linking posts occasionally, but be sure to follow them on your own!!! Read Below their first post introducing themselves.

 

Spiritual Motherhood Explained

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Catherine Beier

The vocation to be a spiritual mother for priests is largely unknown,

scarcely understood and, consequently, rarely lived, notwithstanding

its fundamental importance. It is a vocation that is frequently hidden,

invisible to the naked eye, but meant to transmit spiritual life.

 

“Every vocation to the priesthood comes from the heart of God, but it goes through the heart of a mother!”

To be a woman is to be a mother; that is the dignity of womanhood.  While not all women are called to be natural mothers, all are called to be Spiritual Mothers.  Spiritual Motherhood is so closely united to our growth in holiness, it is impossible to separate the two.  As women, our spiritual maturity depends on how closely we imitate the Blessed Mother.  The more we imitate the Blessed Mother, the closer we grow to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and in there we find His ardent love for His Priests.  Completely surrendering our wills to His, we stand with the Blessed Mother offering our trials and sufferings in the name of Priests for their sanctification and salvation.

St. Therese of Lisieux said to her sister, Celine,

“Let us live for souls, let us be apostles, let us save especially the souls of priests. …Let us pray, let us suffer for them, and, on the last day, Jesus will be grateful”

 

-RED-C Blogger, Andrew Poster

St. Patrick’s Day- Who is the real St. Patrick- Great Resources!!!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day RED-C listeners!!

Today, the Church celebrates the life and work of St. Patrick. A great Saint who accomplished an extraordinary amount of work for the church and christ, he is noted for bringing Christianity to Ireland. Interestingly, the secular world also recognizes St. Patrick’s day,  however in quite a different. Click Below for some great resources to learn about who St. Patrick really is. Learn more about St. Patty and when talk of the St. Patty day celebrations and corn-beef dinners come up, feel prepared to share your knew knowledge about a Saint who truly moved mountains for Christ.

Click here—> St. Patrick

God Bless,

-RED-C blogger

TO SAVE A THOUSAND SOULS – A guide for Discerning a Vocation to Diocesan Priesthood – Fr. Brett Brannen

In case you missed the EWTN broadcast this evening, interviewing Fr.  Brett Brannen, then here is some info to catch you up on what you missed. The interview was regarding the recent book Fr. Brannen wrote with the topic of discernment in vocations, specifically diocesan priesthood. Gathering from the interview and from the information found online, this book seems to be very promising.

This review was found at – Catholic Media Review – blog

For a thorough handbook for discerning priesthood “To save a thousand souls” is a great title. Fortunately the book lives up to the title in that it is both a serious and worthwhile guide to those thinking about and further discerning a call to the priesthood.
As the author points out int the book, this is for those specifically discerning the Diocesan priesthood. I would suggest that even those who are looking at becoming a priest in a religious order also take a look at this book since it so well illustrates what the diocesan priesthood is — plus a lot of the advice would apply to them also.

Even as a layman reading this book there is a lot to recommend in it. I really loved the first chapter “This is Just What Priests Do!” as it tells stories out of the lives of Diocesan priests. As the book progresses it touches on the theology of the priesthood and the issue of what is a vocation in the first place. Fr. Brett Brannen takes great care for the most part in explaining what a vocation is and what indeed is all of our primary vocations — to grow in holiness. As he mentions, so often vocation is talked about in reference to the priesthood only and not the callings to consecrated and married life.

Fr. Brett Brannen has taken his wealth of experience to answer all those questions that someone discerning the priesthood is bound to have. He also provides solid spiritual advice along the way to help in this discernment and how to develop the spiritual life of prayer. Several chapters address this specifically, but the topic is integral to both discernment and to what happens after the man decides he is being called to the priesthood.

There is tons of practical advice spread throughout the book and presented quite simply. One of the best parts of the book are the multiple stories from both his personal experience and from many others in regard to both discernment and being a priest. Fr. Brett Brannen provides lots of clarity and he doesn’t just rollover difficult questions. The book is solidly orthodox and the chapter titled “Celibacy, Chastity, Charity, and Cheerfulness” presents the subject of celibacy forthrightly and also goes into the Vatican document regarding proposed seminarians and same-sex attraction. This chapter was especially well written in regards to sexual integration and what might disqualify someone from the priesthood. The topic of masturbation is also addressed in some detail. Another chapter addresses prerequisites and impediments to the priesthood.

There is also a lot of important information such as what is seminary like and a look a the day to day life as a seminarian along with the educational requirements. The types of assignments a Diocesan priest might experience and a look at ordination day are other important chapters.

In close to 400 pages I only had one quibble with this book. The chapter on vocations talked of the single life led in generosity as a specific vocation. I don’t believe that this is something the Church has really taught. Mary Beth Bonachi wrote an article on this previously that she could find “no mention of an unconsecrated single “vocation” in Church teaching anywhere” and references Mulieris Dignitatem and notes John Paul II says that God calls all women to give themselves in one of two ways — in motherhood or in consecration to Christ. No mention of singleness in there. Though maybe this is an area that will be developed more fully by the Church in the future. Often though I get the feeling people talk about the single life itself as a vocation to keep from hurting feelings. But I am not close to being an expert or really a fully informed layman on this subject.

Like I said I had just the one quibble and otherwise I think this book would make a great resource throughout the Church to help those in discernment and to give much good advice to others that want to help promote vocations to the Diocesan priesthood. Besides as a thorough handbook on the subject people don’t have to read it cover to cover, but could also use it as a handy reference — especially with the question index in the back. This book has also been praised by many people such as the always reliable Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R. and others with a solid reputation.

This book can be purchased through EWTN .

-RED-C Blogger