The day our son was ordained to the priesthood, a good friend of ours, who is also a priest, pulled me aside and said: “Now you are a sister of Mary, for you both are mothers of priests. Meditate on this.”
Of course, I was somewhat taken aback by this comment. I could understand that my son had embraced a fundamentally new relationship with both Jesus and his Blessed Mother, but what this meant to me was still a bit of a mystery at the time.
My initial reflections centered around parallels between Mary’s motherhood and my own. Like all mothers, we have given birth to our sons, nourished them, taught them and helped them grow to manhood. As Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the temple, we as parents daily consecrate our children to God, unsure of the future that awaits them. And at a certain point, we relinquish them as they embrace the mission that God has planned for them.
But that comment kept returning to me: like Mary, I am a mother of a priest. And what is a priest? He is one who offers sacrifice to God on our behalf. As an “alter Christus,” (“another Christ”) a priest takes the place of Jesus, the eternal high priest.
While Mary accompanied Jesus throughout his life in Nazareth and was witness to many of the aspects of his public life, it is at the foot of the cross that Mary attains her role as mother of the eternal high priest. As priest and victim, Jesus makes the ultimate gift of self as he empties himself on the cross for our salvation, and Mary is there. Uniting her sufferings and sorrow with that of her son, Mary stands at the foot of the cross, silently praying, pondering, fully embracing the mission that he has had from the beginning of time.
This is what we are called to do: imitate Mary, to stand by her as she unites her own suffering to those of Jesus, just as Mary Magdalen stood by Mary as her sister. We all are Mary’s brothers and sisters and are invited to be spiritual mothers and fathers of our priests, accompanying them as they lay down their lives for us, the church. These priests are our sons and brothers, men from our families and our parish communities who have answered the call to stand in the place of Jesus. Just as Mary walked with her son during his 33 years on earth, we also must support these men who walk among us as priests today.
It is important to remember the dire need our priests have for our prayers. Like Jesus, they are tempted. Satan knows that without priests, there is no sacrifice, no Mass, no Eucharist — no church. He is “hell bent” on destroying the priesthood by attacking each individual priest. In her diary, St. Faustina wrote of her special devotion to praying for priests to “protect them from the devil’s traps and snares, which are continually being set for the souls of priests.”
A very tangible and effective way to answer this need is to spiritually adopt a priest — perhaps a pastor or parochial vicar, or maybe a retired priest — by offering daily prayers and sacrifices for his personal sanctity, for perseverance and fidelity to his vocation, and simply to strengthen him in any difficulties he is experiencing that day.
Seven Sisters Apostolate is a worldwide organization of women who commit to making a weekly holy hour for a particular priest. It has grown rapidly in the past several years, and many of the priests in our diocese are being supported by daily holy hours from these spiritual sisters. Seven Sisters also organizes men who participate in a Fasting Brothers Group in support of priests.
Let us stand by Mary as she unites herself with her son’s sacrifice. As a mother of a priest, it is my hope and prayer that more Catholics will recognize the importance of accompanying our priests in prayer and sacrifice, so that they may conform themselves more every day into the image of Jesus Christ. As Father Gerald Fitzgerald, s.P., founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood said, “In strengthening the priest you strengthen the whole church.”
Briggs is a parishioner of St. John the Baptist Church in Front Royal.
Find out more
For more about this movement and resources for praying for priests, go to Sevensistersapostolate.org, or contact Andrea Elliott, diocesan co-coordinator at [email protected].
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