East Anglia Seminarians: Operation: Placement!

Tuesday 6 January 2009

Operation: Placement!

A belated Happy New Year to all. I had a nice time at the Youth 2000 retreat, having recharged my spiritual batteries for the year ahead! We seminarians are now on a three week placement before we go back to Oscott. I'm in a little town in Suffolk called Haverhill, where the parish is situated in a large and rather labyrinthine housing estate. It is a very different parish from my last placement in Peterborough, being much smaller for a start. The community seems very friendly and close-knit. I'll be doing a bit of work in the parish primary school, but the main thing will be visits to the local prison, which is one of the parish priest's main ministries. Also, at the moment there's a big push to build a new church, because the present one is too small and is little more than a makeshift hut. Still, I find it easy to pray there, and I'm drawn to the large, beautiful wooden crucifix that hangs over the tabernacle. It makes me think of the crucifix in the Don Camillo books/ movies (which Fr Tim Finnegan posted about some time back on his blog)... Unlike Don Camillo though, who secretly takes the hefty crucifix with him when he leaves the village, I don't think I'll be carrying this one back to Bury St Edmunds!

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Prayer for Priestly Vocations

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who moved to pity at the sight of the multitudes, scattered like sheep without a shepherd, didst say to Thy disciples: "The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He send labourers into His harvest," deign to turn Thine eyes of pity on this our diocese, and to call to Thy priesthood young men, who will spend themselves and be spent for Thy honour and glory, and for the souls whom Thou has redeemed with Thy Most Precious Blood, Who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer for Seminarians

O Lord Jesus Christ, great High Priest, I pray that You call many worthy souls to Your holy priesthood.

Enlighten the Bishop in the choice of candidates, the Spiritual Director in molding them, and the professors in instructing them.

Lead the seminarians daily in Your unerring footsteps; so that they may become priests who are models of purity, possessors of wisdom and heroes of sacrifice; steeped in humility and aflame with love for God and man; apostles of Your glory and sanctifiers of souls.

Amen.

Prayer for the Pope

V. Let us pray for our Pontiff, Pope Benedict.
R. The Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him to be blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies

Our Father. Hail Mary.

Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, have mercy upon Thy servant, Benedict, our Supreme Pontiff, and direct him, according to Thy loving-kindness, in the way of eternal salvation; that, of thy gift, he may ever desire that which is pleasing unto thee and may accomplish it with all his might. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen

Prayer for the Queen

V. O Lord, save Elizabeth, our Queen.
R. And hear us on the day we call upon you.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come before you.

[V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.]

Let us pray

Almighty God, we pray, that your servant Elizabeth, our Queen, who, by your providence has received the governance of this realm, may continue to grow in every virtue, that, imbued with your heavenly grace, she may be preserved from all that is harmful and evil and, being blessed with your favour may, with her consort and the royal family, come at last into your presence, through Christ who is the way, the truth and the life and who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.