Priests after the Heart of Christ

The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests is celebrated each year on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June. As the Church ponders the pierced heart of the Lord on this day, we pray for those priests who ordained by the Church will exercise their gift of priestly ministry for the sanctification of the faithful.   

The priest is called by God, chosen by the Church, and accepts in obedient humility through the sacrament of orders to fulfil the sacramental ministry of the Church in persona Christi capitis. ​

His life of service and ministry in the priesthood calls him to develop a heart which is sacramentally marked by the priestly identity and pastoral charity of Christ. This enduring mark of grace, sets the priest apart for service, in preaching the Word, the celebration of the Sacraments, and in the pastoral care of all people.

​The priesthood is the sacred ministry which continues God’s salvific ministry of Christ which is offered to all humanity. As a sacred minister the priest is set apart, configured to Christ and empowered by the Spirit to carry on this mission. If in his life this central spiritual focus is lost then there is the risk that his pastoral action can collapse into excess activism or fragmentation and thus, he loses the ultimate meaning or purpose of his pastoral ministry which is sustained by Christ’s love.

​The priest who desires "to stay with Christ" in his sacred heart of sacrificial love is the one who is "sent out to preach" authoritatively by him (cf. Mk 3: 14). The divine mystery of a priest’s proclamation of Christ through his life and ministry is always sustained by the grace of his ordination, that sacramentally orders him to Christ. This will be experienced most especially in times of trial, of generous service and in his pastoral presence and availability to the faithful on a daily basis.

As a bishop I have been privileged to celebrate the funeral mass of many dedicated priests and to hear the witness from the faithful of how God impacted their lives through the witness of a priest's life and ministry. One might refer to these as the narratives of sanctification and how the gift of priestly ministry in the Church continues to bring healing, courage, and strength to the faithful. It is also important for those aspiring to the priesthood, our seminarians, to hear these stories of pastoral charity that reflect the merciful and sacrificial love of Christ reflected in the life and ministry of those priests who have served in our diocese and whom they will follow when they are ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese.       

In celebrating the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church invites all believers to look with the gaze of faith "on him whom they have pierced" (Jn 19: 37) and on the Sacred Heart of Christ, a living sign of the invincible love of God and an inexhaustible source of grace. The priest is called to encounter this love of Christ in daily prayer, the celebration of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and in choosing the way of the Cross daily, which is the ultimate witness of all self-sacrificing charity.

Pope Leo, in his message to priests this year, reminded them of this, “The union of our heart with Christ’s heart is not an experience reserved to a select few; rather, it is a sacramental, Eucharistic journey that unfolds each day of our lives. Dear brothers, by our ordination we have been configured to Christ, yet we must always renew within ourselves the gift of grace through our daily celebration of the Eucharist, prayer, meditation on the word of God and humble service to our brothers and sisters.”

Every priest knows from experience that “to remain in his love” is a daily challenge to grow in holiness. It is not based totally on our efforts but rather in allowing Christ to act in us, by making his attitudes, his thoughts, and his behaviour our own. The mark of holiness for every priest is the extent to which Christ’s presence is in each of them, such that they strive to model their lives on him, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. ​

​In the historical wake of the scandals of clerical abuse, a culture of priestly entitlement and clericalism, this World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests promotes among the Catholic faithful the need to pray for the priests whom God has called to serve in the Church. It can also bring about a spirit of repentance, renewal, and confirmation in the heart of every priest that they have been consecrated and sent forth to make present the salvific mission of Christ. The Church prays that the heart of every priest may be drawn into the Sacred Heart of Christ through the holiness of his priestly life and in the exercise of his sacred ministry.  ​​

Written by
Most. Rev. William T. McGrattan, Bishop of Calgary.
​June 14, 2026