A stronger push than normal was made this month to invite more parishioners to Benediction tonight at Most Holy Trinity. It worked; we had 4 times as many folks there as last month. While there is more work to be done to increase turnout, I'm excited.
Preparing the Benediction service tonight it was put upon me to focus on vocations to the Priesthood. A newly formed "vocations committee" at MHT has committed to attending the last hour of Adoration as a holy hour for vocations. And many of the them remained for Benediction.
As I reflect on Benediction on this particular 1st Friday I am struck by how this day fell between the feasts days of St. Peter Julian Eymard and St. John Vianney; the Cure' of Ars. Eymard was a champion of the Blessed Sacrament. He held a powerful devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and formed a religious order named in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. You can read more about Eymard in my post from the other night. Vianney has been considered a favorite Saint among Priests, particularly Parish Priests. When we had the Year of the Priest, Pope Benedict named the Cure' of Ars as the model for the Priesthood.
Tonight, in front of the Blessed Sacrament, prayers were indeed offered for vocations to the Priesthood. And a vocations committee is ramping up the efforts to raise awareness of the need for more Priests and exploring more tangible ways to support vocations.
Tonight was an awesome 1st Friday and Benediction helped us focus on the Blessed Sacrament and vocations to the Priesthood!
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