KOTA KINABALU(CS).- Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese observed the World Day of Sanctification of Priests or World Priest Day for the first time on June 14, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the Sacred Heart Cathedral Karamunsing.
Archbishop John Lee presided over the Mass, concelebrated with most of the archdiocese's priests, assisted by the two deacons.
In his homily, the presider explained about the significance of the day through the liturgical readings, and asked the faithful present for their continual prayers for them.
However, he also expressed his disappointment that the cathedral parishioners did not turn out in full force to show their support for the clergy as it was also their feast day.
Prior to the Eucharistic celebration, the clergy prepared themselves with a day of reflection facilitated by Fr Peter Abas and Fr Michael Modoit at the Vianney Home Dontozidon.
A spokesperson told Catholic Sabah that there will be regular follow-ups (fellowship/sharing) for young priests (six to ten years in priesthood), junior priests (one to five years) and for deacons/seminarians (who have finished their studies) with their respective coordinators.
In 2002, Pope John Paul II announced a special annual world priest day, a day of prayer for the sanctification of priests to be held on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
On 25 August 1856, Blessed Pope Pius IX inscribed the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart in the Calendar of the Catholic Church, directing that it be celebrated on the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ) each year.
He was responding to a formal request made by Jesus Himself almost two centuries earlier in 1675 to a French Visitation nun, Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Jesus expressed His wish that the Feast of the Sacred Heart be a day of reparation, not for sins in general, but specifically for sins against the Eucharist.
"Behold this Heart, Which has loved men so much, that It has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify to them Its love; and in return I receive from the greater number nothing but ingratitude by reason of their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt which they show Me in this Sacrament of Love," Jesus told Margaret Mary in June 1675.
Jesus continued, "But what I feel most keenly is that it is hearts which are consecrated to Me, that treat Me thus. Therefore I ask of thee that the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi be set apart for a special day to honour My Heart, by communicating on that day and making reparation to It by a solemn act, in order to make amends for the indignities which It has received during the time It has been exposed on the altars."
This message of the Sacred Heart to St Margaret Mary is both consoling and challenging.
It reminds us all of the endlessness of the Love of Jesus for each one of us.
But it also challenges us, especially the priests who are consecrated in such a special way to the Lord.
Let us then pray for them that they follow ever more faithfully in the footsteps of Jesus the High Priest and give fitting honour to His Sacred Heart.
One way to pray for our priests is to join the Annual Global Rosary Relay.
The idea is a simple one: in that each of the 60 participating shrines prays a particular mystery of the Rosary at a particular half hour on the day in thanksgiving to God for our priests and to implore the protection and loving care of Our Lady, Mother of all priests, for all her priestly sons.
With the coming of midnight on the solemnity of the Sacred Heart, the entire world, by then, will have been encircled in prayer for our priests on the Annual Rosary Relay Day.
The rosary recited before or after Mass that day can be dedicated to it.