Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1522052
17 DENVER CATHOLIC | JUNE-JULY 2024 Holy Priests The Holy Priests anchor is the foundational mission anchor for the Archdiocese. The focus of this anchor is the ongoing growth in charit y, or intimacy with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for our priests (and bishops, since they too are priests!). When people hear the title "Holy Priests," they often think it includes everything that could have to do with priests. Many ini- tiatives seek to help priests grow in organizational leadership, business practices, preaching and even evan- gelization, but they are outside the scope of this anchor. This anchor has nothing to do with anything other than removing obstacles and cre- ating opportunities for our priests to continue growing in the most important relationship in their lives. W H Y ? It may seem evident that priests play an integral role in the ministry of the Catholic Church in Northern Colorado, but it's worth highlighting just how important they are. The Church refers to priests as the archbishop's closest collaborators. Both bishops and priests have been entrusted with the sacred ministry of sanctif ying the faithful by celebrating the sacraments, instructing the people by proclaiming the Word of God and governing so as to build up the Kingdom of God. On a completely human level, we can also observe – and data back this up – that nothing impacts a communit y more than the priest assigned to serve there. Whether you want to measure Mass attendance, giving, program participation or sacramental celebrations, in most cases, changing the priest changes the parish for better or worse. H OW C A N YO U A DVA N CE TH I S A N CH O R ? The most important way we can help our priests grow in holiness is straightforward: prayer and fasting. We can offer prayers for our priests in various ways, like remembering them in our petitions, offering Masses for them and praying rosaries or other devotions for them, to name but a few. Our prayers can take on even more power when our love for our priests moves us to fast for them. In the same way we include our priests in our prayers, we can also include them in our fasts. Whether we choose to abstain from meat on Fridays or fast from technology, music on our ride to work, or maybe a dessert here and there, our sacrifices bring significant blessings and grace to our priests. If you want to gain some perspective in this area, I recommend speaking with the parents of a priest or seminarian. I have been deeply moved by meeting several priests' parents, all of whom have shared the responsibilit y they feel to hold their sons in prayer for their protection, holiness and the fruit of their ministry. In the Archdiocese of Denver, we also have a unique ministry called the Spiritual Mothers, which actively prays and intercedes for priests. ⊲ These anchors not only guide the work of the archdiocese, but they include significant work that everyone is called to help advance." DENVER CATHOLIC | JUNE-JULY 2024 17