The Venerable Fulton Sheen once said, “The priest is not his own. He is a man who must pour himself out daily. Hope is what fills him again when he feels empty.”
The hope that comes from the laity can be restorative to priests, deacons and religious women and men, those in ministry say.
“Together we are all in God’s kinship serving Jesus. It is very inspiring to me,” Sister Cecilia Nanni Costa, FMIJ, said of seeing people living their vocations. “When I see married people with a family at Mass or religious education classes, it is a joy. Seeing families teaches something beautiful in service.”
Finding hope in others resonates with Deacon Michael Vitarelli, too. He started a men’s reflection group in his parish, Saint Simon Stock Parish in Berlin, modeling it after the ManUp South Jersey Spirituality Conference. He noticed that the men would “come alive” as they learned more about the Catholic faith.
“We think that our Church is so broken and so fallen away, when really the simplest answer is they just don’t know Jesus or their faith [well],” he said. “Hope means what we are doing as clergy, as Christians, as followers of Jesus is never in vain. Hope is that fuel that keeps us going even when we don’t feel like we want to keep going.”
That spiritual fuel is something Father Alfred Mungujakisa, parochial vicar of Infant Jesus Parish in Woodbury Heights, remembers needing from the faithful during the pandemic.
“It was very difficult to celebrate Mass by ourselves in the empty church,” he said. “But the fact that it was livestreamed and the knowledge that we were reaching out to our parishioners and beyond gave us the confidence to continue celebrating.”
Father Mungujakisa said that the lay faithful are essential. “My vocation has been helped a lot by the laity, especially after I lost my parents,” he said, explaining that both of his parents died within six months while he was in minor seminary in Uganda. He was only 20.
“It was like the sky was falling, and that almost changed everything,” he said.
Fortunately, there was a lay catechist who was in his village to help. “He was very instrumental,” Father Mungujakisa said. “Ordinations in Africa and Uganda are a very big deal. A very big party and so on. And then people have to contribute to that, and the parents must be there to really shoulder [the responsibility]. So this catechist named Jacob was like my dad, mobilized people, so then I could really see that the love I felt and received from lay people kept me going.”
Father Anthony Infanti, parochial vicar at Saint Andrew the Apostle Parish in Gibbsboro, said that knowing people are praying for him is invaluable. “They see when we need help and when we’re just not our jovial selves … when good, trusted parishioners come up to us and ask, ‘When was the last time you took a vacation?’”
That recognition requires a response of faith from the laity. Possibly say to a priest, “I want you to know that I’ve been praying for you,’” Father Infanti said. “That response really does [move] the priest, and it also tells him how his people are as concerned about him as he is for them. It allows that relationship to be more reciprocal.”
He continued that the idea of hope to him is faith in Jesus following Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”
“I put my trust in Him hoping for the miracle of my prayers being answered,” he said. “When there is a doubt of hope, I reach out to others for prayers, which brings me right back to that quote because the prayers give me the evidence of things not seen coming true.”
He went on to share an instance when the intercession of prayer was much-needed. “Sometimes, there are small low times, and sometimes there are deep dive low times. In one of those deep dive low times, I reached out to [the Seven Sisters Apostolate in Mantua] for prayer.”
Father Infanti has a long history, including as supervisor, with the Seven Sisters Apostolate, whose mission is to pray for priests and bishops.
“I reached out and said that I could really use some prayer right now,” he said. “Their responsive ‘yes’ gave me a lot of hope. I could see a light at the end of the tunnel because others had willingly accepted praying for me.”
Father Steven Bertonazzi, pastor of Saint Teresa of Calcutta Parish, Collingswood, recognizes the role hope plays in his ministry, too. “It helps me to know that Jesus has a plan for me even when things seem difficult. It helps to keep me going and serving the people of God one person at a time and trusting that Jesus knows the outcome.”
Acknowledging that he is often encouraged by words of love and support from those he ministers to, he said, “Hope is important in today’s world because we normally hear about bad news, and it is so easy for people to be discouraged. But we need to show as Catholics that because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is hope in every situation. God will bring good even out of the darkness.”
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”
