For Priests and Religious
Topics:
– Evaluating and Renewing their Life as Priest/Religious
In addition to his role of offering up the Sacrifice of the Mass and administering the Sacraments, a priest is also called to guide the faithful and accompany sacramental marriages spiritually in our ever-changing world. In order to adequately fulfill this role he needs occasionally to take some time to reconsider his vocation in the light of the changing reality of modern day society.
The purpose of the Priest Encounter is to afford the participating priests an opportunity to rediscover their true selves in order to live out their vocation in a more fruitful way.
Priest Encounter differs from any other well-known retreats in that participants can encounter themselves with the help of team priests as well as committed Christian married couples, who share their lived experiences, honestly expressing how much they count on the service of priests in strengthening their marriage, how grateful they are to their priests etc.
Team presentations are followed by periods of quiet reflection and sharing about Bible passages and handout questions. The two-day programme also includes Holy Mass and prayers led by a Catholic priest or bishop.
It is an encouragement for priests to rediscover the beauty and potentials of the gift of their vocation through reflecting and sharing their discoveries with fellow priests. This encouragement greatly contributes to personal growth as well as it confirms full commitment to Christ and to the sacrament of Holy Orders.
“Priest Encounter helps priests in their pastoral care for families,
therefore I gladly recommend it to my fellow priests.”
– Msgr László Bíró
Bishop for the Family
Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference
