The following are just a few of the beautiful testimonies from our priest-sons:
“May you women of profound prayer and holy desire for your priest sons, bring to us all the conviction that we act, not only “In Persona Christi” but are, in the words of the Church, “Ipse Christus,” other Christs, and our lives are given in great sacrifice, united with our brother Jesus on His Cross! You dear sisters do not live, act, and pray just for yourselves, but for the whole Church!! Again, much gratitude for your loving concern and the work of this most blessed ministry!”
“The Lord Jesus greatly protects His representatives on earth. How closely He is united with them; and He orders me to give priority to their opinion over His. I have come to know the great intimacy which exists between Jesus and the priest. Jesus defends whatever the priest says, and often complies with his wishes, and sometimes makes His own relationship with a soul depending on the priest’s advice. O Jesus, through a special grace, I have come to know very clearly to what extent You have shared your power and mystery with them, more so than with the Angels. I rejoice in this, for it is all for my good.”
“I remember well the day I was given a ‘spiritual mother,’ an edifying presence entered my soul; I felt a significant loving and prayer-filled awareness, and to further define this, a few years ago in a pilgrimage to Quito Ecuador, I was privileged to celebrate holy Mass before the miraculous image of our Lady of Sorrows, endearing a greater love for my spiritual mother! A couple of weeks ago I read the following from St. Faustina (#1240) that impacted me in a new way, especially with the times we find ourselves in. We priests must claim this awareness, this union and relationship with Jesus as our own. This blessed ministry of Spiritual Mothers brings to us the grace of saying yes and inspires an ever greater zeal to more fully embrace our holy priesthood!”
“Ever since I was ordained years ago, the Spiritual Motherhood of Priests has played an important role in my Priesthood. The world today is, more than ever, in need of good, holy, orthodox Priests who love the Church and who are faithful to the Magisterium — and ready to defend and protect it. Priests today are often engaged in a very deep spiritual battle for souls. We need the aid of faithful laypeople to strengthen us in our mission of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, without compromise, to a world that needs it more than ever. Ever since I have had a Spiritual Mother, I understood the importance of this crucial apostolate in the Church. Spiritual Mothers, through their prayers and sacrifices, help us Priests to carry out faithfully our three-fold mission of teaching, governing, and sanctifying the members of Christ’s Mystical Body. I often think of my Spiritual Mother as the humble and faithful presence of Our Lady at the foot of the Cross. The Blessed Virgin could do nothing at that moment but pray, suffer, and offer up her Son for the salvation of souls and in reparation for sin. Mary’s silent prayer, her “com-passion” (suffering with) Christ, and her act of offering helped bring redemption into the world. Spiritual Mothers of Priests do the very same. I am profoundly grateful, every day, for the prayers and sacrifices of my Spiritual Mother and for all Spiritual Mothers of Priests. I pray that Our Lord may bless this apostolate abundantly and help it to bear much fruit so that God may be glorified in His Church through Holy Priests and their Spiritual Mothers.”
“I thank the Lord for the Spiritual Motherhood of Priests and for my own spiritual sponsor, who makes a sacrifice of her life for me and for my priestly vocation, including, perhaps, the greatest sacrifice of all; namely, that she will never know my name, and I in turn will not know hers. I think of the sacrifices that my natural mother made for me from the time of my birth to the time, last year, when she died. Just as Our Lady shared in her Son’s vocation to the point of His death on the Cross and beyond, so my mother shared significantly in my own vocation and in its sacrifices. Now that she has died, it is a great consolation to know that a sister in Christ is sharing in my vocation with the kind of unconditional generosity that a mother shares. In a very real way, every day when I don my Chasuble and climb the steps to the altar in order to celebrate the Holy Mass with my parishioners, my spiritual mother climbs those steps with me. May she, and all the women of this wonderful apostolate, be richly blessed today, and in eternity.”
“I am not exactly sure when I began being under the spiritual umbrella of the ‘Spiritual Motherhood of Priests’, probably after submitting my letter to a spiritual mother speaking to her about my priesthood, but I do know that since that time, I have begun to notice subtle and beautiful changes in my life. So many graces which I have received.
Difficulties that I was struggling with have lessened and my prayer life has increased. I have found new vigor in my devotional life and my approach to issues has changed.
These may seem like small things, but they are not. We all believe in faith, about the power of prayer. If we did not, how could we possibly explain the innumerable miracles that have happened in human history. With prayer, often through the intercession of others, so much can be accomplished in our lives. We can be drawn all the more into the loving arms of the Father who desires nothing more than we trust and believe in Him. He desires to shower us with his graces in this life, so that we will be united with him in the life to come. For me to recognize the beautiful women who have taken upon themselves the mantle of prayer for spiritual priest sons, it is a grace and a debt, that I as a priest, can never repay. There is a surety in knowing that there is a prayer warrior out there who is offering prayers, fasting and penances for the sanctification of my priestly vocation. The Spiritual Motherhood of Priests is, in my opinion, a great grace that comes to us from Our Lord Jesus Christ, through his Mother Mary, Queen and Mother of Priests.
May this apostolate grow and flourish and may the women who have taken this upon themselves, know the edification of their prayers and actions in their own lives. May our Lady of Sorrows be their constant consolation in this life and admirable conductor into the life to come.
God Bless you all!”
“St. John Vianney, the Cure of Ars, patron saint of priests, once said that the priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus… when you see a priest think of our Lord Jesus Christ… and, if we truly understood the gift of the priest, we would die, not of fear but of love. These inspiring words of the holy Cure, we trust, will lead us priests to a great desire to be holy and to unite ourselves ever more fully to Jesus, especially embracing His Cross, for the salvation of souls!
I feel you blessed mothers have such an understanding of our priesthood and why you have made such sacrifice for our sanctification and union with our Master! Your prayers, sacrifices, and love for us moves me to tears and such a desire to be a holy priest!
Dear Mothers, thank you for loving us!
A very grateful priest/son!!”
The Holy Father leads by example how important it is for all priests to contemplate receiving an anonymous spiritual mother...
Pope Benedict meets with Sr. Teresa Kereketa in Santiago de Cuba. Photo courtesy of
L’Osservatore Romano.
Santiago de Cuba, Mar 27, 2012 / 08:59 pm (CNA).- After beginning his day on Tuesday with a
private Mass in Santiago de Cuba, Pope Benedict XVI met a religious sister from India who has
been his “spiritual Godmother” for 20 years.
The Pope celebrated the private Mass during his historic March 26-28 visit to the country
before departing for the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre. The service was attended by
10 religious sisters from the contemplative branch of the Missionaries of Charity, which was
founded by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
When the Mass ended, Cuban Archbishop Dionisio García, presented Sister Teresa Kereketa to
the Pope. Following the practice of her order, 20 years ago she received the task of praying
daily for a specific priest, thus becoming his “spiritual Godmother.” The priest whom she was
assigned was Cardinal Josef Ratzinger.
During the emotional encounter, and following an Indian tradition, the sister presented a crown
of flowers to Pope Benedict.
“The Pope was quite moved meeting her,” said Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi,
during a press conference.
