Below, please find an open letter from the mother of an Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest seminarian. The seminarians always need financial and spiritual help -- but with the fire at the Shrine this year, it's even more critical.
Even if you can't attend in person, I urge you to consider donating anyway. We all need priests! Good, traditional priests.
And, so you know we aren't just asking you to help, this contributor supports an ICR priest on a weekly basis. Being anonymous, this obviously isn't to brag -- it's to show you we aren't asking you, our readers, to do anything we're not already doing.
Please read this whole letter and consider calling the Shrine. Adopt a seminarian and help give God and Holy Mother Church another solid priest to save souls.
Dear Shrine family and friends,It is now two months since we were given the sorrowful news that a fire devastated our beautiful church known to all as the Shrine of Christ the King here in Chicago. As you know there have been many challenges and we have been asked to make many sacrifices along the way, but with the thorns come the roses, both of which inspire in us a spirit of gratitude.
You will recall that December is the month in which our Shrine holds an annual benefit to assist our American seminarians. This Saturday, December 12, beginning at 3:00 pm our third annual benefit will begin with a conference followed by hors d'oeuvres in the priory, with a silent auction of items including beautiful hand painted pieces from local artists near the Institute's International seminary in Gricigliano, Italy.I am writing to you as a mother of a seminarian whose family finds its spiritual home at the Shrine of Christ the King, to appeal to you to please help our seminarians to achieve the end for which they came to Gricigliano; that they might assist many souls to achieve the end for which they were created.Blessed to receive spiritual direction from the priests of the Institute, I come to you with this appeal as I know that you share the same sentiments of deep gratitude for what God has willed to do in these men. God has given us spiritual fathers who, like sentinels, watch over the spiritual well-being of all entrusted to their care. We are their children and they are truly fathers to us. They, like dear St. Joseph, provide for and protect us in the spiritual realm. They were formed well within the hallowed walls of the Institute's Seminary in Gricigliano; carefully and painstakingly formed. To become what they are, they left all that was familiar to them; all that they treasured on earth, to follow the call of our King; a call that would lead them across the sea, so that they might become Alter Christus; another Christ.They are generous souls, these men, who seek to pour out their lives as a libation before his altar; not for themselves are they priests. As we have heard so frequently, the priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you and for me, and I do not believe there is a single one among us that does not thank God frequently for their priesthood, but we cannot forget that they stand before us ordained, because others sacrificed for their formation.Our seminarians cannot hold jobs that pay, because the formation they receive is so intensive a formation, that it is their sole focus. Many of our seminarians have no funds with which to achieve the goal of becoming priests. Who will give them the means? Our seminarians face many challenges. How the needs of the seminary are met, and how the tuition will be paid should not be of concern for them. They need to be able to focus on why they are there.Imagine, if you will, that you have a son studying for the priesthood who is relying on you and your family to help find a way for him to undergo this formation. What would you be willing to do to help him? Would you ask friends and family members for help? Would you write letters like this one seeking their assistance? What would you be willing to sacrifice in order that the goal of this formation might be realized; a cup of coffee per week; a candy bar; brown bag lunch instead of fast food; walking or riding your bike instead of driving, etc.? Each of these examples may not seem like much, but they add up over time, and if each person who reads this reaches out to their family and friends with a challenge to do the same, our American seminarians' tuition, not to mention the needs of the seminary, would be met in no time.The most important thing we can do for them is to pray for them. If you have not already done so, please spiritually adopt a seminarian. Pray the prayers for them daily.Please do for them what you would do for your own son if he were, this moment, in seminary; remembering that our King is never outdone in generosity. Click Here to Donate Now!Please come to the benefit on Saturday afternoon and invite your friends and family to come as well. Let us all show our support for our future priests!Suggested Donation, payable at Door$25 per PersonRSVP by December 10thPhone: 773-363-7409Shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest6415 South Woodlawn AvenueWe are extraordinarily blessed. Because we have Fathers, we are not orphans. Because they said yes, we have this incredible, spiritual family at the Shrine. Because we are grateful, we want to make a return to God. Let us resolve to do all we can to help our seminarians become the holy priests for which we pray at every Holy Hour. God bless you.In the Heart of our Divine Infant King,The mother of a seminarian
