I began this meditation by quoting Pope John Paul II’s appeal for holy priests at the International Priests’ Retreat in Rome in 1984.

I end by making my own the Pontiff’s concluding prayer on that same occasion: “May the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ the Eternal High Priest, accompany and sustain you. May she teach you, as a Mother to her beloved children, to say always Fiat to the will of Christ, her Son, who has chosen you to be His ministers. May she inspire you to often sing the Magnificat for the marvels which God is working in your priestly lives and through your pastoral ministry. May she lead you to imitate her Stabat at the foot of the Cross, when difficulties, misunderstandings and sufferings arise on your way to perfect holiness. In this way, with Mary and like her, you will taste the joy of the resurrection of Christ and witness to the whole world that Jesus is Lord !”