The following Reflection from Bishop Timothy Menezes was shared in the Diocesan e-newsletter on Thursday 16 July

In the past week, our Archdiocese has celebrated and witnessed the Ordination of three new priests. In the coming days, we shall welcome the Ordination of eight new deacons.

Praise God for his goodness in the lives of these newly ordained ministers. We thank God for the families, the clergy and parish communities who have supported them especially through the recent years of formation. 

May the whole Diocesan family be a people of gratitude and hope for the many blessings that we pray will flow from this moment of Ordination: the many lives that will be changed by the Sacramental and Pastoral care they will offer in churches and schools, prisons, hospitals, universities and so many other settings; especially in the service of those most in need.

As, at this time of year, so many of our priests and deacons celebrate anniversaries of Ordination, they can testify that one of the most significant factors in their ministry is the prayers of you, their people.

Long before somebody is ordained a deacon or priest in our Archdiocese, you have come to see their names on Vocations prayer cards, in online Vocations prayer requests or on the Vocations Posters in our churches, accompanying the Prayer for Vocations months in our deaneries and parishes.

Please see the joy of the Ordination of these three priests and eight deacons as moments of grace which are a real answer to your prayer and your financial support through the Clergy Training Fund for the Archdiocese of Birmingham. All of these men have spent between five and 10 years discerning a vocation and then engaging in formation. They could not have remained faithful and been sustained without the prayers of so many people. It is a personal vocation but it is in no way a personal achievement.

During these times of change in the structures of our parishes and deaneries, where parishes are asked to look much more beyond their own boundaries to fruitful partnerships and missions with other parishes, most people recognise that more is being asked of our clergy. Let the focus of our clergy be the sacraments and on pastoral care.

Over recent months in our parishes, you will have heard an appeal for giving: yes, a reflection on the finances needed to sustain our parishes and the diocesan departments that support our parishes but, alongside that, a request for every parishioner to consider how well your gifts and talents, your expertise and your time can be put at the service of God and his Church. What difference has that made in your life…or might you still be considering how to commit to some aspect of parish life, especially those areas of life that enable our clergy to devote more time to prayer, to preaching and teaching, and to bring available to God’s people for the indispensable ministry for which we need them most.

Please pray every single day for priests and deacons to emerge from your family, your church and school community. It is a blessing and a fruit of prayer.

Diocesan Prayer for Vocations

Heavenly Father,
we ask you to send labourers
into your harvest.

Inspire, in the hearts of your people, 
vocations to the priesthood, diaconate
and religious life.

Bless our families with a spirit of generosity,
so that those whom you call
have the courage to give themselves
to your Church in faith.

Through Christ our Lord. 

Amen. 

Bishop Timothy Menezes

Photograph taken at Fr Jonathan Henry's Ordination on Saturday 4 July. Ordination coverage can be found here

Diocesan Vocations Office