PRIESTHOOD SUNDAY - VOCATIONS APPRECIATION DAY OF PRAYER CELEBRATION AND DIALOGUE WITH OUR PRIESTS............

Thanks to Serra Club International and Vocations Offices in Dioceses throughout the United States, today parishes in these twenty counties and nationwide, are observing Priesthood Sunday.  Catholic parishioners are affirming the roles and responsibilities of the priests who minister to them, as Servant-Leaders in their Faith Communities, by praying for and with their priests; celebrating their dedication to ordained ministry; and engaging in dialogue for the common good  of sharing together in parish life; in building up the Community of Believers and the coming of God's Kingdom.  In this 25th Anniversary Year of my commitment to being ordained a Priest of Jesus Christ for ministry to the People of God in the Servant-Leadership of parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, I am not residing or present in a parish on this Priesthood Sunday, but prematurely sitting on the sidelines in a retirement facility and assisted care center, when I need neither offering, nor do my physical health limitations prevent me from ministering and otherwise functioning in parish life.  I will miss the interaction denoted by this annual observance, relegated to settling for the relatively small representative number of former parishioners, friends, and fellow believers, who will take the time to mark the day with me.  What Priesthood Sunday represents is a major part of why I chose to answer God's Call to become a diocesan priest and pass on the alternative path of some combination of a professional life in politics, government, public service, teaching, and communications.  Here I sit on Priesthood Sunday in a holding pattern due to a misunderstood and unenlightened view of a perceived incapability, when it is truly a physical disability that is no longer considered a disqualification in the United States and the Western World.  Were I a political leader, governmental worker, public servant, teacher, or communications professional, and it was a day affirming any of those professions, I would not be sitting on the sidelines left out, but fully participating in the day's activities.  The discrepancy is very apparent not only to me but an increasing number of others who know me and have experienced my presence and participation in parish life as a priest and wonder why I am not currently being permitted to proceed in carrying out priestly, pastoral, ministry ?  On this Priesthood Sunday 2012, I extended to the parishioners I have been privileged to serve the past twenty five years, in Holy Family Parish, Citrus Heights; St. Johm the Baptist Parish, Folsom; Holy Rosary Parish, Woodland; St. Joseph's Parish, Yreka; St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Oroville; St. Rose's Parish, South Sacramento; Presentation Parish, Arden; St. Philomene's Parish, Arden-Arcade; Sacred Heart Parish, East Sacramento; Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Del Paso Heights/ Rio Linda/ Elverta/ Robla; my prayers, appreciation, and assurance the dialogue and discernment in Living Faith, we have shared, are treasures I continue to value and remember with gratitude.  Thank you for being the Prople of God in my life as a priest the past quarter of a century.  I continue to be with you in spirit.  And as I continue to eagerly anticipate the soonest possible return to fulltime ministry in parish life, it is also my fervent prayer that the affirmation the Church continues to provide not become an obstacle course, but an ongoing breakdown of the barriers and limitations placed on Catholic-Christians with disabilities with wholistic empowerment and inclusion that is pro-active not deactivating............Fr.  Troy