Deepertruth: Novena to Blessed Michael Mcgivney, Day 6 – Shepherd of Souls

 “Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”

 Novena to Blessed Michael Mcgivney, Day 6 – Shepherd of Souls.  07/27/2024.  For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. (1 Cor 4:15)

Intention:

For priests who labor in parishes, apostolates and missions

Virtue: Zeal for the salvation of souls.

After seven years at St. Mary’s Church, Father McGivney was named pastor of St. omas Parish in omaston,

30 miles from New Haven, in the northern hills of Connecticut.

On his nal Sunday at St. Mary’s, people wept openly in the pews as he oered his farewell with tears flling his own eyes. He concluded, “Wherever I go, the memory of the people of St. Mary’s and their great kindness to me will always be uppermost in my heart.”

The local newspaper noted, “Never, it seemed, was a congregation so affected by the parting address of a clergyman as the great audience which filled St. Mary’s.”

Relying on the grace of God, Father McGivney was the image of the Good Shepherd in his six years as pastor of St. omas Church.

His sacramental records show a steady schedule of Mass, baptisms, confessions, anointings, weddings and funerals the daily labor of a parish priest charged with the care of souls. Knowing the hard life of his people, he also planned for them regular periods of respite and recreation.

Soon he was entrusted with a mission church 4 miles away, Immaculate Conception in Terryville. Ever faithful to his daily duties, Father McGivney would oer an early Sunday Mass in omaston, ride in a horse-drawn carriage to Terryville for a mid-morning Mass, and return to St. omas Church for the noon Mass.