It was the first day of the parish retreat and as usual the crowd was very thin. One of the members of the retreat team rose early next morning and walked to the Church to pray. He saw a man holding on to the Cross in front of the Church and crying. He was curious to know who the person was and walked closer to the Cross. He was shocked to see who the person was. It was none other than their own parish priest. He was crying and praying for the forgiveness of the sins of his parishioners. He walked away silently from there to the priest who was leading the retreat and said, Father, even if we do not conduct a retreat here the people and this parish will be saved because this parish priest is a saint.”

The bees give their lives to make sweet honey for us and no one values their lives and we kill the bees to obtain the honey. The priests are also like these bees sacrificing themselves to lead others to the eternal kingdom. They are ready to die for the sake of Christ. One of the best examples of this sacrifice is Saint Maximillian Kolbe. He gave his life to save the life of a Polish prisoner Franciszek Gajowniczek, in the concentration camp during the rule of Hitler. Let the spirit of sacrificing self for others fill all the priests to be ordained as well.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

Eldho Paul