A funny coincidence today.

I finally turned over the page in one of my wall calendars. It’s one of those typical Catholic art calendars you find in the backs of churches just prior to the new year.

This calendar, published by J.S. Paluch Company, Inc. is the 2007 Religious Art Calendar.

Each month features a painting and a brief prayer for vocations.

This was the prayer I read today:

Jesus, our brother, you entrusted to us the mission of your Church: to transform society through the power of your truth and love. Help us know how to encourage men and women to lead us through the ministries of priesthood, diaconate, religious life, and lay ministry. Amen.

Help us know how indeed… Or rather, brother Jesus, grant us forgiveness for our poor use of language and our political agenda.

By the way, the attribution for the prayer is the “Secretariat for Vocations and Priestly Formation of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops”.

The folks in Australia must be praying this one fervently. Per The Age: Catholic bid for married and women priests

A GROUP of nuns, priests and Catholic activists has revived the thorny issue of married and women priests, circulating a petition calling on Australian bishops to reverse the church’s opposition to a more inclusive priesthood and warning there are not enough priests to run local churches…

You can see how people can be easily led astray when the hierarchy of the Roman Church, particularly in the U.S., uses such lazy language. I can just hear little old Mrs. Smith saying one Sunday: “Did you see, the bishops asked us to pray for women priests. It’s in my calendar.”