Grab your pint glasses and phone your Fathers! Next Friday, September 9*, is International Buy a priest a beer day!
On this festive day, faithful Catholics all over the world take their priests out for a beer and get to know them better. It’s a beautiful Catholic tradition that goes back to the time of St. Hopswald of Aleyard, the first man to take his priest out for a beer.
Okay, St. Hopswald wasn’t real, but your priest is real. Priests are people too, and they enjoy socializing over good food and drink as much as anyone. They also have a thankless and difficult job, a job that we couldn’t get to heaven without. Priests are the lifeblood of the Church, and they deserve some appreciation.
So with that in mind, I would challenge you to do something concrete to show appreciation to your priest on September 9th. Yes, it could be taking him out for a beer, or it could be inviting him over to share dinner with your family. Be creative if you want, but give back to your priest somehow, and let him know that his ministry is making a difference.
Of course, your priest may be insanely busy and unable to schedule a time for a lengthier visit. That’s okay. You could offer a rosary or a holy hour for him and his intentions (or better yet, more than one), and let him know that you are regularly praying for him. At the very least, express to him your gratitude, in person or via a note, for his faithful ministry and his answering God’s call to the priesthood.
I fully expect there to be a lot of happy, encouraged priests this BAPABD! But it’s only a week away, so begin your preparations NOW!
*This used to be a “moveable feast”, but due to the confusion this caused, the day has been fixed on September 9th.
The post Grab your Pint Glasses, Buy a Priest a Beer Day is Coming! appeared first on The Catholic Gentleman.
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