By a Special Correspondent
The importance of daily Mass, particularly for priests and Church students, was stressed by Bishop Holland of Salford when he preached at a special Mass for the seminarians of the diocese and their families on Thursday of last week at St. Augustine's. Manchester.
He said: "It is through God's mercy that we have been called to the priesthood and so we must measure up to our calling. Without God's mercy we should distort the truth.
"Priests must be men of God. We must be men of Christ. This means that we must be men of prayer and devoted to the Mass and Holy Communion, even on weekdays.
"This applies even to those who are training for the priesthood, even when they are on holiday or when they are working during vacations."
Bishop Holland also reminded the relatives of the students that "the gift of the priesthood is a family affair".
He continued: "We must pray that God will send his labourers. To have a priest who is a good priest is the result of prayer".
He told parents that it was in the family that the man was nurtured who "will not sell God short".
Commenting on priests who have left the ministry he said: "The cedars of Lebanon have indeed fallen. We must pray for those priests who have opted out. This puts a great onus on us who are [eft. Therefore we must he men of prayer."