Bishop highlights clergy-laity bond, calls Church to pray

MANDYA, Karnataka (Indian Catholic News) — The Syro Malabar Bishop of Mandya called on laypeople to support their clergy through prayer, emphasizing the deep bond between clergy and laity as priests serve as representatives of Christ at the altar.

Bishop Sebastian Adayanthrath of Mandya issued a formal circular calling upon the entire People of God to support the clergy who guide their spiritual journey. The directive outlines both the profound responsibilities borne by local ministers and the necessity of communal prayer for their protection and spiritual strength.

“Priests are the ministers of Christ who stand in greatest need of prayer,” Bishop Adayanthrath said. He noted that through their daily service, ministers directly carry the burdens of the community.

“Through the confessional, priests are enabled to discern the anxieties of the souls of the faithful and to lift their thoughts and intentions before the Divine Presence,” he stated.

“Standing as representatives of Christ when offering the Sacrifice of the Last Supper upon the altar, they are called to administer Holy Baptism to children and the elderly alike thereby admitting them into the Kingdom of God and to proclaim the Word of God.”

He added that priests continuously guide the community through critical moments, noting that when a minister “approaches the sanctuary accompanied by a person seeking God’s gifts and fruits to enter into matrimony, he invokes divine grace to unite them as husband and wife in the name of God.”

Supporting ministers in weariness

Addressing the human realities of the clergy, the Bishop noted that “since the priests of the Lord are also human, moments of weariness and solitude may arise in their lives.”

“At all such times, let us support their hands so that the care of divine love may serve as a light,” he urged.

The circular highlighted the deep bond between the clergy and the laity within the jurisdiction. “When priests and the laity pray together and share the Word of God, heavenly grace touches their hearts,” Bishop Adayanthrath wrote in his Aug. 6 circular. “As priests wipe away the tears of the people and bestow peace, the faithful love them and sustain them through prayer.”

“What I can primarily affirm is that the Diocese of Mandya is one that immensely respects, loves, and obeys its priests,” he added, citing seven years of shared pastoral experience.

Preparations for annual retreat

The circular comes as the bishop prepares the diocese for an upcoming clergy retreat. “A fundamental responsibility in the priestly life is to examine one’s own ministerial path and to pray for the grace and strength required to fulfil the Divine Will,” Bishop Adayanthrath

said, emphasizing that the priests engaged in pastoral activities across Mandya require the prayerful support of the entire community during their annual spiritual exercises.

Currently, there are “116 priests directly engaged in pastoral activities within the Diocese of Mandya,” including 16 incardinated members and 100 priests seconded from other dioceses and religious congregations, he said.

The entire diocese has been requested to offer special prayers for these ministers as they attend their Annual Retreat from Monday, Sept. 14 to Thursday, Sept. 17.  Parish affairs during those dates “ought to be arranged in such a manner that our priests are enabled to attend the retreat without impediment,” the Bishop instructed.

Full statement available: original Malayalam and AI‑generated English translation.