Allow me, on behalf of all the men of this holy house, to tell you, our Reverend Brothers, that we will miss you. We will miss your fervor and your example, your commitment to Christ and your perseverance in formation, we will miss you as brothers, all the time knowing that you will soon be our fathers and our friends.
And we will pray for you, as we do now, in the name of the Father + and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Hear our prayers for these good men, Lord, and form them after the image of Jesus your Son. Make them worthy shepherds, ever seeking to serve you and the people to whom you send them.
May they decrease Lord, that we might know you more clearly through them. Make them holy and humble, self-sacrificing and spontaneously generous. Form them after the sacrifice of Christ Jesus your only Son, that they might be priests like him, patient and gentle and loving and pure.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, our High Priest and your Son, who lives and resigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
