Welcoming Priests and Pastors to New Assignments

Category: Catholic Greeting Cards

Welcoming Priests and Pastors to New Assignments

Around this time of year, many Catholic dioceses rearrange priest assignments. Priests move to different parishes, new roles, or new duties. That makes this a great time to reach out with a card or gift to welcome the new minister. Even if it’s a little late, a card or gift from a new parishioner will help the priest feel welcome and accepted in his new role. Furthermore, Catholic priests are often assigned fairly far from people they know and love. As a result, they often have to start building relationships all over again with each new assignment.

Welcome Cards

Signs of support and welcome can ease what is sometimes a challenging transition for priests. To help, the Printery House offers two cards specifically for this situation.

Front cover of card to welcome a new priest. There is a cross in the center, and the text reads A Warm Welcome to Our New Priest
An old pencil drawing of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza sitting on their horses, by Wilhelm Marstrand.

The inside text reads: Thanking God for the gift of your faith-filled life and your dedicated service. Praying that the Holy Spirit will sustain and strengthen you as you serve our parish. God Bless You

An old pencil drawing of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza sitting on their horses, by Wilhelm Marstrand.
An old pencil drawing of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza sitting on their horses, by Wilhelm Marstrand.

The card above is a little more specific to the role of a pastor, but it can also be used for pastors of Protestant congregations who use that title.

The inside text reads: Thanking God for the gift of your faith-filled life and your dedicated service. Praying that the Holy Spirit will sustain and strengthen you as you serve our congregation. God Bless You

In addition to the specific cards above, we also have options from our general priest or minister appreciation selection. The following cards could be used appropriately to welcome a minister or priest to a new job or assignment.

Inside Text: May Christ, in whose place you stand as priest, give you continuing grace to teach, guide and sanctify His people.
Inside Text: May the good and loving God, who ordained you for His saving work by the laying on of hands and prayer of the Church, bless you with purity of heart and zeal for souls. And may the prayers of Mary, Mother of Priests, protect you from all evil and help you to grow in love. Amen.

Similarly, the next card would be appropriate for a new chaplain:

Inside Text: May God look upon you with favor for your faithful care of His people. Praying you continue to be renewed through the power of the Gospel and through the grace of Christ, Our Lord.

Gifts for New Priests and New Pastors

In addition to our cards, several of our icon reproductions would make excellent welcome gifts for a priest in a new assignment. Here are a few:

Check out our entire selection of icons! Our icons are also available as greeting cards which are blank inside, so you can adapt them for whatever purpose suits you.

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What is a Religious Profession Anniversary?

Celebrating the Day We Dedicated Our Lives to This Community

Monks of Conception Abbey who celebrated their Religious Profession Anniversary on August 15.This article explaining the religious profession anniversary is a follow-up to last month’s article on Religious Profession.

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15 is a special day at Conception Abbey. For the past several years, most of the monks of Conception Abbey have professed their first vows on August 15. As a result, many of us share a common religious profession anniversary.

Every night at supper we announce the names of monks celebrating their religious profession anniversary the following day. We also announce death and ordination anniversaries. (If there will not be reading for some reason, we announce an extra day or two ahead.) The list for most days fits in the space for a day on the calendar. Because the group is so big, the list for August 15 takes almost a whole page!

Jubilee: A Special Religious Profession Anniversary

On a broader scale, it is not just monks who celebrate their anniversary. Many vowed religious men and women celebrate the anniversary of their profession. It is just like married couples celebrating the anniversary of their wedding. A significant religious profession anniversary of 25 or 50 years is called a jubilee. It is also common to call anniversaries of 60, 70, or 75 years a jubilee.

Origin of “Jubilee”

Not surprisingly, the term “jubilee” is actually biblical. In Leviticus 25:8-13 we read how God instructed the Israelites to

“…count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years…. 10 And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you…”

Celebrating with Them

Celebrating You on Your Golden Jubilee - Religious Profession Anniversary CardSince the monks of Conception Abbey run The Printery House, we understand religious profession. We are ready to help you celebrate with all of the special religious sisters, brothers, and priests in your life. Check out our selection of cards for Religious Profession and Profession Anniversaries.

For religious themselves and their communities, our series of ordination invitation materials contains some pieces appropriate for celebrating profession anniversaries and jubilees. Here are some of the more appropriate general designs:

We custom print all of these pieces with your own text inside.

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Catholic Greeting Cards Can Help Develop a Thanksgiving Attitude

God Blesses Autumn
God Blesses Autumn

Thanksgiving Day will soon be here. Will you be ready? Not just ready with recipes and tablecloths and artful centerpieces – but ready in your heart? Will you be ready to make the day a concert of praise to the Giver of all good gifts? And, beyond that, will you be ready to encourage a sincere Thanksgiving attitude around your holiday table? Here are some suggestions for Thanksgiving traditions that focus on gratitude.

1. Make a List, Check it Twice
One way to stop and thank God for His manifold blessings is to write them down in list form. This year, why not put a pretty piece of paper and a pencil at each place around the table. Tell your guests at the beginning of the meal that this is their opportunity to compose a list of 10 reasons they are thankful.

2. A Thank You Box
Find small boxes. These can be very simple and very small. The idea is to give one to each person at your Thanksgiving table. Let them know this is their Thank You box to put on their bedside table. Each night before they turn off the light, the gift box will remind them to Thank God for the gifts of the day.

3. For the Beauty of the Earth
Plan at least a few minutes of outdoor time this Thanksgiving. A group walk is even better. Make sure each person finds one reason to Thank God for the glorious earth He has given.

4. Give Catholic Greeting Cards
Another way to help develop the Thanksgiving attitude is to give each of your guests a box of Thank You cards. We can all be thankful for family, people who love us and those who include us. Those folks should hear from us how thankful we are for them. Catholic greeting cards make it easy to tell others we appreciate them. If you want to tie a page of stamps to each box of Catholic greeting cards it can count as a Christmas gift.

5. Send Catholic Greeting Cards
If you’ve never browsed through the selection of Thanksgiving cards available at The Printery House then you’ve missed out. Our site offers truly beautiful illuminated cards, cards with a prayer, cards with a psalm or cards with words from traditional Thanksgiving hymnody. We have cute cards, photo cards and cards with scripture. You likely won’t have everyone important to you at your Thanksgiving table – so send them a Thanksgiving card. You’ll be amazed how taking the time to thank people for their contribution to your life will prepare your own heart for sincere thanks on the Big Day.

6. Compose a Thankful Prayer
Most guests won’t mind if you take the time to offer a prayer before the Thanksgiving meal. Spend some time composing this prayer. Your prayer could include thanks for loved ones, food and shelter but it could also offer gratitude for our national roots and our spiritual roots as Christians.

This Thanksgiving, be prepared. Prepare your own heart by practicing thankfulness ahead of time. Then, help others do the same after Thanksgiving Day. And when you want to send Catholic greeting cards – check out The Printery House online for a wide selection of Thanksgiving cards.

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