New priests are breath of fresh air

I attended the first Mass of a new priest in the Diocese of San Jose at my parish because my family befriended this priest when he was a seminarian at our parish a few years ago. It was a moving experience for me as I am sure I saw Christ's love while watching this priest say his first Mass. Knowing that this was the first time that he was using his priestly vocation at Mass, being a shepherd during the Liturgy of the Word and then being the one to turn the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus for the first time, it was truly a special event in the Catholic Church. My Diocese ordained 5 new priests on Saturday and I am happy that we got so many new priests, I got to know 3 of these men because 2 were at my parish and the third because of my time with him during a seminarian dinner my parish hosted. I know these 3 men are ready to serve the Church, to be shepherds for the people and to share God's love with all they meet. May God bless these new priests and may he continue to touch their hearts so they can minister to the Church as Christ would minister to the Church. I am optimistic of the Church's future and for the return of priestly vocations, although I don't think we may ever have as many as before unless we get a shift in the number of children that are born in the world.