This is written by John after an interview with his diocesan priest.

"There is no such thing as a typical day in the life of a parish priest. Sunday is often thought to be our busiest day, but it isn't. Sundays are very structured because I celebrate Mass at certain times and perhaps there is a Baptism in the afternoon. After the last Mass on Sunday evening, I usually have some priest friends over for pizza and we watch a DVD. On Sundays the priest always needs to be switched-on because you need to nourish the people of God. You may only have celebrated three Masses, but you are exhausted - a lot of the laity do not understand how draining liturgical leadership is.

Saturdays are different again. In our parish we have a morning Mass followed by the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We don't have a Vigil Mass, so I spend a lot of the day polishing my homily. I would normally start working on it on a Monday - looking up the readings, checking my Bible Commentary, thinking of modern-day parables, surfing the internet for other resources. I reflect on it and try to make the Gospel relevant to my people. I refuse to use pre-prepared material because when a priest is preaching it is his life that is being judged by God. The words are part of what you are, part of your faith. For each 60 seconds of preaching I reckon I need to spend 1 hour of preparation. I normally preach for 8-10 minutes.

Thursdays are my day-off. I don't do anything in the Parish. Emergency cover is provided by the next parish. On my day off I sometimes visit my Mom and Dad, or else I meet up with friends. I'm a very keen photographer (but not a very good one) so I sometimes like to be on my own taking photographs. Otherwise I meet with a friend who is not a priest and we go to a movie.

What happens on other days? My alarm normally goes off at 7.00 am. After shower and shave and breakfast I am in Church by 8.45 am. I then spend 30 minutes in meditation on the Gospel so that I am ready to deliver the homily. I preach at every Mass. We usually incorporate Morning Prayer into Mass - when we don't, I pray the Liturgy of the Hours by myself but in union with the universal Body of Christ. After Mass I always stand at the door and greet the people of God; sometimes we have coffee in the Hall.

Now I have to decide my priorities - there may be a funeral to conduct, or a visit to the local hospital. More often it might be a visit to the local Catholic schools to do an assembly, or to celebrate a class Mass or hear confessions. I also need to be in touch with the parish secretary - there are letters to be written and meetings to be be arranged (such as 1st Holy Communion or Confirmation with parents), There may also be crisis meetings that push everything else to a lower priority - someone's marriage is in trouble, or there has been a tragedy such as the death of a parishioner or the hospital calls because there is a new-born baby in the emergency room with a serious health issue. By the time I get back to the presbytery, there are usually phone messages to deal with and the mail needs to be tackled.

Time for lunch - but it might not be totally free. Is this the day when the clergy fraternal takes place when we meet all the other Church Ministers, or is it a Deanery Clergy Day when we are discussing parish closures, how to encourage vocations to the priesthood, adult formation programmes?

After lunch I normally force myself to have at least 1 hour of quiet time - the day is nowhere near finished. The quiet time might be to do some spiritual reading (what use is a priest who is spiritually dry?), or just go for a walk, or check my email. Sometimes I just fall asleep. Afternoons are taken up with meetings in the schools, or just being available. It is a fairly quiet time, although I like to do home visits between 4.00 - 6.00pm when children are back from school and see you as a normal human being. Often a family will ask you to join them for their evening meal.

Evening requires another change of gear. There will be meetings for the sacramental preparation classes, the RCIA, the preparation sessions for new Eucharistic Ministers and Readers. You need to prep stuff for meetings - the Parish Council, the Finance Group, the Adult Education Committee, attend the Youth Group, the Liturgy Planning session, sit in on the child protection meeting, arrange a briefing with John who is setting up a very special vocations site (we all love him). Just when you are thinking about bed and sleep - the phone goes again. The hospital needs you.

You are now ready for the end of the day - but not before some more prayer - you need to offer to God all those whose lives you have touched today. Evening Prayer or Night Prayer because otherwise you would be crushed by your responsibilities. In the end, you may need to hand things back to the Lord. Is God dead - not in my experience! Priests are needed more than ever. I hope that Dario and John will manage to communicate the excitement and joy of being a priest."

Fr. Richard - John's priest in the UK.

If you are a priest and want to add your story or comment, or thinking about your vocation and want to ask a question - just email John.