Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Lord...That I May Be Your Heart Today


Lord Jesus,
You have chosen Your priests from among us
and sent them to proclaim Your Word
and to act in Your Name.
For so great a gift to Your Church
we give You our praise and thanksgiving.
We ask You to fill them with the fire of Your love
that their ministry may reveal Your presence in the Church.
Since they are earthen vessels,
we pray that Your power shine out in their weakness.
In their afflictions let them never be crushed:
in their doubts never despair:
in temptations never be destroyed:
in persecution never abandoned.
Inspire them through prayer
to live each day the mystery of Your dying and rising.
In times of weakness send them Your Spirit,
and help them to praise Your heavenly Father,
and pray for poor sinners.
By the same Holy Spirit,
put Your Word on their lips
and Your love in their hearts
to bring good news to the poor
and healing to the brokenhearted.
And may the gift of Mary,Your Mother,
to the disciple whom you loved,
be Your gift to every priest.
Grant that she who formed You in her human image,
may form them in Your divine image,
by the power of Your Spirit,
to the glory of the Father.
Amen.

(From the Diocese of Legazpi in the Philippine Islands)



The beautiful song in the video was composed by Fr. Manoling Francisco, S.J.



40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 8: A MOST INCREDIBLE WEEK!


Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Passionate Love for Jesus in the Eucharist


"Love cannot triumph unless it becomes the one passion of our life.

Without such passion we may produce isolated acts of love;

but our life is really not won over or consecrated to an ideal.

Until we have a passionate love

for our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament

we shall accomplish nothing."




This video tribute was created by a non-Christian of the Islam faith whose heart was touched by Jesus through the exemplary life of Blessed Mother Teresa. It was her passionate love for our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament that was the foundation for her outstanding holy accomplishments, a lesson for all who seek to serve the Lord. Her words of wisdom bear repeating:

"UNTIL WE HAVE A PASSIONATE LOVE

FOR OUR LORD IN THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

WE SHALL ACCOMPLISH NOTHING."

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PRAY FOR UNBORN FUTURE PRIESTS

4o DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 7: NOT JUST MOMS & BABIES

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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Year of the Priest: First Thursday Indulgence

Just a reminder--this Thursday is the First Thursday of the month. First Thursdays of the month are days in which the faithful may gain plenary indulgences during the Year for Priests. The indulgences may be applied to souls in purgatory to speed their entrance into heaven. During this special year, it would be a great kindness to offer the indulgence for priests in purgatory.



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40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 6: 38 LIVES SAVED!

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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests Amen.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Venerable Fr. Michael McGivney

Venerable Fr. Michael McGivney, born in the USA, was a parish priest in Hartford, Connecticut until his death in 1890 at age 38. The postulator for his cause for sainthood, Fr. Gabriel O'Donnell, said of Fr. McGivney, "Fr.McGivney lived an ordinary life in the most extraordinary ways."
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Fr. McGivney's cause for sainthood was opened in 1997, presented to the Vatican in 2000, and he was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in March, 2008. The claim of a miracle through Father McGivney's intercession is under study in Rome and additional testimony concerning this reported miracle has recently been sent to Rome in hopes of bolstering the original claim.
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Since Father McGivney was Founder of the Knights of Columbus, his beatification would be a cause of great joy and justifiable pride in their founder for the 1.7 million Knights throughout the world. In discussing this latest development of additional testimonies, Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight, said, "Fr. McGivney's beatification would be an important event, not only for Knights of Columbus, but for many thousands of parish priests who quietly do the Lord's work in parishes each day and regard him as an outstanding example for priests everywhere. In this Year for Priests it is an especially appropriate step forward."
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Of the thousands of canonized saints, there are no American-born parish priests who have been officially recognized by the Church as saints. Fr. McGivney's beatification and canonization would be a great encouragement for the many faithful USA Catholic priests, unsung heroes, who have stayed the course and weathered the storms.
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In Loving Memory of Father McGivney

Venerable Father Michael McGivney's Influence Today

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40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 5: MORE THAN WE CAN IMAGINE

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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.




Saturday, September 26, 2009

Saturdays for Priests In Union with Blessed Mother Mary


"My priests...I love them so much!...

I invite them to become OTHER CHRISTS.

That is their vocation...

Will you give Me each Saturday,

in union with My divine Mother,

to love Me,

to pray for My priests

and deny yourself for them?"

~ Jesus to Blessed Dina Belanger ~

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40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY DAY 4: UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS

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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Whatever Happened to Penance on Fridays?

In 1966 American bishops took advantage of Pope Paul VI's permission to modify the discipline of abstinence from meat on Fridays. The theory was that since abstinence from meat was not a sacrifice for some Catholics, it would be better if each Catholic chose for themselves a sacrifice that was truly penitential for them personally. The bishops encouraged temperance, self-denial and good works for those who chose to do a penance other than Friday abstinence from meat. Bishop William Higi of Lafayette, Indiana offers some thoughts on the topic:

"With the intention of reinvigorating the observance of Friday as a penitential day, the bishops urged Catholics to be mindful of their sins on Fridays as well as the sins of mankind which we are called to help expiate; asked Catholics to make each Friday a day of self-denial and mortification in prayerful remembrance of the passion of Jesus Christ in preparation for Sunday; and abolished the mandatory nature of Friday abstinence outside of Lent allowing Catholics instead to choose their own acts of voluntary self-denial and personal penance. Abstinence, they said, should still take priority among Friday acts of penance."

"In a time of post-Vatican II euphoria, it apparently was thought that adult Catholics would seek out the high ground. It didn't work. A basic rule of thumb was overlooked: people gravitate to the least demanding level of the ladder. The rationale behind the change in practice and the other truly beautiful thoughts in the call to maintain a spirit of penance were overlooked or soon ignored. Today, the fact the Fridays of the year should be days of penance is judged an antiquated idea without relevance by many. This failure to embrace penance conflicts with the view of the Church gleaned from the Scriptures and summarized in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 'The human heart is heavy and hardened. God must give man a new heart...the human heart is converted by looking upon Him whom our sins have pierced' (1432)."

"In 1983, the American bishops repeated the call to observe Friday as a day of penance. They wrote: 'As a tangible sign of our need and desire to do penance we, for the cause of peace, commit ourselves to fast and abstinence on each Friday of the year. We call upon our people voluntarily to do penance on Friday by eating less food and by by abstaining from meat. This return to a traditional practice of penance, once well observed in the U.S. Church, should be accompanied by works of charity and service toward our neighbors. Every Friday should be a day significantly devoted to prayer, penance and almsgiving for peace.''

POINTS TO PONDER: Have most U.S. Catholics complied with the American bishops' call for penitential Fridays; or are they so content personally, and at the state of the nation and the world, that they feel no need to make amends to an offended God by acts of penance? Are there no sins to make reparation for? Are American Catholics confident that their souls are so pure that they will skip right into heaven after death and bypass purgatory? Are they so charitable that their sins are covered by that charity?

The saints were penitential souls, and not just on Fridays. If some or most of American Catholics are not penitential, is it because they are wiser and holier than the saints? Or, could it be that they have forgotten, or never heard, the bishops' call for Friday penance? It couldn't hurt for the bishops and priests to repeat clear instructions to all the Catholic faithful in order to clear up any confusion or misunderstandings about the Church requirement for Friday penance.

MORE FROM BISHOP HIGI

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PRAY FOR UNBORN FUTURE PRIESTS

40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 3: ABORTION WORKER QUITS!

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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Jesus Wants Celibate Priests

"St. Peter was a widower and had a virgin and simple, arduous, at the same time candid, soul. For this reason, among other reasons, widowers could be priests...And if all priests are not virgins, yes they ought to be pure...

"...My Church is so white, that I only give her as Spouse to those who vow to be pure...

"...Priests are more than angels for Me, by the sublime mission that they play on earth, which is that of representing Me... They are other Me's in the Mass and they represent Me in the Sacraments, transformed into Me. I am more than all the angels. I am their Creator and Conserver. But priests are more than angels to Me. They are other Me's themselves, and ought to be OTHER ME'S on earth, that is to say, the holy, pure and spotless Body of which I am the Head, in God's Church...

"...This is one of the principal reasons for which priests ought not to be married, because they ought to be reflections of the Virgin Father whose Paternity they represent. Their fruitfulness in souls ought to be the same as the Father's with which He engendered His Word, with the holy and virgin fruitfulness of the Holy Spirit who produced in Mary the Word made flesh for making Him compatible with man. And to realize this fraternity of the Word with man He founded the Church; and the instruments of this Church are priests, who receive the Father's fruitfulness and have to make man compatible with Me, BY IMITATION OF ME, now that by the Incarnation He made them sons of one same Father who is in Heaven.

"Priests are the bonds of union that unites Christians with Christ. They are FATHERS, because they represent the Father, to produce in souls the extension of the Word, the transformation into Me, so that my Father realizes the ideal that He had formed for man of seeing the portrait of His Word and the reflection of the Trinity in man.

"Priests ought to be pure as my Father is pure; perfect, as my Father is perfect; and always radiate charity, light, truth and to sanctify souls, transformed into Me...

"...Yes, the married will have the Father's fruitfulness, but material, in the sense that He is the Center of all life, because all life comes from the Father. But the divine and spiritual fruitfulness which engenders souls for heaven, the pure and holiest fruitfulness, the same that engendered the divine Word, this is not given to the married, but only to priests who ought to be celibates, whose sublime and holy mission is that of the Father with the Word, that of the Trinity with souls...

"...Do priests see why they do not have to be married? There are many reasons of an inferior order for saying this is not so, but the fundamental reason is that which I said of the supernatural mission that the Father places in the anointed hands of the priests and in their hearts, for being, in imitation of Me, fruitful and virgin, fathers and holy."

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida ~

(Excerpts from To My Priests)

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PRAY FOR UNBORN FUTURE PRIESTS

4o DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 2: BABY SAVED AT KICK-OFF EVENT!

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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.





Wednesday, September 23, 2009

St. Pio and Eucharistic Adoration


"A thousand years of enjoying human glory

is not worth even an hour

spent sweetly communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament."

~ St. Pio ~




Fr. Anthony J. Cipolla writes: "Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament comforted St. Pio, giving him the joy, strength, and profound hope necessary in times of trial."

Learn more about St. Pio and about a prediction he made concerning Fr. Cipolla when he was a teenager, a prediction that came true.
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PRAY FOR UNBORN FUTURE PRIESTS !

PRAY FOR AN END TO ABORTION! JOIN 40 DAYS FOR LIFE: Day 1

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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Vow of Celibacy

"The priest is pledged to celibacy, not because human generation is wrong, but because it must yield so that he can devote himself wholly to a higher form of generation: the begetting of children in Christ by bringing to Him those who never knew Him, by restoring to Him those lost in sin, and by arousing in those who already love Christ the inspiration to serve Him more fully as religious or priests...Too often the vow of chastity is presented negatively...but is pure water only the absence of dirt, a white diamond merely the negation of carbon?

~ Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen ~

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to Goe Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Priestly Celibacy

"As the Mediator, the Lord Jesus was, in all the dimensions of His being, the man for God and for others. The same is true of the priest; and this is why he is asked to consecrate his whole life to God and to the Church, in the depths of his being, his faculties, and his sentiments.

"The priest, who by choosing celibacy renounces human love so as to offer himself completely to the love of God, gains the freedom to give himself to others by a gift that does not exclude any person but includes all in the flow of charity that comes from God (Rom 5:5) and leads to God. Celibacy, by binding the priest to God, frees him to give himself to all the works demanded by the care of souls."

~ Pope John Paul II ~

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Catholic Priests Essential and Irreplaceable


"The function of the clergy is essential and irreplaceable

in announcing the Word

and celebrating the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist..."

~ Pope Benedict XVI ~




Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

The Priest: Virginity and Fatherhood

"The priest, first, gives up the earthly love of a woman, as Mary gave up the earthly love of a man...The married man imposes limitations on himself in respect to all women, but one. The priest admits of no exception, and he does so in the exercise of a perfect freedom...His surrender is like Mary's. She willed her Son and she conceived. So the priest willed to be God's, and he can identify the day and the hour. The more he serves that surrender, the more he knows that only the Christ-fettered are free.

"But a priest cannot live without love...If there is to be a generation of souls, and if he is to be a "father" begetting others in Christ, there must be love. That love is the same as Mary's; the Fire and Passion of the Holy Spirit overshadowing him. As in her, were united virginity and motherhood, so in the priest, there is to be the unity of virginity and fatherhood. This is not barrenness but fecundity, not the absence of love, but its ecstasy.

"Through Mary's example and influence, there comes a moment in the priest's life when he realizes he does not belong to his family, his parish, his diocese, his country. He belongs to the missions and to the world; he belongs to humanity. The closer the priest gets to the mission of Christ, the more he loves every soul in the world. As Mary "mothered" all men at the Cross, so the priest "fathers" them. No bishop is consecrated for a diocese; he is consecrated for the world...The priest is not ordained for a diocese; he is ordained for souls.

"Devotion to Mary keeps the priest from being the hireling, a hired servant with fixed hours, assigned duties, parish limits, and no lost sheep. There is no "on duty" for a priest. He is "on love" everywhere...Every soul is either a potential convert, or a potential saint.

"Every woe, every wound in the world is ours as a priest. So long as there is an innocent priest in a Siberian jail, I am in prison. So long as a missionary is without a roof over his head, I am homeless. Sharing with these there must be, if there is to be compassion. The priest will never sit and watch the world's enmity against Our Lord, knowing that Mary's co-operation was so real and active that she stood at the foot of the Cross."

~ Excerpts from The Priest Is Not His Own by Fulton J. Sheen ~

APPEALS FROM THE ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN FOUNDATION

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Jesus Requests Daily Prayer For Priests

In 1921, Jesus appeared to Sr. Josefa Menendez and asked her to offer all she did for three priests who were wounding His Heart. For a time, she suffered very much in body and soul, offering all for those priests. Jesus reappeared to Sister Josefa on the Feast of His Sacred Heart, joyful that they had returned to Him. Jesus taught Sister the following prayer and told her she was to repeat these words every day:


"O Jesus, by Thy most loving Heart,
I implore Thee to inflame with zeal
for Thy love and glory
all the priests of the world,
all missionaries
and those whose office it is to preach Thy word,
that, on fire with holy zeal,
they may snatch souls from the devil
and lead them into the shelter of Thy Heart,
where forever they may glorify Thee."
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In The Way of Divine Love it is related that: "Josefa never forgot that Feast of the Sacred heart. She had witnessed the infinite joy of the Sacred Heart when His priests give Him all the love they owe Him. The prayer He had taught her became her daily petition and priestly souls the first and biggest intention of her consecrated life. A little secret note found only after her death proves that at this time Our Lord kept the thought of the missions constantly before her eyes."
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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Most Personal Relationship With Jesus Christ




Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Priests in Crisis: Spiritual Warfare

An important resource, Priests in Crisis, has been added to the sidebar. Anyone sincere about helping our Catholic priests should check out this site and pass it on to your priests. You never know when the information on this site might be of help to them or to some suffering priest that they know.

This need for support when priests are in crisis was sadly obvious last week when 60-year-old Father Dennis Rocheford jumped to his death from a bridge in Rhode Island. May his soul rest in peace. Please pray for the repose of his soul.

All the armies of hell are waging war against the Catholic Church. Their main targets are priests and those who are being called to the priesthood. They want weak priests, lax priests, discouraged priests, fallen priests. They would be happiest if there were no priests. They recognize the power of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in this spiritual warfare for souls. They know too well the power of the Eucharist. They work persistently to encourage anything that results in fewer Masses, less reverently said Masses, a congregation less reverent and more distracted at Mass or when in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament--these are some of their weapons.

The powers of darkness hate Jesus and they hate His priests. Without priests there would be no Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, no Holy Communion, no Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist in our tabernacles, no Sacrament of Reconciliation, no last Sacraments for the dying, no Sacrament of Confirmation, no Sacrament of Holy Orders.

We are in a serious situation in the Church and in the world. We need holy priests more than ever. It is time for all Catholics to think about what is most important in their lives. If having the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is important to us, prayer and sacrifice for priests should be an important part of our lives.
We need more priests. We need holy priests. If priests are in short supply and some are not as holy as they should be, we need to ask ourselves what have we done to help the situation. We also might ask ourselves what we would want done for ourselves if we (or our son or brother) were in their shoes. In reality, what we do for priests, we do for Jesus. Can any of us say we have done enough?
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AN APPEAL FOR ONE HOUR OF EUCHARISTIC ADORATION FOR PRIESTS
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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Mary, Queen of Martyrs

Jesus spoke to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, Conchita, about the sufferings of the Blessed Mother after His Ascension:
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"For these last years, destined for the reign of the Holy Spirit and the final triumph of the Church, was reserved the veneration of the martyrdom of Mary's solitude...Mary lived, it might be said, miraculously and solely to merit the graces requisite for her maternity on behalf of mankind.
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"At the foot of the Cross all her children were born. My death gave them life in the heart of My Mother. But before her death She had to manifest this maternity on earth, gaining, by the sufferings of My absence, an infinitude of graces present and future for her children. Her title of Mother of mankind, Mary won by the martyrdom of her solitude after My death. Has the world been aware of this? Does it appreciate it and is it grateful for it? The time has come when the children should show they are real children, showing their veneration for this Heart broken by this subtle and most painful martyrdom, lived through for the sake of their own happiness. There, Mary gained graces for each and every man. It is time for her to be thanked" (Diary, June 30, 1917).
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"Just as Mary's virtues remained hidden due to her humility...so her sufferings remained veiled. There was neither complaint or recrimination. She accepted them all, welcoming them all without losing a single one, loving them, adoring in them the will of God which was her life. This adherence to My adorable will which she practiced after My Ascension, was particularly inmost, throughout her life of nameless sufferings, during the martyrdom of My absence and among the crucifixions of her solitude" (Diary, July 2, 1917).
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"As co-redemptrix, Mary heard in her soul so wholly pure the echo of all My agonies, humiliations, outrages and tortures, felt the weight of the sins of the world which made My Heart bleed, and the moving sorrow of the abandonment of heaven which obtains graces.
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"It is evident that Mary had nothing to be purified in herself but only in mankind, that is in her children, conquering by this sorrow a new crown, that of Mother-Martyr.
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"Thus it is that she suffered for her children, that she gave them the supernatural life of grace, that she obtained heaven for them" (Diary, June 22, 1918).
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"The Heart of Mary obtained these graces in the martyrdom of a solitude in which she was left, not by men (she had St. John and the Apostles and many souls who fervently loved her), not by Me in My Body (she consoled herself with the Eucharist and with her living and perfect faith), but by the Trinity, which hid itself from her, leaving her in a spiritual and divine abandonment.
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"Mary suffered more than all abandoned souls, since she suffered a reflection of My own abandonment on the Cross, one the worth of which cannot be estimated and which is wholly inexpressible.
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"This abandonment of Mary, this vivid and palpitating martyrdom of her solitude, the desolating martyrdom of divine abandonment, which she suffered heroically, with loving resignation and sublime surrender to My will, is not honored" (Diary, June 23, 1918).
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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross and in the Mass

Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, Conchita, once asked the Lord:
"If the Redemption satisfied Your justice to efface sin, if by it the distance between man and the divinity was overcome, why did You perpetuate this same sacrifice of the Cross on the altars?"
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Our Lord's answer was:
"Solely out of love, solely out of charity, I remain on the altars because burning thirst consumes the Word made flesh who rejoices in His immolation for the sake of man.
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"I have stayed on the altars to perfect in their souls by My life as a victim what is wanting of sacrifice in them.
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"I have stayed thereon since I am the only pure victim.
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Without Me every immolation would be futile, by My perpetuating My sacrifices, forgiveness is likewise perpetuated, giving their value to the sacrifices of men when they are offered in union with Mine.
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"I have stayed thereon to bring souls, through My example, to become lovers of pain under all its forms.
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"I have stayed thereon due to the pleasure the Incarnate Word feels from the proximity of His creature" (Diary, July 6, 1906).
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"In the Mass is perpetuated the same immolation of the same Victim, Me, on Calvary. It is not a prolongation or a repetition of My sacrifice, but the same sacrifice though unbloody, the same living crucifixion with the same and only loving will of the Father to give His own Son, His only Son, for the salvation of the world" (Diary, Aug. 2, 1933).
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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

A Powerful Call to the Priesthood

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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Holy Name of Mary

Venerable Mary of Agreda wrote in the Mystical City of God :
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"...the three divine Persons had decreed and formed the sweet names of Jesus and Mary for the Son and Mother from the beginning before the ages..." and after the birth of Mary "...the holy angels heard a voice from the throne speaking in the person of the Father:
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"Our chosen One shall be called MARY, and this name is to be powerful and magnificent. Those that shall invoke it with devout affection shall receive most abundant graces; those that shall honor it and pronounce it with reverence shall be consoled and vivified, and will find in it the remedy of their evils, the treasures for their enrichment, the light which shall guide them to heaven. It shall be terrible against the powers of hell, it shall crush the head of the serpent and it shall win glorious victories over the princes of hell."
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The Blessed Mother told Venerable Mary:
"Be very devout toward my most sweet name. I wish that thou be convinced of the great prerogatives and privileges which the Almighty concedes to it, so that I myself, when I saw them in the Divinity, felt most deeply obliged and solicitous to make a proper return; and whenever the name MARY occurred to my mind (which happened often) and whenever I heard myself called by that name, I was aroused to thankfulness and urged to new fervor in the service of the Lord, who gave it to me."
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Learn more about Venerable Mary of Agreda here.
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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Friday, September 11, 2009

A Revelation on Criticism of Priests

Dr. Gloria Polo is a dentist from Columbia, South America. In an interview with Radio Maria (Columbia) she relates the true story of how she and her nephew were struck by lightening. Her nephew died and she was burnt inside and out. She suffered cardiac arrest and came out of her body, experiencing initially what many others have lived to tell about--the tunnel, joy and peace, white light at the end of the tunnel, etc., but then she went back into her body and experienced the pain associated with her medical condition.
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The second time Dr. Polo came out of her body she saw demons coming for her. She was not able to return into her body as it lay in the operating room. She ran from the demons but found herself in tunnels heading downward and ending in pitch darkness. The worst torment was the absence of God.
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In the midst of her screams to be taken out of there because she was a good Catholic and was there by mistake, she heard a sweet voice. It was revealed to her all the ways in which she had not been a good Catholic. The one example that I want to draw attention to in this post is her attitude toward priests. She said,
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"...I would criticize priests constantly. You should have seen what a hard time I had on that one! Ever since we were little, I remember criticism against priests being present in my family. My dad used to say that those guys were womanizers and much better off than we were. And we would repeat that. And my Lord told me:
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"Who did you think you were making yourself God and judging my anointed? They are human, and the holiness of a priest is built by his community, that prays, loves, and supports him. When a priest sins his community is questioned not him."
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"The Lord showed me that each time I criticized priests, the demons would get attached to me. Besides that, at some point I accused a priest of homosexuality and the whole community found out. You can't imagine how much harm I did."
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In an inspiring example of the power of intercession, Dr. Polo was given a second chance at life because of the prayers of people unknown to her--especially the prayers of a poor peasant man and his promise of sacrifice for her if she was saved. About him our Lord told her:
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"That is love for your fellowman...You will go back, but you won't repeat this 1000 times. You will repeat it 1000 times 1000. And woe to those who don't change their ways despite having heard you, because they will be judged much more severely... because the worst deafness is that of a man who refuses to hear."
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Dr. Gloria Polo's bishop has given her permission to tell about her experience. At the time of this interview it had been more than ten years since our Lord gave her a second chance. (I don't know the year of the interview).
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Read another excerpt here.
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Read the complete interview here.
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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Pope John Paul II, A Eucharistic Soul

Servant of God Pope John Paul II had a great love for Jesus in the Eucharist, a virtue common to all of the Saints. He zealously encouraged and participated in Eucharistic adoration during his years as Pope. He said:
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"Every time I hear anyone speak of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or of the Blessed Sacrament I feel an indescribable joy. It is as if a wave of precious memories, sweet affections and joyful hopes swept over my poor person, making me tremble with happiness and filling my soul with tenderness. These are loving appeals from Jesus who wants me wholeheartedly there, at the source of all goodness, his Sacred Heart throbbing mysteriously behind the Eucharistic veils."
*
"The Eucharist alone makes it possible to live the heroic virtues of Christianity: charity unto the forgiveness of enemies, love for those who make us suffer, and giving one's life for one's neighbor; chastity in every age and situation of life; and especially in suffering and when one is shaken by the silence of God in the dramas of history or of one's own existence. Therefore, be ever Eucharistic souls, so as to be true Christians."
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It was obvious in the public witness of his life that Pope John Paul II was a Eucharistic soul who lived a life of heroic virtue.

PRAYER FOR INTERCESSION OF POPE JOHN PAUL II

O Blessed Trinity, we thank You for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of Your Fatherly care, the glory of the Cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit to shine through him.

Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with You.

Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among Your saints. Amen.

OFFICIAL SITE FOR CAUSE FOR CANONIZATION OF POPE JOHN PAUL II

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.












Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Masses for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

The Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation is asking for Catholics all over the world to help mark the 30th anniversary of his death, December 9, 2009, with Masses said in his memory and to pray for the cause of his canonization. They are asking us to schedule Masses in our parishes on that day, and then to contact Sara Worrell at sworrell@cdop.org or 1-309-671-1550 to tell her the time and the place of the Mass. The Foundation's website will be kept updated so we are all able to see where Masses are scheduled. Their latest newsletter listed 14 countries outside the USA that have scheduled Masses and 12 states in the USA. It would be a fitting tribute if all 50 states in the USA were able to schedule Masses in honor of this holy native son!

Another worthy project of the Foundation is an appeal to help provide copies of Archbishop Sheen's inspiring book The Priest Is Not His Own to the almost 5,000 seminarians in the USA. A $15.oo donation to the Foundation (includes shipping and handling) will send a copy to a seminarian and also help the work of the Sheen Cause. The book may be donated in honor of someone--perhaps a favorite priest?--and that special someone will be made known to the seminarian. Donations of books are not limited to just one, but to as many as you are inspired to provide for seminarians. Book orders can be sent to : The Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation, P.O. Box 728, Peoria IL 61652-0728. (They are also grateful to receive donations to help further the Sheen Cause).

Archbishop Sheen was very concerned about the sanctification of priests during his lifetime. In Treasure in Clay he wrote, "I have loved every work to which I have been called or sent. But perhaps the most meaningful and gratifying experience of my life has been giving retreats to priests...In the course of his life, a priest may make thirty or more retreats. I am sure that most of them could not remember a single resolution they made and kept...For that reason, all of my retreats centered in one general resolution--namely, to make a continuous hour of meditation in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament...If I were asked what detail of my sixty years of priesthood I would show to the Lord as a sign I loved Him, I would point to the Holy Hours which have been made by priests in the course of their lives as a result of my retreats. Since these retreats have been put on tape and circulated throughout the world, there is hardly ever a week goes by without a priest writing me a letter telling me that for nine years, or twenty years, or thirty years he has answered the Lord's request to watch with Him the hour. But it is not only priests who have practiced this act of adoration and reparation: thousands of laity have likewise been inspired to do so ."


AN APPEAL FOR ONE HOUR OF EUCHARISTIC ADORATION FOR PRIESTS

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.





Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The Creation and Birth of Our Blessed Mother

On September 8th the Catholic Church celebrates the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and the Mother of all humanity. How blessed we are to have such a perfect Mother, chosen to be not only the Mother of Jesus Christ, but our very own Mother! From revelations given to Venerable Mary of Agreda, written in The Mystical City of God, we learn:
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"On the Saturday next..., the Almighty created the soul of His Mother and infused it into the body; and thus entered into the world that pure Creature, more holy, perfect and agreeable to His eyes than all those He had created, or will create to the end of the world...
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"At the same time She was filled with grace and gifts above those of the highest seraphim of heaven, and there was not a single instant in which She was found wanting or deprived of the light, the friendship and love of the Creator, or in which She was touched by the stain or darkness of original sin.
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"To her also was conceded the most perfect use of the light of reason, corresponding to the gifts of grace, which She had received. Not for one instant was She to remain idle, but to engage in works most admirable and pleasing to her Maker.
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"...She knew and was conversant with the whole natural and supernatural order of things, in accordance with the grandeur of God. Hence from her first instant in the womb of her mother, She was wiser, more prudent, more enlightened, and more capable of comprehending God and all His works, than all the creatures have been or ever will be in eternity, excepting of course her most holy Son.
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"In correspondence with this wonderful knowledge of her most holy soul at the instant of its union with the body, Mary exerted Herself by eliciting heroic acts of virtue, of incomparable admiration, praise, glorification, adoration, humility, love of God and sorrow for the sins committed against Him, whom She recognized as the Author and end of these admirable works. She hastened to offer Herself as an acceptable sacrifice to the Most High, beginning from that instant with fervent desire to bless Him, love Him and honor Him, because She perceived that the bad angels and men failed to know and love Him.
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"...at the instant of her coming into existence, She began to seek a remedy for mankind and commenced the work of mediation, intercession and reparation...She perceived the love of God and His desire to descend from heaven in order to redeem men, though she knew not how it should be consummated. It was befitting that God should feel Himself impelled to hasten His coming on account of the prayers and petitions of this Creature; since it was principally for the love of Her that He came, and since in Her body He was to assume human flesh, accomplish the most admirable of all His works, and fulfill the end of all other creatures."
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It had been revealed to Saint Anne that she would bear a daughter who would be the Mother of the awaited Messiah. She was told to keep this secret even from her husband, Saint Joachim. The Almighty made it known to him in the last moments of his life, and the Blessed Mother never knew that she had been chosen to be the Mother of God until the time of the Annunciation when Saint Gabriel appeared to her.
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"The day destined for the parturition of Saint Anne and for the birth of Her, who was consecrated and sanctified to be the Mother of God, had arrived: a day most fortunate for the world. This birth happened on the eighth day of September, fully nine months having elapsed since the Conception of the soul of our most holy Queen and Lady.
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"She was born pure and stainless, beautiful and full of grace, thereby demonstrating that She was free from the law and the tribute of sin.
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"At twelve o'clock in the night this divine Luminary issued forth, dividing the night of the ancient Law and its pristine darkness from the new day of grace, which now was about to break into dawn. She was clothed, handled and dressed like other infants, though her soul dwelt in the Divinity; and She was treated as an infant, although she excelled all mortals and even all the angels in wisdom.
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"The thousand angels appointed as guardians of the great Queen offered themselves and dedicated themselves to her service.
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"At the moment of the birth of our princess Mary, the Most High sent the archangel Gabriel as an envoy to bring this joyful news to the holy Fathers in limbo...He told them that already the dawn of eternal felicity had commenced and that the reparation of man, which was so earnestly desired and expected by the holy Patriarchs and foretold by the Prophets, had been begun, since She who was to be the Mother of the Messiah had now been born; soon would they now see the salvation and the glory of the Most High. The holy prince gave them an understanding of the excellence of the most holy Mary and of what the Omnipotent had begun to work in Her, in order that they might better comprehend the happy beginning of the mystery..."
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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Vocations, Fruit of Eucharistic Adoration

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta was extraordinarily busy caring for the poor, the sick, and the dying. Yet, she and her congregation of Sisters still made time for a daily holy hour of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament! In Blessed Mother Teresa's words:
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"Jesus has made Himself the Bread of Life to give us life.
Night and day He is there.
If you really want to grow in love,
come back to the Eucharist, come back to that adoration.
In our congregation, we used to have adoration once a week for one hour,
and then in 1973,
we decided to have adoration one hour every day.
We have much work to do.
Our homes for the sick and dying destitute are full everywhere.
And from the time we started having adoration every day,
our love for Jesus became more intimate,
our love for each other more understanding,
our love for the poor more compassionate,
and we have double the number of vocations."
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"Every moment of prayer,
especially before our Lord in the tabernacle,
is a sure positive gain.
The time we spend in having our daily audience with God
is the most precious part of the whole day."
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Eucharistic adoration has the potential to increase vocations to the priesthood just as it dramatically increased vocations in Blessed Teresa's congregation. The need is GREAT! A solution to the problem is AVAILABLE! Men, women, teenagers and even young children can help provide new priests for the Church by spending time with Jesus in Eucharistic adoration. All that is required is love for Jesus, the intention to satisfy His thirst for souls to come to Him in the Eucharist, and a resolve to satisfy His desire for more priests to serve as other Christs.
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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist



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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Our Blessed Mother's Love For Her Children

Our Blessed Mother revealed to Venerable Mary of Agreda:
"How much my intercession and the power I have in heaven is worth has never been hidden in the Church, for I have demonstrated my ability to save all by so many thousands of miracles, prodigies and favors operated in behalf of those devoted to me. With those who have called upon me in their needs I have always shown myself liberal and the Lord has shown Himself liberal to them on my account. The Most High still wishes to give liberally of His infinite treasures and resolves to favor those who know how to gain my intercession before God. This is the secure way and the powerful means...of bringing the souls to grace and to the friendship of God."



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O Mary, Mother of Jesus,
you were with Jesus
at the beginning of His life and mission.
You stood beside Jesus
when He was lifted on the Cross
and gave His life for all.
We ask you now to be with our priests,
who give themselves in service to God's people.
Intercede for them
that they may grow in holiness;
proclaim God's word with courage;
celebrate the sacraments with joy;
and be among God's people
as Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was.
We offer this prayer to God, the Father,
through your intercession,
in the name of your Son, Jesus,
and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

(Prayer from Crusade For Priests)

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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Jesus Says, "Come to Me"

"Now write for My souls: I want to tell them of the poignant sorrows which filled My Heart at the Last Supper. If it was bliss for Me to think of all those to whom I should be both Companion and Heavenly Food, of all who would surround Me to the End Of Time with adoration, reparation, and love...this in no wise diminished My grief at the many who would leave Me deserted in My tabernacle and who would not even believe in My Real Presence.
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"Sacrileges and outrages, and all the nameless abominations to be committed against Me, passed before My eyes...the long, lonely hours of the day and night in which I would remain alone on the altars...and the multitudes who would not heed the appeals of My Heart..."
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"It is love for souls that keeps Me a Prisoner in the Blessed Sacrament. I stay there that all may come and find the comfort they need in the tenderest of Hearts, the best of Fathers, the most faithful of Friends, who will never abandon them.
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"Poor pitiable sinners, do not turn away from Me...Day and night I am on the watch for you in the tabernacle. I will not reproach you...I will not cast your sins in your face...But I will wash them in My Blood and in My Wounds. No need to be afraid...come to Me...If you but knew how dearly I love you.
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"And you, dear souls, why this coldness and indifference on your part?
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Were you weak or ill in body surely you would find time to see a doctor who would cure you?..Come. then, to One who is able to give both strength and health to your soul, and bestow the alms of love on this Divine Prisoner who watches for you, calls for you and longs to see you at His side."
~ Words of Jesus to Sister Josefa Menendez from The Way of Divine Love ~
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Without our Catholic priests, there would be no Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist to receive in Holy Communion or to spend time with in adoration. Please consider offering ONE HOUR of prayer before Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament for the sanctification of His priests. Console the Heart of Jesus by showing your appreciation of His continued Real Presence among us and for providing priests to make His remaining with us possible.
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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Please Pray For Bishops

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Please pray for all Bishops of the Catholic Church. They have a grave responsibility before God as spiritual fathers of the souls entrusted to their care--this includes all of the people of their respective dioceses, including the priests. It is a great privilege to be chosen as a bishop, but it is an awesome responsibility.They have an obligation to teach the truths of the Catholic faith clearly and courageously to their people and to protect them from false teachings, corrupting influences, and errors of faith as much as possible.
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Bishops need and deserve our prayers and sacrifices on their behalf. According to St. John Vianney, if some bishops (and other priests) are not as holy as they should be, it is because their people have not prayed enough for them. If we have complaints about the Catholic clergy, it would be beneficial for them and pleasing to God to offer prayers and sacrifices for them instead of wasting time and offending God by criticizing them.
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PLEASE PRAY FOR BISHOP JOSEPH MARTINO,
RECENTLY RESIGNED BISHOP OF SCRANTON PA!
GOD BLESS HIM!
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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The World Needs Heroes

Don't miss these two very short videos from the Diocese of New York. The first one is a NYPRIEST Theatrical Trailer that will be shown in select New York Theatres to promote the NYPRIEST campaign. "The aim of the campaign is to build up a "Culture of Vocations" in the Archdiocese of New York, to increase awareness of the diocesan priesthood and to draw young men whom God is calling to respond generously to service in the Church as Priests after the Heart of Jesus Christ."
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In the beautiful video below, Archbishop Timothy Dolan says to five newly ordained priests , "May God who has begun this good work in you now bring it to fulfillment."

Check out the Diocese of New York 's impressive vocations website! It is worth a look even if you only take time to see the beautiful pictures on the home page (wait a second to see the many inspiring images as they change). What an outstanding job they have done. May they be blessed with an abundance of new vocations!

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The Weight of One Mass?

The following true story was related to Sr. M. Veronica Murphy by an elderly nun who heard it from the lips of the late Reverend Father Stanislaus SS.CC.
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One day many years ago in a little town in Luxembourg, a Captain of the Forest Guards was in deep conversation with the butcher when an elderly woman entered the shop. The butcher broke off the conversation to ask the old woman what she wanted. She had come to beg for a little meat but had no money. The Captain was amused at the conversation which ensued between the poor woman and the butcher, "Only a little meat, but how much are you going to give me?"
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"I am sorry I have no money but I'll hear Mass for you." Both the butcher and the Captain were good men but very indifferent about religion, so they at once began to scoff at the old woman's answer.
*
"All right then," said the butcher, "you go and hear Mass for me and when you come back I'll give you as much meat as the Mass is worth."
*
The woman left the shop and returned later. She approached the counter and the butcher seeing her said, "All right then we'll see." He took a slip of paper and wrote on it "I heard a Mass for you." He then placed the paper on the scales and a tiny bone on the other side but nothing happened. Next he placed a piece of meat instead of the bone, but still the paper proved heavier. Both men were beginning to feel ashamed of their mockery but continued their game. A large piece of meat was placed on the balance, but still the paper held its own. The butcher, exasperated, examined the scales, but found they were all right.
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"What do you want my good woman, must I give you a whole leg of mutton?" At this he placed the leg of mutton on the balance, but the paper outweighed the meat. A larger piece of meat was put on, but again the weight remained on the side of the paper. This so impressed the butcher that he was converted, and promised to give the woman her daily ration of meat.
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As for the Captain, he left the shop a changed man, an ardent lover of daily Mass. Two of his sons became priests, one a Jesuit and the other a Father of the Sacred Heart.
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Father Stanislaus finished by saying, "I am the Religious of the Sacred Heart, and the Captain was my father."
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From that incident the Captain became a daily Mass goer and his children were trained to follow his example. Later when his sons became priests, he advised them to say Mass well every day and never miss the Sacrifice of the Mass through any fault of their own.
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Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.