Prayer to Mary, Mother of Priests

O loving Mother Mary, Mother of priests,

take to your heart your sons who are close to you

because of their priestly ordination

and because of the power which they have received

to carry on the work of Christ

in a world which needs them so much.

Be their comfort, be their joy, be their strength,

and especially help them to live and defend

the ideals of consecrated celibacy.

~ J. Cardinal Carberry ~

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.

The Infinite Love of Jesus for Souls

"My Heart so loves souls that to obtain the affection of a single one,

though it were the most miserable, the least worthy,

I would have suffered infinitely more than I did during my whole mortal life,

had it been possible."

~Jesus to Blessed Dina Belanger ~

*

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.

Bishop William L. Higi: Year for Priests

"While certain aspects of the Year for Priests focuses on affirmation of priests and their ministry, it is not an observance meant to exalt priests. Rather, it is a call for the sanctification of priests.

"Sanctification means the process through which a believer responds to grace and is brought closer to God. While affirmation, support and expressions of gratitude for the ministry of priests is always uplifting to men who so often feel the sting of criticism, anger and/or unmet expectations, the idea is for priests to nurture their vocation in an intensified way during the Year for Priests...

"Most people have no idea what a day in the life of a priest is like. Few apparently stop to reflect that when decisions are made, some will agree, while others will disagree. In a culture that promulgates the idea that protest is the way to get one's way, things can become heated. Some of us whom God has called to the priesthood are better at meeting the expectations of people than others.

"Then, too, time for prayer is crucial if balance is to be maintained. Finding that all important time can be a challenge. A priest cannot be in two places at once.

"...he needs the understanding of the people he has been called to serve. Part of that understanding is acceptance of our limitations and idiosyncrasies. The other part is awareness that like the non-ordained, we struggle to grow in holiness."

Bishop William L. Higi, bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana, concludes the article from which the above excerpts were taken with a request for this daily prayer 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.

Cardinal Arinze Cautions on Private Revelations

There is typically much excitement about alleged apparitions and private revelations, especially concerning those that have not been approved by the Church. This excitement persists even when the bishops in whose dioceses the visions or messages are alleged to have occurred issue warnings to the faithful.

There is also, sadly, a tendency for believers of any particular "message" to be critical of other Catholics who express disinterest or disbelief. Cardinal Arinze explains: "The Church never imposes belief in a private revelation, even when such private revelation is approved by the Church as coming from heaven--like Lourdes and Fatima, these are certain that they come from heaven, but even then the Church does not impose them as objects of Catholic faith."

Some Catholics are willing to go to great inconvenience and expense to follow an alleged "seer"; and their spiritual hunger is not likely to be left unfulfilled by our loving God who seeks closer union with all of us. This could be the reason for good fruits from unapproved apparitions, rather than a testimony to the truth of a particular alleged revelation. Since God turns everything to good for those who love Him and seek a closer relationship with Him, why would He not respond favorably to those desires?

Meanwhile, back at our home parishes, how often is Jesus left alone in the Most Blessed Sacrament? As Saint Jean Vianney once said, "Everyone is ready to run after the latest novelty...but as for Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, he is deserted and forsaken." When asked about going on pilgrimage to an alleged unapproved "revelation" site, Cardinal Arinze said, "Oh yes, I go on pilgrimage, but you know where I go on pilgrimage?--the chapel where we have the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle--where we are not guessing--where we are SURE!--that's my pilgrimage!

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.

Eucharistic Poem: I Wish I Were the Little Key

I wish I were the little key

That locks Love's captive in

And who lets Him out to go and free

A stricken heart from sin.

I wish I were the little bell

That tinkles for the Host,

When God comes down each day to dwell

With hearts He loves the most.

I wish I were the chalice fair

That holds the Blood of Love

When every flash lights holy prayer

Upon its way above.

I wish I were the little flower

So near the Host's sweet face,

Or like the light that half an hour

Burns on the shrine of grace.

I wish I were the altar, where,

As on His Mother's Breast,

Christ nestles, like a child , fore'er

In Eucharistic rest.

But oh, my God, I wish the most

That my poor heart may be

A home all holy for each Host

That comes in love to me.

(from an old prayer card)

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.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and a Chinese Martyr of the Eucharist

Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is known to have had a great devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, a devotion that he encouraged in others, especially priests. On the day of his ordination, he resolved to make a continuous daily Holy Hour before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. In his autobiography, Treasure in Clay, he tells the following true story of a priest adorer and a young Chinese martyr of the Eucharist:

"..in China, a priest had just begun Mass when Communists entered and arrested him and made him a prisoner in a house adjoining the little church. From a window in that house he could see the tabernacle. Shortly after his imprisonment, the Communists opened the tabernacle, threw the Hosts on the floor and stole the Sacred Vessels. The priest then decided to make adoration to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament as much as he could day and night. About three o'clock one morning he saw a child who had been at the morning Mass open a window, climb in, come to the sanctuary floor, get down on both knees, press her tongue to the Host to give herself Holy Communion. The priest told me there were about thirty Hosts in the ciborium. Every single night she came at the same time until there was only one Host left. As she pressed her tongue to receive the Body of Christ, a shot rang out. A Communist soldier had seen her. It proved to be her Viaticum.

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.

Consecrated Hands of Priests

"O venerable sanctity of the hands! O happy function of the priest!

He that created me (if I may say so) gave me the power to create Him;

and He that created me without me is Himself created by me."

~St. Augustine ~

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.

The love and Patience of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus

"Offer Me to My Father.

Offer the love and patience of My Eucharistic Heart.

By the offering of My Heart,

you can atone infinitely for all the outrages

which My Father and I receive..."

~ Jesus to Blessed Dina Belanger ~

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.

Divine Mercy for Priests and Religious

"Today bring to Me the souls of priests and religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave Me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind."

~ Jesus to Saint Faustina ~

PRAYER OF SAINT FAUSTINA

Most merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service, that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard--upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.

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.

A Good Shepherd's Appeal for Eucharistic Adoration

"The Eucharist, says John Paul, 'is the principal and central raison d'etre of the Sacrament of the Priesthood. Priests derive from the Eucharist and exist for the Eucharist' (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, No.2). Priests are in a special way responsible for the Eucharist. They are entrusted with the Eucharist for others. The people of God expect from priests a particular veneration and Eucharistic piety.

"Now, Eucharistic Adoration 'is simply the natural consequence of the Eucharistic celebration, which is itself the Church's supreme act of adoration' (S. Caritatis No. 66). Adoration, outside Mass 'prolongs and intensifies' all that takes place during the Eucharistic Celebration. Adoration itself is an act of witnessing when one sees many gathered in silence before the Lord. Eucharistic adoration should become part and parcel of our way of being Church. Many have said that Eucharistic adoration promotes vocations to the priesthood and to religious life. Children, youth and adults should be taught and encouraged to appreciate the beauty of silence in the presence of Jesus Christ.

"Our attitude, external behaviour, our gestures, our bodily movements reveal our faith, or, our lack of faith in the invisible presence of God, in the 'real presence' of Christ in the Eucharist, in the Consecrated Hosts in the tabernacle.

* Many enter the church and do not make the sign of the cross with holy water.

* Many no longer genuflect, not even a bow that acknowledges the presence of Christ in the tabernacle.

* Altar rails that have been dismantled, thus we no longer kneel when receiving the Body of Christ.

* Our churches are like a market place before and after Mass partly because we have moved the tabernacle to a separate room, or simply because we have lost the sense of the presence of the Holy. We have abandoned silence and a prayerful atmosphere in the church.

* Where possible, we need to restore the centrality of the tabernacle. We need to recover the culture and practice of genuflecting and of silence.

* Church law requires us to fast for an hour before the Eucharist. The chewing of gum during Mass is simply distasteful.

* External gestures help to condition our internal spiritual attitude towards the Holy.

* By putting in church pews without kneelers, we effectively discourage the faithful from kneeling during Consecration.

* The taking of Communion to the sick often leaves much to be desired. Usually Consecrated Hosts are distributed to lay minsters after Communion. And the priest asks ; How many? How many what? It does not sound like a language of people who recognize the presence of the Lord.

Lay ministers carrying Communion often stop to chat with friends before going to the sick. At times they rush to do a shopping round before proceeding to the sick. It is not unusual for some to keep the Consecrated Hosts at home because they did not find the sick person or because on their return, they found the church locked.

* It is not unusual for tabernacles to be broken open (or stolen) and the Consecrated Hosts scattered about on the floor. It is not enough simply to collect the Hosts and put them back into the tabernacle. There is a need for a cleansing rite and for repentance.

* It is most edifying to see the priest praying with the altar-servers in the sacristy before and after Mass. Silence in the sacristy is also conducive to an atmosphere of prayer. Such a practice stays with the altar-servers long after they have graduated from the sacristy. Some sacristies regrettably are like a market place. No prayers are said.

* It would be ideal if priests could once more pray while they vest in the sacristy. This practice would reinforce the culture of silence and a proper preparation for Holy Mass.

* It would equally be ideal to restore for the lay faithful prayers before the Mass and prayers of thanksgiving after Mass. Such exercises would help us focus on the 'real presence' of Christ who has been received during Mass.

As custodians of the Eucharist, it is our privilege to promote Eucharistic Adoration so that those who do so may savour the the grace of healing that comes from the Lord Himself."

~ Buti Tlhagale, Archbishop of Johannesburg, President of the SACBC ~

Excerpts from: The Priest and Eucharistic Adoration

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.

Jesus Speaks to Blessed Dina About Priests

"My priests should be other Christs. During my Agony, My Heart wept tears of blood over a certain number of My priests. Many among them possess eloquence and human learning but they lack the fundamental science, holiness... they do not live sufficiently in My intimacy, by self-denial and unalloyed love...I love them so much!...A great number are My consolation, My glory, and My honor, but many, alas, grieve Me..."

"My priests rule the entire religious society. If they were really holy, their mere presence anywhere, at church, on the street, or elsewhere would evoke a thought of Me: they would draw souls to Me. In meeting them, one would feel as if another Christ were passing by. The devil fears a single soul in whom I act freely more than an army of lukewarm and indifferent souls in whom My action is paralyzed, because in the former I act with My power while I am forced to leave the latter to their own weakness."

"I thirst for love, I thirst for souls! A great number of souls are being lost because many of My priests do not love Me enough. They do not touch hearts because they are not closely enough united to Me. They count too much on human means and their own activity, and not enough on My divine action."

"Offer to My Father, for My priests, the spirit of prayer of My divine Heart, My spirit of contemplation, the perfect union of My Heart with Him. That is what is lacking in so many of My priests; a spirit of prayer, an intense interior life."

~ Jesus to Blessed Dina Belanger, from The Autobiography of Dina Belanger ~

More on Blessed Dina

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.

St. Jean Vianney: the Power of the Priest

"Behold the power of the priest!

The tongue of the priest makes God from a morsel of bread!

It is more than creating the world...

The Blessed Virgin cannot make her divine Son descend into the host.

A priest can, however simple he may be."

~ St. Jean Vianney ~

~ Interview with Fr. John Lankeit ~

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.

Impediments to Receiving Priestly Graces

Jesus spoke with Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida (To My Priests) of His great desire to empty His Heart of the special graces needed by priests, and of the necessity of prayer and sacrifice for priests so they will be open and prepared to receive them:

"There are impediments to receiving these graces: sin, culpable inaction, dissipation, the world, and concupiscence of the senses. There are impediments: little faith, pride from the ones who feel themselves sufficient, needing nothing, the lack of an interior life that exhausts the supernatural energies and makes one insensible for the life of grace. I cannot stop saying that the interior life is the support of the priest, that prayer is his defense and purity of soul, his life.

"All these graces are graces of love, arisen from Love itself, who is the Holy Spirit, and completed by Him, suitable for the heart of the priest. They are very special graces--that they need--graces of power: the fortitude for their temptations, of abnegation for sacrifices, of light for diffusing it into souls, of purity for shielding them against the enemy, of uprightness for the charges that they dispense, of zeal for the glory of my father, of crosses for transforming them into Me...

"It is necessary to pray, to cry out, to sacrifice and to immolate oneself, saying to my Father, through His Word, that these priestly souls may be opened, humbled, and enlarged to receive them.

"To the measure that this is done, my Father will be moved, the Holy Spirit will be felt in those sacerdotal hearts, and the rocks of many hearts will be burst open, and the portals of lukewarm priests will be opened and the hearts of fallen priests will react, and the tempted will turn their sights to heaven, and good priests will grow in virtues, in action and in unction, for receiving all this beneficial rain of gifts and of graces from the Holy Spirit which will transform them into ME.

"Then my Heart will rest from this weight of graces that I eagerly desire to spread in my beloved Church; in this way they will help me in the sanctification of priests, in the glorification of my beloved Father and they will thus console my Heart."

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.

St. Jean Vianney Encourages Eucharistic Adoration

"If we really loved the good God,

we should make it our joy and happiness

to come and spend a few moments to adore Him,

and ask Him for the grace of forgiveness;

and we should regard these moments

as the happiest of our lives."

~ St. Jean Vianney ~

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.

Mary: The Most Important Woman in the Life of a Priest

"Why are pulpits which resound with the Name of Christ, so silent about His Mother, who was chosen for such a dignity in the agelessness of eternity?

"...it was not the Church that made her important; it was Christ himself...she, of all creatures was closest to God. Without her as the key it is difficult to discover the treasures in the vault of Faith.

"God Who made the sun also made the moon. The moon does not take away from the brilliance of the sun...All its light is reflected from that glowing furnace. In like manner, Mary reflects her Divine Son...On dark nights we are grateful for the moon; when we see it shining we know there must be a sun. So, in this dark night of the world, when men turned their backs on Him Who is the Light of the World, we look to Mary to guide our feet while we await the sunrise.

"There must be a Woman in the life of a priest...When I was baptized as an infant, my mother laid me on the altar of the Blessed Mother...and consecrated me to her.

"I was drawn to her before I knew her, but never drawn to her without Christ. When I made my first Holy Communion...I made the conscious dedication of myself to Mary...words of my prayer...similar to the motto I chose for my coat of arms as bishop: Da per matrem me venire (Grant that I may come to Thee through Mary). My First Communion book...contained the Litany of the Blessed Virgin which I began reciting every night as a boy and have continued to this hour.

"The call to the priesthood was always in my mind; it was her intercession I sought, to make myself worthy and to be protected from great falls. While I was still in the first grade, a suggestion was made by a good nun that we put at the top of every page the initials J.M.J., standing for dedication to "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." In the course of my life, I have written tens of thousands of pages. I do not believe I ever set my pen or pencil to paper without first having put that seal of dedication on my work. The practice continued even automatically when I was on television and used a blackboard.

"When I was ordained, I took a resolution to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist every Saturday to the Blessed Mother, renewing my feeble love of her and invoking her intercession. All this makes me very certain that when I go before the Judgement Seat of Christ, He will say to me in His Mercy: "I heard My Mother speak of you."

~ Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, from Treasures in Clay ~

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.

The Apostleship of Prayer: Living a Eucharistic Life

Fr. James Kubicki, S.J. echoes the call of Pope Benedict XVI to live a Eucharistic life, joining every moment of our life to the perfect offering of Jesus on the Cross which is renewed at Mass every day. The goal of the Apostleship of Prayer is to help people live a Eucharistic life.

St. Therese's Daily Offering

Oh my God! I offer You all my actions of this day

for the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart, my every thought, my simplest works,

by uniting them to his infinite merits;

and I wish to make reparation for my sins

by casting them in the furnace of His merciful love.

Oh my God! I ask of You for myself and those dear to me

the grace to fulfill perfectly Your holy will,

to accept for love of you the joys and sorrows of this passing life,

so that one day we may be united together in Heaven for all eternity. Amen.

***

MORE DAILY OFFERING INFORMATION AND PRAYERS

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.

Kneeling Before God in the Eucharist

"Adoring the God of Jesus Christ,

who out of love made himself bread broken,

is the most effective and radical remedy

against the idolatry of the past and of the present.

Kneeling before the Eucharist is a profession of freedom:

those who bow to Jesus cannot and must not

prostrate themselves before any earthly authority, however powerful.

We Christians kneel only before God

or before the Most blessed Sacrament

because we know and believe that the one true God is present in it,

the God who created the world

and so loved it that he gave his Only Begotten Son (cf. Jn 3: 16)...

Adoration is prayer that prolongs the celebration and Eucharistic communion

and in which the soul continues to be nourished:

it is nourished with love, truth, peace;

it is nourished with hope,

because the One before whom we prostrate ourselves

does not judge us, does not crush us

but liberates and transforms us."

~ Pope Benedict XVI ~

Without Catholic priests there would be no Eucharist to be nourished and transformed by, or to kneel before in adoration. Please consider offering 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.

Fr. Mark Kirby: Prayer to St. Joseph for Priests

PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH FOR PRIESTS

O glorious Saint Joseph.

who, on the word of an angel speaking to you in the night,

put fear aside to take your Virgin Bride into your home,

show yourself today the advocate and protector of priests.

Protector of the Infant Christ,

defend them against every attack of the enemy,

preserve them from the dangers that surround them on every side.

Remember Herod's threats against the Child,

the anguish of the flight into Egypt by night,

and the hardships of your exile.

Stand by the accused;

stretch out your hand to those who have fallen;

comfort the fearful; forsake not the weak; and visit the lonely.

Let all priests know that in you

God has given them a model of faith in the night,

obedience in adversity, chastity in tenderness, and hope in uncertainty.

You are the terror of demons

and the healer of those wounded in spiritual combat.

Come to the defense of every priest in need;

overcome evil with good.

Where there are curses, put blessings,

where harm has been done, do good.

Let there be joy for the priests of the Church,

and peace for all under your gracious protection.

Amen.

~ Prayer by Father Mark Kirby ~

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.

Catholic Priest Military Chaplains

The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, has this to say about the priests who volunteer to be military chaplains:

The days are long. It can be lonely. Yet if you talk to most any of the priest-chaplains in the military, they will tell you they would not trade this ministry for any other. The rewards are great. The support of the people in the military is there. They are open to spiritual growth and willing to work hard for it. As the people in our military do the difficult work of protecting our freedom, Catholic chaplains walk beside them, providing the spiritual and emotional strength they need.

Don't bypass this Video on USA priest military chaplains if you want to be inspired to pray for them and for all of those who courageously serve our country in the armed forces.

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.

Priest Hero: Servant of God Fr. Vincent Capodanno

Servant of God Fr. Vincent Capodanno Cause for Canonization Website

40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 20: 219 babies saved

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.

Sweet Sacrament, We Thee Adore!

JESUS, MY LORD, MY GOD, MY ALL

Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all!

How can I love Thee as I ought?

And how revere this wondrous gift,

So far surpassing hope or thought?

Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore.

O make us love Thee more and more!

O make us love Thee more and more!

Had I but Mary's sinless heart

With which to love Thee, dearest King,

O with what bursts of fervent praise,

Thy goodness, Jesus, would I sing!

Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore.

O make us love Thee more and more!

O make us love Thee more and more!

O, see, within a creature's hand,

The vast Creator deigns to be,

Reposing infant-like, as though

On Joseph's arm, on Mary's knee.

Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore.

O make us love Thee more and more!

O make us love Thee more and more!

Thy Body, Soul, and Godhead, all!

O mystery of love divine!

I cannot compass all I have,

For all Thou hast and art are mine!

Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore.

O make us love Thee more and more!

O make us love Thee more and more!

Sound, sound His praise higher still,

And come, ye angels, to our aid;

'Tis God, 'tis God, the very God,

Whose power both man and angels made.

Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore.

O make us love Thee more and more!

O make us love Thee more and more!

~ Written by Fr. Frederick William Faber ~

40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 19: Watching God at work

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.

Praying Rosary Leads to Fr. John Corapi's Conversion

Father John Corapi's dramatic conversion story is another example of the power of Our Blessed Mother's intercession. Before his conversion, Fr. Corapi fell to the depths of cocaine addiction and ended up living on the streets. This was a sharp fall from living in the fast lane and hobnobbing with the rich and famous. In desperation he began to pray the Rosary. He credits the Blessed Mother with leading him back to Jesus and the Catholic Church. After his conversion, he became a Catholic priest and has been God's instrument to inspire and convert many others.

40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 18: never give up

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.

St. Jean Vianney: The Power of Sacrifice

When St. Jean Marie Vianney, a simple and humble priest, was assigned to the parish at Ars, he faced the challenge of spiritually renewing parishioners addicted to drinking, excessive pleasure, blasphemy, impurity and not keeping holy the Lord's Day. His first and abiding strategy for their conversion was prayer, especially before the Blessed Sacrament, where he poured out his heart to Jesus, begging on behalf of the people entrusted to his care. He pleaded for the strength to give more to God and for the grace of suffering for their conversion: "My God, I consent to suffer all that You may wish for all my life...for a hundred years...and the most bitter suffering, but convert them...".

In those early days at Ars, St. Jean slept on the hard floor, ate only enough to sustain life, and slept very little. He said of the devil, "That which beats him is the curtailment of one's food, drink, and sleep. There is nothing the devil fears more; consequently, nothing is more pleasing to God..it happened at times that I refrained from food for entire days. On those occasions I obtained, both for myself and for others, whatsoever I asked of Almighty God...I spent a good part of the night in the church; there were not so many people to confess, and the good God granted me extraordinary graces."

Only God knows how many souls were stolen from the devil through St. Jean Vianney's life of deep prayer, penitential practices, and many sufferings. Is it any wonder that the Holy Spirit inspired that he be chosen as patron and role model for priests? This humble priest, who was criticized and belittled by many brother priests, has been elevated to Sainthood and as patron of all priests, but we know little of those who thought they were better than St. Jean.

St. Jean's extraordinary sacrifices, effective for helping to save souls, are possibly not appealing to most of today's Christians. Could it be that many, or most, Christians remain in the stage of spiritual infancy, wanting more to receive than to give back to God, wanting to be coddled more than to contribute? St. Jean Vianney had progressed to spiritual maturity where he desired always to give more, no matter what the cost to him personally. There is a price to pay for the sanctification of souls, just as Jesus paid for our salvation with His suffering and death; and St. Jean was willing to pay it.

40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 17: What does God have in store?

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.

St. Jean Vianney's Love for Jesus in the Eucharist

St. Jean Vianney, formerly patron of parish priests and recently proclaimed patron of all priests by Pope Benedict XVI, was born and raised in a small, poor village in France. Despite having educational disadvantages that made it difficult to study for the priesthood, and despite suffering the humiliations involved in lagging behind his fellow students, St. Jean was ordained to the priesthood.

St. Jean's first assignment as pastor was at Ars, a very small, poor, village whose few inhabitants were indifferent to religion, but were absorbed in worldly pleasures. It is doubtful that any other priests envied him his assignment. St. Jean walked about nineteen miles to reach Ars. Upon entering the parish boundary, he knelt and prayed before continuing on to his new home.

St. Jean wasted no time in becoming acquainted with his parishioners. He was quickly able to discern the spiritual impoverishment of his people. He had no disadvantages when it came to what was most important in being a good pastor of souls. When a neighbor man satisfied his curiosity as to what the pastor was doing at church so early every morning, he discovered St. Jean prostrate on the floor or kneeling with outstretched hands groaning and weeping in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, begging God to convert His people of Ars.

Through his example and preaching, St. Jean inspired his parishioners to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion frequently, and to make visits to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, knowing that love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is a powerful means of spiritual renewal. He was known for his ardent love of Jesus in the Eucharist, and when his people needed him they knew where to find him, because he was usually in church. Some of his sentiments about our Eucharistic Lord follow:

"...if we had the eyes of angels with which to see Our lord Jesus Christ Who is here present on this altar and who is looking at us...how we should love Him!"

"What happiness do we not feel in the Presence of God when we feel ourselves alone at His feet before the Holy tabernacle!"

"How pleasing to Him is the short quarter of an hour that we steal from our occupations from something of no use to come and pray to Him, to visit Him, to console Him for all the outrages He receives!"

AN APPEAL FOR ONE HOUR OF EUCHARISTIC ADORATION FOR PRIESTS

40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 16: Action needed; 40 Days for Life under attack!

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.

The Power of the Rosary

When Our Lady of the Rosary appeared to three little children at Fatima, Portugal in 1917, Lucia, the oldest of the children was only 10 years old. Her two little cousins, Francisco and Jacinta, were told by Our Lady that they would go to heaven soon, but Lucia would have to wait a while longer. She became a religious sister and lived a life of prayer and sacrifice, as requested by Our lady, until her death in 2005. Regarding the praying of the Rosary, Sr. Lucia said:

"Let people say the Rosary every day. Our Lady stated that repeatedly in all her apparitions, as if to fortify us against these times of diabolical disorientation so that we would not allow ourselves to be deceived by false doctrines."

"The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Holy Rosary. She has given this efficacy to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal, or above all, spiritual in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary."

IMPORTANCE OF THE ROSARY FOR PRIESTS

40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 15: Overcoming the darkness

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.

Priest Hero: Servant of God Fr. Emil J. Kapaun

Catholic Americans have loved and had special devotion to favorite saints from among the thousands who have been officially canonized by the Church. Very few of those saints have been USA born and raised.

Speaking as an American Catholic, this Year of the Priest is a meaningful time to focus on the American Catholic priests whose causes for canonization have been submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. There have been, and still are, countless holy American Catholic priests, unsung heroes, who quietly and faithfully serve without expectation of special honors. However, the possible canonization of American priests can only be a source of encouragement and joy to them.

Servant of God Fr. Emil Kapaun, born and raised in Kansas, served as a U.S. Army Chaplain during the Korean War. Those who served with him have testified to his heroism under fire and as a prisoner of war in a North Korean prison camp. He died at age 35 from starvation and pneumonia, but not before he had saved many lives and ministered to the sick and wounded.

Lord Jesus, in the midst of the folly of war,

Your servant, Chaplain Emil Kapaun

spent himself in total service to You

on the battlefields and in the prison camps of Korea,

until his death at the hands of his captors.

We now ask You, Lord Jesus, if it be Your will,

to make known to all the world

the holiness of Chaplain Kapaun

and the glory of his complete sacrifice for You

by signs of miracles and peace.

In Your name, Lord, we ask,

for You are the source of peace,

the strength of our service to others,

and our final hope.

Amen.

Canonization Cause Website

40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 14: The Tide is Turning

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.

The Value of Suffering

Jesus revealed to St. Faustina His desire for priests to proclaim His mercy, and taught her the value of sufferings offered for priests:

"Tell My priests that hardened sinners will repent on hearing their words, when they speak about My unfathomable mercy, about the compassion I have for them in My Heart. To priests who will proclaim and extol My mercy, I will give wondrous power, and I will anoint their words and touch the hearts of those to whom they will speak."

IN ORDER TO OBTAIN GRACES FOR PRIESTS, JESUS ASKED ST. FAUSTINA TO UNITE HER PRAYERS, FASTS, MORTIFICATIONS, LABORS AND ALL SUFFERINGS TO HIS OWN.

One time she offered to suffer for a priest that our Lord revealed to her was in danger of committing a mortal sin. Jesus accepted her offer, and St. Faustina suffered the pain of a crown of thorns piercing her head for three hours in order for the priest to be strengthened to resist the temptation.

Another time, St. Faustina said: "I have offered this day for priests. I have suffered more today than ever before, both interiorly and exteriorly. I did not know it was possible to suffer so much in one day. I tried to make a Holy Hour, in the course of which my spirit had a taste of the bitterness of the Garden of Gethsemane. I am fighting alone, supported by His arm, against all the difficulties that face me like unassailable walls. But I trust in the power of His name and I fear nothing."

One day, St. Faustina's response to a priest's request for prayers was to ask Jesus to bestow upon her all the external and spiritual sufferings the priest would have had to suffer during that particular day. Her prayer was answered at once with all sorts of trials that appeared out of nowhere and which were offered in silence on behalf of the priest. The sufferings of that day, including interior sufferings, eventually brought her to tears. Our Lord's response was:

"...why are you weeping? After all, you yourself offered to undertake these sufferings. Know that what you have taken upon yourself for that soul is only a small portion. He is suffering much more." When St. Faustina questioned why the priest was being treated like that, she said:

"The Lord answered me that it was for the triple crown meant for him: that of virginity, the priesthood and martyrdom. At that moment a great joy flooded my soul at the sight of the great glory that is going to be his in heaven. Right away I said the Te Deum for this special grace of God; namely, of learning how God treats those he intends to have close to Himself. Thus, all sufferings are nothing in comparison with what awaits us in heaven."

40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY DAY 13: 123 BABIES SAVED ...SO FAR!

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.

Altar Boys and Vocations to the Priesthood

"The altar boy serves the priest. He would be an apprentice, either in a real or symbolic way, for the priesthood." These are the words of Fr. Jerry Pokorsky in an excellent article from National Catholic Register posted on a newly discovered informative blog devoted to Roman Catholic 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.

Queen of Heaven's Powerful Intercession for Father Steven Scheier

The words of the Holy Trinity to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the time of her Coronation in heaven were revealed to Venerable Mary of Agreda (1602-1665): "...We make Thee the Depository of our riches, the Treasurer of our goods; We place into thy hands the helps and blessings of our graces for distribution; nothing do We wish to be given to the world, which does not pass through thy hands; and nothing do We deny, which Thou wishest to concede to men. Grace shall be diffused in thy lips for obtaining all that Thou wishest and ordainest in heaven and on earth, and everywhere shall angels and men obey thee; because whatever is ours shall be thine, just as Thou hast always been ours; and Thou shalt reign with Us forever."

The Queen of Heaven is also our Mother, always lovingly attentive to the needs of her children. Her powers of intercession are shown in a dramatic way in the true story of Father Steven Scheier who, admittedly, had not had a devotion to her. However, in 1985, while suffering from critical injuries sustained in an automobile accident, Father Scheier kept repeating the Hail Mary as best he could.

In a televised interview with Mother Angelica on EWTN, Father Scheier revealed very personal details about his escape from death and eternal damnation through the intercession of our Blessed Mother. If you've never heard his story, and even if you have, it is well worth hearing. His story clearly shows the need priests have of our prayers and sacrifices. Father Scheier said, "I learned my lesson, but it took Him breaking my neck and the threat of eternal damnation just to get my attention, but I would go through the same thing...I would never want to go back to the way I was--ever!"

DO NOT BYPASS THIS VIDEO IF YOU WANT TO HEAR FATHER SCHEIER'S UNFORGETTABLE STORY IN HIS OWN WORDS!

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.

Jesus Asks For Chaplet of Divine Mercy

"Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you (1541). Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death (687). When they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person,not as the just judge but as the Merciful Savior (1541). Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy (687). I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy (687). Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will (1731).

~ Jesus to St. Faustina, from her Diary ~

PLEASE PRAY FOR UNBORN FUTURE PRIESTS

40 DAYS FOR LIFE: DAY 10: DEFENDING THE TRUTH

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.

St. Therese: The Vocation To Love

The heart of St. Therese was filled with fervent desires to be not only a mother of souls in her vocation as a Carmelite, but to be, "...a warrior, a priest, an apostle, a doctor of the Church, a martyr--there is no heroic deed I do not wish to perform. I feel as daring as a crusader, ready to die for the Church upon the battlefield." Her unfulfilled desires became a martyrdom to her within the confines of her convent walls until she was inspired and consoled by the words of St Paul in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, Chapter 13, about the excellence of love above all other gifts and virtues.

"As I thought about the Church's mystical body, I could not see myself in any of the members mentioned by St. Paul, or rather, I wanted to see myself in all of them. Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I saw that if the Church was a body made up of different members, the most essential and important one of all would not be lacking; I saw that the Church must have a heart, that this heart must be on fire with love. I saw that it was love alone which moved her other members, and were this love to fail, apostles would no longer spread the Gospel, and martyrs would refuse to shed their blood. I saw that all vocations are summed up in love, and that love is all in all, embracing every time and place because it is eternal.

"In a transport of ecstatic joy I cried: 'Jesus, my love, I have found at last my vocation; it is love. I have found my place in the Church's heart, the place You Yourself have given me, my God. Yes, there in the heart of Mother Church, I will be love; so shall I be all things, so shall my dreams come true.' "

St. Therese, pray for priests and pray for us!

PRAY FOR UNBORN FUTURE PRIESTS

40 DAYS FOR LIFE DAY 9: THANKS TO ALL FIRST-TIMERS

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.