Fathers of Mercy: Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!

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.

Alter Christus: St. Jean Vianney and Priests

"Let us pray for all priests.Let us pray that in dioceses, parishes, religious and especially monastic communities, in associations and movements, an increase of prayer initiatives and in particular in Eucharistic Adoration for the sanctification of the clergy and for priestly vocations, in response to Jesus' invitation to pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest."

~ 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.

The Interior Cross of the Heart of Jesus

"I wish that above all, there be honored the interior sufferings of My Heart, sufferings undergone from My Incarnation to the Cross and which are mystically prolonged in My Eucharist. These sufferings are still unsuspected by the world. Nonetheless I declare to you that, from the first moment of My Incarnation, the Cross already planted in My Heart, overburdened Me and the thorns penetrated it. The blow struck by the lance might have been some solace causing to gush from My Side a volcano of love and of suffering but I did not consent to that until after My death. I only receive ingratitude. That is why My Heart overflowing with tenderness will ever feel the thorns of the Cross. In heaven, as God, I cannot suffer. To find this Cross which above did not exist, I descended into this world and became man. As God-Man, I could suffer infinitely to pay the price of the salvation of so many souls. During my life, I never desired anything except the Cross, and ever the Cross, wanting to show the world that which is the sole wealth and happiness on earth, the currency which will buy an eternal happiness."

"I only remained on the Cross of Calvary for three hours, but on the interior Cross of My Heart, my whole life...These sufferings remained hidden during My life. I smiled, I labored. Only My Mother was aware of this martyrdom which crushed My loving Heart. My external Passion lasted but a few hours. It was like a gentle dew, a comfort for the other Passion, terribly cruel, which tortured ceaselessly My soul!" (Diary, Sept. 25, 1894).

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida,
from Conchita A Mothers's Spiritual Diary ~

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 Prayer for Priests: Your Heart Today

A video of a prayer for priests adapted by the the Diocese of Legazpi in the Philippines, on the occasion of the Year for Priests (2009-2010), featuring the presbyterium of the diocese in their various ministries. The soundtrack is Your Heart Today by Fr. Manoling Francisco, S. J.

YOUR HEART TODAY

Where there is fear I can allay
Where there is pain I can heal
Where there are wounds I can bind
And hunger I can fill

REFRAIN:
Lord, grant me courage
Lord, grant me strength
Grant me compassion
That I may be Your heart today

Where there is hate I can confront
Where there are yokes I can release
Where there are captives I can free
And anger I can appease (REFRAIN)

BRIDGE:
When comes the day I dread
To see our broken world
Compel me from my cell grown cold
That Your people I may behold

Where there is fear I can allay
Where there is pain I can heal
Where there are wounds I can bind
And hunger I can fill (REFRAIN)

And when I’ve done all that I could
Yet there are hearts I cannot move
Lord, give me hope
That I may be Your heart today

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 Sacrifice of Priesthood and the Brotherhood of Priests

From Fr. Gordon MacRae:

“I’m serving a sentence of 67 years when I could have left prison in less than three.” Barring some intervention, I will leave prison at age 108 for standing by the truth when I could have left at age 44 had I been willing to lie.”

"It is a truth of which I no longer have any doubt: This life and this priesthood are not all about me. It is not about my happiness, my security, my hopes, or my dreams. It is about God’s own plan for truth, sacrifice, and “justice, justice, justice,” and I am but an instrument in that plan."

"There is no score in this symphony I can write that is in any way distinctive. I play not a single note of suffering, sacrifice, and surrender that has not been played before and will not be played again. And if it follows that I would not be in prison today if I was not a priest – and I believe it does – then this imprisonment is not all about me either."

"... Yes, I would still be a priest – God help me! – and no, I would never, ever take the deal. Not ever."

"We live in a culture in which terms like “commitment,” “sacrifice,” and “truth” are seen by many as malleable concepts. This certainly isn’t so for Father Joseph Coffey, a U.S. Navy chaplain serving the spiritual needs of thousands of Marine, Army, and NATO forces in Afghanistan."

"Father Joseph Coffey is courageously living the sacrifice of priesthood. In his letter, he asked for prayers for the Marines and others under his care. 'I’ll keep doing my best,' he wrote."

"Father Joe Coffey has asked for my prayers, and I sacrifice a day in prison each week for him and for those he comes in contact with each day whether American, British or Afghani. Whenever I am tempted to let the bitterness of captivity be the sole measure of my life and priesthood, I think of Father Joe. I have never even met this man, and yet through These Stone Walls our lives and our priesthood are inexplicably linked. God help me if I shirk that duty of prayer and sacrifice."

~ Read Fr. MacRae's entire blog post here. ~

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.

Critical Need of: Respect for Priests, Eucharistic Adoration and Rosary for and by Priests

"Francis always showed great deference towards priests, and asserted that they should always be treated with respect, even in cases where they might be somewhat unworthy personally. The reason he gave for this profound respect was that they receive the gift of consecrating the Eucharist. Dear brothers in the priesthood, let us never forget this teaching: the holiness of the Eucharist appeals to us to be pure, to live in a way that is consistent with the Mystery we celebrate."

~ Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience 1/27/10 ~

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE TEARS 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 Priests: The Promises Priests Make at Ordination

"For the Eucharistic Priest, everything is possible."

~ Bishop Carl Mengeling ~

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.

Bl. Mary Magdalene of the Incarnation: Foundress, Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament

From the Vatican website:

"Caterina Sordini was born on 16 April 1770 at Grosseto, Italy, the fourth of nine children born into a deeply Catholic family. When she was 17 her father arranged for her to marry a maritime merchant. At first she was against it, but later complied with her father's wishes. The young man gave her a casket of jewels and, having adorned herself, turned to admire her reflection in the mirror but saw the image of the Crucified Christ who asked: "Do you want to leave me for another?"

"She took the question seriously and in February 1788 visited the Franciscan Tertiary Monastery in Ischia di Castro. Caterina entered then and there, thus shocking her father who had thought it was merely a visit. She was clothed six months later, taking the name of Sr Mary Magdalene of the Incarnation.

"On 19 February 1789, she fell into ecstasy and saw a vision of "Jesus seated on a throne of grace in the Blessed Sacrament, surrounded by virgins adoring him" and heard him telling her: "I have chosen you to establish the work of perpetual adorers who, day and night, will offer me their humble adoration...". Thus, she was called to become a foundress and to spend her life adoring Jesus in the Eucharist. In that turbulent period for the Church she set an example to all."

A recent article from the Catholic Anchor, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska, tells of a small community of Sisters of Perpetual Adoration who follow their foundress in a life of perpetual Eucharistic adoration:

They are members of the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, a cloistered religious order that was first established in 1807 in France by Blessed Mary Magdalene of the Incarnation. The order operates 85 monasteries worldwide — all are dedicated to the perpetual adoration of the Eucharistic Christ.

Focused on Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, each nun spends her life praying and sacrificing for the good of the church and the salvation of souls.

The religious order locates its monasteries in cities in order to provide people access to the Blessed Sacrament for veneration. So, the Anchorage monastery’s chapel is open to the public every day, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., for Eucharistic adoration. Visitors kneel adoring Christ in the consecrated host, exposed in a large, bronze monstrance, while in another section of the chapel, the nuns take turns in adoration from behind the cloister grille.

But even while performing daily chores or praying elsewhere in the monastery the nuns strive to continually focus on the Blessed Sacrament.

“I like to always stay before the Blessed Sacrament in my mind or body,” explained Mother Maria.

That means constant communication with God every day — while she is waking at 5:15 a.m., reciting the Divine Office and rosary with the congregation, resting in her cell, and reading the pope’s statements in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.

Mother Maria believes those outside the monastery walls can pray in a similar way.

“Think of God and want what he wants,” she urged. “God is center” at the monastery, she added, but “we all have the same center – God.”

~ Read the entire article from Catholic Anchor here. ~

~ Visit the Anchorage Sisters of Perpetual Adoration website here. ~

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.

Pope Benedict XVI: Priests Are a Gift of Grace

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 and the Priesthood of Christ

"In her heart reverberated all that Jesus suffered in body and soul,
emphasizing her willingness to share in her Son's redeeming sacrifice...
and to join her own maternal suffering to His priestly offering."

~ 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.

St. Francis of Assisi Pleads for Reverence and Honor for Jesus in the Eucharist

"Kissing your feet, I implore you all my brothers, and with the utmost affection I beseech you to show the greatest possible reverence and honor to the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . Consider your dignity O Brothers who are priests, and be holy because He is holy . . . It is a great misfortune and a miserable fault to have Him thus near you, and to be thinking of anything else. Let the whole man be seized with dread; let the whole world tremble; let the heavens exult when Christ, the Son of the living God, is on the altar in the hands of the priest. O amazing splendor and astounding condescension! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! The Master of the universe, God Himself and Son of God humbles Himself so far as to hide Himself for our salvation under the feeble appearance of bread! See brothers the humility of God . . . keep nothing of yourselves for yourselves, so that He may possess you entirely, who has given Himself wholly for you."

~ St. Francis of Assisi ~

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. Philomena's Intercession for St. Jean Vianney

St. John Vianney, beyond any other Saint or Blessed, manifested an expansive testimony of faith and documented witness toward the reality of St. Philomena and her profound intercessory efficacy. The CurÉ, as recorded in the canonization process, attributed all the miracles documented at Ars to have been affected through Saint Philomena’s intercession; repeatedly spoke of having received apparitions of St. Philomena; and directly attributed his own personal miraculous cure from grave illness to her intercession.

~ From the Universal Living Rosary Association ~

Learn more about St. Jean Vianney's special intercessor, St. Philomena, here.

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 Echaristic adoration for priests. Amen.

Practicing the Golden Rule Toward Priests

"...Only Jesus could know the true depths of the emotional experiences of a priest. A priest tries to do Jesus’ work, and he gets rejected and persecuted because of it. A priest tries to bring people closer to Jesus, and he is distressed at their indifference. A priest calls his people to conversion, and few respond...If it saddens the heart of a priest to see how indifferent so many people are toward their salvation – and believe me, it does – how much more does it sadden the Sacred Heart of Jesus?

"Of course, we all know that there have been some priests who have abused their positions and have hurt people in the process. The most extreme cases caused a huge scandal in the year 2002 – a scandal that caused sadness and embarrassment for all Catholics, priests and laity alike. I make no excuses for those who have betrayed the trust of others. It is true that priests remain human, and are subject to the same faults and foibles as anyone else, but even this fact is no excuse for the most egregious violations of trust. In this regard, an insight from St. Francis de Sales may be helpful. He said that a priest who gives scandal is guilty of spiritual murder, but that anyone who takes scandal is guilty of spiritual suicide. In other words, we as faithful Catholics must be able to look past the human failings of our priests, no matter how serious those failings may be, and remain close to the one true Church that Jesus founded. It is NOT the fault of Holy Mother Church that Her priests commit sins; the responsibility for those sins belongs to the priest alone. Anyone who would leave the Church because of the actions of a priest would deny himself access to the one necessary and complete channel of graces that leads to everlasting life.

"If you read the stories of those saints who were priests, you will discover quickly that many of them were all too human. Just start with the apostles, the first priests: they argued among themselves about which of them was the greatest, while they were still in the presence of Jesus. St. Damien of Molokai was coarse and rough in manner; Padre Pio, at times, was abrupt and impatient; St. Nicholas had a quick temper; and St. Jerome’s sarcasm was legendary. Today, we might shy away from priests who have such qualities, but these qualities did not keep these priests from getting to Heaven. Perhaps, at times, God makes use of a priest’s impatience, short temper, coarseness, or sarcasm to prick the consciences of the people, and to make them realize their need to reform. Surely a priest needs to strive for perfection, but while he’s doing that, be patient with his imperfections. God may be using them for your benefit.

"If you want to know what you should do for your priests...treat your priest the way that you would like him to treat you. Support him; give him the benefit of the doubt; trust him; understand and accept his limitations; and, most importantly, pray for him. In this matter, St. Therese of Lisieux gives us an excellent example. She wrote about making a pilgrimage to Rome in the company of many saintly priests; and yet, it was during that pilgrimage that she saw, by their conduct, how much priests need prayers. How much easier would it have been if St. Therese had simply recounted and criticized their offenses! Yet she chose the high road instead. She didn’t give even a hint as to the kinds of things that the priests did; she just started praying for them, and continued for the rest of her life.

"When you think of the high calling that the priesthood is – that the priest is called to be another Christ and to continue the most important work that Jesus did – then you will understand quickly how badly priests need prayers, because they are bound to fall short. How can our Lord fail to give a favorable hearing to prayers offered for men whom He Himself has called to the priesthood? Perhaps there’s some real wisdom in the quip that, sometimes, makes its way around the Internet: “If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.”

~ Fr. Richard Libby, Pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Alice, Texas ~

Thanks to Fr. Libby for sharing his thoughts and for Fr. Farfaglia for posting Fr. Libby's reflections on his blog! To read Fr. Libby's entire article, click here.

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.

Lenten Advice From Good Shepherds

"I have decided not to let this Lent go by

like rain on stones,

leaving no trace.

I will let it soak into me, changing me.

I will be converted,

I will turn again to the Lord

and love him as he wants to be loved."

~ St. Josemaria Escriva ~

This quote and his homily on preparing for Lent shared by Fr. S on Clerical Reform

From Fr. Thomas Euteneuer-- excerpt from Don't Waste Lent:

"... go for high spiritual impact. That is, identify and practice faithfully just one really magnificent goal for your personal conversion this Lent. I say conversion and not "personal improvement" lest anyone interpret the call to spiritual discipline as a chance to lose weight or quit smoking! What Lent demands of us is to look into our vicious, slothful and petty nature and challenge it with the full prophetic force of the Gospel. A well-intentioned person who stacks up a dozen goals for personal change but accomplishes few or none of them is not a better person at the end of Lent. He is more scattered, less disciplined and under a the illusion of false piety thinking that he is doing something holy by multiplying activities without transforming his heart. In contrast, the one who targets his habit of petty backbiting with a shock-and-awe campaign of generosity toward those he finds disagreeable is the one who receives a blessing from the Lord because he acts like John the Baptist who Jesus said "took the Kingdom by storm." Any mature person will know that a single, firm and effective intention to convert one's heart is worth more than a thousand acts of superficial piety."

Read Fr. Euteneuer's complete message, Don't Waste Lent,--here.

From Fr. James Farfaglia--excerpts from Getting Ready for Lent:
"...each person should commit themselves to giving up something or a number of things. This sacrifice should be serious and demanding. The self-control that we exercise in giving up a legitimate pleasure strengthens our will and curbs the inclinations of our passions.

"...each one should also do some kind of act that we would not normally do on a regular basis. Attending daily Mass, visiting the sick, volunteering time at the parish or praying a Sunday evening Rosary with the entire family are positive acts of virtue that have helped many people progress in their relationship with God.

"Lenten practices of penance have great benefits for our spiritual lives. A serious Lent will be like a spring cleaning which will purify the clutter that has accumulated in our souls. A serious commitment to penance will also help us to conquer addictions, obsessions and compulsive behavior. A serious Lent will purify our soul and allow us to experience a deeper interior freedom.

"As we approach the beginning of another Lent, we should carefully examine our lives. Usually we focus on carefully examining our sins, but do we ever consider the sins of omission? Do we honestly consider what we are not doing? "

Read Fr. Farfaglia's complete blog post, Getting Ready for Lent, here.

Fr. John Bartunek, LC --here.

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 True and Perfect Sacrifice

"The priest who imitates that which Christ did,

truly takes the place of Christ,

and offers there in the Church

a true and perfect sacrifice to God the Father."

~ St. Cyprian, 258 A.D. ~

Highlights of the 2009 Priest Ordinations

at St. Marys Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, Oregon.

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. Jerabek's Lenten Reading Plans

Many thanks to Fr. Jerabek of Huntsville, Alabama for the time and effort put into compiling and making available four Lenten reading plans--collections of readings for every day during Lent. Readers can choose from these reading plans: Church Fathers, Lives of the great Saints, St. John Vianney, or Fr. Faber and Cardinal Newman.

I hope you will take the time to look over the readings that Fr. Jerabek has offered for readers' spiritual enrichment during Lent. One of them might be just what the Holy Spirit is suggesting for your own personal spiritual growth.

Thanks to Jane from Spiritual Mothers of Priests (who lives in France) for drawing attention to this Lenten reading plan of Fr. Jerabek from the USA that she learned about from UK's Fr. Tim Finigan, of The Hermeneutic of Continuity.

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 One Hour of Prayer

"Make Reparation for the ingratitude of men.

Spend an hour in prayer to appease divine justice,

to implore mercy for sinners,

to honor Me,

to console Me for My bitter suffering when abandoned by My Apostles,

when they did not WATCH ONE HOUR WITH ME."

~ Jesus to St. Margaret Mary ~

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. Bernadette: Eucharist and the Rosary

"The Eucharist bathes the tormented soul in light and love."

~ St. Bernadette Soubirous ~

"Mostly [St.] Bernadette's thoughts were fixed beyond this earth. 'During her long nights,' reported Canon Perreau, 'she used to say the Rosary.' At other times she placed herself as it were in adoration before the Tabernacle. On her curtains had been fastened the picture of a monstrance. 'I am happy in my sleepless hours,' she confided to Mother Audidier, 'uniting myself with our Lord. One glance at this picture gives me the longing and strength to immolate myself, when I am feeling my loneliness and my pains.'"

~ From Saint Bernadette Soubirous by Francis Trochu ~

Learn more about the appearances of Our Lady of Lourdes here.

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 adoratio for priests. Amen.

Bishop Jerome Listecki: Special Moments of Ordination Rite

"One of the most impressive aspects of the ordination rite is after the bishop imposes hands, which is the conferral of the sacrament itself. Priests who are present for the ordination are invited to also impose hands as a sign of solidarity with the bishop and the newly ordained. To view the priests of the diocese and visiting clerics impose hands is a wondrous sight. I watched as the priests, many of whom I know personally, opened their priesthood to these newly ordained. They would now share in the sacrifice, build His Church and contribute to the priestly tradition of the Diocese of La Crosse and of the universal Church. In my own recollection of that moment in my ordination, over 600 priests imposed hands, and that part of the ceremony took nearly an hour. I personally felt the blessing of my brother priests, and I pray that our newly ordained felt the same towards these men who so courageously serve the Church.

"Another special moment in the ceremony for me as the ordaining bishop is the reception of their first priestly blessing. I knelt before them and prayed that their priestly life might be as fruitful as mine, that the grace of the sacrament might enrich them every day of their lives, and that they may share generously the priesthood that has been given to them. At the end of the blessing, I kissed their hands, which, now anointed with sacred chrism, would offer the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and consecrate bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. These men are now representing Christ to the world. The first blessing of a priest is a privileged blessing and, as I finished the ceremony and returned to the sacristy, I viewed a number of family, friends and seminarians kneeling before the newly ordained and receiving a priestly blessing. I encourage all of you, should you encounter one of these newly ordained priests, to request his blessing. It’s a special time for the Church and their priestly life, and besides, a blessing is always welcomed."

~ Bishop Jerome Listecki, Diocese of La Crosse, WI ~

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.

Pope John Paul II Stresses the Importance of Eucharistic Adoration for Children

“I urge priests, religious and lay people to continue and redouble their efforts to teach the younger generations the meaning and value of Eucharistic adoration and devotion. How will young people be able to know the Lord if they are not introduced to the mystery of his presence? Like the young Samuel, by learning the words of the prayer of the heart, they will be closer to the Lord, who will accompany them in their spiritual and human growth, and in the missionary witness which they must give throughout their life. The Eucharistic mystery is in fact the "summit of evangelization" (Lumen Gentium, n. 28), for it is the most eminent testimony to Christ's Resurrection. All interior life needs silence and intimacy with Christ in order to develop. This gradual familiarity with the Lord will enable certain young people to be involved in serving as acolytes and to taking a more active part in Mass; for young boys, to be near the altar is also a privileged opportunity to hear Christ's call to follow him more radically in the priestly ministry.”

~ Pope John Paul II, May 28, 1996 ~

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

Trinitarians of Mary Pray and Sacrifice for Priests

From the Trinitarians of Mary website:

The Trinitarians of Mary are a Roman Catholic community of women who lead a non-cloistered Contemplative Life of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration and Monastic Observance. Their special vocation is to give their lives in prayer and sacrifice in support of Catholic Priests.

As spiritual mothers we accept every priest with unconditional love and seek to become channels of grace for their sanctification. We strive to make each of our Monasteries an oasis of peace and a place of prayerful encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist. It is our hope that each priest who visits be renewed in the joy of their vocation in the midst of a demanding ministry.

Our Contemplative life is rooted in the perpetual adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist.

The personal prayer of each sister is marked by the hours she spends at the Lord’s feet in solitary adoration before the Blessed Sacrament exposed.

He is our pearl of great price, our hidden treasure, and the one thing necessary that gives meaning to our consecration."

Twenty-four hours a day, the sisters adore Our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Each sister has between 1-2 hours a day and 1-2 hours a night of solitary Eucharistic Adoration.

We strive to make our monasteries “Eucharistic Centers” where people may come and share in our life of adoration.

Visit the Trinitarians of Mary here.

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.

Msgr. Charles Pope: A Soldier in the Army of the Lord

"I suppose there are many ways of seeing my priesthood. But most powerfully I see myself as a soldier in the army of the Lord. The battle today is fierce. We live in a world increasingly hostile to our holy faith and the teachings of the Church. And the call must go out as never before: The Church needs good men to be priests, strong and courageous. Men who will speak the truth in love, clearly and without compromise and celebrate the sacraments with devotion and faith. Men who know that the eternal salvation of many is dependent on them being zealous priests after God’s own heart. Men who by the grace of God are willing to fight for souls in the battle that matters most.

"So there it is men. The Lord is looking for good men to engage the great battle for souls. And there’s an old saying, “If you find a good fight…get in it!”

~ For Msgr. Pope's entire article, click here. ~

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. Walter Ciszek: Appreciation for the Holy Eucharist

Servant of God Fr. Walter Ciszek was born in Pennsylvania, became a Jesuit priest and volunteered to be sent to Russia as a missionary. He entered Russia in 1939, was arrested in 1941 as a Vatican spy and suffered in prison and at hard labor until 1955. In his book, He Leadeth Me, Fr. Ciszek wrote:

“Sometimes I think that those who have never been deprived of an opportunity to say or hear Mass do not really appreciate what a treasure the Mass is” (pg. 122).

“Mass and the Blessed Sacrament were a source of great consolation to me; they were the source of my strength and joy and spiritual sustenance”(pg. 132).

From the Walter Ciszek Prayer League:
"... for the first time in five years he met another priest and was able to say Mass. Polish prisoners had made wine out of stolen raisins, the paten was a cover for a gold watch, the chalice was a shot glass. "But my joy at being able to celebrate Mass again cannot be described. . . . I heard confessions regularly and from time to time was even able to distribute Communion secretly after I'd said Mass. The experience gave me new strength. I could function as a priest again, and I thanked God daily for the opportunity to work among this hidden flock, consoling and comforting men who had thought themselves beyond His grace."

(Above quotes from the official website for the Cause for Canonization of Servant of God Fr. Walter Ciszek, SJ)

Five months after Fr. Ciszek's return to the United States, he wrote: "... when I walked through St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, do you know what impressed me most? The few people, out of all the crowds streaming by, who came in through those open doors to make a visit. I understand that my impression was not fair, that at noontime on a working day the church is jammed with office workers who take time out from their lunch hour to go to Mass and to Communion. At first glance religion here seems almost a formality, an obligation that can be dispensed with if you have been out late the night before.

"In Siberia, when I said Mass, people risked arrest to come; here, they risk nothing, neither do they always come. In Krasnoyarsk and Norilsk, when people learned a priest was in town or was saying Mass at such and such a place, they came for miles, bringing their children to be baptized, going to confession before Mass and then Communion during Mass, asking to have their marriages blessed after Mass, begging me to come and bless their homes or sing the panikida (a requiem service) for members of the family who had died. They came to huts, to barracks rooms, to private homes, and they risked their jobs, their union membership, their chance for an apartment or an education for their children. Having ministered to such faith, therefore, it was incredible to me to think that people here could look on Sunday Mass as an obligation, or the supporting of their parish and their school as a burden.

"I should repeat again that these were my first reactions, my impressions, and are not meant in any way as criticisms. I am only reporting what struck me when I first looked at America again. As a priest who had worked very hard to help people who were so eager just to be able to go to Mass, I could not help being struck, thunderstruck, at this initial impression of indifference to religion in a country where there was nothing to restrain its open practice. (Quotes from article written by Fr. Ciszek for America Magazine) .

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 Priesthood is for Real Men

TRAILER for The Award Winning Documentary on the Catholic Priesthood - Fishers of Men by Grassroots Films

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.

Join the Rosary for the Bishop Campaign Today!

Thanks to Catholics from Wisconsin for sharing a great idea to spiritually support our bishops! From their website we learn:

Rosary for the Bishop is a program which aims to show support for Catholic Bishops by maintaining an ongoing web-based spiritual bouquet.

The effort began at Christmas of 2005 in Madison Wisconsin as a Spiritual Bouquet for Bishop Robert Morlino. Lay Catholics from around the Diocese of Madison could sign up online to pray one rosary per month for the Bishop.

After two years, over 300 people were praying one Rosary per month for Bishop Morlino year-round, with at least five Rosaries being prayed every day.

At the end of 2009, the organizers of Madison's Rosary for the Bishop campaign, inspired by the success in Madison, decided to expand the program to all Dioceses in the United States. The Rosary for the Bishop website was overhauled to accommodate this change, as well as adding a number of new features, such as Twitter integration.

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It is easy to join this prayer initiative for our Catholic bishops. Don't delay. They need and deserve our prayer support. Maybe you already do pray for your bishop, but Rosary for the Bishop keeps count of the Rosaries promised and lets the bishops know how many are praying for them. Who isn't comforted and strengthened by the knowledge that others are supporting them in prayer--including bishops? Join today! It only takes a few minutes.

Update 2/8/10: Some bishops outside of the USA have now been included in the campaign. The organizers must be busy accommodating requests to include bishops from other countries. If you want your bishop included, submit a request, and then be sure to let people in your parish and diocese know about it so they can join the campaign!

For a good article about the campaign from CNA, click here.

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. Gordon MacRae: The Importance of Not Taking the Blessed Sacrament for Granted

Fr. Gordon MacRae's account of his heartbreaking experience in being denied the Mass, Holy Communion and opportunities for Eucharistic adoration is a valuable reminder and persuasive incentive to those of us who are free to experience the blessings he longed for. Some excerpts from Father MacRae's story follow:

"After fifteen years in prison, two remarkable things happened to me...The second, and most remarkable, is the ability to celebrate Mass weekly in my cell.

"For my first five years in prison, I was confined in a cell with seven other men...A priest came to the prison for Sunday Mass twice a month, but I never saw him. I was in a unit in the prison that did not have access to the prison Chapel and other programs. There is a sort of domino effect when prisoners claim to be wrongly convicted. My declaration of innocence rendered me ineligible for prison programs, and, by extension, for any hope for parole. It also rendered me ineligible for preferred prison housing in the general population.

"Late at night, after others would finally sleep, I would huddle in a corner of my bunk. There was not quite enough room to sit up straight because there was another steel bunk just above me. With my book light and a Roman Missal loaned to me by the chaplain, I would “celebrate” Mass surrounded by snoring prisoners. I know these were not valid Masses. I had no elements of bread or wine. All I had were the readings and prayers, and the yearning in my heart for Christ’s Presence in this cold, dark place. For five years, that spectral shell of the Mass was all that I had – that, and a single volume breviary from which I prayed the Divine Office each day.

"Toward the end of that first five years in prison, a new chaplain arrived, a Catholic deacon. A few weeks after his arrival, I was summoned to his office..I noticed a small wooden tabernacle on a shelf in the corner of the office...I noticed a small Sanctuary Lamp that was lit. I realized with a great jolt that the Blessed Sacrament was in the tabernacle in the deacon’s office. I felt overwhelmed, and tears came to my eyes. For the first time in over five years, I was in the Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

"Years ago as a young priest, I used to play racquetball early in the morning at a fitness center at which some friends gave me a membership. One of my occasional opponents was a local Protestant minister...the minister told me that he finds Catholics to be intriguing. 'If you truly believe that Christ is actually present in that tabernacle in your church,' he said, 'how can you just go about your day knowing that He is there?'

"His words stayed with me for many years. So many times as a priest, I took the Blessed Sacrament for granted. How many times had I passed by in the sanctuary, too busy to pause and ponder this living, enduring Presence in our midst? How many times had a busy day gone by without an hour spent in His Presence?

"I have come to know on a deeply personal level--through the force of sheer deprivation-- the importance of a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament. Many of you have commented here on These Stone Walls that you have devoted an hour of your Eucharistic Adoration for me. That means far more to me than you may know.

"It’s an understatement that “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” It is far more than that. My five year absence from Christ in the Eucharist had a more profound impact on me than did prison itself. It left me a spiritual barren wasteland, craving freedom not from stone walls and iron bars, but from the chasm of separation from the Church and Sacraments that many take for granted..."

To read more of Fr. MacRae's story, click here.

To learn about making a weekly holy hour with Father MacRae, visit his Spiritual Communion page.

(There is a link to Fr. McRae's blog on the sidebar for easy access to his site.)

~ 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. Josemaria Escriva's Fervent Love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

Bishop Javier Echevarría, now the Prelate of Opus Dei, recalls in the book Memoria del Beato Josemaría different ways in which Saint Josemaría showed his love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament:

He never went into any Church without greeting our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament first thing. He would spend a few moments recollected in prayer and renew his burning desire to keep Jesus company in every tabernacle in the world...in a large city when we went into the Cathedral...he started to look for our Lord all over the Cathedral, and finally found Him, after catching sight of a half-hidden sanctum lamp. He knelt down there and prayed. He told us afterwards that he had said: “Lord, I’m no better than anyone else, but I need to tell you that I love you with all my strength; and I beg you to hear me. I love you for all the people who come here and don’t tell you so. I love you for all the people who will ever come here and not tell you so.”

He never failed to tell people: “As often as you can, escape to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, to keep him company, even for just a few seconds. And tell him with all your soul that you love him, that you want to love him more, and that you love him for all the people on earth, including those who say they don’t love him.”

Saint Josemaría often insisted to Msgr. Alvaro del Portillo and myself that we should “never pass the tabernacle without telling our Lord that you love him with all your soul, that you want to cherish him in your hearts, that you thank him for his Real Presence in the tabernacle, where he consoles us and helps us with his strength.” And after making these recommendations, he added, “That’s what I do.”

With his passionate, all-consuming love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, he asked us, on 26 February 1970, “Unite yourselves to my constant prayer. I pray all day and at night as well. Unite yourselves to the Holy Mass I celebrate. Make many acts of faith and love in our Lord’s Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist. And make many acts of atonement. Tell our Lord that you love him with all your soul, that you don’t want to make him suffer, that you want to make reparation constantly.”

He recommended priests to keep the Blessed Sacrament company as much as they could. He wanted all of them to increase their devotion to the Eucharist, and he pointed out to them: “Don’t do it for your parishioners to see, but don’t worry if they do see you. If you are centered on our Lord, and people notice how you love him, they’ll ask you why, and then you can tell them about this love that should fill your whole life.”

...in 1958 he urged us: “We have to stress, to other people and to ourselves, that we should never leave him alone in his voluntary imprisonment in the tabernacle, the prison of love, where he has chosen to stay, hidden in the Host, defenceless, for you and for me.” And in 1962 he said: “For a long time now, every time I genuflect in front of the tabernacle, after adoring our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, I also thank the Angels, because they are continuously paying court to God."

... his devotion to the Eucharist also led him, during his last years, to increase his spirit of atonement. He was hungry to come into the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament to adore him, to keep him company, to make atonement, as he said in his humility, ‘for my own wretchedness and for the wretchedness of all mankind, so that he’s not left alone, now that in so many places our Lord finds himself unaccompanied, although all of us, everyone in the world, should be keeping him company.”

In 1960 Saint Josemaría spoke to us again about “the mystery of the Eucharist, where Jesus is the ‘Great Solitary One’ because people have left him alone. They know nothing about love, understanding or self-giving. How could they, if they refuse to go to the source! I am praying to our Lord that everyone, my daughters, my sons, and I myself, may learn how to treat Christ in the Eucharist. Go to him with faith, constantly, attentively. Our personal wretchedness doesn’t matter if we have the grace of God. The more we are aware of our weaknesses, the more we will feel the need for God in our lives."

~ Excerpts from here. ~

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 Wisdom of St. Jean Vianney

"Instead of raising your voice in the newspapers,

raise it before the door of the tabernacle."

~ St. John 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.