Fr. Mark Kirby: Spiritual Gifts for Priests

7. "And He said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting" (Mk 9:32). In reparation for the sins of priests and to obtain for them graces of conversion, deliverance from patterns of habitual sin, and fortitude in spiritual combat, you can fast, abstain, or offer some other mortification for priests every Wednesday. (Spy Wednesday was the day of Judas' plotting against Our Lord.)

8. On Thursday (the day of the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist and of the Priesthood) you can spend one hour before the Blessed Sacrament in thanksgiving for the gift and mystery of the priesthood, and in confident supplication for the sanctification of all priests. I recommend that during this hour you meditate Our Lord's own prayer for priests in the 17th Chapter of Saint John's Gospel.

9. On Friday (the day of Our Lord's Blessed Passion) make the Way of the Cross for priests or pray the Litany of the Precious Blood or the Litany of the Sacred Heart for them.

10. Every Saturday (Our Blessed Lady's day) offer for priests five decades of the Rosary or the Ave, Maris Stella, a most suitable liturgical hymn for interceding for priests.

~ Fr. Mark Kirby, from What Can I Do For the Year of the Priest? ~

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.

Express Your Love and Solidarity for Pope Benedict XVI: Join Rosary for the Bishop!

“The somberness of Holy Week is intensified for Catholics this year.

“The recent tidal wave of headlines about abuse of minors by some few priests, this time in Ireland, Germany, and a re-run of an old story from Wisconsin, has knocked us to our knees once again.

“Anytime this horror, vicious sin, and nauseating crime is reported, as it needs to be, victims and their families are wounded again, the vast majority of faithful priests bow their heads in shame anew, and sincere Catholics experience another dose of shock, sorrow, and even anger.

“What deepens the sadness now is the unrelenting insinuations against the Holy Father himself, as certain sources seem frenzied to implicate the man who, perhaps more than anyone else has been the leader in purification, reform, and renewal that the Church so needs.

“Sunday Mass is hardly the place to document the inaccuracy, bias, and hyperbole of such aspersions.

“But, Sunday Mass is indeed the time for Catholics to pray for “ . . . Benedict our Pope.”

“And Palm Sunday Mass is sure a fitting place for us to express our love and solidarity for our earthly shepherd now suffering some of the same unjust accusations, shouts of the mob, and scourging at the pillar, as did Jesus.

“No one has been more vigorous in cleansing the Church of the effects of this sickening sin than the man we now call Pope Benedict XVI. The dramatic progress that the Catholic Church in the United States has made--documented again just last week by the report made by independent forensic auditors--could never have happened without the insistence and support of the very man now being daily crowned with thorns by groundless innuendo."

~ Archbishop Timothy Dolan, quoted from here ~

A GOOD WAY TO EXPRESS YOUR LOVE AND SOLIDARITY FOR OUR HOLY FATHER IS BY JOINING THE ROSARY FOR THE BISHOP CAMPAIGN AND BY MAKING A COMMITMENT TO PRAY ONE ROSARY A MONTH FOR HIM!

Since January of this year, 25 Catholics from 24 parishes in 19 dioceses have made a commitment to pray one or more Rosaries a month for Pope Benedict XVI. Surely, there must be many more Catholics who would want to support our dear Holy Father in this way if they knew about the Rosary for the Bishop campaign. Spread the word!

Of course, it would be appropriate to make a commitment to pray the Rosary for your own diocesan bishop also. Personally, it is easier for me to be faithful to a specific commitment than to a general intention to pray. I am grateful to those who started, promote and maintain the Rosary for the Bishop campaign. This work of the Holy Spirit, seeking the intercession of the Blessed Mother for her bishop sons, is a POWERFUL WEAPON in the spiritual warfare being waged against the Holy Father, bishops, priests and the entire Church!

More information about Rosary for the Bishop can be found 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.

Bread of Life Discourse

"We adore Thee most holy Lord Jesus Christ,

here in all Thy Churches, which are in the whole world,

because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world."

~ Saint 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.

Blessed Mother Teresa: Eucharistic Adoration for Peace on Earth

"The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

is the best time you will spend on earth.

Each moment that you spend with Jesus will deepen your union with Him

and make your soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in Heaven,

and will help bring about everlasting peace on earth,"

~ Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta ~

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 and Mother Teresa: Message to Seminarians and Priests

"The Eucharist is the principal reason for the ordained priesthood...through our ordination we priests are united in a singular exceptional way to the Eucharist. In a certain way we derive from it and exist for it...The celebration of the Eucharist is the way that we best serve our brothers and sisters in the world...How crucial it is, then, for our happiness and for a fruitful ministry that we cultivate a deep love for the Eucharist--a deep love for the Eucharist."

~ Venerable Pope John Paul II ~

"You have not become a priest to become a social worker."

"This is what we want from you--to teach us to be holy..."

~ Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta ~

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.

Daily Offering to the Holy Trinity for Priests

Holy Blessed Trinity,

I offer You all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day.

No matter what little thing I do, I offer it to You.

In reparation for holy priests.

For the conversion of priests.

For more priests.

For the return of many priests who have left the priesthood.

For the priests still in Purgatory, especially those most in need.

I offer myself this day (optional: and hereafter until my death) as an offering for holy priests, in union with the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. And in union with the Sacred Body and Blood of Jesus, Consecrated daily on all the altars of the world by your holy priests. I make this offering freely, trusting that You will take care of all my needs, spiritual and temporal for the state in life to which You have called me.

I make this offering through The Immaculate Hands and Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Divine Love, that she might take this imperfect prayer and present it to her Son, Jesus, that through his Sacred Heart, He might perfect it and present it to our Father by the power of the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

(With ecclesiastical approbation.)

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. John Hardon: The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Eucharist

"There is no secret about how the Blessed Virgin is related to the Holy Eucharist. It is very simple: except for the Blessed Virgin, we would not have the Holy Eucharist.

"The key to this relationship is the humanity of Jesus Christ. God as God, was present in the world from the dawn of creation. The same almighty power by which God brought the world into being is the same almighty power by which He sustains the world in existence and provides for its constant activity.

"But something historic happened at the Annunciation. The moment Mary told the angel, "Be it done to me according to Your word," God began to be present in the world as man. The infant in Mary's womb was her God become Incarnate. It was the Word made Flesh. It was the Lord of the Universe become a human child.

"It was from Mary that the Son of God took our human nature. It was from Mary that the Second Person of the Trinity received His humanity. It was through Mary that Jesus Christ, who is God from all eternity, became man, lived visibly on earth in Palestine and is now invisibly on earth in every church and chapel in the Catholic world where the Holy Eucharist is offered, received and reserved.

"Mary's relationship to her Son has not changed since the Annunciation. As His Mother, she remains the Mother of Divine Grace, through whom He pours out His blessings on a sinful world. As Pope John Paul II observed in Redemptoris Mater, "Mary guides the faithful to the Eucharist." ( Source)

~ Servant of God Fr. John Hardon, S.J. ~

Prayer for the Beatification and Canonization of Fr. John Hardon, S.J.

Almighty God, You gave Your servant, Father John Anthony Hardon of the Society of Jesus, the grace of consecration as a religious dedicated to the apostolate and the grace of consecration as an ordained priest, after the Heart of Your Divine Son, our Good Shepherd.

Through Father Hardon, You provided for your Flock an extraordinary teacher of the faith.

You entrusted Father Hardon into the loving care of the Blessed Virgin Mary whose counsel, "Do whatever he tells you" (Jn 2:5) he faithfully followed and whose intercession he unceasingly invoked.

If it be Your holy will, please grant the request I now make, calling upon the help of Father Hardon, so that his heroic sanctity may be recognized in the whole Church.

I ask this through Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with You and the Holy Spirit, is one God forever and ever.

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.

Fr. John Zulsdorf: Responsibility For the Treasure of Sacred Priesthood

A Common Treasure

The sacred priesthood is the common treasure and responsibility of the whole Church. When we see declining numbers or priestly malpractice it is neither fair nor realistic to say simply "Why don't the Pope and the bishops do something about this?!" Yes, theirs is the primary responsibility, but people get the number of and quality of priests they deserve. Holy priests come from a holy foundation. Holy households and families have long been known to be a first seedbed of priestly vocations. A healthy view and recourse to priests is necessary if we want our priests to be sound and a blessing to the Church. Treating them with realistic respect, like priests, rather than like laymen, will help them to remember who they are and what they are here for: we cannot expect men to be happy in their vocations and dedicate themselves to this exalted calling if everything that pertains to them in the Church is taken away from them through neglect or a false understanding of the rapport of the laity and the clergy. Reverence for priests, without fawning or fear, is needed today. Real men respond well to high expectations and strong support and young men will be inspired to embrace the same.

Above all, remember that priests and especially bishops, are under the fierce attacks of hell itself. Pray for priests and bishops. Support them in charity. Everyday you should spend at least some little time praying specifically for priests, or perhaps for one particular priest, maybe even one who is troubling in some way. Express gratitude for the service they give, when good, the teaching they provide, when sound, and the example they are, when lived. It is always a good thing both to ask a priest for a blessing and then thank him for it, to ask for absolution when confessing and then express gratitude, to stop a priest when you meet him and express appreciation for his priesthood.

For us to be the sacred People God desires, we must have a sacred priesthood and holy priests. God provides the calling and graces but we must all respond, each according to our own vocations. We must cooperate with God's plan by taking responsibility for Holy Church's sacred priesthood.

~ Fr. John Zulsdorf: complete article found 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.

St. Jean Vianney: Holy Impatience

The Cure of Ars suffered wrongs to himself throughout the whole of his life, but especially during his ministry as a priest. He was mocked for being stupid when in fact he was just too materially poor to afford a good education. He was sent to “the worst assignment” in the diocese, the place where no other priest wanted to be assigned. Ars was known for its religious indifference, its high incidence of alcoholism, its tepid faith and widespread immorality. His candid denunciation of these sins, at least during his initial years, reaped sharp criticism and even slander. Dom Ernest Graf wrote of him, “The Cure’s success led to an explosion of rage on the part of his enemies: such a man was bound to make enemies! This fury vented itself in the vilest calumnies and the grossest libels… and no persecution was deemed too petty or too coarse where he was concerned.” Fr. Vianney responded not with anger or resentment but with increased prayer, greater fasting and patient endurance.

However, the Cure of Ars was not patient with wrongs done to others. He did not stand by idly when orphans had no one to care for them, when Sunday Mass and the Sabbath rest were neglected, and where sexual promiscuity was encouraged as a harmless pursuit when in fact it caused great unhappiness, broken hearts and sick relationships. He followed with courage the advice of St. Boniface, “Let us be neither dogs that do not bark nor silent onlookers nor paid servants who run away before the wolf. Instead let us be careful shepherds watching over Christ’s flock. Let us preach the whole of God’s plan to the powerful and to the humble, to rich and to poor, to men of every rank and age, as far as God gives us the strength, in season and out of season.”

Because his ministry began shortly after the Church’s bloody persecution during the French Revolution, ignorance of the faith was abysmal and religious practice was minimal or non-existent. In his preaching he targeted the sins, not the sinners, and did so with clarity, even vehemence. Because many frequented the taverns instead of the church on Sundays, he minced no words about the consequences. In one sermon, he declared, “The tavern is the devil’s own shop, the market where souls are bartered, where the harmony of families is broken up, where quarrels start and murders are done.” Eventually, every tavern in Ars closed its doors on Sundays; and morning Mass as well as evening Vespers became a widespread practice among believers. Sunday in Ars became, once again, the Lord’s Day.

~ By Bishop Thomas Olmstead: 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.

Catholic Priests: Instruments of Grace

The principle duty of the priest is the salvation of souls. The priest is an instrument of grace to the faithful for their sanctification and salvation. Keep priests in our prayers and commend all priests to Our Lady to fulfill his responsibities as a priest. Ave Maria!

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.

One Bread, One Body, One Lord of All

"We adore Thee most holy Lord Jesus Christ,

here in all Thy Churches,

which are in the whole world,

because by Thy holy cross,

Thou hast redeemed the world."

~ Saint 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.

God's Name is Mercy: Fr. John Corapi's Conversion Story

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.

Prayer to St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church

O GLORIOUS St. Joseph, you were chosen by God to be the reputed father of Jesus, the most pure Spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, and Head of the Holy Family. You have been chosen by Christ's Vicar as the heavenly Patron and Protector of the Church founded by Christ. Therefore, with the greatest confidence I implore your powerful assistance for the whole Church Militant. Protect, in a special manner, with true fatherly love, the Sovereign Pontiff and all the bishops and priests in communion with the See of Peter. Be the protector of all who labor for souls amid the trials and tribulations of this life; and grant that all the nations of the earth may submit with docility to that Church out of which there is no salvation.

Dearest St. Joseph, accept the offering I now make of myself to you. I dedicated myself to your service, that you may ever be my Father, my Protector and my Guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me great purity of heart and a fervent love for the interior life. Grant that, after your example, all my action may be directed to the greater glory of God, in union with the divine Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and your own paternal heart. Finally, pray for me that I may share in the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen. (Prayer 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.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Personal Encounters With Jesus in the Eucharist

"Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are proceeded by a personal encounter with Him. Theological insights are gained not only from between two covers of a book, but from two bent knees before an altar. The Holy Hour becomes like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world."

~ Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen ~

Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all,

How can I love Thee as I ought?
And how revere this wond'rous 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,
To love Thee with, my 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!

William Faber, an English convert to Catholicism wrote this and other beautiful hymns which today can be found in both Catholic and Protestant hymnals.

~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. Patrick: Missionary Miracle Worker

St. Patrick was a great missionary bishop who converted a whole land from paganism, overturning the religion of the druids. He consecrated 350 bishops, erected 700 churches, and ordained 5,000 priests. In less than 30 years the greater part of Ireland was Catholic; St. Patrick so consolidated it in the Christian faith that during the Protestant Revolt Ireland was almost unique in its preservation of the Faith. Even today, people speak of "the faith of the Irish."

In St. Patrick's own words:
"The Lord hath given to me, though humble, the power of working miracles among a barbarous people, such as are not recorded to have been worked by the great Apostles; inasmuch as, in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, I have raised from the dead bodies that have been buried many years; but I beseech you, let no one believe that for these or the like works I am to be at all equaled with the Apostles, or with any perfect man, since I am humble, and a sinner, and worthy only to be despised."

When Patrick came to Dublina he prophesied how great that small village would someday become. He also caused a fountain to spring up there. It happened that in the region nearby, the young son of the king lay dead in his chamber. The sorrow over his death was compounded when it was learned that his sister, who had gone to bathe in the neighboring river, had drowned in midstream. Her body was finally found resting on the riverbed, and was laid out beside that of her brother. Tombs were prepared for both according to pagan custom.

At this sorrowful time the rumor spread that Patrick of Ardmachia (Armagh), who in the Name of the Unknown God had raised many that were dead, had arrived in the village. The king, Alphimus, promised that he, his nobles, and the whole "city" would be baptized into the new faith if his two children were restored. Patrick, seeing the opportunity for a great gain of souls, raised them both to life.

By the physical resurrection of the prince and princess, the spiritual resurrection of the whole area from the darkness of paganism and idolatry was accomplished. And the temporary resurrection of bodies (that is, until they died again) gave a promise of eternal life in Heaven and of the resurrection of the body on Judgment Day.

After the raising of this royal brother and sister, churches were built and tributes appointed to Patrick as their patron, that is, as the first Archbishop (or Bishop) of Ardmachia. It is reputedly from the revived Princess Dublina that the present great city of Dublin got its name.

~ From Saints Who Raised the Dead, True Stories of 400 Resurrection Miracles,
by Fr. Albert J. Hebert, S. M.

Excerpts and more found 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.

Cardinals Tell Their Vocation Stories

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.

Blessed Cyprian Michael Tansi and Cardinal Francis Arinze

"In the final analysis only God knows why a particular individual is attracted to the priesthood, or religious life or marriage. But in our own weak, human way of analysing it, I can say when I was a boy, there was a parish priest we had, Father Michael Tansi, and he impressed many of us, and many boys in that area wanted to become like him, so they wanted to become priests.

"That's the human explanation I can give. Actually that priest later on became a monk, and he became Blessed--he's beatified now... But the origin of a religious or priestly vocation--only Divine Providence can finally analyse it, how God attracts a person..." (Cardinal Francis Arinze)

About Cardinal Francis Arinze:
With no objection from his parents, young Anizoba, like his brothers and sisters, who also were educated by the missionaries, converted to Catholicism in 1941, at the age of 9, taking the name Francis. Father Tansi not only baptized the youth, but also heard his First Confession, gave him his First Holy Communion, prepared him for Confirmation, and taught him to serve Mass. The two remained friends until Father Tansi's death in 1964.

Excerpt from a Retreat preached by Father Cyprian Michael Tansi in August 1962:

"We do very little good when we embark on our own. We do much good when we allow God to direct us and direct our enterprises. The apostles, you remember, went out fishing, laboured the whole night and got nothing. They were on their own, the Lord came and told them to cast the net and they would find. They did so and were not able to draw up the net, so great was the number of fish caught. When they worked by themselves, they took nothing. When they worked in the company of our Lord, they were full. So with us. We must learn to avoid worrying ourselves about things, learn to do away with anxieties of all sorts.

"When you have something to do, an assignment to perform, remembering that we are not doing our work, but God's work, we must first go to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, place our plans before Him and ask for his advice and assistance. We must examine before him how he would like us to produce, whether he would like us to do one thing or the other. If any doubt, consult your spiritual director for advice. You should never undertake to do anything unless you are sure that God wants it done in the way you are planning. Above all things you should never do your own will: you should do only what the superiors want to be done. You should never force the superiors to yield to your will by any stratagem.

"And while doing whatever you have to do, you should do it at a pace and speed that will allow you time continually to turn to God for guidance. Your conversation with God should be continual. Remember that you cannot achieve this spiritual disposition in a day. You need time, practice and patience. All that I request you now is to examine and to see whether what you are told is the truth. If it is, then make a resolution to continue to make effort in this direction without minding whether you succeed or fail."

- Michael I. Tansi, o.c.s.o., Irrational Love: Incarnation and Redemption, an Incomprehensible Love (Onitsha, Nigeria: Archiocesan Secretariat, 1989), p.35.

~ Retreat excerpt from here. ~
~ More information about Blessed Cyprian Michael Tansi from Clerus.org ~

~ Official site for cause of canonization of Blessed Cyprian Michael Tansi ~

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.

Dominican Friars: Ordinary Men...Sacred Calling

The Dominican Friars of the Province of Saint Martin de Porres minister in 11 states throughout the Southern United States. The Dominicans (also known as the Order of Preachers) was founded in 1216 by Saint Dominic Guzman. They continue their 800 year legacy of service to the Roman Catholic Church and the people of God throughout the world as educators, theologians, parish priests, retreat masters, hospital and prison chaplains.

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. John Corapi: Stay Close to Mary, Your Spiritual Mother

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.

Spiritual Value of Penance

" Penance is the rampart protecting chastity.

Penitence appeases God's justice and transforms it into graces.

It purifies souls,

extinguishes the fires of purgatory

and receives in heaven a most sublime recompense.

Penance pays for personal faults and those of others.

Penance is the sister of mortification. Both work together hand in hand.

Penance helps the soul rise above things of the earth.

Penance cooperates with the Redemption of the world.

Penance humbles man,

it penetrates him with an inner feeling of his baseness and his wretchedness.

Penance brings light to the soul.

It consumes and causes to disappear all in it that is purely material.

It raises him higher and higher above the earth,

making him taste of delights hitherto unknown and pure.

But this penance should be the daughter of reverence

and exist in the soul, hidden from all humans" (Diary, Sept. 24, 1895).

~ Our Lord to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida,

from Conchita A Mother'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.

The Dignity of the Priesthood

"A central part of the prayer of ordination recalls how the Priest is essentially a gift, and, exactly in view of that "supernatural gift", he carries himself with a dignity which everyone, clergy and lay faithful, are called to recognise. One has in mind a dignity which is not the work of man but which is the pure gift of grace, to which one is called and which no one can demand as a right. The dignity of the priesthood, bestowed by the "Almighty Father", must be evident in the life of priests: in their sanctity, in their welcoming humanity full of humility and pastoral charity, in the clarity of their faithfulness to the Gospel and the doctrine of the Church, in the sobriety and solemnity of their celebration of the divine mysteries, in their ecclesiastical garb. Everything in the priest must lead him to recall, to himself and to the world, that he is the object of an unmerited gift beyond any merit of his, which makes him an efficacious presence of the Absolute in the world for the salvation of men."

~ Archbishop Mauro Piacenza ~

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.

Celibacy: Priests Are Called By God To Imitate 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.

Celibacy and Scripture

From AirMaria: Celibacy is both praised and practiced by our Lord and St. Paul. There are no grounds for claiming that it contradicts Sacred Scripture.

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. John Corapi: Sharing Our Faith With Others

"Five of the seven Sacraments require a validly ordained ministerial priesthood... That's the way it is. It is God's plan."

"The Eucharist: the Source, the Center, and the Summit of the Church's life...

What do you have if you don't have the Source and the Center and the Summit? You're impoverished."

~ Fr. John Corapi

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.

God's Call to the Priesthood: Why Not Priest?

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: Significance of Eucharistic Adoration for Priests

Fr. Mark Kirby has written the following beautiful, inspiring and encouraging post:

COULDST THOU NOT WATCH ONE HOUR?

I sometimes wonder if those of you who keep watch before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus for the sake of His priests, really grasp the significance of your adoration. Allow me on this Lenten First Friday of March to suggest something of what you are doing, and of what Our Lord is doing through you, when you persevere in prayer close to the tabernacle or in the radiance of the monstrance containing His adorable Body and Blood.

A Divine Work

You are participating in a divine work, in a work of grace. You are before Our Lord's Eucharistic Face as an empty vessel to be filled with the power and sweetness of the Holy Spirit, so that souls might drink of His Love and, drinking, know that His Love is sweeter than any earthly delight.

Intercession

You are before Our Lord's Eucharistic Face as an intercessor in whose soul the Holy Spirit is sighing with ineffable groanings, and obtaining from the Father, through Christ, the Eternal High Priest, all that the Father desires to give His priests in this world and in the next.

Reparation

You are a reparator opening yourself to receive the love that so many others ignore, refuse, or treat with indifference, coldness, and disdain. By offering yourself to the Lord Jesus in an adoration of reparation, you console His Eucharistic Heart, which burns with love and so desires to fill souls with His tender mercy.

Friendship

When you are before HIs Eucharistic Face, you are the privileged friend of His Heart, keeping Him company in His loneliness and allowing Him to share with you His sorrows, His grieving over sin, and His designs for a priesthood made pure and radiant with holiness.

Victimhood

When you are before Our Lord's Eucharistic Face, you are with Him a victim of love, handed over and bound to remain at your place before the altar with no desires or plans other than to love, to adore, to make reparation, and to represent all priests in a prayer that simple, and confident, and life-changing.

The Work of Christ the Priest

When you are in adoration before His Eucharistic Face, you are are not idle; you are working in a way far more efficacious than any human undertaking can be. This is your work and it is Christ's work in you. This is a work that many will criticize and not understand. You are before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus in a divinely active collaboration with Him, who from the Sacrament of His Love, continues His priestly mediation before the Father on behalf of poor sinners.

Never Doubt

Never doubt of the value of your hours of adoration. It is this that Our Lord is asking you to do, and He will draw from your presence in the sanctuary a great good and a superabundance of graces for His priests.

~ Fr. Mark Kirby, from Vultus Christi, used with permission ~

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. Augustus Tolton, First African-American Priest, Cause for Sainthood

Many Catholics might not ever have heard of Fr. Augustus Tolton; but black Catholics most probably have. He was the first American diocesan priest of African descent, the son of slaves. After studying in Rome, because no American seminary would accept him, he was ordained for the Diocese of Quincy, in southern Illinois, and later came to Chicago to start a parish for black Catholics. He died young, at only 43 years of age; but most priests in the nineteenth century died before their fiftieth birthday. Visiting the sick on a daily basis was risky in an age before antibiotics. Many priests sickened sometime in their forties and died after a period of ill health.

Fr. Tolton’s cause for sainthood is being introduced in the Archdiocese of Chicago, and during this year for priests it would be good to pray to him and to ask the Lord to send us many more priests like him.

~ Francis Cardinal George, OMI ~

~ More Information on Fr. Tolton ~

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. Padre Pio: "Run to the Feet of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament"

"We must always have courage, and if some spiritual languor comes upon us, let us run to the feet of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and let us place ourselves in the midst of the heavenly perfumes, and we will undoubtedly regain our strength."

"Kneel down and render the tribute of your presence and devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Confide all your needs to him, along with those of others. Speak to him with filial abandonment, give free rein to your heart, and give him complete freedom to work in you as he thinks best."

~ St. Padre Pio ~

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 of Forgiveness and Reparation

Lord Jesus Christ,
Who revealed the infinite mercy of Your Sacred Heart in saying:

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Mt 5:44)
and again, "Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you" (Lk 6:28),
give me, I beseech You, grace to obey these commandments of yours,
and to persevere in praying daily

for those who, in any way, have abused, cursed, hurt, or rejected me.

I pray for those who hate me,
for those who resent me
and for those who have spoken ill of me.
I beg you to bless them abundantly
and to pour into their hearts
such a profusion of healing mercies
that in them and around them
love will triumph over hatred,
friendship over resentment,
sweetness over bitterness,
meekness over anger,
and peace over enmity.
I further ask you to extend these graces
to their families and to all whom they hold dear.

In particular, I pray today for N. (and N.).
I present him/her/them to Your Eucharistic Face,
asking You to envelop him/her/them in Its healing radiance,
dispelling whatever shadows of sin
may have darkened his/her/their mind(s)
or hardened his/her their heart(s)
in anger, hatred, or the refusal to forgive.

For my part,
with deep sorrow I confess
that I have sinned grievously against others,
causing them pain and even endangering their souls.
I pray you, O Merciful Jesus, to repair the evil I have done to others
and to heal the hurt I have inflicted on them.
In particular, I acknowledge my sins against N. (and N.)
imploring You to heal and repair the harm I have done him/her/them.

I ask you so to penetrate my heart with the charity of Your Pierced Heart
that I will be able to forgive those who have offended me, to love them sincerely,
and to desire for them all that will contribute to their true happiness

in this life and in the next.

By means of a permanent intention,
I desire to renew this prayer in every offering of Your Holy Sacrifice.
Let the light of Your Eucharistic Face shine in the hearts of all

who harbour hatred or resentment toward me,

to bring them healing and peace.

Let Your Precious Blood triumph over evil
in those against whom I have sinned and in those who have sinned against me,
so that, delivered from the shadows of this valley of tears,
we may one day praise Your Mercy together in the sweetness of a boundless charity.
Amen.

~ A prayer Fr. Mark Kirby was inspired to write. ~

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

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 to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Eternal Father Wants Priests Transformed Into Jesus

"My Father wants to see the priest transformed into Me,

not only during the Mass, but at all times.

He wants to see him transformed in such a way

that no matter where or when the priest can truly say,

in the interior of his soul, these blessed words,

constantly fulfilled in him by his transformation into Me:

This is My Body; This is My Blood."

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida ~

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.