Pope Benedict XVI: Recollections of 60 Years of Priestly Ministry

"He grants me the almost frightening faculty to do what only he, the Son of God, can legitimately say and do: I forgive you your sins. He wants me – with his authority – to be able to speak, in his name (“I” forgive), words that are not merely words, but an action, changing something at the deepest level of being. I know that behind these words lies his suffering for us and on account of us. I know that forgiveness comes at a price: in his Passion he went deep down into the sordid darkness of our sins. He went down into the night of our guilt, for only thus can it be transformed. And by giving me authority to forgive sins, he lets me look down into the abyss of man, into the immensity of his suffering for us men, and this enables me to sense the immensity of his love. He confides in me: “No longer servants, but friends”. He entrusts to me the words of consecration in the Eucharist. He trusts me to proclaim his word, to explain it aright and to bring it to the people of today. He entrusts himself to me. “You are no longer servants, but friends”: these words bring great inner joy, but at the same time, they are so awe-inspiring that one can feel daunted as the decades go by amid so many experiences of one’s own frailty and his inexhaustible goodness."

"Sixty years of priestly ministry – dear friends, perhaps I have spoken for too long about this. But I felt prompted at this moment to look back upon the things that have left their mark on the last six decades. I felt prompted to address to you, to all priests and bishops and to the faithful of the Church, a word of hope and encouragement; a word that has matured in long experience of how good the Lord is. Above all, though, it is a time of thanksgiving: thanks to the Lord for the friendship that he has bestowed upon me and that he wishes to bestow upon us all. Thanks to the people who have formed and accompanied me. And all this includes the prayer that the Lord will one day welcome us in his goodness and invite us to contemplate his joy."

~ Pope Benedict XVI; excerpts from  Homily 6/29/11 ~

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: Significance of the Pallium Bestowed Upon Archbishops

"The metropolitan archbishops appointed since the feast of Saints Peter and Paul last year are now going to receive the pallium. What does this mean? It may remind us in the first instance of Christ’s easy yoke that is laid upon us (cf. Mt 11:29f.). Christ’s yoke is identical with his friendship. It is a yoke of friendship and therefore “a sweet yoke”, but as such it is also a demanding yoke, one that forms us. It is the yoke of his will, which is a will of truth and love. For us, then, it is first and foremost the yoke of leading others to friendship with Christ and being available to others, caring for them as shepherds. This brings us to a further meaning of the pallium: it is woven from the wool of lambs blessed on the feast of Saint Agnes. Thus it reminds us of the Shepherd who himself became a lamb, out of love for us. It reminds us of Christ, who set out through the mountains and the deserts, in which his lamb, humanity, had strayed. It reminds us of him who took the lamb – humanity – me – upon his shoulders, in order to carry me home. It thus reminds us that we too, as shepherds in his service, are to carry others with us, taking them as it were upon our shoulders and bringing them to Christ. It reminds us that we are called to be shepherds of his flock, which always remains his and does not become ours. Finally the pallium also means quite concretely the communion of the shepherds of the Church with Peter and with his successors – it means that we must be shepherds for unity and in unity, and that it is only in the unity represented by Peter that we truly lead people to Christ."

~ Pope Benedict XVI; excerpt from Homily on 6/29/11 ~

~ Related posts about the pallium and about the wool used for the palliums here ~

Archbishop José Horacio Gómez from Los Angeles received the pallium from Pope Benedict XVI during a ceremony in the Vatican. Other three American archbishops also received the pallium: Archbishop James Peter Sartain from Seattle; Archbishop Paul Stagg Coakley from Oklahoma City; and Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, from San Antonio.

Among the 40 new archbishops, also Gerard Cyprien Lacroix, from Québec (Canada) received the pallium. The pallium is a garment used by archbishops as a sign of communion with the Pope.

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 Work of the Priesthood of Christ--ToTransform the World With God's Love

"Let us return in our meditation, to the Eucharist...In it, Jesus anticipated his Sacrifice, a non-ritual but a personal sacrifice. At the Last Supper his actions were prompted by that "eternal spirit" with which he was later to offer himself on the Cross (cf. Heb 9: 14). Giving thanks and blessing, Jesus transforms the bread and the wine. It is divine love that transforms them: the love with which Jesus accepts, in anticipation, to give the whole of himself for us. This love is nothing other than the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, who consecrates the bread and the wine and changes their substance into the Body and Blood of the Lord, making present in the Sacrament the same sacrifice that is fulfilled in a bloody way on the Cross. We may therefore conclude that Christ is a true and effective priest because he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, he was filled with the whole fullness of God's love and precisely "in the night on which he was betrayed", precisely, "in the hour... of darkness" (cf. Lk 22: 53). It is this divine power, the same power that brought about the Incarnation of the Word, that transformed the extreme violence and extreme injustice into a supreme act of love and justice. This is the work of the priesthood of Christ which the Church inherited and extended in history, in the dual form of the common priesthood of the baptized and the ordained priesthood of ministers, in order to transform the world with God's love. Let us all, priests and faithful, nourish ourselves with the same Eucharist, let us all prostrate ourselves to adore it, because in it our Master and Lord is present, the true Body of the Jesus is present in it, the Victim and the Priest, the salvation of the world. Come let us exult with joyful songs! Come, let us adore him! Amen."

~ Pope Benedict XVI; excerpt from Homily on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, 2010 ~

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: Corpus Christi Procession in the Streets of Rome

“While Holy Thursday commemorates the mystery of Christ who gives us the bread and wine, today, on the feast of Corpus Christi, the same mystery is proposed to the People of God to worship Him and think about Him.”

~ Pope Benedict XVI ~

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of al 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 Catholic Eucharistic Flash Mob: "Come and Kneel Before Him Now"

A Eucharistic flash mob in the centre of Preston, organised by the Capuchin Franciscans on Ascension Thursday 2011.

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 Mystery of Christ Made Present in the Hands of His Priests

"...in God's plan, Christ's gift of himself is made present in the Eucharist through that potestas sacra, which the sacrament of Orders confers upon you priests. When we celebrate Holy Mass we hold in our hands the Bread of Heaven, the Bread of God, which is Christ, the grain that breaks open in order to increase and to become the true food of life for the world. It is something that cannot but fill you with deep wonder, lively joy and immense gratitude: love and the gift of the Crucified and Glorious Christ now pass through your hands, your voice, your heart! It is an ever new experience of wonder to see that the Lord brings about this mystery of his Presence in my hands, in my voice!"

~ Pope Benedict XVI, homily at priestly ordination ~ 

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.

Our Lady of Good Success Prophecies: Persecution of Priests; St. John Vianney

“The Sacred Sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed and despised, for in this Sacrament, the Church of God and even God Himself is scorned and despised since He is represented in His priests. The demon will try to persecute the ministers of the Lord in every possible way;  he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation and will corrupt many of them. These depraved priests, who will scandalize the Christian people, will make the hatred of  bad Catholics and the enemies of the Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church  fall upon all priests. This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings to the good Pastors of the Church, the many good priests…"

"How beloved are the priests of my Most Holy Son and myself.  I am the tender Mother of priests, whom I venerate for their sublime mission and love most tenderly!"

"From the 19th century onward, priests should love with all their soul John Baptist Marie Vianney, a servant of mine whom Divine Goodness is preparing for those centuries as a exemplary model of the humble priest.  He will not be from a noble family, so that the world will know and understand that in the eyes of God all that matters is profound virtue.

"This servant of mine, who will come to the world at the end of the 18th century, will love me with all his heart. By his words and deeds he will honor me and teach his companions to know and love me." 

[Mother Marianna (1563-1635),  St. John Vianney (1786-1859)]

~ Our Lady of Good Success to Venerable Mariana de Jesus Torres;

excerpts from The Admirable Life of Mother Marianna, Volume II by Fr. Manuel Sousa Pereira  ~

~ Excellent DVD about Our Lady of Good Success available from ProMultis Media ~

~ Much more information about Our Lady of Good Success found here and 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.

Bishop Rene Gracida: Golden Jubilee Homily

"As the date, May 23, 2009, approached I was under increasing pressure from friends to permit them to organize a big celebration in observance of the 50th Anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Believe it or not, I am a shy person. Actually, I am an introvert. My Myers-Briggs personality profile is INFJ. It is only by the grace of God, given to me by the Holy Spirit, that I am able to summon the courage to speak before large gatherings. I nearly died of stage fright when, at Cardinal Deardon’s invitation, I gave the homily at the Mass for Youth in 1976 before 10,000 people just a few years after my Episcopal ordination.

"So, in 2009 I resisted all efforts to make my Jubilee an occasion of some big public show such as a banquet or even a Mass. Yet, I did want to give thanks to God in a celebration of a public Mass. So, on Saturday, May 23, 2009, I called the Rector of Corpus Christi Cathedral and asked him if he would permit me to celebrate the regular 9:30 parish Mass the next morning. He readily agreed and so I did appear unannounced and celebrated that Mass as my Jubilee Mass. The YouTube video shows the homily of the Mass. I have written this so that you will understand the bewilderment of the congregation when I announced in my homily that it was my Jubilee Mass."

~ Bishop Gracida, from his blog ~

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.

Lest You Be Judged: Praying for Priests Instead of Judging Them

"...you ought to pray for them.

But you are not to judge them.

Leave the judging to me,

and I, because of your prayers and my own desire, will be merciful to them."

 ~ God the Father to St. Catherine of Sienna concerning his priest sons ~

"Reading some of the comments on his blog I am appalled at the viciousness of some of them. It is obvious that there is very little if any love in the hearts of some of the writers. It is almost as though some of those writers are filled with hatred for the Catholic Church and/or its priests. It is possible to disagree about almost anything without resorting to ad hominem personal attacks."

~ Bishop Rene Gracida; excerpt from A Few Thoughts on Fr. Corapi's Announcement Yesterday ~

"From the email I am receiving and a few blogs I have read reacting to Fr. Corapi’s video message, it strikes me that a lot of people are doing neither themselves nor Fr. Corapi any good. Charity requires us to consider the good of others. I can’t see how the way some people are talking about Fr. Corapi does anyone any good."

"The enemy hates priests and bishops.  Let me say that again. The enemy hates priests and bishops. When priests and bishops start making inroads, they will be attacked with intensity.

"But priests and bishops remain men and remain sinners. We need the support of prayers especially regarding the primary goal of saving our souls. We must, for the love of God, help each other.

"I will keep Fr. Corapi on my prayer list, and will remember him in a special way, hoping that through the help of the Holy Spirit, who bends the rigid and heals the broken and consoles those who are in pain, he will have some peace whether he is able to return to active ministry or not, whether he wants to or not. He is a priest forever and he is my brother in that indelible mark received from Christ the High priest. And because he is a priest forever, the devil will not relent in attacking him until he dies. Nor will the devil relent in attacking anyone who has authority over him.

"It is what we signed up for, but sometimes it can be very hard.

"Please remember, please, that all priests are human beings and subject to the afflictions of the world the flesh and the devil. If you look at them in some other way, you do them and yourselves a disservice.

"In these difficult times, when we are seeing the lion and hearing the lion roaring around even more, I ask for your prayers for myself and for all the priests you know, whether they are in active ministry or they are for whatever reason not active, whether they have been exemplary according to how you think they ought to be, or whether they have made mistakes and are suffering the consequences.

"They have immortal souls and they, like you dear lay people, are working out their eternal salvation with fear and trembling with the additional burden of knowing that they will be priests forever, in heaven or in hell. Ask St. John Vianney for help. And, since St. “Padre” Pio has been on my mind with increasing frequency lately, perhaps ask him as well."

~ Fr. John Zuhlsdorf; excerpt from About Fr. Corapi with observations about our times ~

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: Introduction of "The Black Sheep Dog"

Uploaded by TheBlackSheepdog1 on Jun 17, 2011:

Fr. John Corapi's much anticipated announcement, proclaiming the introduction of "The Black SheepDog." Within this announcement is an update regarding the most-recent accusations, his response, his mission, as well as his gratitude for all who have supported his priesthood. For more information please visit his blog-site: www.TheBlackSheepDog.us ! As always, God Love You, and God Bless You!

6/23/11:  Comments will no longer be published for this post. 
If you wish to express your opinion, I suggest you do it directly to Fr. Corapi here.

IT IS TIME TO PRAY FOR FATHER CORAPI AND FOR THOSE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN HIS SITUATION!  LET US NOT WASTE TIME ON WHAT WILL NOT HELP SOLVE ANYTHING:  GOSSIP, OPINIONS, SUPPOSITIONS, CRITICISMS, RASH JUDGMENTS AND LACK OF RESPECT  FOR FATHER CORAPI AND FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIFFERING OPINIONS ON THIS ISSUE ARE RAMPANT.   THE DEGREE OF VITRIOL FROM   MANY OF THOSE WHO ARE WRITING ABOUT AND TO FATHER CORAPI  IS SCANDALOUS AND DISHEARTENING.  THANK GOD THAT HE IS OUR JUDGE--AND NOT OUR FELLOW CATHOLICS! 

Related post added 6/23/2011:  Lest You Be Judged:  Pray for Priests Instead of Judging Them ~

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.

Rite of Ordination to the Catholic Priesthood

"Nothing means more to me or gives me greater joy than to celebrate Mass each day

and to serve God's people in the Church.

That has been true ever since the day of my ordination as a priest.

Nothing has ever changed this, not even becoming Pope."

~ Blessed Pope John Paul II ~

"Priest of God, celebrate this Mass as if it were your first Mass, your last Mass, your only Mass."

~ Sign on the sacristy wall of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Basilica in Emmitsburg, Md. ~

~ Rite of Ordination to the Priesthood--explanation and pictures ~

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.

To Save a Thousand Souls: A Guide for Discerning a Vocation to Diocesan Priesthood

"There's an old expression in the Catholic Church...'He who saves a priest saves a thousand souls'.  It means that if a priest is in trouble, maybe thinking of leaving active ministry, and someone is able to get him back and strengthen him, they save a thousand souls.  And actually it's an understatement because the active diocesan priest, any priest, affects hundreds of thousands of souls in his life as a priest."

"The priesthood brings the love and forgiveness of Jesus to earth.  That's what priests do."

"I think sometimes we pray for an apple--we should be praying for an orchard.  This is a new springtime of Christianity,  and I really believe that Jesus wants us to fill up every seminary in the nation."

~ Fr. Brett A. Brannen, Vice Rector of Mount St. Mary Seminary,

Author of To Save a Thousand Souls:  A Guide for Discerning a Vocation to Diocesan Priesthood ~

 ~ Order Fr. Brannen's book 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. Joseph Muzquiz: Boston Archdiocese Opens Cause for Opus Dei Priest

José Luis Múzquiz de Miguel was born in 1912, in Badajoz, Spain. While studying engineering in Madrid in 1934, he met St. Jose­maría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei. Responding to God’s call, he joined Opus Dei in 1940. Until his ordination as a priest, he worked as a civil engineer building bridges and railroad stations for the Spain’s national railroad system. He would eventually obtain three doctorates: Civil Engineering, History and Canon Law.

In 1949 Father Joseph and a young Spanish physicist, Salvador Ferigle, came to the United States to start Opus Dei’s apostolic work. They began in Chicago and within ten years had also established centers in St. Louis, Milwaukee, Boston and Washington. He also helped start Opus Dei’s work in Japan and Canada.

In the late 1950s, he trav­eled extensively, laying the groundwork for Opus Dei’s beginnings in Asia. He subsequently worked in Rome, Switzerland and Spain, and then in 1976 he returned to the United States. He resided in Boston from 1981 until his death on June 21, 1983. He is bur­ied in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Brookline, MA. 

The Servant of God, Father Joseph Muzquiz

Prayer for Private Devotion

God, you helped your servant Joseph work with generosity and simplicity. He spread the message of sanctity in secular life to many people, teaching them to find joy and peace in their daily life. Help me to seek first the kingdom of God, by sanctifying my everyday work and dedicating myself generously to the salvation of souls. Glorify your servant Joseph, and through his intercession, grant me the favor I ask of you.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.

~ Excerpt and prayer from Opus Dei ~

Putting Down Roots by John Coverdale (author of Uncommon Faith) is the exciting story of the beginnings of Opus Dei in the U.S. It tells how Fr. Joseph Muzquiz came to America in 1949 to begin Opus Dei with very little money and only a rudimentary command of the language. At the time, only a handful of Americans had ever heard of Opus Dei. But by the time he passed away in 1983, Opus Dei had put down deep roots in this country.

In Putting Down Roots, we learn many remarkable details about Fr. Joseph’s life including:

• His first meeting with St. Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei.

• His tireless efforts, first as a layman, then as a priest, to spread Opus Dei in Spain during the 1940s.

• His remarkable faith beginning Opus Dei with Salvador Ferigle in the U.S. with no money, few contacts, and a very rudimentary command of English.

• The many heroic virtues he lived, earning him a reputation as an unusually holy priest.

Today, many people in the United States and in other countries pray to Fr. Joseph, as he was called in this country, and hope that one day the Church will declare him a saint. This book explains why.

Putting Down Roots contains eight pages of photos.

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. Robert Barron: It's a Great Time to Be a Priest

"This is the time, I think, for all of us involved with the Church to be part of the solution;

and that's an exciting time."

~ Fr. Robert Barron ~

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: June 2011 Prayer Intention for Priests

Jesus, Eternal High Priest, let your love flow into the hearts of your priests and transform them into living images of you. By your grace, make them true apostles of your Sacred Heart. Fulfill the promise you made to St. Margaret Mary: "I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts." May your Kingdom come to the hearts of all through the ministry of holy priests! Amen.

~ From Apostleship of Prayer, #180

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.