St. John Neumann and Forty Hours Devotion in the USA

Saint John Nepomucene Neumann (1811–1860), Bishop of Philadelphia from 1852–1860, was graced with an intense devotion to Our Lord in the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist. His personal experience as a boy in Bohemia (modern Czech Republic), then as a priest in the United States, and finally as a Redemptorist, — a spiritual son of the incomparable Saint Alphonsus Liguori — impelled him to promote prolonged prayer before the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the monstrance. No sooner had he become bishop of Philadelphia than he sought to introduce the Quarant’ Ore, or Forty Hours Devotion, already practiced for three hundred years in Europe, to the Church in the United States.

The good priests of Philadelphia were, for the most part, opposed to the introduction of the Forty Hours Devotion, fearing that, given the prevailing climate of violent anti-Catholicism nurtured by the Know Nothing Movement, it might exacerbate hostilities against the Church and even expose the Most Holy Sacrament to profanation.

Bishop Neumann had very nearly renounced his project when, overcome by exhaustion late one night, he fell asleep while writing at his desk. A burning candle ignited the papers lying before him. He awoke to smoke rising from the incinerated papers. One document alone remained unscathed; it was the letter he had written to propose the Forty Hours Devotion. Bishop Neumann fell to his knees to give thanks for having been preserved from harm and, as he did so, he experienced a kind of locution. God spoke to him inwardly saying, “As the flames are burning here without consuming or injuring this writing, so shall I pour out My grace in the Blessed Sacrament without prejudice to My honor. Therefore, do not fear profanation, and do not hesitate any longer to carry out your designs for My glory.”

Convinced by this sign, Bishop Neumann overrode the objections of his clergy and initiated the celebration of the Forty Hours at the First Diocesan Synod of Philadelphia in April 1853. The Church chosen for the first Forty Hours was that of Saint Philip Neri.. It was the latter saint who had, in fact, introduced the Quarant’ Ore to the city of Rome. Bishop Neumann astonished — and edified — his clergy and faithful by spending the greater part of the three days on his knees before the Blessed Sacrament in Saint Philip Neri Church. There was no anti-Catholic backlash. Great crowds of the faithful came, by day and by night, to adore Our Lord exposed to their gaze in the Sacrament of the Altar.

Bishop Neumann carried out his original inspiration by organizing the Forty Hours Devotion in the entire diocese of Philadelphia in such a way that each parish would celebrate it in turn during the course of the year. He edited a booklet to facilitate the worthy celebration of the Quarant’ Ore, and secured indulgences for the faithful who would participate in the devotion. So successful was the Forty Hours in the diocese of Philadelphia that it spread from there to other dioceses of the United States. In 1866 at the Plenary Council of Baltimore the Forty Hours Devotion was ratified for the whole country.

One of the conclusions of the 2005 Vatican Synod on the Eucharist was the recommendation that the Forty Hours Devotion be reinvigorated and reintroduced everywhere in the Church. This, of course, is fully consonant with the repeated exhortations to Eucharistic adoration of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

~Fr. Mark Kirby:  from his inspiring  2008 post on Vultus Christi ~

 

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's Morning Offering for Priests

The so-called Morning Offering is a simple way of freely choosing to "share in the sufferings of Christ through patience" -- that is, through the painful or costly things that may come upon us in the course of a day -- and of giving to those sufferings a supernatural worth. Thus do we begin to live in communion with Christ, Priest and Victim. This is why I pray, and invite others to pray each day:

The Morning Offering for Priests

Father most holy, *

I offer Thee the prayers, works,

joys, and sufferings of this day *

by placing them in the holy and venerable hands

of Jesus, the Eternal High Priest, *

and by saying, as He did upon entering the world, *

"Behold, I come to do Thy will" (Hebrews 10:9). *

For the sake of all His priests, *

[and in particular for Fathers N. and N.,]

I entreat Thy beloved Son to unite my offering

to the Sacrifice of the Cross,

renewed upon the altars of Thy Church *

from the rising of the sun to its setting (Malachy 1:11).

Most merciful Father, *

look upon these men chosen by Thy Son

to show forth His death until He comes (1 Cor 11:26); *

keep them from the Evil One (John 17:15) *

and sanctify them in the truth (John 17:17).

Bind them by a most tender love

to the Virgin Mary, their Mother *

that, by her intercession, *

they may be overshadowed by the power of the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:35)

in every act of their sacred ministry; *

thus may their priesthood reveal

the Face of Jesus and the merciful love of His Heart, *

for the fruitfulness of His spouse, the Church. *

and the praise of Thy glory. Amen.

~ Fr. Mark Kirby: excerpt from Share in the Passion of Christ Through Patience ~

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.

Pope Benedict XVI Entrusts All Priests to Saint Joseph

“To Saint Joseph, patron of the universal Church, I entrust all priests, urging them to offer to Christians and to the world the humility and everyday words and gestures of Christ.”

~ Pope Benedict XVI ~

~ Related post:  Fr. Mark Kirby: Entrust Priests to St. Joseph ~

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.

Brother Immacolato Giuseppe di Gesu: A Victim for the Sanctification of Priests

If you are not in the habit of following Fr. Mark Kirby's blog, don't miss his inspiring post about Brother Immacolato Giuseppe di Gesu.  An excerpt follows:

On 20 August 1943, certain of having at last found his path, and knowing that divine inspiration is confirmed by the ratification of the authority of the Church, he wrote to a priest friend, "Pray, Father, that I may obtain my confessor's permission to offer myself as a victim for the sanctification of priests."

On 6 January 1944, with the blessing of his spiritual director, he makes a magnificent Act of Offering. Aldo was twenty-two years old at the time. The Act of Offering that he wrote is a marvel of poetic harmony, prayer, and doctrine:

In the Name of God the Father, and of God the Son, and of God the Holy Spirit , in the Name of Mary most Sorrowful, I beseech the Most Holy Trinity to accept me as a victim of immolation, expiation, intercession, and reparation to the Divine Justice on behalf of all priests, and of each one in particular.

Receive, O my God, this all-encompassing and irrevocable offering, this total and unconditional act of abandonment, that by Thy mercy, I make to Thee of all that I am. . . . I want only to help and to merit for the world a priesthood worthy of Thy sublime designs. O Eternal God, for the needs of Thy priests, for the sanctification of priests, I accept and I love the sacrifice of my life. . .

I accept whatever sort of suffering that may torment my body. I accept to be calumniated, despised, humiliated, dishonoured, vilified, outraged, forgotten, and trodden underfoot like a grain of sand, so that Thy priests may be loved, honoured, known, respected, and appreciated. If Thy hand must strike, let it strike me and not them. . . . I accept to feel impotent, useless, miserable, and abandoned by Thee, as one lifeless at Thy feet, happy if, by my immolation, I may increase Thy glory albeit by one degree, however small, and contribute to give Thee one more holy priest.

Infinite Divine Heart of my God, if Thou hast need of more martyrs for the defence and sanctification of Thy priests, I offer Thee all the blood of my veins. Make of me, O sweet Jesus, a host immolated for the sake of Thy priests. Be Thou, Thyself, my sovereign Priest, O Jesus. O my Jesus crucified, in union with Thee, I offer myself as a victim to the Divine Justice. . . . I want to live and die crucified for Thy priests, so that they may be priests according to Thy Heart. . . .

Virgin of Sorrows, victim of love, make of me, with thee, a living host, holy and acceptable to God, for the sanctification of priests. And Thou, O compassionate God, accept and bless this my poor offering; deign to consume this little host slowly, drop by drop, in the ardent flames of Thy most pure love, for the sanctification of the priesthood, so that the abyss of Thy mercies may deploy themselves in the abyss of my miseries. Amen.

Lord Jesus, Immaculate Lamb,

immolated upon the altar of the Cross

for the salvation of every human being,

I humbly pray that Thou wouldst deign to glorify,

even on this earth, Thy servant,

Brother Immacolato, who loved Thee so much,

and, confident in his help, I ask for this grace.

(Mention your intention.)

Grant me this, I pray Thee,

through the intercession of Brother Immacolato,

who, whilst living among us, offered himself as a victim

for the sanctification of priests

and for the redemption of those enslaved by sin.

Three Gloria Patri.

~ Excerpts from Fr. Kirby's excellent post on  Vultus Christi ~

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: Reparation Needed for Offenses Against Jesus in the Eucharist

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM FATHER MARK KIRBY--

Today I received this message from a friend in the state of New York :

"Four ciboria were sold/given to a local antiques dealer. All of them contained particles of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and one ciborium was from a church that closed in 1996. Imagine, Our Lord was in there for that long."

How and why does this sort of thing happen? It causes me a piercing sorrow because it is emblematic of the widespread loss of faith in the adorable mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist that is a cancer at the heart of the Church.

Adoration in a spirit of reparation is more than ever necessary. Where are the adorers and reparators who will console the Heart of Jesus, wounded by the irreverence, coldness, indifference, and sacrilege that He receives "in the house of them that loved Him," and in the Sacrament of His Love?

~ Excerpts from Fr. Kirby's heartbreaking blog post at Vultus Christi ~

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.

Is God Calling You to Offer Thursdays of Adoration and Reparation for Priests?

THURSDAYS OF ADORATION AND REPARATION FOR PRIESTS

O my beloved Jesus,
I give and consecrate to Thee this Thursday
and all the Thursdays of my life,
in praise of the adorable Mystery of Thy Body and Blood,
and in thanksgiving for that of the Priesthood.

Moved by Thy Holy Spirit,
and full of confidence in the help of Thy Most Holy Mother,
the Virgin Mary, Mother of Priests,
I resolve to live each Thursday for the rest of my days here below
in adoration and in reparation for priests
and, especially, for those who do not adore Thee,
for those who are most wounded in their souls,
and for those who are exposed to the attacks of the powers of darkness.

I want to remain before Thy Eucharistic Face for them and in their place;
I want to draw near, in their name, to Thy open Heart,
ever-flowing with the Blood and Water
that purify, heal, and sanctify all souls,
but, first of all, those of Thy priests.

Let each Thursday find me close to
the Sacrament of Thy Body and Blood,
in adoration and reparation for the sake of all Thy priests.

Make me an entirely Eucharistic soul,
according to the desires of Thy Sacred Heart
and the designs of Thy merciful goodness upon my life.
I desire nothing else.

I want to love Thee more each day;
I want to be the faithful adorer of Thy Eucharistic Face
and the consoling friend of Thy Sacred Heart
hidden in the tabernacles of the world,
where it beats, wounded by love, forgotten, forsaken,
and waiting for the adoration and love of even one priest.

Amen.

~ A Reminder and an Invitation from Fr. Mark Kirby

who was inspired to compose this beautiful prayer ~

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 offewr up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

St. Sharbel Makhlouf: Eucharistic Life and Death

Saint Sharbel suffered a stroke on December 16th, 1898 while celebrating the Holy Liturgy. He was reciting the prayer, "Father of Truth, behold your Son, a sacrifice pleasing to you. Accept this offering of Him who died for me." He fell to the floor holding the Holy Eucharist in his hands. He died on December 24th. Sharbel had lived twenty-three years in solitude. A lifetime of saying "Yes" to Love prepared him for a fully Eucharistic death and an abiding mission in the Church, one that, even today, is prophetic.

~ Fr. Mark Kirby: excerpt from his post, Saint Sharbel Makhlouf ~

Holding vigil at the body of the Servant of God in church, were his companions of the hermitage, Father Macarius Mishmshany, and Brother Francis of Artaba, along with a group of monks from the monastery of St. Maron. As soon as they learned of the passing of Father Charbel they rushed to the hermitage to kiss his hands and to be blessed by touching his body while bidding him farewell. Many spent most of the night kneeling near him, praying.

The snow was coming down heavily, accumulating on the hermitage and on the neighboring mountains and valleys. It was extremely cold and windy, to such a degree that those keeping vigil around the saintly remains were trembling from the severity of the cold. Little wonder since the hermitage is one thousand and four hundred meters above sea level, on a high summit exposed to the wind.

Those keeping vigil were asking one another, "If we are suffering so much for only one night in this severe winter, how was Father Charbel able to live twenty-three years here spending every night of his life, kneeling on bamboo, in pain from midnight until the time of his Mass at 9:00 o'clock in the morning, fasting and immobile as the stone statue erected on the floor before the altar. Truly, this hermit was a saint. He endured fatigue, hunger, poverty and cold with the courage of a martyr. Every minute of his life was martyrdom, without complaint. No doubt he is now finding the reward of his marvelous martyrdom, with God." (Source)

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, 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: The Corruption of a Priestly Soul

"The priest who hates his priesthood, hates his very self, his truest self, his sacred identity. The priesthood is not a profession that one exercises, it is, rather, by virtue of the indelible character impressed upon his soul at ordination, a real identification with Christ the Eternal High Priest and Spotless Victim. Hatred for what is sacred is one of the signs of diabolical influence and activity. The devil knows the psychology of priests. Centuries of experience have given him a refined knowledge of which temptations work best in trying to bring down a priest. With his perverse intelligence, the devil can lead a priest from weakness to weakness, and vice to vice, into a state of despair and self-loathing. His ultimate goal, of course, is to cause the priest to despair of the mercy of God and, out of that despair, destroy himself. This doesn't happen overnight.

"The corruption of a priestly soul happens slowly, almost imperceptibly. Typically, it happens through one of three avenues: the lust for power, the lust for money and possessions, or the lust for sexual gratification. Although all three lusts are closely interconnected, one generally takes the lead, drawing the two others after it. Where one finds impurity, for example, one will also, in all likelihood, find ambition, greed, self-aggrandizement, and the appetite for power over persons and things."

~ Fr. Mark Kirby: Excerpts from his excellent post, The Despairing Priest ~

PLEASE PRAY FOR PRIESTS, ESPECIALLY BEFORE THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT!

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: Offering of the Precious Blood for Priests

Offering of the Precious Blood for Priests

This chaplet of reparation and intercession is meant to be prayed on an ordinary five decade rosary.

Incline (+) unto my aid, O God; O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Alleluia. (After Septuagesima: Praise be to Thee, O Lord, King of eternal glory.)

On the Our Father beads:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee
the Precious Blood of Thy Beloved Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lamb without blemish or spot (1 Peter 1:19)
in reparation for my sins
and for the sins of all Thy priests.

On the Hail Mary beads:

By Thy Precious Blood, O Jesus, purify and sanctify Thy priests.

In place of the Glory be to the Father:

O Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named (Ephesians 3:14), have mercy on all Thy priests, and wash them in the Blood of the Lamb.

~ From Fr. Mark Kirby on Vultus Christi ~

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: Eucharistic Adoration Prayer for Priests

Here are the prayers that I use to open and close Eucharistic adoration

in the Cenacle of the Diocese of Tulsa:

At the beginning of the hour of adoration:

Lord Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim,
behold, I kneel before Thy Eucharistic Face
on behalf of all Thy priests:
(Fathers N. and N.)
and especially those priests of Thine,
who at this moment are most in need of Thy grace.
For them and in their place,
allow me to remain,
adoring and full of confidence,
close to Thy Open Heart
hidden in this, the Sacrament of Thy Love.

Through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary,
our Advocate and the Mediatrix of All Graces,
pour forth upon all the priests of Thy Church
that torrent of mercy that ever flows
from Thy pierced side:
to purify and heal them,
to refresh and sanctify them,
and, at the hour of their death,
to make them worthy of joining Thee
before the Father in the heavenly sanctuary

beyond the veil (Hb 6:19)
where Thou art always living
to make intercession
for us (Hb 7:25). Amen.

At the end of adoration, three times:

Eucharistic Face of Jesus, sanctify Thy priests!

~ From Vultus Christi ~

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.

Sanctification of the Clergy: Serious Apostolic Mission

"Have no illusions about priestly holiness. Like all men, priests are locked in a combat to the death with the seven capital sins: pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. Priests are, if anything, subject to more subtle and more violent temptations than anyone else because they are Satan’s preferred quarry...

"Souls called in a particular way to offer themselves for the sanctification of the clergy should entertain no illusions about the seriousness of their apostolic mission. There were, there are, and in all likelihood, there will continue to be some prideful priests, covetous priests, lustful priests, angry priests, gluttonous priests, priests who are drunkards, priests who consumed by envy, and priests who are lazy. One might be tempted then to say with the disciples, “Why then, who can be saved?’ (Mk 10:26). Listen to Our Lord’s reply. Jesus spoke it, according to Saint Mark, with His eyes fastened on the disciples. “Such things are impossible to man’s powers, but not to God’s; to God, all things are possible” (Mk 10:27).

"Read the appeal from Rome, asking women in all states of life to become spiritual mothers to priests, and calling for a worldwide movement of adoration in a spirit of reparation and supplication for the priesthood. It is not enough to read it once and file it away. Our Lord will hold those women who consent to spiritual motherhood accountable for the sins and for the sanctity of a multitude of priests. Does this shock you? It shouldn’t. Saint Paul says, “A man’s body is all one, though it has a number of different organs; and all this multitude of organs goes to make up one body; so it is with Christ. . . . If one part is suffering, all the rest suffer with it; if one part is treated with honour, all the rest find pleasure in it. And you are Christ’s body, organs of it depending upon each other” (1 Cor 12:12, 26-27). Again, the Apostle says in another place, “Bear the burden of one another’s failings; then you will be fulfilling the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2).

~ Fr. Mark Kirby, excerpts from Impossible to Man's Powers, But Not to God's ~

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: Entrust Priests to St. Joseph

"And we recommend priests to Saint Joseph. The Church, in her wisdom, proposes to her priests two prayers in honour of Saint Joseph each day: one before Holy Mass, and one after. Every priest can find in Saint Joseph a friend, a model, a protector. Saint Joseph stands ready a every moment to introduce priests to a deeper intimacy with his Spouse, the Virgin Mary.

"If you want to help priests, entrust them to Saint Joseph. All priests, especially parish priests, are exposed to being criticized and judged. It is a particular form of suffering that accompanies every priest from the day of his first Mass until the day of his last. I believe it was Archbishop Fulton Sheen who said that all priests are lacerated by the tongues of the pious! He knew of what he spoke; his own biography was entitled The Passion of Fulton Sheen. An effective way of countering the sins against charity that wound and discourage all priests is to entrust them to Saint Joseph."

~ Fr. Mark Kirby: excerpts from Go To Joseph ~

~ Fr. Kirby's beautiful prayers to St. Joseph 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.

Please Join Fr. Mark Kirby in a Novena in Honor of St. Peter Julian Eymard

If you didn't know before now about Fr. Mark Kirby's request to join him in praying a novena in honor of St. Peter Julian Eymard, it's not too late to begin--if you would be so kind. Fr. Kirby had this to say in the following excerpts from his blog post:

"Saint Peter Julian Eymard is one of the principal patrons of the work of the Cenacle here in Tulsa."

"...the need for funds to build the new Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle, dedicated to Eucharistic adoration for the sanctification of priests, compel me once again to propose the following novena for those who care to make it with me from January 6-14."

Some readers of Vultus Christi may recall that on October 26, 2007 I wrote:
"The desire of the Heart of Jesus is that there should be priest adorers and reparators: priests who will adore for those who do not adore, priests who will make reparation for those who do not. Our Lord asks me -- and will ask other priests as well -- to remain in adoration before His Eucharistic Face, offering all the priests of the Church to His Open Heart present in the Sacrament of His Love."

"This inspiration was confirmed by the splendid letter of Cardinal Hummes, published on December 7, 2007, inviting to adoration and reparation for priests."

"The Church is blessed with any number of communities of fervent Benedictines, who glorify Our Lord according to the gifts imparted to them, but nowhere does Our Lord find a house of priest-adorers to keep Him company in the Sacrament of His Love, and to offer themselves for their brother priests."

"The establishment of a new monastery is a daunting proposition. I might be tempted to lose heart, were it not for Our Lord's assurance that the measure of one's weakness is the measure of the deployment of His grace."

"A priest who, in adoration, assents to the friendship of Christ, will want for nothing and will make great strides along the path of holiness. Virtue is not difficult for one who abides in the friendship of Christ. The friendship of Jesus for His priests needs to become the subject of conversations, of reflection, of study, and of preaching; more than anything else it needs to become the lived experience of every priest."

"Priests who come to adore the Eucharistic Face of Jesus will quickly discover His Heart and, in His Heart they will discover the friendship for which He created them and to which He calls them. The single greatest deficiency of the clergy is that so many priests are ignorant of the tenderness and strength and fidelity of Our Lord's friendship for them. How can this deficiency be remedied? By adoration before the Eucharistic Face of Christ. This is the raison d'être of my work in the Diocese of Tulsa. Pray, then, that the radiance of the Eucharistic Face of Jesus will reach an ever greater number of priests, until, in all the Church, the Priesthood of Christ shines with all the splendour of His own holiness."

~ Fr. Kirby's entire blog post, including novena prayers, found at Eucharistic Novena: January 6-14 ~

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.

Why Priests Need a Fervent Prayer Life and Prayerful Intercessors

Thanks to Father Mark Kirby for sharing Cardinal Hummes' December letter to priests that emphasizes the critical importance of the prayer life of priests for a joyful, faith-filled, and fruitful ministry. Following are some of Father Kirby's valuable comments on the topics contained in the letter:

"Yes, a priest who neglects prayer will become weak in faith, joyless, and uncertain of the very things that should be life giving for him. At the origin of every crisis in the life of a priest is a lack of prayer, that is, of conscious surrender to the Friendship of Christ. Nowhere can a priest experience the Friendship of Christ more effectively than in the radiance of His Eucharistic Face. Priests who pray daily, for one hour, before the Blessed Sacrament attest to the purifying, healing, and transforming effect of such prayer on their lives."

"Priests who pray generate communities that pray. A prayerful priest will generate a praying parish. Where priest and people persevere together in prayer, with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is poured out in abundance, quickening the life of the Church, and causing the face of the Church to shine with joy even in the midst of great sufferings."

"Surrounding every priest who prays is a community that prays for him and with him. The criticism of priests often leads to sins of rash judgment, defamation, and slander. The temptation to speak ill of a priest can become, in effect, an invitation to pray for him, to fast for him, and to represent him before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus, close to His Open Heart."

For Cardinal Hummes' December letter to priests and more of Father Kirby's comments, 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.