St. Pio & Fr. Bill Casey: The Awesome Reality of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

"Renew your faith by attending Holy Mass.

Keep your mind focused on the mystery that is unfolding before your eyes.

In your mind's eye transport yourself to Calvary and meditate on the Victim

who offers Himself to Divine Justice, paying the price of your redemption."

"If we only knew how God regards this Sacrifice,

we would risk our lives to be present at a single Mass."

~ Saint 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 Euchristic adoration for priests.  Amen.

St. Pio and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Hanging on the Cross With Jesus

"...when I celebrate Holy Mass I am not standing, but hanging on the cross together with Jesus, and I suffer inadequately all that Jesus suffered on the Cross, as much as is possible for a human creature. The Lord has deigned to associate me with the great work of human redemption, and this despite my every demerit, and only because of His supreme goodness."

~ 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.

St. Polydore Plasden: Priest Martyr and Protector of the Eucharist

One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, Saint Polydore Plasden was just 28 years old when he was hanged at Tyburn Gallows, London in 1591 for his Catholic priesthood. According to the law in England at that time (Statute 27 Elizabeth) it was illegal to be a Catholic priest in England. It was also against the law to pray the Rosary, attend Mass and light devotional candles etc... When he was captured at the home of fellow Martyr Swithun Wells, Fr. Polydore refused to renounce his Catholic Faith or accept the Queen of England as the head of the Church, even when he was subjected to fierce and barbaric tortures. At Tyburn, Sir Walter Raleigh fought for a reprieve for him but in the end insisted that he must be allowed to hang until dead before the butchery was carried out upon the priest's body.

Saint Polydore Plasden is a great patron for the Blessed Sacrament and defence of the Real Presence - he was arrested during a secret Mass and due to his concern for the Blessed Sacrament and his fear that the Eucharist might be subjected to sacrilege, Fr. Polydore gave his word that he, Fr. Edmund Gennings and those recusants hearing Mass would freely surrender should Mass be permitted to conclude. The infamous Richard Topcliffe knew that Fr. Polydore would keep his word and agreed so as to be able to take them away quietly.

- this is a trailer for a... film on Saint Polydore Plasden who was a 28 year old priest hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn Gallows in 1591 because he defended the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Sir Wlater Raliegh fought for his life at the gallows but managed to assure he was dead before he was disembowelled. The greatest threat to mankind is the loss of belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Learn how one of the least known English Martyrs of the Reformation gave his life to protect every single fragment of the Holy Eucharist and is a powerful witness for today. More information at http://www.marysdowryproductions.org/

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.

Consecration of Holy Mass: The Supernatural Powers of the Ministerial Priesthood

Who is the one who prepares the Holy Eucharist for us and gives Our Lord to us? It is the priest. If there were no priests, there would be no Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, nor Holy Communion, nor the Real Presence of Jesus in the tabernacle.

And who is the priest? He is the "man of God" (2 Tim. 3:17). It is God alone who chooses him and calls him from among men for a very special task. "No man takes the honor to himself; he takes it who is called by God, as Aaron was" (Heb. 5:4). God sets him apart from everyone else "to preach the Gospel of God" (Rom. 1:1). God signs him with a sacred character that will endure forever, making him "a priest forever" (Heb. 5:6) and bestowing on him the supernatural powers of the ministerial priesthood so that he is consecrated exclusively for the things of God. The priest, being "taken from among men, is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins" (Heb. 5:1-2).

~ From Jesus Our Eucharistic Love by Fr. Stefano Manelli ~

  

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. Stefano Manelli: Helping Priests in Their Lofty Mission

And in particular, every time we see a priest at the altar, let us also pray to Our Lady, in the words of the Venerable Charles Giacinto, "O my dear Lady, lend your heart to that priest so that he can worthily celebrate the Mass." Let us also pray, as St. Thérèse did, so that priests at the altar may touch the most Holy Body of Jesus with the same purity and delicacy as Our Lady. Better yet, rather let us pray that every priest is able to imitate St. Cajetan, who used to prepare to celebrate Mass by uniting himself so closely to Mary Most Holy, that it was said of him, "He celebrates Mass as if he were her." And, indeed, as Our Lady welcomed Jesus into her arms at Bethlehem, similarly the priest receives Jesus in his hands at Holy Mass. As the Immaculate Offered Jesus the Victim on Calvary, similarly the priest offers the Divine Lamb that is sacrificed on the altar. As the Virgin Mother gave Jesus to mankind, similarly the priest gives us Jesus in Holy Communion. Thus St. Bonaventure rightly declares that every priest at the altar ought to be intimately identified with Our Lady; for, since "it was by her that this most Holy Body has been given to us, so by the priest's hands It must be offered." And St. Francis of Assisi said that for all priests Our Lady is the mirror reflecting the sanctity which should be theirs, precisely because of the close proximity between the Incarnation of the Word in Mary's womb and the consecration of the Eucharist in the priest's hands.

Let us also learn in the school of the saints to respect and to venerate priests, to pray for their sanctification and to help them in their very lofty mission.

~ Excerpt from Jesus Our Eucharistic Love by Fr. Stefano Manelli ~

franciscanfriars | December 25, 2010

Christmas Mass offered by Father Stefano in the ordinary form of the Mass, an example of hermeneutics of continuity.

Fr. Stefano Maria Manelli was born in Fiume/Rijeka (Hrvatska), Italy on May 1, 1933. His parents were Servent of God Settimio Manelli and Servent of God Licia Gualandris, spiritual children of St. Pio of Prietrelcina. He was the sixth of the twenty-one children.

He received his first communion from Padre Pio himself in 1938.

He entered the minor seminary of the Order of the Friars Minor Conventual in Cupertino (Lecce) on 18th of December of 1945 at the age of 12 years old.

He made his simple profession on October 4, 1949; his solemn profession on May 27 1954 and was ordained a priest on October 30 1955, the Solemnity of Christ, the King.

He became the Prefect of Studies of the Conventual Province of Naples.

In the beginning of 1965, Father Stefano Maria began a long rediscovery and meditation of the Franciscan sources and of the writings of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe.

At the summon of the Second Vatican Council to religious to return back to their sources and to adapt to the changing conditions of the time as principles of renewal of religious life, Fr. Stefano was inspired to live integrally the Franciscan life according to the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi according to the recent examples of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Franciscan model of our time.

On August 2, 1970, Feast of Our Lady of the Portiuncula, Fr. Stefano together with Fr. Gabriel Maria Pelletieri and with the permission and blessing of the major superiors, began to live an experience of a Franciscan life renewed according to the "Traccia" (A Marian Plan of Franciscan Life) in the first Casa Mariana (Marian House/Friary) in the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Frigento (AV), Italy.

Fr. Stefano Maria is the superior of the Marian Friary in Frigento from 1970 until 1973 and from 1979 until 1982. He became the Master of novices in the same Casa Marian of Frigento for 10 years, from 1972 until 1982. He was elected Minister Provincial in Naples for three consecutive terms (1982-1988)

In November 1, 1982, together with Fr. Gabriel, he founded the first community of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate in Novaliches (Manila, Philippines) which developed under the care of Fr. Gabriel Maria Pelletieri, following the "Marian Traccia of Franciscan Life."

In 1988, he was elected rector of the theological College "San Francesco" in Benevento until 1990.

In June 23 1990, in the foundation of the Institute of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, he became its Minister General until the present time.

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: Mass for Deceased Cardinals and Bishops

"The great family of the Church finds in these days a time of grace and lives them, in accordance with her vocation, gathered closely around the Lord in prayer and offering his redeeming Sacrifice for the repose of the deceased faithful. Today, we offer it especially for the Cardinals and Bishops who have departed from us in this past year."

"Those who place themselves at the Lord's service and spend their lives in the ecclesial ministry are not exempt from trials; on the contrary, the trials are even more insidious, as the experience of the saints shows."

"... while we thank God for all the benefits that he has bestowed upon our deceased Brothers, let us offer for them the merits of the passion and death of Christ, so that they may fill the gaps due to human frailty."

~  Pope Benedict XVI:  Homily at Mass for Deceased Cardinals and Bishops, 2005 ~

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. Paul of the Cross: "Carry to the altar the needs of the entire world."

"The Mass is the most favorable occasion to speak with the eternal Father,

 because then we offer Him His only Son as a victim for our salvation.

Before celebrating, reflect on the sufferings of your Redeemer,

commune peaceably with Him, even in the midst of dryness;

carry to the altar the needs of the entire world."

~ St. Paul of the Cross ~

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. John Chrysostom: Christ Sanctifies the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

"I wish to add something that is plainly awe-inspiring, but do not be astonished or upset. This Sacrifice, no matter who offers it, be it Peter or Paul, is always the same as that which Christ gave His disciples and which priests now offer: The offering of today is in no way inferior to that which Christ offered, because it is not men who sanctify the offering of today; it is the same Christ who sanctified His own. For just as the words which God spoke are the very same as those which the priest now speaks, so too the oblation is the very same."

"It is not the power of man which makes what is put before us the Body and Blood of Christ, but the power of Christ Himself who was crucified for us. The priest standing there in the place of Christ says these words but their power and grace are from God. 'This is My Body,' he says, and these words transform what lies before him."

~ St. John Chrysostom ~

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.

Thorns in the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Sacrilege, Indifference and Ingratitude

franciscanfriars June 19, 2009
Jesus allowed His Sacred Heart to be pierced so that we can be saved. But so often this greatest of gifts is met with Sacrilege, Indifference and Ingratitude. Listen as Father explains how great a tragedy this is and why we should love Our Lord ever more. Ave Maria!
To Download Audio go to http://airmaria.com/?p=5356

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. Anthony Brankin: "The Sacrifice of Christ is Made Present and Real at Mass"

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: The Mass is Infinite Like Jesus..."

"Renew your faith by attending Holy Mass.

Keep your mind focused on the mystery that is unfolding before your eyes.

In your mind's eye transport yourself to Calvary

and meditate on the Victim who offers Himself to Divine Justice,

paying the price of your redemption."

"The Mass is infinite like Jesus. . .

Ask an angel what the Mass is, and he will reply to you in truth,

'I understand what it is and why it is offered,

but I do not, however, understand how much value it has.'

One angel, a thousand angels, all of Heaven know this and think like this."

~ 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.

St. Alphonsus Liguori: Jesus Died to Institute the Priesthood

Jesus has died to institute the priesthood. It was not necessary for the Redeemer to die in order to save the world. A drop of his blood, a single tear, or prayer, was sufficient to procure salvation for all; for such a prayer, being of infinite value, should be sufficient to save not one but a thousand worlds. But to institute the priesthood, the death of Jesus Christ has been necessary. Had he not died, where should we find the victim that the priests of the New Law now offer, a victim altogether holy and immaculate, capable of giving to God an honor worthy of God? As has been already said, all the lives of men and angels are not capable of giving to God an infinite honor like that, which a priest offers to him by a single Mass.

~ From Dignity and Duties of the Priesthood by St. Alphonsus Liguori ~

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 Catholic Mass

"Dear young people, the happiness you are seeking, the happiness you have a right to enjoy has a name and a face: it is Jesus of Nazareth, hidden in the Eucharist. Only he gives the fullness of life to humanity!" - Pope Benedict XVI

"Hear Mass daily; it will prosper the whole day. All your duties will be performed the better for it, and your soul will be stronger to bear its daily cross. The Mass is the most holy act of religion; you can do nothing that can give greater glory to God or be more profitable for your soul than to hear Mass both frequently and devoutly. It is the favorite devotion of the saints." - St. Peter Julian Eymard

"Everyday, Jesus humbles himself just as He did when He came from His heavenly throne into the Virgin's womb; everyday He comes to us and lets us see Him in abjection, when He descends from the bosom of the Father into the hands of the priest at the altar." - St. Francis of Assisi

"The Blessed Eucharist is the perfect Sacrament of the Lord's Passion, since It contains Christ Himself and his Passion." - St. Thomas Aquinas

"Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to heaven." - Pope Pius X

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. Thomas Aquinas: Pange Lingua Gloriosi

"The celebration of the Holy Mass

is as valuable as the death of Jesus on the Cross."

~ St. Thomas Aquinas ~

PANGE LINGUA GLORIOSI

Of the glorious Body telling,
O my tongue, its mysteries sing,
And the Blood, all price excelling,
Which the world's eternal King,
In a noble womb once dwelling
Shed for the world's ransoming.

Given for us, descending,
Of a Virgin to proceed,
Man with man in converse blending,
Scattered he the Gospel seed,
Till his sojourn drew to ending,
Which he closed in wondrous deed.

At the last great Supper lying
Circled by his brethren's band,
Meekly with the law complying,
First he finished its command
Then, immortal Food supplying,
Gave himself with his own hand.

Word made Flesh, by word he maketh
Very bread his Flesh to be;
Man in wine Christ's Blood partaketh:
And if senses fail to see,
Faith alone the true heart waketh
To behold the mystery.

Therefore we, before him bending,
This great Sacrament revere;
Types and shadows have their ending,
For the newer rite is here;
Faith, our outward sense befriending,
Makes the inward vision clear.

Glory let us give, and blessing
To the Father and the Son;
Honour, might, and praise addressing,
While eternal ages run;
Ever too his love confessing,
Who, from both, with both is one.
Amen.

R. Thou hast given them bread from heaven.
V. Having within it all sweetness.

Let us pray: O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament left us a memorial of Thy Passion: grant, we implore Thee, that we may so venerate the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, as always to be conscious of the fruit of Thy Redemption. Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever.
R. Amen.

This hymn is exceedingly sublime in its expression of faith in Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. The latter part of this hymn is mandated by the Church for use at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The last two stanzas, known as the Tantum Ergo, is usually sung at the beginning of the last part of Benediction; after any period of silence and before the priest blesses the congregation with Our Lord Himself. Even today this hymn is widely known and used frequently. It is one of the most famous chants in existence.

It was written by St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor. He is known as the Common Doctor of the Church. His angelic purity and holiness brought him very close to God. He wrote the hymn Pange Lingua (of which the Tantum Ergo is the last two stanzas) for the feast of Corpus Christi. A fellow priest and close friend attempted this task at the same time. When St. Thomas finished, he shared it with the priest, who was awe-struck at its sublimity and expression. He was so moved by its beauty that he immediately tore up his own work, which he professed was like so much garbage compared to this heavenly-inspired text.

The hymn is as beautiful and poetic as it is precise in expressing Catholic doctrine. It is peerless for its quality, sublimity, and facility with the Latin language. Verse 4 especially does a play on words, deftly arranged by a Latin master. St. Thomas Aquinas was a true man - as pious and humble as he was intelligent, as chaste as he was courageous, as meek as he was wise. Witness the heights a man can achive by God's grace and the cultivation of virtue - instead of descending toward the level of the lower animals (by sensuality, anger, unrestrained passions), he rather aims upward toward the level of the angels (by purity, humility, charity).

~ Source of information about the hymn and its translation ~

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.

Follow the Example of the Saints and Love the Blessed Sacrament

"St. Thomas dedicates special attention to the mystery of the Eucharist, to which he was particularly devoted", said Benedict XVI, encouraging people "to follow the example of the saints and love this Sacrament. Let us participate devotedly in Mass in order to obtain its spiritual fruits; let us feed from the Body and Blood of the Lord that we may be incessantly nourished by divine Grace; let us pause willingly and often in the company of the Blessed Sacrament". (From VIS)

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: "The Eucharist Requires Us and Makes Us Capable of Love"

"The faith", said Benedict XVI, "can never be taken for granted, because each generation needs to receive this gift through announcement of the Gospel and knowledge of the truth that Christ revealed to us. Thus the Church constantly strives to present the heritage of the faith to everyone. This also includes the doctrine on the Eucharist". Unfortunately, though, this doctrine "is insufficiently understood in its profound significance and in the relevance it has for believers' lives. It is important, therefore, for people to have a more profound knowledge of the mystery of the Body and Blood of the Lord".

On the subject of the Mass, the Holy Father highlighted how, "when it is celebrated with respect for liturgical norms, and with adequate attention for the importance of signs and gestures, it favours and promotes the growth of Eucharistic faith". In this context, he invited everyone "to rediscover the fruitfulness of Eucharistic adoration, ... and to ensure that our apostolic activity is not reduced to sterile activism; rather, that it be a testament to the love of God".

"Drawing nourishment from Him, we free ourselves from the bonds of individualism. And through our communion with Him, we ourselves become, all together, a single unit, His mystical Body. Thus we overcome the differences due to profession, social class or nationality because we discover that we are all members of one large family, that of the children of God in which each individual is blessed with a specific grace for the common good".

"When we receive Christ", the Holy Father explained, "the love of God expands inside us, radically modifying our hearts and making us capable of gestures which, by the contagious power of goodness, can transform the lives of people around us". (Source)

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. William Casey: The Mass is Calvary Made Present Again

"When you're offering the Mass, you have to realize that you are reliving the Passion of Christ. It is Calvary made present again. It's the greatest act of worship the world has ever known or ever will know..."

~ Fr. William Casey ~

Fr. Casey never fails to tell it like it is, speaking clearly and directly. In the following video he discusses the awesome reality of the Mass, reverent participation in the Holy Sacrifice, and devout, reverent reception of Holy Communion. God bless Fr. Casey! Please take the time to listen to what he has to say.

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.