Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests, for Priests in Purgatory, and for Vocations

"If the faithful love Me, if they want to glorify Me as is their duty of love, nothing can be greater for them to do for Me than what they do for My priests, which is as they would have done for Me Myself..."

"The mission of faithful souls lasts, to free priests from that place of purification, to gain for Me the joy of seeing them finally in the bosom of my glory. This will be an act of charity for them and a joy that they will give Me."

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida ~

Excerpted Introduction from the book Praying for Our Priests:

There can be no more fruitful investment in the life of Holy Mother Church than time spent in prayer for Her priests and vocations to the priesthood. This project had its origin in the early days of 2006 when Monsignor Peter Dunne, recovering from a long and critical illness, experienced a deepening awareness of the need to pray for his brother priests in Purgatory. (emphasis mine)

At the same time, Vicki Herout, his longtime caregiver, spiritual daughter, and coworker in many projects, began to realize in her own prayers an intense and persistent call to pray for the priesthood. Eventually, they brought together a group that has continued to meet regularly to pray for priests. This booklet, initially compiled as an aid to this prayer group, has been adapted for use by individuals as well as small and large groups in a variety of settings.

The meditations on the priesthood that you will read in this booklet came out of the hearts and prayers of the authors – out of the heart of Monsignor Dunne who has loved and lived his priesthood to the fullest for sixty-five years – and out of the many months his coauthor spent praying, meditating and writing before the Blessed Sacrament. These prayers are meant for all to pray – priests, religious and laity – but they are written with the special purpose of providing insights into the life of a priest and into the mystery of the priesthood itself that will awaken and encourage in the laity a desire to pray for priests and for holy vocations.

As this booklet is about to be published, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has announced a special ‘Year for Priests’, emphasizing the centrality of Christ in the “…priestly ministry, without which there would be no Eucharist, no mission, not even the Church.” The Holy Father, in his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations in May, 2009, also stressed that “…prayer for vocations should be continuous and trusting.” Dear readers, just as we believe that there is no more fruitful investment in the life of the Church than prayer for Her priests, so we believe that one of the many fruits of a holy priesthood is vocations. We pray that this booklet will be an aid to those who will answer the Holy Father’s call to prayer – throughout the year and beyond.

~ Excerpted from page 4 of Praying for Our Priests. ~

~ Previous posts on Charity for Faithful Departed 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.

Transformation of Priests into Christ-Victim

"...sacrifice is one of the culminating points and is the base for transformation into Me who was a Victim from the very moment of My Incarnation on to My death.

"To be acceptable to My Father, a victim must be pure and sacrificed. My entire life is reduced to this beautiful work which synthesizes the essence of the Christian and even more that of the priest: immolation! I was voluntarily immolated on earth and I continue this life of immolation on the altars.

 "I came into the world to sanctify suffering and to take away its bitterness. I came to bring about love of the cross, and the most perfect transformation into Me must be brought about by loving suffering, by painful love.

"Thus then, a priest who wants to assimilate himself to Me as is his obligation, must love sacrifice, must aspire to voluntary immolation, by devoting himself, by renouncing his own self and sacrificing himself constantly on behalf of souls.

"Priests means one who offers himself and offers, who immolates himself and immolates.

"Priests must love the cross and be in love with Me crucified. I am their model" (Diary, Jan. 1, 1928).

"The Holy Spirit inspired My death on the Cross. This death was the work of infinite love toward My Father and toward souls, but with so noble a purpose as to associate very especially to My Cross, to a life of sacrifice, all My future priests, who on being other Christs, making themselves one with Me would have to perpetuate My Sacrifice in themselves and on the altars to honor My Father, offering themselves and Me as one sole Victim pure and holy who would glorify Him" (Diary, Dec. 12, 1931).

~ Jesus 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.

Jesus Wants Prayers and Suffrages for Deceased Priests

"I do not want to exclude priests who have died.

They also need prayers and suffrages

so that they may return to my arms from purgatory to heaven.

Even there, the mission of faithful souls lasts,

to free priests from that place of purification,

to gain for Me the joy of seeing them finally in the bosom of My glory.

This will be an act of charity for them

and a joy they will give Me."

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, from To My Priests ~

My Jesus,

by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine Agony in the Garden,
in Thy Scourging and Crowning with thorns,
in the Way to Calvary,
in Thy Crucifixion and Death,
have mercy on the souls of priests in Purgatory,
especially those most forgotten and who have no one else to pray for them.
I wish to remember all those priests who ministered to me,
the priests my heart has never forgotten,
and those I no longer recall due to my frailty of memory.
Do Thou deliver them from the dire torments they endure;
call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in Paradise.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them!
Amen.

O God, Thou didst raise Thy servant, N.,

to the sacred priesthood of Jesus Christ,

according to the Order of Melchisedech,

giving him the sublime power to offer the Eternal Sacrifice,

to bring the Body and Blood of Thy Son Jesus Christ down upon the altar,

and to absolve the sins of men in Thine own Holy Name.

We beseech Thee to reward his faithfulness and to forget his faults,

admitting him speedily into Thy Holy Presence,

there to enjoy forever the recompense of his labors.

This we ask through Jesus Christ Thy Son, our Lord.

Jesus Seeks Souls To Sacrifice Themselves on Behalf of the Church

"The Lord told me many a time: 'Sacrifice yourself for the Church. My Church is what I love most and she it is who caused Me to suffer most. In truth, I live crucified in her.' (I realized He was alluding to evil priests and to ministers who do not seek the interests of Jesus Christ, but their own interests, coupled with numerous laxities and culpable behavior). 'I want you to be a victim on behalf of the Church. You do not know the value of that. Do not resist. It is a gift I want to give you. Souls sacrificing themselves as victims for the Church, receive a special recompense'" (Diary, May 28, 1898).

"Souls who are victims for the Church must unite themselves to My Heart, the supreme Victim, to offer themselves to the eternal Father on behalf of this so beloved Church, in order to expiate sins. I love My Church so much that in union with My Heart I seek victims who immolate themselves in order that the just wrath which menaces her be assuaged and changed into a shower of graces "I want, more than external martyrdom, interior martyrdom of the heart. That is why I want them to unite themselves to My Heart which is broken more than any other. I want to obtain this glory for My Father, and the Holy Spirit will ever bless the victim souls who united themselves to Me" (Diary, June 14, 1898).

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida,

excerpts from Conchita, A Mother's Spiritual Diary ~

Feast of The Triumph of the Cross: Paradox of the Cross

"The Church sprang from My Heart on the Cross. There it is that the Church so pure and beautiful was born from My side as Eve from Adam's side, in order to be the Mother of all Christians, of all souls, to save them through the infinite merits I deposited in her immaculate soul" (Diary, March 14, 1928)."

"Through the external cross which all can see, I was a victim acceptable to the Father by shedding My blood, but it was above all through the interior cross that Redemption was accomplished" (Diary, Sept. 7, 1896).

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida,

excerpts from Conchita, A Mother's Spiritual Diary ~

Today on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, Fr. Dominic preaches on the remarkable paradox of a triumph coming from an instrument of defeat. By humiliating himself on the Cross he triumphed over the pride of Satan, the pride of sin. So now the Cross is a sign of hope toward which we should all lift our eyes and hearts in gratitude and joy. Ave Maria! For Audio go to http://airmaria.com/?p=14737

~ Related post: Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross and in the 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.

Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida Intercession Prayer

"Offer yourself as a victim for My priests.

Unite yourself to My sacrifice for gaining them graces.”

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion, Conchita,
from Conchita, A Mother's Spiritual Diary, Sept. 24, 1927 ~

Heavenly Father, in your goodness, may you grant me the graces I confidently ask for through the intercession of the Venerable Concepción Cabrera de Armida, lay woman and mystic. (Here mention your intentions). Glorify your servant on earth so that all priests, religious and laity, inspired by her example, experience the desire to be transformed into your son Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim. May this be for the greater glory of the Trinity, the holiness in your Church and the building of your kingdom. Amen.

If you receive a favor for intercession of Conchita, please write your testimony and send an email to the Postulator of the Cause of Canonization.

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.

Thank You for Praying for Priests!

"If the faithful love Me,

if they want to glorify Me as is their duty of love,

nothing can be greater for them to do for Me

than what they do for My priests,

which is as they would have done for Me Myself..."

~ 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.

Consecration of the World and Priests to the Holy Spirit

"The world is foundering because it rejects the Holy Spirit, and all the evils which afflict it have therein their origin. The remedy is found in Him. He is the Consoler, the author of all grace, the bond of union between the Father and the Son and the supreme conciliator since He is charity, uncreated and eternal Love.

"May the whole world have recourse to this Holy Spirit since the day of His reign has arrived. This last stage of the world belongs very specially to Him that He be honored and exalted.

"May the Church preach Him, may souls love Him, may the whole world be consecrated to Him, and peace will come along with a moral and spiritual reaction, greater than the evil by which the world is tormented.

"May all at once this Holy Spirit begin to be called on with prayers, penances and tears, with the ardent desire of His coming. He will come, I will send Him again clearly manifest in His effects, which will astonish the world and impel the Church to holiness" (Diary, Sept. 27, 1918).

"Ask for this renewal, this new Pentecost, for My Church has need of priests sanctified by the Holy Spirit. The world is foundering in the abyss since it lacks priests who will help it from falling in; priests who bear the light to shine on the paths of good; pure priests to pull out of the mud so many hearts; priests afire who will fill the entire universe with divine love.

"Ask, supplicate heaven, that all may be restored in Me by the Holy Spirit" (Diary, Nov. 1, 1927).

"I want to return to the world in My priests. I want to renew the world of souls by making Myself seen in My priests. I want to give a might impulse to My Church infusing in her, as it were, a new Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, in My priests" (Diary, Jan. 5, 1928).

"To obtain what I ask, every priest must make a consecration to the Holy Spirit, asking Him, through Mary's intercession, to come to them as it were in a new Pentecost, to purify them, to fill them with love, possess them, unify them, sanctify them and transform them into Me" (Diary, Jan. 25, 1928).

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida (Conchita) ~

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.

Mary, Mother of the Church

"Mary was chosen among all women that in Her virginal womb the Incarnation of the Divine Word be brought about and from that very moment She, wholly pure, the Virgin Mother, She who consented to it with love in most total submission to My Father's will, has never ceased offering Me to Him. The victim came from heaven to save the world, but She sacrificed Her maternal heart to the divine will of the Beloved Father.

"She reared Me to be a Victim, attaining the supreme oblation of Her soul when She delivered Me up to be crucified. One sole sacrifice was there, that which I offered on the Cross and which took place in Her heart. She continued this sacrifice by Her martyrdom of solitude, offering up Her sufferings to the eternal Father in union with me.

"When I left the world, when I parted from My Disciples, I left them Mary, to represent Me by Her virtues, in Her maternal tenderness, in Her Heart; perfectly faithful to Mine. I left Her to be a necessary factor for the foundation of My Church, as well as sustenance for My Apostles and My first disciples.

"The nascent Church relied on Mary, who sustained Her by Her sufferings and Her virtues, Her prayers and Her love.

"That is why, when I sent the Holy Spirit to My Apostles, I did not take Mary away, although She was even now full of grace and filled with the Holy Spirit. This was in order that the Church see in Her, her Queen, that priests judge Her indispensable, and that neither they nor the faithful suffer from the absence of their Mother's love and sacrifice" (Diary, April 6, 1928).

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida (Conchita) ~

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.

Divine Mercy Sunday: Jesus of Mercy

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.

Universal Call to Holiness

The words that Fr S addresses to brother priests in the excerpts below can just as well be applied to the non-ordained. We are all called to the heights of holiness--to sainthood. Can we honestly say that we are living for God and His glory more than for ourselves? Are His priorities our priorities? Do we want to please Him in all that we think, say and do? Do we love Him more than anyone else or anything that the world has to offer?

The Holy Father has been inspired to ask for a year of special prayer and sacrifice for priests. His request echoes the sentiments of Jesus when He said to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, "...I want souls who are dedicated with fervor, with determination and without looking for rest, to plead day and night for My priests."

The Year for Priests is quickly drawing to a close. Have we been more attentive during this year to the obligation to spiritually support our Catholic priests? Do we pray for priests, sacrifice and mortify ourselves for them? Never? Seldom? Frequently? Every Day? Could we do more? Should we do more? What does Jesus want us to do? Have we tried to satisfy the thirst of Jesus for holy priests and holy people?

Fr S has written a thought provoking post:

"...Our Holy Father tries to be holy; no one can doubt that. But priests need to try to be holy, too! So long as we pass the buck to others and give ourselves a pass we will never have the success that we could.

"If we look through history, there have been times of great religious fervor and great religious torpor. Right now it seems that we are in the latter. We are all waiting around, wondering who the next saints will be to lift us out of this mire. Why is it that we cannot be those ones? Why do we not pray for the charismatic gifts? Why do we not pray to share in the Cross? Why do we not ask huge things of Our Lord? Why do we not seek holiness and holiness alone? What other solution can there be?

"The sad state of things in so many places is that when one priest tries to live out a holy life, he is branded as extreme. He looks at what saints did in earlier days and is drawn to mortification and simplicity, all the while being thought of as crazy by the brethren. This has got to stop. No matter how holy the Holy Father is or a few bishops are, they need our help. They need our sacrifice, our mortification, our intercession. We have all of the tools we need, but we have to put them into practice. Holiness alone! Sola sanctitas! We have got to draw the line here and give not even an inch. "

~ Excerpts from Sola Sanctitas by Fr. S at Clerical Reform ~

~ AN APPEAL FOR ONE HOUR OF EUCHARISTIC ADORATION FOR PRIESTS ~

(The poll counter has gone haywire the last couple of months and is counting backwards. Don't let that stop you from making a commitment to offer a Holy Hour for priests. What is important is the commitment--not the number. Only 71 days left in this Year 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.

Fr. James Farfaglia: Renew our Love for the Eucharist and the Catholic Priesthood

The root cause of the attacks against the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic priesthood is Satan's intense hatred of Jesus Christ and His Real Presence in the Eucharist. His hatred is spewed out in unrelenting vindictiveness against our Lord and Savior, targeting especially the men Jesus has chosen to be 'other Christs' and shepherds of his flock.

A most powerful weapon against these attacks is an increased love and devotion for Jesus in the Eucharist, increased attendance at Mass, increased Eucharistic adoration, increased prayers and sacrifices for His priests.

Jesus said to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, "If the faithful love Me, if they want to glorify Me as is their duty of love, nothing can be greater for them to do for Me than what they do for My priests, which is as they would have done for Me Myself..."

Fr. James Farfaglia reflects:

"At every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we participate in a marvelous miracle, the miracle called Transubstantiation."

"When the priest repeats the words that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper, the bread is no longer bread, and the wine is no longer wine. Instead, the entire substance of the bread and the entire substance of the wine have been changed into the substance of The Body and Blood of Christ."

"Without the priesthood there is no Eucharist. So, is it any wonder that there is such a frontal attack on the Catholic priesthood today?"

"A true renewal of the Catholic priesthood is needed. We desperately need holy priests and courageous bishops."

"Despite the fact that vocations are on the rise and many wonderful things are happening in the Catholic Church both in this country and throughout the world, there is an undercurrent that seems to be constantly working against the work of God and his Church."

"My dear friends, we do live in difficult times. But, let us never be discouraged. On this Holy Thursday let us renew our love for the Eucharist and the Catholic priesthood. Let us pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Michael Archangel so that the clergy may always be holy, faithful and courageous."

~ Excerpts from A Holy Thursday Reflection by Fr. James Farfaglia ~

On Holy Thursday night, Father James Farfaglia does not shy away from controversy, but deals with it directly. Father explains the cause of the abuse scandal in the Church and defends Pope Benedict XVI. He ties in the open rejection of Humanae Vitae and the immoral world that we deal with today. He does not shy away from the attacks on the Church from freemasonary and the international communism of the former Soviet Empire. He exhorts young men contemplating the Catholic priesthood to be great heroes, great saints and great martyrs.

~ Fr. Farfaglia's Holy Thursday homily; The Pope, the Priesthood and the Eucharist ~

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.

Divine Mercy Novena: Prayers for God's Mercy on the Whole World

Today is the second Day of the Divine Mercy Novena. (Jesus asked St. Faustina to also pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for nine days beginning on Good Friday).

Second day:

"Today bring to Me the Souls of Priests and Religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind."

Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service,* that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard -- upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.

* In the original text, Saint Faustina uses the pronoun "us" since she was offering this prayer as a consecrated religious sister. The wording adapted here is intended to make the prayer suitable for universal use.

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.

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.

The Interior Cross of the Heart of Jesus

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

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

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

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Jesus Asks for One Hour of Prayer

"Make Reparation for the ingratitude of men.

Spend an hour in prayer to appease divine justice,

to implore mercy for sinners,

to honor Me,

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

when they did not WATCH ONE HOUR WITH ME."

~ Jesus to St. Margaret Mary ~

AN APPEAL FOR ONE HOUR OF EUCHARISTIC ADORATION FOR PRIESTS

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Clerical Reform: Series on the Priesthood by Father S.

"Offer to My Father, for My priests,

the spirit of prayer of My divine Heart,

My spirit of contemplation,

the perfect union of My Heart with Him.

That is what is lacking in so many of My priests;

a spirit of prayer, an intense interior life."

~ Jesus to Blessed Dina Belanger ~

Clerical Reform is definitely a blog worth following! Anyone who has a heart for helping priests should read the Series on the Priesthood by Fr. S. Any Catholic who doesn't have a heart for helping priests--but should--ought to read his series. Hopefully, many brother priests are reading and benefitting from what he has to say. Father addresses himself to brother priests, but his writings contains valuable insights and counsel of benefit to all readers. I have emailed a link to his series to priest and lay friends. Maybe some of you know someone who would benefit from what Father S has written. Excerpts from today's post follow:

"The hardest part of a priest's life is the interior life. It is the daily working at prayer, offering Holy Mass, mortification, and rooting out of sin; and this is where persecution comes in. The evil one is clever; have no doubt of that. As such, you can expect that you will receive temptation at your weakest spots to the degree that you seek to become like unto Jesus Christ. The more you root out sin, the more you will be besieged. Undoubtedly, the grace of Our Lord is more powerful than any created power, but it is hard to take advantage of. We foolishly think, over and over, that we can let our guard down. "I can have a couple of glasses of wine. I know the last time I did that it led to temptations against purity, but that won't happen tonight." Or, "I can sit and talk with these priests. I know that every other time I do so we get to gossiping and detraction, but this time I'll be fine." The evil one has us reconnoitered. The only means to growing in holiness is drawing close to Christ and away from sin. So long as we want to have both we will fall flat on our faces. This is the persecution we have to expect.

"So, what is our main antidote? Our main antidote is the holy hour, period. If you are not praying for a significant amount of time each day, you are not coming to know the Beloved as you should be. Your preaching will lack fullness and your ministry will lack fullness. Go and pray and stop making excuses. While there are sometimes reasons for cutting the hour short, there are no excuses for not trying to make it each day. Remember that the evil one is playing for keeps and a collar around the neck can be just as easily used to pull us down or raise us up."

For Father's Series on the Priesthood, click here. I've also included a link in the sidebar for easy future reference.

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.

Sad Revelations of Jesus to St. Padre Pio About Some Priests

Letter to Friar Augustine, on April 7, 1913, “My dear Father, I was still in bed on Friday morning, when Jesus appeared to me. He was battered and disfigured. He showed me a great crowd of priests, among whom were different ecclesiastical dignitaries. Some were celebrating or were donning or removing their vestments. To see Jesus in this condition caused me much pain. I wanted to ask him why he suffered so much. He did not answer me, but showed me that priest being punished. But shortly after, he looked sadly at these priests and I noticed, to my great horror, two tears running down his face. Jesus went away from that crowd of priests and with a great expression of disgust on his face, cried’: “Butchers!” Then He told me: “My Child, do not believe that my agony has been only three hours, no; actually I will be in agony till the end of the world because of the souls I love. During the time of the agony, my child, nobody can sleep. My soul goes looking for some drop of human pity, but they leave me alone under the weight of their indifference. The ingratitude and the sleep of my ministers increase the agony for me. They badly respond to my love! The greater torment for me is that these people add their contempt to their indifference and disbelief. How many times my wrath was to strike them like lightning, but I was stopped by the angels and the souls who love me..... Write to your confessor and describe to him what you saw and heard from me this morning. Tell him to show your letter to the Provincial... “Jesus continued to talk but I may never reveal what he said...”

Letter to Father Agostino, of (March 12, 1913), “... my father, listen to our sweet Jesus’ complaints: “My love for men is repaid with so much ingratitude! Those people would have offended me less if I had loved them less. My father doesn’t want to tolerate them anymore. I would like to stop loving them, but... (And here Jesus kept silent and, afterward taken aback) but my heart is made for loving! The tired men don’t try to overcome the temptations. Rather these men enjoy their iniquities. The souls I love more than the other’s when they suffer a temptation, when they don’t succeed in withstanding. The weak souls are dismayed and desperate. The strong souls trust Jesus. They leave me alone at night and in the morning in Church. They don’t take care of the sacrament of the altar; they don’t speak of this sacrament of love anymore; also, the people who do speak of the sacrament do it with so much indifference and coldness. My Heart has been forgotten; nobody cares for my love; I am always saddened. My house has become a theatre of plays for a lot of people; even my priests that I have always protected carefully, that I have loved as the apple of my eye; they should comfort my sorrowful heart; they should help me in the redemption of the souls, instead.... Who would believe it? I receive ingratitude from them. I see, my Son, a lot of them that... (Here he stopped, sobs tightened his throat, he wept) that under false semblance they betray me with sacrilegious communions, stamping on the light and the strength that I continually give them... “.

Epistolary I (1910-1922) PADRE PIO DA PIETRELCINA: a cura di Melchiorre da Pobladura e Alessandro da Ripabottoni - Edizioni "Padre Pio da Pietrelcina" Convento S.Maria delle Grazie San Giovanni Rotondo - FG

~ St. Padre Pio quotes from here. ~

Please pray daily for priests and, if possible, spend time in Eucharistic adoration --praying for their sanctification and offering reparation for their sins to console the Heart of 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.

Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida's Litany for Priests

Jesus said to Venerable Concepción Cabrera de Armida,

"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."

The following Litany for Priests was written by Venerable Concepción Cabrera de Armida, spiritual mother of priests, on September 18, 1921.

LITANY FOR PRIESTS

For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, R. Lord, give him your Heart of the Good Shepherd.

For the successors of the Apostles, R. Lord, give them fatherly concern for their priests.

For your Bishops chosen by the Holy Spirit, R. Lord, keep them close to your sheep.

For your Pastors, R. Lord, teach them to serve rather than to seek to be served.

For confessors and spiritual directors, R. Lord, make them docile instruments of your Spirit.

For those who announce Your Word, R. Lord, let them communicate your Spirit and Life.

For those who help the lay apostolate, R. Lord, encourage them to give witness.

For those who work with the youth, R. Lord, may they commit the youth to you.

For those who work among the poor, R. Lord, make them see and serve you in them.

For those who care for the sick, R. May they teach them the value of suffering, Lord.

For poor priests, R. Help them, Lord.

For sick priests, R. Heal them, Lord.

For elderly priests, R. Give them joyful hope, Lord.

For the sad and afflicted, R. Console them, Lord.

For anxious and troubled priests, R. Give them your peace, Lord.

For the ridiculed and persecuted, R. Defend their cause, Lord.

For lukewarm priests, R. Inflame them, Lord.

For the discouraged, R. Give them courage, Lord.

For those who aspire to the priesthood, R. Give them perseverance, Lord.

To all priests, R. Give them fidelity to you and your Church, Lord.

To all priests, R. Give them obedience and love for the Holy Father, Lord.

To all priests, R. Let them live in communion with their Bishop, Lord.

That all priests, R. Be one as you, Lord, and the Father are One.

That all priests, R. May promote the justice with which you, Lord, are just.

That all priests, R. Collaborate in the unity of the Presbyterate, Lord.

That all priests, filled with your presence, R. Live joyfully in celibacy, Lord.

To all priests, R. Grant them the fullness of your Spirit, Lord, and transform them into yourself.

In a special way, I pray for those priests through whom I have received your graces. I pray for the priest who baptized me and for those who have absolved me of my sins, reconciling me with you and with your Church. I pray for those priests in whose Masses I have participated and who have given me your Body as nourishment. I pray for those priests who have shared your Word with me, and for those who have helped me and led me to you. Amen.

Prayer: Divine Heart of Jesus, Heart full of zeal for the Glory of your Father, we pray for all your priests. By your Holy Spirit, fill them with faith, zeal and love. Amen.

Brief Form of the Litany: For all priests: Transform them into You, Lord. May the Holy Spirit possess them, and through them renew the face of the earth. Amen.

The Litany is from a brochure that also includes an Offering Holy Communion for Priests prayer. The brochure is available for printing from here.

If you missed it, some of you might have an interest in reading an earlier post on offering Holy Communion 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.