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.
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.
