Holy Desires: Imitation of the Saints in the Way of Perfection

"St. Teresa says that the devil seeks to persuade us that it would be pride in us to desire a high degree of perfection, or to wish to imitate the saints. She adds, that it is a great delusion to regard strong desires of sanctity as the offspring of pride; for it is not pride in a soul diffident of herself and trusting only in the power of God, to resolve to walk courageously in the way of perfection, saying with the Apostle: I can do all things in him who strengthened me. 1 Of myself I can do nothing; but, by his aid I shall be able to do all things, and therefore I resolve, with his grace, to desire to love him as the saints have loved him."

~  St. Alphonsus Liguori:  Excerpt from The True Spouse of Jesus Christ ~

"Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

God our Father in heaven,

God the Son, our redeemer,

God the Holy Spirit,

Holy Trinity, One God

Holy Mary Mother of God,

Saint Joseph, Spouse of Mary,

Saints Peter, Paul and Holy apostles,

Saint Isaac Jogues and Holy Martyrs,

Saint Patrick, Bishops and Priests,

Saints Dominic and Catherine,

Saints Francis and Claire,

Saint Theresa of Jesus,

Saint Peter Claver,

Saint Juan Diego,

Saint Rose of Lima,

Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys,

Saint Thérèse of Lesieux,

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini,

Saint John Neumann,

Saint Teresa Benedicta,

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha,

Blessed Edmund Rice,

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta,

Lord, show us your kindness

Draw young people to serve you,

in priesthood,

and religious life.

Inspire the people of our world

with respect for human life

that there may be an end

to the culture of death.

Guide and protect

the dioceses of Baltimore,

Boston, Louisville, New York,

Philadelphia and all your Church.

Keep our Holy Father,

our Bishops and all clergy,

in faithful service

to your Church."

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.

Archbishop Raymond Burke: Voting the Golden Rule--Protecting the Unborn

God bless Archbishop Burke!

~ For more wise counsel from Archbishop Burke, 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. 

Archbishop Raymond Burke on the Spiritual Legacy of Fr. John Hardon, S.J.

Prayer for the Beatification and Canonization of Father John Hardon

Almighty God, You gave Your servant,

Father John Anthony Hardon of the Society of Jesus,

the grace of consecration as a religious dedicated to the

apostolate and the grace of consecration as an ordained priest,

after the Heart of Your Divine Son, our Good Shepherd.

Through Father Hardon,

You provided for your Flock an extraordinary teacher of the faith.

You entrusted Father Hardon into the loving

care of the Blessed Virgin Mary

whose counsel, "Do whatever he tells you" (Jn 2:5)

he faithfully followed and whose intercession he unceasingly invoked.

If it be Your holy will, please grant the request I now make,

calling upon the help of Father Hardon,

so that his heroic sanctity may be recognized in the whole Church.

I ask this through Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who

with You and the Holy Spirit, is one God forever and ever.

Amen.

Starting at about 11 minutes Archbishop Burke shares information about Fr. Hardon and his cause for 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.

St. Jean Vianney: The Power of the Priest

When the bell calls you to church, if you were asked, "Where are you going?" you might answer, "I am going to feed my soul." If someone were to ask you, pointing to the tabernacle, "What is that golden door?" "That is our storehouse, where the true Food of our souls is kept." "Who has the key? Who lays in the provisions? Who makes ready the feast, and who serves the table?" "The priest." "And what is the Food?" "The precious Body and Blood of Our Lord." O God! O God! how You have loved us! See the power of the priest; out of a piece of bread the word of a priest makes a God. It is more than creating the world.... Someone said, "Does St. Philomena, then, obey the Cure of Ars?" Indeed, she may well obey him, since God obeys him.

~ St. Jean Vianney, from his Catechism on the Priesthood ~

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

Bishop Frederic Baraga, the Snowshoe Priest: Cause for Canonization

The cause for Bishop Frederic Baraga’s sainthood is moving forward to new territory. Documents sent to Rome concerning a possible miracle attributable to the Snowshoe Priest have been opened by The Congregation for Causes of Saints.

The October 11 opening has spurred additional movement in the cause. Bishop Alexander Sample said he has been told the positio – the written documentation of Bishop Baraga’s life – is on the fast track for examination by the congregation.

“The fact now that we have a promising miracle over in Rome at the congregation, and that they are going to take up a formal examination of our miracle over there, is what has now suddenly moved the positio on the other track,” Bishop Sample said. “Where we have been stalled for 12 years, now we’re told we’re in the top 10 on the list to be examined.”

“I think there’s a great need for renewal in the priesthood and among the bishops, and I think Bishop Baraga, with his selfless zeal and service to Christ and the people of the Church, can be a great inspiration to priests today. I always say Bishop Baraga spent his entire life and every last ounce of his human strength to serve Jesus and the Church in the Upper Peninsula. We priests need that example and inspiration to do the same ourselves – to really be selfless, to really lay down our life, to spend our life with joy,” Bishop Sample said.

Bishop Sample summarized by saying, “What does this mean to us? It means we have someone we can look to as an inspiration and an example of holiness. We’re all called to holiness. The Second Vatican Council made that point abundantly clear, every person in the Church, every layperson, deacon, priest, religious, bishop, pope — we’re all called to holiness.”

~ Excerpt from here. ~

~ For more information 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.

Cardinal Francis Xavier Van Thuan: The Joy of Celebrating Mass in Prison

"Were you able to say Mass in prison?" is a question I have been asked many, many times. And when I say "Yes", I can foretell the next question, "How did you get the bread and wine?"

I was taken to prison empty-handed. Later on, I was allowed to request the strict necessities like clothing, toothpaste, etc. I wrote home saying "Send me some wine as medication for stomach pains". On the outside, the faithful understood what I meant.

They sent me a little bottle of Mass wine, with a label reading "medication for stomach pains", as well as some hosts broken into small pieces.

The police asked me: "Do you have pains in your stomach?" "Yes." "Here is some medicine for you!"

I will never be able to express the joy that was mine: each day, with three drops of wine, a drop of water in the palm of my hand, I celebrated my Mass.

The six Catholics in my group of 50 prisoners tried to stay together. We lined up the boards we were given as beds; they were about 20 inches wide. We slept close together in order to be able to pray during the night.

At 9.30 every evening when lights out rang everyone had to be lying down. I bent over my wooden board and celebrated Mass, by heart of course, and distributed Communion to my neighbours under their mosquito nets. We made tiny bags from cigarette paper to protect the Blessed Sacrament.

At night, the prisoners took turns and spent time in adoration. The Blessed Sacrament helped tremendously. Even Buddhists and other non-Christians were converted. The strength of the love of Jesus is irresistible. The darkness of the prison turned into light, the seed germinated silently in the storm. (Source)

~ Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan ~

~ Previous post on Cardinal Van Thuan ~  

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. 

Meet the 24 New Cardinals

From: romereports | October 22, 2010
Benedict XVI announced he will appoint 24 new cardinals on November 20th. Among them are two Americans Archbishops: Donald William Wuerl of Washington, D.C., and Raymond Leo Burke, prefect of the Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

Other noteworthy appointees are the Archbishop of Aparecida, Brazil, Raymundo Damasceno Assis, Archbishop José Manuel Estepa Llaurens of Spain, Archbishop Emeritus of Quito, Ecuador, Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, and the Pope's current delegate to the Legionaries of Christ, Velasio De Paolis.

In total there are 15 Europeans, ten from Italy alone, four Africans, two Americans, two from Latin America and one from Asia.

Among the new cardinals is the Egyptian Antonios Naguib, Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts, and the Archbishop of Warsaw, Poland, Kazimierz Nycz.

The Pope has also appointed senior Vatican officials such as the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Angelo Amato and the prefect of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi.

From the nominees, four are over 80 years old and therefore can not participate in a conclave. They include the Italians Elio Sgreccia and Domenico Bartolucci, the German Walter Brandmuller and Spaniard José Manuel Estepa Llaurens.

After the consistory, set for November 20th, the college of cardinals will hold 122 electors. Today there are 60 cardinals that have been named by Benedict XVI, 50 with voting powers and ten without.

This is the third consistory that Benedict XVI has celebrated in his papacy. The last was held in November 2007 when he named 23 new cardinals.

The new cardinals will receive the red biretta from the Pope on the 20th of November. The next day they will receive the cardinal's ring in a solemn ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica.

Only after completing these ceremonial rites can one enter a conclave.

When a conclave is called to elect a new Pope it is made up of a maximum of 120 cardinals. When a cardinal turns 80 he may retain his title but can no longer participate in a conclave.

Cardinals are identifiable by their red clothing—including their clerical robes the cassock and mozzetta, as well as their hats, the biretta and zucchetto. The color is meant to symbolize the cardinals' willingness "to shed blood for the increase of the Christian faith."

Cardinals are generally appointed to be members of specific Vatican agencies. They participate in consistories for important Church discussions, in addition to conclaves when selecting a new pope.

The pope is generally chosen from members of the College of Cardinals, though technically any unmarried Catholic male could be chosen.

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.