Revelation
“Let the whole of mankind tremble, the whole of the world shake, and the heavens exalt when Christ, the Son of the Living God, is present on the Altar in the hands of the priest.” –St. Francis of Assisi
“It is this divine power, the same power that brought about the Incarnation of the Word, that transformed the extreme violence and extreme injustice into a supreme act of love and justice. This is the work of the priesthood of Christ which the Church inherited and extended in history, in the dual form of the common priesthood of the baptized and the ordained priesthood of ministers, in order to transform the world with God's love.
“In fact, dear friends, the priest is a gift of the Heart of Christ: a gift for the Church and for the world. From the Heart of the Son of God, brimming with love, flow all the goods of the Church. In particular, originates in it the vocation of those men who, won over by the Lord Jesus, leave all things to devote themselves without reserve to the service of the Christian people, after the example of the Good Shepherd. The priest is molded by the charity of Christ himself, that love which impelled him to lay down his life for his friends and also to forgive his enemies. For this reason all priests are first and foremost workers of the civilization of love.”
Let us all, priests and faithful, nourish ourselves with the same Eucharist, let us all prostrate ourselves to adore it, because in it our Master and Lord is present, the true Body of the Jesus is present in it, the Victim and the Priest, the salvation of the world. Come let us exult with joyful songs! Come, let us adore him! Amen.” –Pope Benedict XVI’s Homily on The Solemnity of Corpus Christi June 3, 2010
"If Christ Jesus, our Lord and God, is himself the high priest of God the Father; and if he offered himself as a sacrifice to the Father; and if he commanded that this be done in commemoration of himself, then certainly the priest, who imitates that which Christ did, truly functions in place of Christ" –St. Cyprian of Carthage (Letters 63:14 [A.D. 253]).
“In God's plan, Christ's gift of himself is made present in the Eucharist through that potestas sacra, which the sacrament of Orders confers upon you priests. When we celebrate Holy Mass we hold in our hands the Bread of Heaven, the Bread of God, which is Christ, the grain that breaks open in order to increase and to become the true food of life for the world. It is something that cannot but fill you with deep wonder, lively joy and immense gratitude: love and the gift of the Crucified and Glorious Christ now pass through your hands, your voice, your heart! It is an ever new experience of wonder to see that the Lord brings about this mystery of his Presence in my hands, in my voice!
So how can we fail to pray the Lord to give you an ever alert and enthusiastic awareness of this gift which is placed at the centre of your being as priests! And to give you the grace of being able to experience in depth the whole beauty and power of this presbyteral service of yours and, at the same time, the grace of being able to live this ministry with consistency and generosity, every day.” –Pope Benedict XVI
"Know, O Christian, that the Mass is the holiest act of religion. You cannot do anything to glorify God more, nor profit your soul more, than by devoutly assisting at it, and assisting as often as possible." - St. Peter Julian Eymard..
“I set the Lord ever before me; with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. Therefore, my heart is glad and my soul rejoices, my body, too, abides in confidence; Because you will not abandon me to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption. You will show me the path to new life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever.” (Psalm 16: 8-11)
Daily Apostles listen attentively to God's voice within their heart. This blessed union with the Christ Child, the Incarnate Word, our Divine spouse through Holy Communion, the hope and future of all mankind, as revealed by the Holy Spirit, allows us to become a modern day Simeon or Prophetess Anna.
“Dear Brothers and Sisters, how great a gift it is to be part of a communion which is open to everyone! It is the communion of the Most Holy Trinity, from whose heart Emmanuel, Jesus, "God with us", came into the world. Like the shepherds of Bethlehem, let us contemplate, filled with wonder and gratitude, this mystery of love and light! Happy Christmas to all!” –From Pope Benedict XVI’s Christmas Message December 25, 2009
"For whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who (indeed) is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." (1 John 5: 4-5). We must be ready for anything God may allow. He always sends His love with it.
“And yet, once our last hour has come, and our hearts have ceased to beat, everything will be finished for us and the time to merit as well as to demerit. We will present ourselves to Christ the Judge just as death finds us. Our cries of supplication, our tears, our sighs of repentance, which while still on earth would have won God's heart, could have made us with the help of the Sacraments, Saints out of sinners, today is worthless; the time of Mercy is passed, now begins the time of Justice.” –Meditation by St. Padre Pio
St John in the Prologue to his Gospel: "To all who received him,... he gave power to become children of God" (John 1: 12). This wonderful mystery which is our "second birth" the birth of a human being from "on high", from God (cf. John 3: 1-8) is brought about by and recapitulated in the sacramental sign of Baptism.
Generated from Baptism to new life, the Christian too begins his journey of growth in faith that will lead him to invoking God consciously as "Abba", "Father", to addressing him with gratitude and to living the joy of being his child.
Let us entrust to the Church these newly-baptized infants and their families, and ask for all the joy of being reborn every day, "from on high", from the love of God which makes us his children and each other's brothers and sisters.” – From Pope Benedict XVI’s Baptism of the Lord Angelus Address January 10, 2010
“During one time of prayer, I learned how pleasing to God was the soul of Father Andrasz. He is a true child of God. It is rare that divine sonship shines forth so clearly in a soul, and this because he has a special devotion to the Mother of God.” –St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament. May your every prayer be an encounter with God.
“O my Jesus, You know, You alone know well that my heart knows no other love but You! All my virginal love is drowned eternally in You, O Jesus! I sense keenly how Your divine Blood is circulating in my heart; I have not the least doubt that Your most pure love has entered my heart with Your most sacred Blood. I am aware that You are dwelling in me, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, or rather I am aware that it is I who am living in You, O incomprehensible God! I am aware that I am dissolving in You like a drop in an ocean. I am aware that You are within me and all about me, that You are in all things that surround me, in all that happens to me. O my God, I have come to know You within my heart, and I have loved You above all things that exist on earth or in heaven. Our hearts have a mutual understanding, and no one of humankind will comprehend this.” -St.Faustina’s Diary # 478
"The priesthood in the Catholic Church is identified with many things -- the priest can indeed be a pastor, teacher, counselor, chaplain, writer, administrator, or social worker, but the main reason he has been ordained is to preach the Gospel and to institute the Holy Eucharist. A priest makes the real presence possible and no one, no king, no genius, not even the will of a thousand people, nor the combined efforts of a whole nation can substitute for the power of a priest’s consecrated words ‘This is My body, this is the cup of My Blood.’
A priest is one who sacrifices and who is willing to sacrifice himself. A priest must live up to what his name signifies, one who surrenders himself completely as no one else on earth is expected to surrender. This means the sacrifice of his time for the people committed to his care. It is really not his time, it is their time. It means too the sacrifice of his talents, the sacrifice of his preferences, conveniences, place of living, and form of ministry. It means that a priest is to totally spend himself for the souls that Christ has entrusted to his specific care.
The Church desperately needs priestly vocations and she will get them on one condition, provided priests are what they are supposed to be, men who do not shrink from hard work, who do not hesitate to undergo inconvenience, and even pain; men whose one preoccupation is to save souls, to bring back sinners, or to elevate the weak and the timid to sanctity. Men who labor and ask for nothing except God’s own love in return. In a word, priests who are not afraid of sacrifice, whose Mass is not only their liturgy but their life. For such priests we should pray and beg the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, to send such laborers into His harvest." –Fr. John Hardon. After God it is the priest.
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal Number 93, describes the dispositions that shall occupy the celebrating priest: "He must serve God and the people with dignity and humility, and by his bearing and by the way he says the divine words he must convey to the faithful the living presence of Christ."
“Then, oriented toward God and dedicated to the worship of the blessed Trinity in the service of the sacred liturgy of the Church, priest and people alike may be more attuned to hear the tender voice that calls us so that "under God's protection [we] may attain to the loftier heights of doctrine and virtue." – Rule of St. Benedict Chapter 73
Almighty and Eternal God, You promised to provide shepherds after Your own heart. Through the intercession of Your beloved priest, St. John Marie Vianney, we beg you to appoint holy and strong priests for us. Anoint them to speak Your truth, to forgive our sins, and to sustain us with Your Body and Blood. Instill in our priests a thirst for souls, a burning desire to be the heart, the hands and the face of Christ to the world. Mary, Mother of priests and cause of our joy, keep your sons faithful to Christ our High Priest. Amen. This Prayer for Priests was written by a diocesan parish priest.
0 Holy Father, may the torrents of love flowing from the sacred wounds of your divine Son bring forth priests like unto the beloved disciple John who stood at the foot of the cross; priests, who as a pledge of your own most tender love will lovingly give your divine Son to the souls of men.
May your priests be faithful guardians of your Church, as John was of Mary, whom he received into his house. Taught by this loving Mother who suffered so much on Calvary, may they display a mother's care and thoughtfulness towards your children. May they teach souls to enter into close union with you through Mary who, as the Gate of Heaven, is specially the guardian of the treasures of your divine Heart.
Give us priests who are on fire, and who are true children of Mary, priests who will give Jesus to souls with the same tenderness and care with which Mary carried the Little Child of Bethlehem.
‘Mother of sorrows and of love, out of compassion for your beloved Son, open in our hearts deep wells of love, so that we may console Him and give Him a generation of priests formed in your school and having all the tender thoughtfulness of your own spotless love.’ We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. St. Therese’s Prayer for Priests.
Priests who know the Truth, defend it, believe in, act upon, and offer their lives to Jesus will restore the Church to its greatest splendor. The priesthood is a gift from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“Everything flourishes anew because God has appeared in our midst. The Virgin Mother shows the Infant Jesus to the shepherds of Bethlehem, who rejoice and praise the Lord (cf. Luke 2: 20). The Church renews the mystery for people of every generation, she shows them God's Face so that, with his Blessing, they may walk on the path of peace.” –From Pope Benedict XVI’s Homily Mary, Mother of God