CAPG's Blog 

 In times past the priests who served in the synagogue made the mistake of looking forward to a Messiahship entirely of this world, as though the Messias intended to found an earthly kingdom with Israel as the ruling power. At the present time a similar danger seems to exist, a danger which has been noticed by many bishops in different parts of the world. Men and women are eagerly awaiting another earthly “messianic kingdom” in which the workers are to be completely free. This is a very different situation from that which existed some years ago when little notice was taken of the apostolate amongst the working class. Although this apostolate is now under way it is in danger of being inspired by a purely naturalist spirit, a mistake already made by Lamennais, who imperceptibly lost sight of the true mission of the Church – the guiding of men towards eternal life- and began to preach more and more in the vein that the true goal of the Church was the temporal happiness of mankind freed from the yoke of oppression. (…)

Recently many bishops have expressed their fear of a similar danger arising amongst those who are anxious to “christianize” Marxist doctrine in their desire to remedy present-day evils. In so doing they are laying too much store by the temporal happiness of the people and neglecting their eternal welfare, which is their true final end and ought to be their dominant intention, something they earnestly desire, not merely the object of an ineffective wish. Above all must it be true of a priest that he constantly renews this primary intent of striving for the final end, if he wants his activity to be supernatural and fruitful. On the efficacy of that intention will depend all his other intents, decisions, and actions. That is why Christ said: “Make it your first care to find the kingdom of God, and his approval, and all these things shall be yours without the asking”; that is to say, food, clothing, and a certain amount of temporal well-being for mankind but in due proportion to their final end. But he never promised to relieve man of the daily carrying of his cross. The Catholic priest must remember this if he desires to attain to a genuine union with Christ our high priest and victim, and to make his apostolate supernatural and fruitful.


Source: The priest in union with Christ, Rev. R. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. 1954

"I might also add, that if blasphemy is a terrible thing, I am not aware that sodomy is any better. The former indeed causes a man to err; the latter brings him to perdition. The one separates the soul from God; the other joins it to the devil. The former expels one from heaven; the latter buries him in hell. The one blinds the eyes of the soul; the other hurls one into the abyss of ruin. And if we are careful to investigate which of these crimes is the weightier in the scales of divine scrutiny, a search of Sacred Scripture will provide a satisfactory answer. There, indeed, we find that the children of Israel who blaspheme God and worshiped idols were taken into captivity; but we notice that sodomites were devoured in the sulphurous flames of a fire from heaven"

Source: Peter Damian: Book of Gomorrah

The League of Saint Damien

«He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty.” — Apostles’ Creed.

The only Son of God was made man, and became like unto us in all things, sin alone excepted. He died on the cross for the salvation of the world. His body was placed in a tomb; His soul descended into Limbo to deliver the holy souls who were waiting there until the blood of our Savior should wash away and blot out the sins of the world; which was necessary before they could enter into glory. The third day after the painful and cruel torments of the cross, Christ came forth gloriously from the grave, as He had foretold. Behold, my Brethren, what I explained to you in my last instruction.

Now, let us turn our attention to the sixth article of our creed, an article which will make the subject of this day’s instruction. Christ rises from the dead, ascends into heaven, and seats himself at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. Listen, my Brethren, , to the account which the Evangelist St. Luke furnishes us, concerning the wonderful Ascension of our Savior, Jesus Christ, into heaven. After His resurrection, our divine Redeemer remained during forty days on earth, showing himself frequently to His Apostles and disciples, instructing them in many very important things; such as the establishment of His Church, the propagation of the Gospel, all that regarded the reign of God in the hearts of men, and every thing calculated to bring souls to the happiness of heaven. At last, when all the Apostles and disciples were assembled at Jerusalem, Jesus appears to them for the last time. He takes a seat at their table, eats and drinks with them. During the repast, He reproaches them, but with great benignity, for their want of faith in His resurrection, of which He had now come to give them still another evident and palpable proof; He imposes upon them the mission of preaching His word to every creature, and commands them to travel the whole world, propagating His religion and spreading His divine doctrine among all nations. To inspire them with courage and penetrate their hearts with a generous confidence, He bestows upon them the divine power of working miracles, thus to give greater force to the truths which they were to announce, and which the world, converted at the sight of these prodigies of the omnipotence of God, might embrace and practice.

Our divine Lord then rises, and, followed by His Apostles and disciples, goes out from the city, and proceeds to the mount of Olives. There His agony had commenced; thence too, will He take His flight into glory. He gives His Apostles and disciples the most consoling assurance that He would never cease to protect them; recommends them to remain at Jerusalem, until they should receive the Holy Ghost, the Comforter whom He had promised to send them; He speaks to them with all the tenderness of a father addressing his children, whom he is about to leave; raises His hand, blesses them, recommends them to the favor and protection of His heavenly Father; and then, full of glory and majesty, elevates himself in the air, and mounts gradually toward heaven. For some time the Apostles gaze on the form of their departing Master; but at length, the clouds of heaven conceal Him from their view. Jesus continues His ascent into heaven, seats himself at the right of hand of the Almighty Father, to whom He is perfectly equal, and is from whom He receives, as man, the first place in heaven, above every creature.

Jesus ascends into heaven; He goes to take possession of the glory which was due to Him. He had come down from the bosom of His Father, to take, on earth, the form of a slave, to live in poverty and disgrace,— to die in torments, to pour out His blood on the cross for the redemption of the human race. All has been consummated, the mission of the Man-God has been accomplished, and behold, “from the height of the cross, He shall draw all unto Him. The Son of man has crushed the serpents head; sin has been blotted out; the empire of the devil annihilated; error cheeked and light diffused; and the God of heaven and earth shall be adored in spirit and in truth. Yes, Jesus hath glorified His Father among men, it was just that He should receive from His Father infinite glory in the eternal mansions. But before quitting the earth, He said to us: “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many mansions ... I go to prepare a place for you. And if I shall go, and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will take you to myself; that where I am, you also may be.” (St John, xiv : 1, 2, 3.)

Christ ascended into heaven, to prepare a place for us there; He himself has said: “Where I am, you also may be.” A day will come, when it will he permitted us to participate in the glory of our divine Savior. It will be so if we place ourselves among the number of the true servants of Jesus Christ; if we preserve in our hearts and manifest in our conduct, the holy commandments which He has given us; if, in fine, we endeavor to render ourselves like to Jesus Christ, our Savior and our model, “A faithful saying,” says St. Paul to Timothy; “if we be dead with Christ, we shall live also with Him. If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us.” (2 Timothy, ii : 1, 2.) Where Christ is, there also must His servants be.

O! divine Jesus, let me dwell with Thee in eternity, in the tabernacles of Thy Father! But, O my Savior, I am so weak, and I fall into so many sins! Must not the splendor of Thy glory over- whelm the unhappy sinner, who would dare aspire to the happiness of heaven? This fear would fill my soul with desolation, did I not know that Thou hast ascended into heaven to be our advocate and mediator with Thy Father. “My little children,” writes St. John to the first Christians; “these things I write to you, that you may not sin. But if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just. And He is the propitiation for our sins.”(Epistle of St. John, ii : 1, 9.) Yes, my Brethren, Jesus Christ is our advocate in heaven; He who destroyed sin, is our Mediator with God; He is there under the eyes of His Father, as a constant victim and perpetual sacrifice for our sins. Should not this saving truth fill our souls with sweet and consoling hope! Jesus intercedes for us! God the Father did not spare His only Son, but delivered Him up for us, and how, after having bestowed upon us this gift, can He refuse us any thing which this divine Savior asks for us? Oh! we have an advocate whose influence over the heart of God is infinite, we can, therefore, reach heaven.

My Brethren, heaven is our country, and it is there only we can find happiness. We are only passengers on earth, and we see here only empty baubles, vanities, deceptions and sufferings. Let us not allow our hearts to be foolishly attached to the things of this world; let us remember that we live not for time, but for eternity. Let us seek the things that are in heaven, where Jesus Christ sitteth at the right hand of God; let us taste the things that are of heaven, and not the things of earth. When Jesus Christ shall appear. He who is our life, we too shall appear with Him in glory, if we walk in His footsteps, follow the example He has given us, obey the roles and precepts which He has imposed upon us, and love God and our neighbor as He has commanded. We shall reap in eternity what we have sown in time. Let us, therefore, keep our hearts raised up to heaven; let us have God always before our eyes, let us glorify Him, by advancing in the practice of good works, and then as vigilant and faithful servants, we shall deserve to ascend to the mansions of our divine Master. — Amen.

Source:  One hundred short sermons, The Most Rev. Martin John Spalding Archbishop of Baltimore

 Truly, if the Church is the Spouse of Jesus Christ, the Popes, bishops and priests are her guardians. If the Church is an army ranged in battle, the Popes, the bishops and priests are her generals. if the Church is a vessel steering across the storms of persecutions, the Popes, the bishops, and priests are her pilots. If the Church is the Mystic Body of Christ, and if the faithful are its members, the Popes, the bishops, and priests are the principal members of this Body; by their eyes, Jesus Christ watches over His flock; by their feet, He carries to every nation the Gospel of peace; by their hearts, He diffuses everywhere the life of that divine charity without which all is dead. If the Church is the people of acquisition, bought at a great price, the Popes, the bishops, and priests are the leaders, the teachers, the princes of that chose generation. If the Church is that sacred edifice built up by the Divine Wisdom Itself for the children of God, the Popes, the bishops, and priests are the administrators of this palace; they are the columns of the Church upon which the whole world rests.

God the Father has created the world without the Popes, the bishops and priests, but it is only through them that he saves it. God the Son redeemed the world without the Popes, the bishops and priests, but it is only by them that He applies His Blood to the souls of men, and secures the fruits of His copious Redemption.

And you can hardly name a single blessing of the Holy Ghost, without beholding by the side of that blessing the priest as the instrument through which that Divine Spirit communicates His blessing.

Yes, if St. Bernard is right in saying that all comes to us through Mary, we are also right in saying that all comes to the people through the Popes, the bishops and the priest: yes, all happiness, every grace, every heavenly gift.

All the other gifts of God would avail us nothing without the Popes, the bishops and priest. What would be the use of a house full of golf, if there were no one to open the door for you?

Now the Popes, the bishops and priests have the key of all the treasures of heaven; it is they who open the door. They are the stewards of the Lord, the administrators of His goods. Without them, the Passion of our Lord would profit us nothing. Look at the poor heathen - of what benefit is our Lord's death tho them? Alas! they can have no share in the Redemption, so long as they have no priests to apply His blood to their souls.

No on understands this better than the devil, and his associates in this world. When they wish to destroy religion, they begin by attacking the Popes, the bishops, and priests: for where there is no priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no sacrifice there is no religion. What should we do in the Church? the people would say; there is no Mass now, our Lord is no longer there; we may as well pray at home.

Source: The Catholic Priest, Rev. Michael Muller C.S.S.R

What is a vocation to the Priesthood? It is a call from Christ to come and 
follow Him and become His Priest and help Him in the priestly work of His 
Church. This work is chiefly: celebrating Mass, administering the Sacraments, 
giving the blessings of the Church, and preaching the Gospel, and thereby helping 
other people to gain Heaven. 

Christ Himself called His first twelve Apostles and Priests. Ever since that 
time, He has been calling boys and young men to the Priesthood. Christ is God. 

So this vocation to the Priesthood comes from God. It always has, and it always 
will come from God. In one way or another, He calls to the Priesthood all those 
young men whom He has chosen. Without this call, there is no vocation. 

How did Jesus call His Apostles to the Priesthood? Did He do this with, or 
without, the help of others? In most cases, He had others helping Him, or at least 
preparing for the life and work of the Priesthood those who were to be called. One 
of His helpers was Saint John the Baptist. 


The chief work of John the Baptist was to tell the people about Jesus and 
prepare them to follow Him. He was preaching at the River Jordan. Among those 
who listened to him, were some young men. John was telling them about some of 
the wonderful things which the Promised Redeemer would do. 

Then a Man, dressed like other men of his time, was seen walking by. John 
the Baptist saw this Man, and knew that He was the Promised Redeemer. He said 
to the people: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 

This is He of whom I spoke” (John 1, 29). 

Two young men, John and Andrew, heard these words. They went to Jesus 
to learn who He was and what He was going to do. They loved Him and became 
His Apostles. John the Baptist had prepared them for this, and led them to it. In 
like manner, Jesus chose the other Apostles. After they were prepared with the 
help of others, He said to each of them: “Come, follow Me.” 

First, Jesus called the young men to be His Apostles. Then, He taught and 
trained them month after month until they were able to help Him with His work. 
Jesus is still calling to the Priesthood those whom He chooses, and training them 
with the help of others. It is true, He is seen no longer walking among men as a 
man. But He is still with them. He is with them in company with God the Holy 
Spirit. And He is with them as the Risen Savior, as the High Priest of His Church; 
He is with them personally in the Holy Eucharist. He is still calling those whom 
He chooses to be His Priests. 

God knows all things. He plans all things according to His own will. If we 
have a vocation to the Priesthood, God knew this before we came into the world. 
And He gave us the desire, talent, health, parents, and all else that we would need 
to follow our vocation. At first we may not know we have a vocation to the 
Priesthood. But at the proper time, God makes it known to us, sometimes 
suddenly, more often slowly and by degrees. 

Before Saint Paul was a Christian, he never even dreamed that he would be a 
Priest in Christ’s Church. He persecuted the Church which Christ founded. In so 
doing, he believed he was pleasing God, for he thought that the Jewish religion 
was still God’s one true Church. Suddenly, Jesus by a miracle struck him with 
blindness and spoke to him. At once Paul became a Christian, and then an Apostle 
and Priest. 


Some boys and young men learn of their vocation to the Priesthood 
suddenly. But most of them learn of it slowly. Day by day, it becomes clearer to 
them what God would have them do. A priest, a religious, a sermon, a book, a 
friend, or something else, inspires them with the thought that they have a vocation, 
or to be more sure of it. First, they may be in doubt; then they are almost sure; and 
then they become certain that Jesus is calling them, saying to them: “Come, and 
follow Me as a Priest.” 

God has placed each of us on earth to do a special work for Him. As 
soon as we come to the use of reason, we should begin praying and studying to 
find out what that work is; then we must fit ourselves to do that work well. 

If we think Christ is calling us to be a Priest in the diocesan Priesthood 
or to the Priesthood in the religious life, we should do all we can to make 
certain of it. We should pray fervently and consider whether we have the 
necessary health and strength, and whether we can be taught and trained to 
do the work of the Priesthood well. We must see to it that we keep from 
mortal sin and spare no effort to keep from all venial sin also. We must 
resolve to become a Priest not for any earthly pleasure or profit, but solely to 
help Christ in His Church, saving people from hell, helping them to Heaven, 
and making them holier and happier. And while we thus plan to be a Priest, 
we should be living, as well as we can, the life of the Priesthood. 
 Source: Vocations, Fr. Richard Felix, O.S.B.

Did you ever think about becoming a Priest? If so, one of your first thoughts 
was: What are the duties of a Priest? You knew that unless you found joys in the 
duties of the Priesthood, you could not be happy. And you knew that you could 
not do your best work for Christ, unless you were happy while doing it. 

You will find great joy in prayer. The life of a good Priest is a life full of 
prayer. He says now and then during the day and night the prayers which all other 
good Catholics say. In addition to these, he prays the liturgical prayers of the 
Church. Each day he celebrates Mass and says the Divine Office. While saying 
the Office, he studies in prayer the Bible for fully an hour a day. Then while 
administering the Sacraments and conducting other services, he says many other 
prayers in the name of the Church. 

Assisting at Mass fills your heart with peace and happiness. Each morning 
the Priest celebrates the Holy Sacrifice. In preparation for this sublime act of 
worship, he spends some time in prayer; and after the Holy Sacrifice, he again 
spends considerable time thanking God. Thus in prayer and Sacrifice, he spends 
another hour each day. 

Receiving the Sacrament of Penance brings peace and joy to you. Each 
week the Priest usually spends hours in the confessional. One after another, 
repenting sinners come and get God’s forgiveness of their sins. Then they go away 
holy and happy, resolving never to sin again. 

Your heart is thrilled with the joy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus every time 
you receive Him in Holy Communion. The Priest brings Jesus from the altar, and 
under the form of bread, places Him on your tongue in Holy Communion; and you 
receive Him into your body and soul. For a few moments, the Risen Jesus lives in 
you as in a living temple; and then as God, He continues to remain with you. 

You delight to tell others about Jesus and to explain His Gospel to them. 
Every day the Priest is engaged in this work. He does it while speaking with 
others. He does it while instructing those who come to him and wish to become 
Catholics. He does it while preparing children and older people for receiving the 
Sacraments. And he does it while preaching or giving instructions at Mass and 
other services. 

So day after day until death, the Priest spends most of his time doing the 
work and attending to the worship of God in His Church. You, too, would be very 
happy doing God’s work. 

Jesus is “a High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”; pray 
for the day when by receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders you can be made and 
marked His faithful Priest forever. 
Source: Vocations, Fr. Richard Felix, O.S.B. 

Given the fact that the deepest sorrows of Christ's Heart are the scandals that involve His "other selves," His priests whom He has so loved and has so desired to draw into the highest sanctity, "How then shall we respond?" It should be the response "that a son or daughter would make; would go over and take the mother's hand and say, "Never mind, mother, I'll make up for the one that has hurt you. I'll make reparation. I'll pay that bill. I'll take up that burden. I'll lighten your cross." In a word, the evidence of infidelity in priests should arouse in the hearts of Christ's faithful the wish to expiate.

(...)

Why reparation? Because "this devil in the priestly heart is cast out only by prayer and fasting." Not by prayer alone, but by prayer and mortification. This need not mean extraordinary bodily austerities. But it does mean the patient endurance of whatever trials the Lord may send; or the withdrawal of the pleasures and satisfactions previously had; or the silent endurance of rejection and mistrust; or the quiet bearing up with a painful illness, disability or wasting disease. What form the mortification takes is secondary. What is primary is the will to expiate. And this will should become imperative: "Progressively and always with the restraint that is guided by humble obedience to spiritual direction and to superiors, way down deep we must develop a thirst for reparation; and it will come logically in the supernatural order, as we grow in the love of Jesus."

Source:  A Prophet for the Priesthood, A Spiritual Biography of Father Gerald M.C. Fitzgerald. by Father John A. Hardon, S.J.

" Hour by hour", Father Gerald said, "Somewhere the Mass is always being offered. And wherever the Mass is being offered, because of the One who is offering it, God through the Mass is attaining at every moment a greater glory than all the rest of us adopted children could take away from Him." This offers a second powerful motive why the faithful should pray for priests, to insure that God be continuously, and in the highest degree, glorified by the re-enactment of Calvary.

How will the prayer contribute to this divine praise? By warding off the evil spirit who sees in the Mass the greatest hindrance to his demonic activity. " Therefore, it is the Mass that counts, and that is why the arch-enemy of God tried to destroy it as far as he could at the time of the Reformation, and still tries to eliminate the Mass and the priesthood, the priesthood and the Mass."

The devil knows that every Mass gives immeasurable glory to the Divine Majesty, which he hates. So he does everything in his power to seduce priests into his camp so they will not offer Mass, or offer it less often, or less devoutly; anything to prevent God being given the glory and souls from receiving the graces that flow from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

That is why believing Catholics are not surprised to be told, "you must always in your secret espousal of God's cause, in working for God's cause, always carry a special place in your prayers and in you heart for the sanctification of the priesthood and the sacredness of the Mass." The two go together. Every prayer for the sanctification of priests, to protect them from the malice of the devil, is a prayer for the greater glory of God through the Mass which priests alone can offer to the Heavenly Father.

A moment's reflection should tell a believer that "the priesthood is a terrifying exaltation. " That is why, "you can do nothing more consoling to His Sacred Heart than to pray for His priesthood; for by the institution of the priesthood God has committed His stainless honor, His deepest interests, to the keeping of created clay." Among the saints, "St. Teresa of Jesus knew this and that is why she made prayers for the priesthood the first duty of her Carmelite family. A faithful priest is God's greatest consolation, and unfaithful priest the source of His deepest sorrow." Then speaking for himself, Father Gerald asked, "I would beg one decade of the Rosary each day, thanking Mary for my vocation and asking that I may be each day nearer and dearer to her Heart and to her Son Divine."

Source: A Prophet for the Priesthood, A Spiritual Biography of Father Gerald M.C. Fitzegerald. by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

Oh, how sad would be the state of society were the Popes, the bishops and priests to be banished from the earth! The bonds that unite the husband and wife, the child and the parent, the friend and the friend would be broken. Peace and justice would flee from the earth. Robbery, murder, hatred, lust, and all the other crimes condemned by the Gospel, would prevail. Faith would no longer elevate the souls of men to heaven. Hope, the sweet consoler of the afflicted, of the widow and the orphan, would flee away, and in he stead would reign black despair, terror, and suicide. Where would we find the sweet virtue of charity, if the Popes, the bishops and priests were to disappear forever? Where would we find that charity which consoles the poor and forsaken, which lovingly dies the tears of the widow and the orphan; that charity which soothes the sick man in his sufferings, and binds up the wounds of the bleeding defender of his country? Where would we find that charity which casts a spark of divine fire into the hearts of so many religious, bidding them abandon home, friends, and everything that is near and dear to them in this world , to go among strangers, among savage tribes, and gain there, in return for their heroism, nothing but outrage, suffering and death?

Where, I ask, would we find this charity, if the Popes, the bishops and priests were to disappear forever?

Leave a parish for many years without a priest, and the people thereof will become the blind victims of error, of superstition, and of all kinds of vices.

Show me an age, a country, a nation without priests, and I will show you an age, a country, a nation without morals, without virtue. Yes, if "Religion, Science, Liberty, and Justice, Principle and Right, " are not empty sounds - if they have a meaning, they owe their energetic existence in the world to the "salt of the earth" to the Popes, bishops and priests.

Source: The Catholic Priest, Rev. Michael Muller C.S.S.R