Saint John Vianney Feast Day
by VP
Posted on Monday August 04, 2025 at 12:00AM in Documents
"Through the character of Sacred Orders, God willed to ratify that eternal covenant of love, by which He loves His priests above all others; and they are obliged to repay God for this special love with holiness of life... So a cleric should be considered as a man chosen and set apart from the midst of the people, and blessed in a very special way with heavenly gifts—a sharer in divine power, and, to put it briefly, another Christ... He is no longer supposed to live for himself; nor can he devote himself to the interests of just his own relatives, or friends or native land... He must be aflame with charity toward everyone. Not even his thoughts, his will, his feelings belong to him, for they are rather those of Jesus Christ who is his life." -- Encyclical of Pope John XXIII on St. John Vianney ( August 1, 1959 )
Prayer for a Pastor and His Parish to St. John Vianney
Saint John Vianney, we pray you to bless
and help our pastor so that he may love dearly in this life and be
richly rewarded in the next. Obtain for him the grace always to be kind
and generous, self-sacrificing and zealous. Watch over the people of our
parish, and keep them free from all evils. Help them to be loyal and
generous in the support of our pastor.
Help us particularly
always to give him the respect and honor due him as a priest. Except for
him we should not have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or Your presence
among us, or the other sacraments that we so dearly love and need.
From
his anointed hands we receive the food of our souls, the most precious
Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ from his lips we hear the word
of God. By the power given to him our sins are forgiven, and we are
given all blessings and it is he who will anoint us when we are dying,
and will offer the Holy Sacrifice for us when we are dead.
Help us, dear Saint, to see Christ in him, and to cooperate with him in all his work for the good of our souls. Amen
In the Reign of Terror: Carmelites of Compiegne
by VP
Posted on Thursday July 17, 2025 at 12:00AM in Documents
Prayer for the Church and France
(From the writing of the Carmelites of Compiegne)
O most Holy God, through the intercession of the blessed Carmelites of Compiègne who offered themselves in sacrifice to console You for the ingratitude of men, deign to look with mercy on the evils which desolate the Church and France and spread upon your faithful your pardon and the divine Peace which your Son came to bring to the world.
O Blessed Trinity, come and transform the hearts of all the sons of the Church: that sinners may be converted, enlightened by Faith; that the just may become fervent, enlivened by Charity; and that faithful souls, strengthened by the example of your martyrs, may progress towards holiness.
O Almighty God, come and touch the hearts of the sons of France, to banish all pusillanimous fear and instill in them strength, confidence, and peace.
O Eternal God, may the blessed martyrs of Compiègne show us the path to Heaven, so that we may, following in their footsteps, live your infinite Love, until the eternal beatific vision. Amen.
In the Reign of Terror:
"On July 17, early in the morning, the Carmelites were summoned to appear before the revolutionary tribunal. The charges brought against them, clothed in sensational language, sound absurd enough, applied to these silent, retiring recluses. They were accused of "wishing to drown liberty in blood," of having worked to "enslave their country," etc.; but under these high-flown, pompous phrases, so dear to the revolutionists, it is easy to trace the real motive of the nuns' arrest and condemnation. Their real crime was the fidelity with which they clung to the religious practices that, in happier days, they had bound themselves to observe; another offence, no less grave, was that a picture of the Sacred Heart had been found in their lodgings.
Mother Teresa, as the responsible leader of the group, answered, as far as she was allowed, the charges brought against her Community. Among the crowd of people, who invariably assisted at the trials during these last days of the reign of Terror, were some few unknown friends and well-wishers, who gave Sister Mary of the Incarnation a faithful account of the proceedings. With great calmness and dignity the Prioress disclaimed the charge of having meddled in politics and, on being accused of having concealed firearms in her monastery, "Here," she said, producing a crucifix, “is the only weapon we ever possessed." With no less courage she assumed the entire responsibility of whatever offences might be brought forward against her sisters, and she endeavored, failing all else, to screen the outside Sisters who, as "paid servants," were obliged to obey orders. "If," she added, "it is a crime to have corresponded with our chaplain on purely spiritual matters, I alone am guilty and should alone be condemned."
This brave protest availed nothing; the sixteen Carmelites were condemned to death as "fanatics," which meant, explained the president, "that they were devoted to silly practices of religion."—" My dear mother," exclaimed one of the nuns, Annette Pelras, "do you hear, we die for our holy faith! What happiness it is to die for God!"
The execution was to take place that same day, and the Carmelites had only a few hours left to prepare for the end. They were, said Pierre Blot, "radiantly" happy when they returned to the prison; but they had eaten nothing since the previous day, and, with motherly foresight, the Prioress sold a cloak to procure money enough to give each one a cup of chocolate. Then, kneeling down, they began to recite the Office for the Dead.
The executions since the previous month of June were appointed to take place at the "Place de la nation," which is situated at the extremity of the city, towards Vincennes. As the carts in which the Carmelites were seated, with their hands tightly bound, jolted over the rough pavement, a strange, sweet sound of singing echoed through the air. The "Te Deum," the "Salve Regina" floated above the feverish crowd that followed the procession, and, for once, no coarse jest or brutal insult was hurled at the prisoners. These calm, happy women, with their sweet voices and smiling eyes, exercised a unique power of fascination over the frenzied multitude. On arriving at the "Place," the Carmelites knelt down and quietly renewed their baptismal vows and their religious promises, while the executioner and the guards looked on in silence. Then the Prioress took up her station at the foot of the guillotine; the novice Sister Constance was the first to ascend its bloody stairs; her clear, young voice chanted the "Laudate," in which her Sisters joined; then, as one after another they followed on her footsteps, the singing grew fainter, till at last the Prioress was alone! Her task was fulfilled; her daughters were safe. With an eager step, Blessed Teresa of St. Augustin followed them, and, the last of the devoted band, laid her head beneath the knife.
The sixteen Carmelites of Compiègne had, in the midst of their difficulties and trials, a supreme consolation: they lived, suffered and died together. Like the Sisters of Charity of Arras, their Community life remained unbroken, and to the end they could rest upon the example and guidance of their Prioress. Of this support and comfort, the thirty-two nuns who were executed at Orange were cruelly deprived. They were led to execution sometimes alone, sometimes in small groups of two, three or four, as best suited the caprice or convenience of their tyrants. COMTESSE DE COURSON." Messenger of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Volume 49 page 179, 1908
Divinum Illud Munus, Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on the Holy Ghost
by VP
Posted on Saturday June 07, 2025 at 12:00AM in Documents
"The Holy Ghost and the Church
5. The Church which, already conceived, came forth from the side of the second Adam in His sleep on the Cross, first showed herself before the eyes of men on the great day of Pentecost. On that day the Holy Ghost began to manifest His gifts in the mystic body of Christ, by that miraculous outpouring already foreseen by the prophet Joel (ii., 28-29), for the Paraclete "sat upon the apostles as though new spiritual crowns were placed upon their heads in tongues of fire" (S. Cyril Hier. Catech. 17). Then the apostles "descended from the mountain," as St. John Chrysostom writes, "not bearing in their hands tables of stone like Moses, but carrying the Spirit in their mind, and pouring forth the treasure and the fountain of doctrines and graces" (In Matt. Hom. L, 2 Cor. iii., 3). Thus was fully accomplished that last promise of Christ to His apostles of sending the Holy Ghost, who was to complete and, as it were, to seal the deposit of doctrine committed to them under His inspiration. "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now; but when He, the Spirit of Truth, shall come, He will teach you all truth" ( John xvi., 12-13). For He who is the Spirit of Truth, inasmuch as He proceedeth both from the Father, who is the eternally True, and from the Son, who is the substantial Truth, receiveth from each both His essence and the fullness of all truth. This truth He communicates to His Church, guarding her by His all powerful help from ever falling into error, and aiding her to foster daily more and more the germs of divine doctrine and to make them fruitful for the welfare of the peoples. And since the welfare of the peoples, for which the Church was established, absolutely requires that this office should be continued for all time, the Holy Ghost perpetually supplies life and strength to preserve and increase the Church. "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you for ever, the Spirit of Truth" (John xiv., 16, 17).
6. By Him the bishops are constituted, and by their ministry are multiplied not only the children, but also the fathers-that is to say, the priests-to rule and feed the Church by that Blood wherewith Christ has redeemed Her. "The Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops to rule the Church of God, which He bath purchased with His own Blood" (Acts xx., 28). And both bishops and priests, by the miraculous gift of the Spirit, have the power of absolving sins, according to those words of Christ to the Apostles: "Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them, and whose you shall retain they are retained" (John xx., 22, 23). That the Church is a divine institution is most clearly proved by the splendour and glory of those gifts and graces with which she is adorned, and whose author and giver is the Holy Ghost. Let it suffice to state that, as Christ is the Head of the Church, so is the Holy Ghost her soul. "What the soul is in our body, that is the Holy Ghost in Christ's body, the Church" (St. Aug., Serm. 187, de Temp.). This being so, no further and fuller "manifestation and revelation of the Divine Spirit" may be imagined or expected; for that which now takes place in the Church is the most perfect possible, and will last until that day when the Church herself, having passed through her militant career, shall be taken up into the joy of the saints triumphing in heaven. (...)
An Annual Novena Decreed
13. Wherefore, We decree and command that throughout the whole Catholic Church,this year and in every subsequent year, a Novena shall take place before Whit-Sunday, in all parish churches, and also, if the local Ordinaries think fit, in other churches and oratories. To all who take part in this Novena and duly pray for Our intention, We grant for each day an Indulgence of seven years and seven quarantines; moreover, a Plenary Indulgence on any one of the days of the Novena, or on Whit-Sunday itself, or on any day during the Octave; provided they shall have received the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist, and devoutly prayed for Our intention. We will that those who are legitimately prevented from attending the Novena, or who are in places where the devotions cannot, in the judgment of the Ordinary, be conveniently carried out in church, shall equally enjoy the same benefits, provided they make the Novena privately and observe the other conditions. Moreover We are pleased to grant, in perpetuity, from the Treasury of the Church, that whosoever, daily during the Octave of Pentecost up to Trinity Sunday inclusive, offer again publicly or privately any prayers, according to their devotion, to the Holy Ghost, and satisfy the above conditions, shall a second time gain each of the same Indulgences. All these Indulgences We also permit to be applied to the suffrage of the souls in Purgatory."
Source: Divinum Illud Munus, Pope Leo XIII May 9, 1897
Thanksgiving Day
by VP
Posted on Wednesday November 27, 2024 at 11:00PM in Documents
The first Thanksgiving. St. Augustine, FL. September 8, 1565
"May it please your Grace; beloved brethren — It is a gratifying sign of the Christian character of the spirit of our country that once in the year its Chief Executive invites the citizens of the republic to turn aside for awhile from their worldly occupations and interests and cares, in order that congregating in their various houses of worship they may return thanks to the Giver of all good gifts. It is a sad day for any land when the name of God is erased from its laws and unmentioned in its statutes. At the suggestion of the civil authority and the invitation of the spiritual authority to which we owe allegiance, we come together under the beautiful arches of this glorious temple of God, to lift our hearts in grateful thanksgiving in union with the celebrant of the Holy Mass as he chants in the preface of the sacrifice, Gratias agimus Domino Deo Nostro, "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God"; to which we respond a fervent Dignum et justum est, "It is meet and just." And for what shall the hymn of Te Deum ascend today? What shall be the measure of our gratitude? For everything we are and do and have; for life and action and possession are alike all God's, and by His munificence we are what we are, and we have what we possess. But this day has a special significance. It is a state day, and to observe it in its intended purpose we need but observe the motives which prompted its establishment. It was that, as a nation, we might turn with hearts filled with gratitude to the God who gives us temporal prosperity.
The Church in her great hymn of praise, the Gloria in Excelsis, takes the lofty and sublime motive for thanksgiving from the Glory of God Himself, and she sings, gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. In all conditions of her existence, whether rain or sunshine, in prosperity, in adversity alike she says, "So that God has greater glory the rest matters not," propter magnam gloriam tuam. Day after day, in persecution and trial as in exaltation and triumph, the same chorus goes up to heaven, Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. All else may change; kingdoms may rise and fall; nations may be born, flourish for a day, then totter and die; her sons may suffer; her Bishops be exiled; her visible Head be captive; but her faith flinches not; her voice wavers not; still she thinks of only God's Eternal Glory! So alike, Leo imprisoned, and Hildebrand triumphant, lead the grand universal song of thanksgiving, that all adown the centuries has echoed unceasingly from that blessed night when the Angels sang it above the stable of Bethlehem, when God came down to men. This is the sublimest motive for gratitude; this the loftiest motive for thanksgiving. Thus the Church, because she is superhuman, because she lifts her head into the very heaven of heavens, and gazes with clearest vision into the Eternity of God, even while her feet tread upon the lowly earth, passes over the consideration of the gifts to the sublime contemplation of the Giver; forgets, with a sublime oblivion, the land flowing with milk and honey, the vines laden with the bursting grapes, the stores filled with the ripened grain, the fat kine lowing upon the hills, and the children of men with the gleam of plenty in their eyes, to remember only that which touches all, yet is over all," the Greater Glory of God!"
Sermons and Addresses of His Eminence William Cardinal O'Connell, Archbishop of Boston 1922
The Bishop
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 10, 2023 at 12:00AM in Documents
"The bishop saying Mass, administering the sacraments or preaching the Gospel is the most perfect image of Christ. He does so according to the laws of the universal church. In him the clergy and people see Christ the Bishop of eternity. "He that receiveth you receiveth me. He that despiseth you despiseth me." That relates not only to the Pope. to the bishop, but in a less degree to any pastor, to any minister of Christ. For the ministers of Christ preach not themselves but "Christ and Him crucified."
The bishop is the head of the diocese. He is the father of all the faithful in the diocese. For he brings forth his spiritual children, his priests and clergymen by rite of holy ordination. They are the images of himself. The Priests he ordains are his sons whom he brings forth to God. He feeds his children by the words of life, by good example, by heavenly food, by the teachings of eternal life.
Happy is the diocese and the clergy who have a bishop after the heart of Jesus Christ, who lives the life of the Master.
The good bishop loves his clergy; looks on them as a father on his children; he upholds the good priest; he rewards the men of God; he defends the weak; he treats them with justice, benignity, gentleness, kindness; he is clothed with the bowels of the mercy of Jesus Christ, with forgiveness looking down from on high on those who falter on the way.
Behold his name will be called blessed, his clergy and people will love him, they will uphold him; like Moses on the mount, they will stand under his weary hands, strengthening him till he gains the victory over all enemies of the Lord and of his church. Both clergy and people will love him because he is "like unto the only begotten Son of God full of grace and truth" who "for us men and for our salvation left the bosom of his Father, came down from heaven and was made man and dwelt among us: to show pastors how to rule their subjects."
Source: Christ's Kingdom on Earth, or, The Church and Her Divine Constitution , organization, and Framework: Explained for the People by Fr. James Meagher 1892"Stand Firm in Your Faith" Bishop Strickland
by VP
Posted on Saturday September 09, 2023 at 02:36PM in Documents
Holy Mass in bombed St. Paul Cathedral in Münster, 1946 r.(c) Aschendorff Verlag
"Regrettably, it may be that some will label as schismatics those who disagree with the changes being proposed. Be assured, however, that no one who remains firmly upon the plumb line of our Catholic faith is a schismatic. We must remain unabashedly and truly Catholic, regardless of what may be brought forth. We must be aware also that it is not leaving the Church to stand firm against these proposed changes. As St. Peter said "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." (Jn. 6:68) Therefore, standing firm does not mean we are seeking to leave the Church. Instead, those who would propose changes to that which cannot be changed seek to commandeer Christ's Church, and they are indeed the true schismatics." Stand Firm in Your Faith, Bishop Strickland, Diocese of Tyler
Prayer for the Holy Church
Lord, God of virtues, turn Thy loving face towards us and save us!
Thou didst banish idolatry from the world, and didst plant the vine of
the Church with so much care, that carefully revealed truth was made
known in all parts of the world. The cross of Jesus Christ has been
everywhere adored, the prophecy has been fulfilled which announced that
one day the true faith should fill the whole world.
But too soon heresy, that wild beast coming forth from the forest of
hell, came to lay waste that vine, so that error is now reigning in many
kingdoms of Europe. And what is still more deplorable is that in
countries that have remained faithful the Faith has now become an object
of persecution on the part of the unbelieving.
Ah, my God! We beg Thee to turn Thy face to us, and behold now Thy vine
has been laid waste. Look on it, visit it, and repair the damage done to
it by its enemies: they have despised and turned into derision Thy
Church, Thy Scriptures, Thy precepts, Thy maxims, in a word, all holy
truths.
Call to mind O Eternal Father, that in order to obey Thee and to
cultivate this vine according to Thy holy will, Thy Son Jesus Christ
made himself the Son of Man; call to mind that He consecrated the sweat
and fatigue of His whole life to planting it.
We pray Thee, then, through Thy love for this divine Son, to hear our
prayer: do Thou vouchsafe to govern and preserve the Holy Church; do
Thou vouchsafe to humble her enemies. We pray Thee, hear us.
St. Alphonsus' Prayer Book (1888)
Feast of the Queenship of Mary
by VP
Posted on Tuesday August 22, 2023 at 12:00AM in Documents
Our Lady, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Front Royal, NC
Queen of heaven, thy immense love for
God maketh thee likewise love His Church. We pray thee, come to its help
amidst the ills under which it is now suffering, rent asunder as she is
by her own children. Thy prayers, being a mother’s, can obtain all from
that God Who loveth Thee so well.
Pray then, pray for the Church; ask for enlightenment for so
many unbelievers who are persecuting it, and obtain for faithful souls
the necessary strength to resist being caught in the snares of the
unbelievers who would drag them down into their own ruin.
Encyclical of Pope Pius XII on Proclaiming the Queenship of Mary to the Venerable Brethren, the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, and Other Local Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with the Holy See.
"47. Since we are convinced, after long and serious reflection, that great good will accrue to the Church if this solidly established truth shines forth more clearly to all, like a luminous lamp raised aloft, by Our Apostolic authority We decree and establish the feast of Mary's Queenship, which is to be celebrated every year in the whole world on the 31st of May. We likewise ordain that on the same day the consecration of the human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary be renewed, cherishing the hope that through such consecration a new era may begin, joyous in Christian peace and in the triumph of religion.
48. Let all, therefore, try to approach with greater trust the throne of grace and mercy of our Queen and Mother, and beg for strength in adversity, light in darkness, consolation in sorrow; above all let them strive to free themselves from the slavery of sin and offer an unceasing homage, filled with filial loyalty, to their Queenly Mother. Let her churches be thronged by the faithful, her feast-days honored; may the beads of the Rosary be in the hands of all; may Christians gather, in small numbers and large, to sing her praises in churches, in homes, in hospitals, in prisons. May Mary's name be held in highest reverence, a name sweeter than honey and more precious than jewels; may none utter blasphemous words, the sign of a defiled soul, against that name graced with such dignity and revered for its motherly goodness; let no one be so bold as to speak a syllable which lacks the respect due to her name."
(...)
52. Earnestly desiring that the Queen and Mother of Christendom may hear these Our prayers, and by her peace make happy a world shaken by hate, and may, after this exile show unto us all Jesus, Who will be our eternal peace and joy, to you, Venerable Brothers, and to your flocks, as a promise of God's divine help and a pledge of Our love, from Our heart We impart the Apostolic Benediction."
Source: Ad Caeli Reginam
The Bigots
by VP
Posted on Monday August 21, 2023 at 12:00AM in Documents
Saint Catherine of Siena, Wake Forest NC
"The Catholics are bigoted." But, which, I ask, is the greater bigot,
the catholic, who, perhaps quietly dropping his beads, and insulting no
one, is yet indeed forcibly attached to his religion, because it is the
religion of the saints, and the faith of every age, or the protestant,
who, although, it may be, he is not attached to any peculiar creed,
still, with relentless animosity, insults his catholic brethren;
misrepresenting their tenets, vilifying their characters; casting
suspicion upon their sincerity; and calling down upon them, not merely
the ill will of the state; but, what is worse, the ill will of their
fellow-citizens; which of these, I ask, is the greater bigot! No doubt,
it is the latter.
Well; and if so, then it is likewise true, that the bigots of the latter description are, I do not say, general, but exceedingly common, even in the best educated ranks of Protestantism."
Source: The Catholic's Manual. Jacques Bossuet 1817
The Fruits of the Mass
by VP
Posted on Sunday August 20, 2023 at 12:00AM in Documents
Fr. Tyler Sparrow, TLM Holy Name Cathedral, Raleigh NC
"The Mass has a fourfold purpose, and therefore a fourfold efficacy. It is offered, first and foremost, to adore God, whence it is called the "Sacrifice of Praise ". Secondly, it is offered to thank God for His great glory and for the benefits He has showered upon us, whence the Mass is called the "Eucharistic Sacrifice," that is the “Sacrifice of Thanksgiving ". Thirdly, it is offered to implore new benefits, notably grace, whence it is called an "lmpetratory Sacrifice ". Finally, it is a "Propitiatory Sacrifice", because it is offered to move the divine mercy to the pardon of sins.
Of these various effects of the Mass, the two which derive to men (the impetratory and the propitiatory) are usually termed the "fruits" of the Mass. Whereas the effects of the Mass insofar as it is a Sacrifice of Praise and of Thanksgiving are infinite, the “fruits" of the Mass are limited. The measure in which they are bestowed depends especially on the dispositions of those to whom they are given.
To whom are they given? To some degree or other the fruits of the Mass are bestowed upon the celebrant, upon those who serve or assist at the Holy Sacrifice, upon the person or persons for whom it is offered, upon all living, especially the members of the Church, and also upon the souls in Purgatory. The latter, however, are capable only of the propitiatory fruits of the Mass.
That the celebrant shares in the fruits of the Mass is readily understandable. No one more than he participates in the sacrifice. His active cooperation is necessary. He acts as the instrument of Christ, the High Priest, in virtue of the power received at Ordination. So he has a right to what is called the “most special fruit" of the Mass.
Sharing with him in this "most special fruit", but to a lesser degree, are the faithful who serve or assist at the Holy Sacrifice. The greater their devotion, the more plentiful are the graces God gives them through the Mass.
The person or persons for whom the priest celebrates the Mass in particular obtain what is termed the "special fruit" of the Mass. The priest may offer the Holy Sacrifice for any living person (although only privately for the excommunicated), and for the souls in Purgatory (although only privately for those to whom the Church has denied ecclesiastical burial). Since we have no way of knowing to what extent this special fruit is obtained by a soul in Purgatory for whom a particular Mass is offered, it is a pious practice to have the Holy Sacrifice celebrated repeatedly for the faithful departed.
Then, finally, there is the “general fruit" of the Mass. This comes to all the living, especially the members of the Church, and also to all the souls in Purgatory. At the Offertory of the Mass the celebrant prays that "the Sacrifice will be beneficial not only for himself and for all here present", but also for all faithful Christians, whether living or dead", not only for our own salvation," but also for that of the whole world ".
This is a most consoling thought because of our membership in the Church we share in a general way (but more intimately than those who are outside the Church) in the effects of every single Mass being offered up anywhere on earth Even when we are absorbed in our dally routine there accrue to us the beneficent effects of every Mass!
Source: The Catholic Advocate Vol 8 N17, 10 April 1959 By Msgr. George W. Shea , S.T.D.
Maundy Thursday: Institution of the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Holy Orders
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 09, 2023 at 12:46AM in Documents
"O sublime priesthood! Perfect Priest!
Superabundant consecration!
Jesus, I adore Thee in the plenitude and the perfection of Thy Priesthood!
Ascend Thy altar, "Eternal throne of
justice; God, Thy God, He who is Thy Father, has consecrated Thee by the
anointing of the most glorious priesthood, above all angels, and above
all men, Thy brethren - Thronus tuus Deus...unxit te Deus, Deus Tuus,
Oleo loetitioe proe consortibus tuis! -Thy throne, O God, is for ever
and ever: a scepter of justice is the scepter of Thy kingdom. Thou hast
loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. It is from Thee that
flow their sole created source, all the sacerdotal graces. All those,
therefore, who will be called to the exalted honor of the priesthood
will participate in Thy incomparable elevation, and ought to show
themselves worthy of Thee by means of a holiness which will render them
more like to Thee than all their brethren"
-- Rev. Fr. Albert Tesnière, S.S.S.
(The Eucharistic Christ: Reflections and Considerations on the Blessed Sacrament)
Rorate Caeli: Fontgombault Sermon for Maundy Thursday 2021:
"Sacraments and Prayer are our sole strength against the apostasy of our times."
For a Holy Church and Priests (St. Faustina Kowalska):
O my Jesus, I beg You on behalf of the whole Church: Grant it love and the light of Your Spirit and give power to the words of priests so that hardened hearts might be brought to repentance and return to You, O Lord. Lord, give us holy priests; You Yourself maintain them in holiness. O Divine and Great High Priest, may the power of Your mercy accompany them everywhere and protect them from the devilʼs traps and snares which are continually being set for the souls of priests. May the power of Your mercy, O Lord, shatter and bring to naught all that might tarnish the sanctity of priests, for You can do all things.
I pray to You for the triumph of the Church, that You may bless the Holy Father and all the clergy; I beg You to grant the grace of conversion to sinners whose hearts have been hardened by sin, and a special blessing and light to priests, to whom I shall confess for all of my life. Amen.
The Office of Holy Week, 1870
"It is now uncommon to hear Maundy Thursday referred to as Holy Thursday. This is a mistake. Holy Thursday is a name belonging absolutely from time immemorial to the Feast of the Ascension. Maundy is a significant name and ought therefore to be jealously guarded. Enough of that element of religion which serves to make it popular has been lost in the course of past centuries.
The word Maundy is derived, through the French maundier, from the Latin mandatum: "Mandatum novum do vobis," (a new commandment I give unto you) John, 13:34. The Mandatum or Maundy was the ceremony of the washing of the feet and almsgiving observed on this day, both of which were performed as a token of that brotherly love which Christ so earnestly inculcated at the Last Supper.
The ceremony of the washing of the feet was and is part of the liturgy. It was performed by Pope, Bishop, and priest, and kings, nobles and peasants, imitated their example. Twelve poor men were selected to be the recipients of the dignitaries' favor.
The Maundy is observed in the ceremonies of the Church, and in many religious communities even at the present time.
Visiting the repositories is a custom as popular of old as it is today. It is indeed edifying to Catholic and non-Catholic alike to witness the spontaneous demonstration of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and deeper than we are aware of is the impression produced on the multitude of unbelievers around us by this and similar acts of faith."
Source: Maine Catholic Historical Magazine
