CAPG's Blog 

"You will find indeed many an unworthy priest who will assure you that he gives no scandal; but he is greatly mistaken. “Murder will out,” and the sins of the priest cannot long remain hidden.

Does the unworthy priest love solitude? Does he love study? Do you find him often in church praying before the Blessed Sacrament? Do you find him often in the confessional? Why is he so often absent when the messenger comes for a sick call? Why does he come home so late at night? Why does he visit that house so often? Why does that light burn so late in his room? Is he praying, or perhaps card-playing? Why does he sleep so long in the morning instead of being in the confessional? Why does he omit Mass so often on week days? Why is he so often nervous and ill-humored? Is he not a little too free and confidential towards certain persons?

Look at the church, look at the altar, look at the vestments, look at the sacred vessels – the chalice and ciborium – is everything clean, decent and orderly? Why does he not begin Mass punctually on Sundays and holy days of obligation? Why does he so often fail to keep his promises and thereby disappoint the people? See how he hurries through Mass.

How does he observe the rubrics? Is he attentive and devout? Why is he so eager for money, and so indifferent when there is question of saving a soul? (...)

Why does he speak against the Pope, the bishop, and religious? Why does he jest about holy things? Why does he not show more reverence in church, and when he carries the Blessed Sacrament to the sick?

Why does he not show more self respect, more priestly dignity and decorum in society, at fairs, excursions, picnics, and so on? Why does he make use of words of double meaning, unbecoming hints and jests? Why does he allow young persons to read dangerous story papers, magazines, and novels? (…)

These are some of the questions that the people ask; these are some of the thoughts that flit through their minds. The unworthy priest may try his best to hid his crimes; but the cloak of hypocrisy cannot hide them forever. The inner corruption of his heart betrays itself at least at times. But how terrible is the scandal when the sins of the priest are no longer a matter of doubt or uncertainty, but a sad and shameful reality. Who can sum up all the harm that is done by even one bad priest? (…)

How often must a good priest suffer for the misdeeds of his predecessors! He may be as generous and disinterested as St. Paul; still some will accuse him of avarice, of doing everything for money. (…) He may be reserved and dignified and pure as an angel, yet wicked tongues will not be wanting to whisper unjust suspicions. (…)

The higher the source of the torrent is, the more rapidly does it rush into the valley, and the more wide spread is the destruction which it causes. O God! Who can calculate all the harm that is done, all the sins that are committed, all the souls that are ruined on account of the scandalous life of one unworthy priest! Like a mountain torrent, the scandal rushes on, spreading death and desolation on every side. It rushes on like a poison flood, bearing death to generations yet unborn; aye, it goes on in its work of destruction even till the day of doom; its evil consequences go even beyond the tomb; they live on forever in hell.

O God! How many yet unborn will rise up on the judgment day against the bad priest and curse him! If a petty shrub is uprooted and falls, it harms only itself; but if a might cedar falls, it drags down in its deadly embrace whatever stands within its reach!

Woe to the world, when the “Salt of the earth” becomes the corrupter of innocence.
Woe to the world when the “Light of the world” becomes an "ignis fatuus",
a wandering light that leads unwary souls into the foul, noisome marsh of sin.
Woe to the world when the shepherd of the flock has become a ravenous wolf!

The unworthy priest loses the friendship of God; he loses the beauty of his soul; he loses the merit of all his good works. As long as he remains in sin, his arm is withered; he can merit nothing for heaven. The unworthy priest is the slave of sin, the slave of the devil; he heaps sin upon sin, sacrilege upon sacrilege. By his wicked life he gives scandal and ruins innocent souls.

 All this is sad and terrible enough; but the most terrible of all the consequences of sin is that the unworthy priest becomes hardened; he is at last struck with spiritual blindness; his conversion becomes almost an impossibility; and finally he gives way to despair, like another Judas."

Source: Rev. Fr. Michael Muller, C.SS.R. The Catholic Priesthood, 1885.

Johann Sadeler 16th Century

"O my God, Trinity whom I adore, let me entirely forget myself that I may abide in You, still and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity; let nothing disturb my peace nor separate me from You, O my unchanging God, but that each moment may take me further into the depths of Your mystery ! Pacify my soul! Make it Your heaven, Your beloved home and place of Your repose; let me never leave You there alone, but may I be ever attentive, ever alert in my faith, ever adoring and all given up to Your creative action.

O my beloved Christ, crucified for love, would that I might be for You a spouse of Your heart! I would anoint You with glory, I would love You – even unto death! Yet I sense my frailty and ask You to adorn me with Yourself; identify my soul with all the movements of Your soul, submerge me, overwhelm me, substitute Yourself in me that my life may become but a reflection of Your life. Come into me as Adorer, Redeemer and Saviour.

O Eternal Word, Word of my God, would that I might spend my life listening to You, would that I might be fully receptive to learn all from You; in all darkness, all loneliness, all weakness, may I ever keep my eyes fixed on You and abide under Your great light; O my Beloved Star, fascinate me so that I may never be able to leave Your radiance.

O Consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, descend into my soul and make all in me as an incarnation of the Word, that I may be to Him a super-added humanity wherein He renews His mystery; and You O Father, bestow Yourself and bend down to Your little creature, seeing in her only Your beloved Son in whom You are well pleased.

O my `Three’, my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in whom I lose myself, I give myself to You as a prey to be consumed; enclose Yourself in me that I may be absorbed in You so as to contemplate in Your light the abyss of Your Splendour !" Saint Elizabeth de la Trinité

"There is a God : this is the first truth which we profess to believe when we recite the Creed, a truth which is the foundation of all the other truths of religion, and of salvation ; a truth which nature as well as religion alike inculcate; a truth better known than all others, and which is as clear to our eyes as the light of day. Hence, we always regard as monsters, rather than men, that small number of wretches who arrive at such a height of impiety that they dare deny or even doubt that there is a God. If they have the hardihood to say so, “it is only in their heart,” saith the prophet. Indeed, the corruption of their hearts makes them desire that there were no God, that they may with greater ease and freedom abandon themselves to the disorders of their passions ; but their intellect never admits such an absurdity, and always convicts them of their lying blasphemies.

(...)

There is but one God. You must not however imagine, my Brethren, that the unity of God is opposed to the adorable mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. It is true, faith teaches us to acknowledge and adore three Persons in the Most Blessed Trinity, three Persons in one God ; yet, there is in this no contradiction. Indeed, we do not say, there are three Gods in one God ; but there are three Persons, who constitute but one God. In the Most Blessed Trinity there are not three divine natures, but only one and the same divine nature for the three divine Persons. Yes, my Brethren, always bear in mind, that the three divine Persons of the Most Blessed Trinity have but one and the same divine nature, and are but one and the same God. I know that this is one of those truths which reason of itself cannot comprehend, experience teach, nor the senses assist us to discover; it is a mystery the depth of which, it belongs to God alone to fathom. “No one knoweth the Son, but the Father, neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. (St. Matthew, Xi:27) But what ought to set our minds at rest, and free us from all uneasiness, is, that God himself has revealed this august mystery, and His divine word is our guaranty for this profound truth. He has said: “There are three in heaven who give testimony, — -the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, — and these three are one. (St. John, V:7)

But what is God? The day will come when, in heaven, we shall know God and see His infinite perfections in the clearest light. In this life we behold Him only through a glass and in shadows. Yet, however imperfect our knowledge may be, faith and reason throw sufficient light around us, to demonstrate to us that God is a Spirit infinite in all His attributes ; that He is self-existent, and that He is from eternity. God is infinite, therefore He wants nothing ; and there is in Him not even the smallest defect, nor the slightest imperfection. He is perfect ; there is in Him neither sleep, nor hunger, nor thirst, nor anger, nor sadness, nor suffering, nor death; none of these imperfections are to be found in the infinitely perfect nature of God.

God is from all eternity ; He was not created by himself; neither could He have been created by another. If God created himself, He must have existed before He created himself, which is a palpable absurdity. If God was created by another, tell me by whom this other was himself created? How, then, does God exist? The Almighty himself informs us, when He says to Moses : “ I Am who Am” — that is to say, I am the necessary, infinite, eternal Being, the Source, the beginning of all other beings ; Life, and even Existence itself.

God is a being perfectly simple; He is a perfect Spirit; He has neither body, nor figure, nor form. He does not come under our senses ; He can neither be seen, nor touched. If the picture of God the Father represents Him under the form of an old man, it is to give us an idea of His adorable antiquity, and because He showed himself in this form to the prophet Daniel. If the Sacred Scriptures speaks to us of the eyes, the feet, and the hands of God, it uses such language only to accommodate itself to our weakness. These are no more than figures which serve to make us understand the perfections and attributes of God. By His eyes is signified that He sees all things ; by His hands that He made all things ; by His arms is understood His supreme power; and we express as far as possible His dignity, by placing all creatures at His feet.

But at the same time, the word of God warns us not to conceive a false idea of God, by supposing Him to have a human form, giving Him a human body and senses, or by believing that He is, as it were, confined within the vast and magnificent palace of this world. God is a Spirit; and therefore He desires to be adored in spirit and in truth. He wishes that our minds should be constantly raised toward Him, and that our hearts should he penetrated with His love, when we contemplate and meditate upon His infinite perfections.He wishes that, like generous children, we should have
for Him the deepest respect and the most perfect submission to His ever adorable will. He wishes that, by a faithful discharge of all the duties of our state, we may merit His favor and His love.

There is a God : He is perfect. He is infinite. O my soul, bless the Lord, and may all that is within me praise His holy name ! Yes, 0 Lord, I am the work of Thy hands, and my soul and my body shall never cease to publish Thy greatness and Thy goodness. Alas! can it be possible that there are men who refuse to recognize Him, by whose omnipotence they were called into existence! Can it be, that there are others who, though acknowledging that there is a God, yet live as if they knew Him not ; do not love Him, nor serve Him, nor wish to do any thing to please Him.

Let us not, O my God ! be amongst the number of those ungrateful wretches; on the contrary, let us bless Thee all the days of our lives; let us praise and glorify Thee on earth, which is Thy footstool; that, we may merit the happiness of being one day admitted to praise, and bless, and love Thee forever in Heaven, where Thou hast established the “ Throne of Thy Glory.” — Amen. "

Source:  One hundred short sermons,  Canon H.J. Thomas Cathedral of Liege Belgium 1859

Catechism on the Holy Spirit (St. John Vianney, Cure d'Ars):

"O my children, how beautiful it is! The Father is our Creator, the Son is our Redeemer, and the Holy Ghost is our Guide. . .
Man by himself is nothing, but with the Holy Spirit he is very great. Man is all earthly, and all animal; nothing but the Holy Spirit can elevate his mind, and raise it on high. Why were the saints so detached from the earth? Because they let themselves he led by the Holy Spirit. Those who are led by the Holy Spirit have true ideas; that is the reason that so many ignorant people are wiser than the learned. When we are led by a God of strength and light, we cannot go astray.

The Holy Spirit is light and strength. He teaches us to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and between good and evil. Like glasses that magnify objects, the Holy Spirit shows us good and evil on a large scale. With the Holy Spirit we see every thing in its true proportions; we see the greatness of the least actions done for God, and the greatness of the least faults. As a watchmaker with his glasses distinguishes the most minute wheels of a watch, so we, with the light of the Holy Ghost, distinguish all the details of our poor life. Then the smallest imperfections appear very great, the least sins inspire us with horror. That is the reason why the most Holy Virgin never sinned. The Holy Ghost made her understand the hideousness of sin; she shuddered with terror at the least fault.

Those who have the Holy Spirit cannot endure themselves, so well do they know their poor misery. The proud are those who have not the Holy Spirit.
 Worldly people have not the Holy Spirit, or if they have, it is only for a moment. does not remain with them; the noise of the world drives Him away. A Christian who is led by the Holy Spirit has no difficulty in leaving the goods of this world, to run after those of heaven; he knows the difference between them. The eyes of the world see no farther than this life, as mine see no farther than this wall when the church-door is shut. The eyes of the Christian see deep into eternity. To the man who gives himself up to the guidance of the Holy Ghost, there seems to be no world; to the world there seems to be no God. . . . We must therefore find out by whom we are led. If it is not by the Holy Ghost, we labour in vain, there is no substance nor savour in any thing we do. If it is by the Holy Ghost, we taste a delicious sweetness;...is enough to make us die of pleasure!

 Those who are led by the Holy Spirit experience all sorts of happiness in themselves, while bad Christians roll themselves on thorns and flints.

A soul in which the Holy Spirit dwells is never weary in the presence of God; his heart gives forth a breath of love.

Without the Holy Ghost we are like the stones on the road. . . . Take in one hand a sponge full of water, and in the other a little pebble; press them equally. Nothing will come out of the pebble, but out of the sponge will come abundance of water. The sponge is the soul filled with the Holy Spirit, and the stone is the cold and hard heart which is not inhabited by the Holy Spirit.

A soul that possesses the Holy Spirit tastes such sweetness in prayer, that she finds the time always too short; she never loses the holy presence of God. Such a heart, before our good Saviour in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, is a bunch of grapes under the wine press.

The Holy Spirit forms thoughts and suggests words in the hearts of the just. . . . Those who have the Holy Spirit produce nothing bad: all the fruits of the Holy Spirit are good.

Without the Holy Spirit all is cold; therefore, when we feel we are losing our fervour, we must instantly make a novena to the Holy Spirit to ask for faith and love. . . . See, when we have made a retreat or a jubilee, we are full of good desires: these good desires are the breath of the Holy Ghost, which has passed over our souls, and has renewed every thing, like the warm wind which melts the ice and brings back the spring... You who are not great saints, you still have many moments when you taste the sweetness of prayer and of the presence of God: these are visits of the Holy Spirit. When we have the Holy Spirit, the heart expands - bathes itself in divine love. A fish never complains of having too much water, neither does a good Christian ever complain of being too long with the good God. There are some people who find religion wearisome, and it is because they have not the Holy Spirit.

If the damned were asked, Why are you in hell? they would answer, For having resisted the Holy Spirit. And if the saints were asked, Why are you in heaven? they would answer, For having listened to the Holy Spirit. When good thoughts come into our minds, it is the Holy Spirit who is visiting us.

The Holy Spirit is a power. The Holy Spirit supported St. Simeon on his column; He sustained the martyrs. Without the Holy Spirit, the martyrs would have fallen like the leaves from the trees. When the fires were lighted under them, the Holy Spirit extinguished the heat of the fire by the heat of divine love.

The good God, in sending us the Holy Spirit, has treated us like a great king who should send his minister to guide one of his subjects, saying, "You will accompany this man every where, and you will bring him back to me safe and sound." How beautiful it is, my children, to be accompanied by the Holy Spirit! He is indeed a good Guide; and to think that there are some who will not follow Him!

The Holy Spirit is like a man with a carriage and horse, who should want to take us to Paris. We should only have to say 'yes,' and to get into it. It is indeed an easy matter to say yes! .. Well, the Holy Spirit wants to take us to heaven; we have only to say 'yes,' and to let Him take us there.

The Holy Spirit is like a gardener cultivating our souls. . . . The Holy Spirit is our servant.

There is a gun; well, you load it, but some one must fire it and make it go off... In the same way, we have in ourselves the power of doing good; . . . when the Holy Spirit gives the impulse, good works are produced.

The Holy Spirit reposes in just souls like the dove in her nest. He brings out good desires in a pure soul, as the dove hatches her young ones.   

The Holy Spirit leads us as a mother leads by the hand her child of two years old, . . as a person who can see leads one who is blind.

The Sacraments which our Lord instituted would not have saved us without the Holy Spirit. Even the Death of our Lord would have been useless to us without Him. Therefore our Lord said to His Apostles, "It is good for you that I should go away; for if I did not go, the Consoler would not come."...The descent of the Holy Ghost was required, to render fruitful that harvest of graces. It is like a grain of wheat - you cast it into the ground; yes, but it must have sun and rain to make it grow and come into ear.
We should say every morning, " O God, send me Thy Spirit, to teach me what I am and what Thou art."

Source: The Spirit of the Cure of Ars,  by Alfred Monnin 1865

“And other some fell among thorns, and the thorns growing up with it choked it."-St. Luke viii. 7.

We, my dear brethren, have received the seed of the Divine word, and we have kept it: we have never fallen away from the true faith as it is in Christ and His Church, and with God's help we never shall. Our steadfastness in the faith is our greatest glory in the sight of heaven and of earth, and whatever our shortcomings may be, we are at least free from the awful crime of apostasy, and this worst of all reproaches can never be laid to our charge. The good soil that produces a hundred fold is ours; but alas! the thorny soil is ours also, and our faith though firmly rooted is often choked by the pernicious jungle growing up around us, in which we suffer ourselves to become entangled.

How many a glorious promise of supernatural faith and virtue in those around us becomes utterly blighted by the thorns of the world's ways and temptations, because no proper care is taken to resist them and stamp them out! The thorny growths that stifle our faith and render it worthless in the sight of God are many indeed, but there is one in particular that is more destructive than all the rest beside. I need hardly name it to you, for you know it but too well—the deadly Upas-tree of intemperance- that casts its withering shade over our hearts and homes and altars! Is there a single person here this morning that does not know of more than one generous soul in whom every fruitful germ of faith and hope and charity, and every sentiment of true Christian manhood and womanhood, have not been blighted by this prevalent passion ? Call the roll of your nearest friends and acquaintances, and how many will you not find absent from the ranks of Christian life, duty, and fidelity through this one vice? There is a skeleton in every closet, and the saloon-keepers have taken the flesh off its bones. This more than anything else chokes the divine seed of the word amongst us; this nullifies the power of our faith; this neutralizes the effects of the Sacraments; this scandalizes our holy religion and makes our consecrated ministry vain; for this is the evil root from whence springs the foul crop of lusts and blasphemies, and crimes and contentions, that stifle every virtue of the Christian life and weigh down the Church of the living God.

Could we but cast out this baneful blight of intemperance from amongst us, our glorious faith would appear in all its strength and beauty, and yield its hundred fold. If it were not for the gross and scandalous lives that so many so-called Catholics lead, nothing could stop the onward march of our faith. This is the one objection raised against us that we cannot satisfactorily meet.

We know very well that ours is the only true religion, and that it supplies every help that we need to enable us to overcome our passions and to lead upright lives. But the world at large knows little or nothing of our faith; it only looks at the dark side of our every-day conduct, and scornfully asks: "Where is the influence of the Catholic religion on the venal politician, the low liquor-seller, the drunken reveler, the meretricious streetwalker, the abominable fathers and mothers who make their homes a hell upon earth, and drive their unfortunate children to destruction ? And what reply can we make? We cannot deny that many who claim to profess our faith are an utter disgrace to it, and a rock of scandal to the world. They, of course, have shaken off all sense of obligation to their religion and its teachings, and have no more conception of religious duty than the cow or the horse. Theirs is a purely animal existence, they live only for the gratification of their lower nature, and we disclaim all responsibility for them. What responsibility has the Catholic Church for those who seldom or ever darken its doors, who never approach its Sacraments, who spend their Saturday nights in the saloons, and their Sunday mornings in drunken slumber? What responsibility has the Church for the recreant rowdies who hang around the corner grog-shops, and the fallen flirts who frequent the sidewalks? They may have Catholic names, but that is the only evidence of their Catholicity. The thorns of dissipation and sensuality and sin of every kind have choked the seed of truth in their hearts, and they are outside the soul of the Church, though they may still claim to belong to its visible pale. But take our consistent Catholics, men and women who are in touch with the spirit of their faith and honestly endeavor to live up to its teachings. Are they not in very truth the salt of the earth? and does not the divine seed planted in their souls produce a hundred fold?"

Source: Five minutes sermons for Low Masses for every Sundays of the Year by the Priests of the Congregation of Saint Paul 1893

"But yet the Son of Man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, faith on earth? St. Luke, 28.8.

By this question our Divine Lord intends us to understand that, when He comes, He shall find many who do not believe, many who have fallen from the faith. It foretells that there shall be apostasies; and if apostasies, therefore that He shall still find the truth; but He will find also those that have fallen from it. And this is what the Holy Ghost, speaking by the Apostle, has distinctly prophesied. St. Paul says, "Now the Spirit manifestly saith that, in the last times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error, and doctrines of devils." And again, St. John says, "Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heart that Antichrist cometh, even now there are become many Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last hour." The meaning therefore of our Lord is this: not that when He comes He will not find the Church He founded in all the plenitude of its power, and the faith He revealed in all the fullness of its doctrine. "The city seated upon the hill cannot be hid." The Holy Catholic Church is the "light of the world," and so shall be to the end. It can never be separated from its Divine Head in heaven. The Spirit of Truth, who came on the day of Pentecost, according to our Divine Lord's promise, will abide with it forever: therefore when the Son of God shall come at the end of the world, there shall be His Church as in the beginning, in the amplitude of its Divine authority, in the fullness of its Divine faith, and the immutability of its teaching. He will find then the light shining in vain in the midst of many who will be willingly blind; the teacher in the midst of multitudes, of whom many will be willingly deaf: they will have eyes, and see not; and ears, and hear not; and hearts that will not understand. As it was at His first coming, so shall it be at His second. This, then is the plain meaning of our Lord's words."
Source: Catholic Oratory: A Compilation of Sacred and Sublime Orations by Card. James Gibbons

"That you may walk; worthy of God. Col 1.10"

"Brethren", says St. Paul, in the Epistle of this Sunday, "we cease not to pray for you,...that you may walk worthy of God." These words may, no doubt, be understood to mean that we should live in such a way as to be worthy to receive God in His Real Presence at the time of Holy Communion, and by His grace at all times; and, finally, to receive Him, and to be received by Him, in His eternal kingdom of glory. But there is another sense, perhaps a more natural one, and certainly a more special one, in which we may understand them.

This sense is, that we should live in a way worthy of, and suitable to, the dignity and the favor which He has conferred upon us, in making or considering us worthy, as the apostle goes on to say, "to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light" that is, in bringing us into, and making us members of His one, true and Holy Catholic Church. In other words, that we should behave in such a way as to be creditable to Him and to His holy church, to which we belong.

Now, this is a point the importance of which cannot be overrated, and which we are too apt to forget. We lose sight of the fact that the honor of God and of His church has been placed in our hands, and confided to our charge; so that every sin which we commit, besides its own proper malice, has the malice of an indignity to the holy state to which we have been called. For this reason, a sin committed by a Catholic is always greater than the same sin committed by any one else; not only on account of the greater grace and clearer light which he has received, but also because God is more specially robbed of His honor by it.

You all see this plainly enough when it is a question of a sin committed by one who has been called to the ecclesiastical or religious state. If a priest or a religious is guilty of any offense, though it be but a small one, you are scandalized by it, not only because he ought to have been better able to avoid it, but also because it dishonors God's choice of him to be a special image in this world of His divine goodness.

But you forget that you also, merely because you are Catholics, dishonor God, and bring Him and His holy religion into contempt by the sins which you commit. It is plain enough, however, that you do, though in a somewhat less degree than those whom He has more specially chosen.

And other people do not forget it, though you may. "Look at those Catholics," the world outside is continually saying; "they may belong to the true church, but they do not do much honor to it. See how they drink, lie, and swear. If that is all the good it does one to be a Catholic, I would rather take my chance of saving my soul somewhere else than be reckoned among such people."

Now, it is all very true that such talk as this is unjust and unfair, and that the very persons who say such things may really be much worse, at least considering their temptations, than those whom they find fault with. But still they have a right to find fault that those whom God has brought into the True Church are not evidently as much better as they ought to be, than those whom He has not; and you cannot altogether blame them for finding fault with Him rather than with yourselves, and saying that this Catholic Church of His is rather a poor instrument to save the world with.

Remember then, my brethren, that a bad Catholic is a disgrace to His Church, and a dishonor to Almighty God, who founded it. A story is told of a man who, when drunk, would deny that he was a Catholic; he had the right feeling on this point, though he committed a greater sin to save a less one. Imitate him, not in denying your faith, but in taking care not to disgrace it; for God will surely require of you an account, not only of your sins, but also of the dishonor which they have brought on the holy name by which are you are called."

Source: Five minute sermons for Low Masses on all Sundays of the year the Paulist Fathers

 "Those who are familiar with the Latin Missal, or those who will take the trouble to examine it, will see at once that the Mass consists mainly of two parts, the first a preparation for and leading up to the second. In the former we have the prayers and supplication with passages of Holy Scripture from the Epistles and Gospels, selected by the Church as appropriate to the feast or Sunday upon which they are read. In this part also we have the ceremonial offices arranged for the offering of the bread and wine prepared for the Christian Sacrifice, accompanied by prayers expressing the idea of sacrifice and oblation.0Thus, for example, at the offering of the bread the priest says these words:" Receive, O Holy Father, Almighty and Everlasting God, this spotless Host," etc...When he offers the chalice with the wine and water in it he says:"We offer up to Thee, O Lord, the chalice of Salvation, beseeching Thee of Thy mercy that our sacrifice may ascend with an odor of sweetness in the sight of Thy Divine Majesty," Etc.; and he adds:"May the Sacrifice we this day offer up be well-pleasing to Thee." Finally, bowing down before the altar, the priest says: "Receive, O Holy Trinity, this oblation offered up by us to Thee," etc. and, turning to those who are assisting, he says: "Brethren, pray that this sacrifice, which is both mine and yours, may be well-pleasing to God the Father Almighty." To this the people through the server reply: " May the Lord receive this sacrifice at your hands," etc.

Everyone who will carefully examine these prayers must see that the main idea contained in all is that of sacrifice and oblation. In the same way the prayer called the Secret, which follows upon the offering of the bread and wine for the Sacrifice, though it varies with the feast celebrated, practically always contains some mention of the oblation or victim to be offered. Thus on this, the second Sunday of Advent, the Secret prayer contains these words: "Be appeased, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by our prayers and by the sacred Victim we humbly offer," etc.

In the second part of the Holy Mass we shall find, if we use our Missals, or Mass books, that there is one unchanging ritual formula called the "Canon", during which the words of Consecration are pronounced by the priest over the bread and wine. By the efficacy of these words, as we Catholics, believe, the substance of the bread and wine are changed by God's power into the Body and Blood of Christ; and in this Sacred Canon the Christian sacrifice is perfected. Naturally we should expect to find in this solemn part of the Mass the same idea of sacrifice and oblation clearly expressed. And so it is. The priest begs Almighty God "to receive and to bless these gifts, these oblations, these holy and spotless hosts, which we offer up the Thee;" and "to be appeased by this oblation which we offer." Again he prays: "Vouchsafe to bless this same oblation, to take it for Thy very own...so that on our behalf it may be made into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ," etc. To this he adds: "Wherefore we offer up the thine excellent Majesty... a Victim which is pure, a Victim which is holy, a Victim which is stainless, the holy Bread of like everlasting and the Cup of Eternal salvation." then after the words of Consecration, bowing down before the sacred species on the altar, the celebrant says: "Humble we beseech Thee, Almighty God, to command that by the hands of Thy holy Angel, this our Sacrifice be uplifted to thine altar on high."

"  Jesus  said  also  to  His  disciples,  There  was  a  certain  rich  man  who  had  a steward,  and  the  same  was  accused  unto  him,  that  he  had  wasted  his  goods." —
St.  Luke  xvi.  I.

I.  His  administration.
II.  His  disgrace.
III.  His  wastefulness.

1.  Had  a  steward.  In  a  general  sense,  under  the  term "  steward  "  may  be  understood  all  men  who  have  received  gifts from  God,  whether  in  the  order  of  nature  or  of  grace ;  for  such are  not  owners,  but  simply  administrators.  In  a  more  particular sense,  however,  the  word  represents  Priests,  and  especially  those who  have  the  care  of  souls  (as  St.  Anselm  says),  for  they  have committed  to  them  the  care  and  direction  of  the  carnal.  The Greek  word,  indeed,  is  "  asconomus"  which  St.  Jerome  translates "  dispenser,"  as  he  likewise  uses  the  word  to  "  dispense  " and  "  dispensation  "  of  the  office  of  a  steward.  Now,  who  are the  stewards  and  dispensers  of  the  house  of  God  if  not  Priests  ?

Let  us  meditate  on  the  Apostle's  words,  in  which  we  are  called "  dispensers  of  the  mysteries  of  God"  (i  Cor.  iv.  i) ;  let  us  meditate on  those  other  words  in  which  he  calls  the  Bishop  and  the Priest  "the  steward  of  God"  (Tit.  i.  7) ;  let  us  profit  by  the  exhortation  of  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  "As  every  man  hath  received grace,  ministering  the  same  one  to  another,  as  good  stewards of  the  manifold  grace  of  God"  (i  Pet.  iv.  10).  All  the  power which  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "the  rich  man,"  rich  in  Divine treasures,  has  conferred  upon  us,  is  but  an  administration and  stewardship  (says  St.  Bonaventure)  with  which  He  entrusts us  for  a  time  determined  by  Himself.  Holy  Mass,  the  Sacraments, the  Ministry  of  the  Word,  are  treasures  of  which  we  have the  administration.  What  treasures  are  these !  what  a  dignity how  surpassing  human  reason  and  understanding!  (says  St. Charles  Borromeo.)

2.  Was  accused  unto  him.  It  was  not  a  simple  accusation,  but public  defamation,  which  induced  his  lord  to  take  away  from  the unfaithful  steward  the  administration  of  his  goods.  This  signifies that,  even  if  God  were  to  suffer  for  a  time  the  irregular  lives of  Priests,  He  would  be  provoked  to  punish  them  by  the  accusations of  others.  For,  first,  the  devil  is  their  accuser,  called,  as he  is,  "  the  accuser  of  our  brethren"  (Apoc.  xii.  10).  Next,  the good  Angels  are  their  accusers,  who  see  their  care  for  the  salvation of  souls  made  of  no  avail  through  the  wickedness  and slothfulness  of  Priests.  Again,  the  damned  souls  are  their accusers,  laying  the  blame  of  their  ruin  on  the  Confessor,  the Preacher,  the  parish  Priest,  whose  lack  of  zeal  has  caused  their eternal  ruin ;  for  it  is  the  wont  of  impenitent  sinners  (says  St. Augustin)  to  seek  to  accuse  others  of  their  own  sins.  The  just also  are  their  accusers,  who  would  have  been  still  more  justified, and  have  avoided  the  pains  of  purgatory,  had  they  been  better instructed,  exhorted,  encouraged,  and  purified ;  for  it  is  written, "He  that  is  just,  let  him  be  justified  still"  (Apoc.  xxii.  n). Finally,  inanimate  things  are  their  accusers ;  for  God's  temples squalid,  profaned,  and  without  worshipers — the  sacred  vestments torn,  dirty,  and  ill-kept — ecclesiastical  functions  performed without  the  requisite  ceremonies,  without  recollection,  without modesty — the  people  ignorant,  corrupt,  and  irreligious — all  these things  cry  aloud  to  Heaven  against  the  Clergy.  "  Their  cry went  up  unto  God"  (Exod.  ii.  23).  "I  will  deliver  My  flock from  their  mouth"  (Ezech.  xxxiv.  10).    Our  Saviour  speaks, then,  of  this  defamation  in  order  that  Priests,  having  (as  St. Bonaventure  says)  a  natural  horror  of  infamy,  should  not  abuse the  treasures  committed  to  them.  Let  us  examine  ourselves  as to  the  impression  which  these  terrible  truths  produce  upon  our heart,  and  if  we  are  not  made  to  tremble  we  may  be  assured that  we  are  in  danger.

3.  That  he  had  wasted  his  goods.  It  is  not  said  that  the  steward injured  his  lord,  for  the  latter  was  so  rich  that  he  could  sustain no  loss ;  nor  is  it  said  that  he  was  a  thief,  for  he  gained  nothing for  himself.  It  is  simply  said  that  he  "wasted,"  as  the  prodigal son  wasted ;  that  is  to  say,  he  lost  that  which  belonged  to  his master  and  others,  because  he  distributed  not  the  goods  as  he ought."  He  doth  not  distribute  with  right  understanding that  which  was  to  be  had,  in  like  manner  also  that  which  was not  to  be  had"  (Eccl.  xx.  19).  When  goods,  health,  talents, eloquence,  supernatural  lights,  graces  "  gratis  data"  are  not employed  in  the  way  which  God  has  prescribed,  they  are "wasted ;"  and,  therefore,  when  priests  dispense  not  these  goods according  to  our  Lord's  will,  but  only  so  as  to  satisfy  their passions,  their  are  "wasteful"  stewards.  Woe  to  them  if  they  find themselves  in  this  state,  and  seek  not  to  remedy  it !

"  O  Lord,  my  heart  was  not  right  with  Thee,  nor  was  my  counsel  faithful  in  Thy covenant :  be  merciful,  and  forgive  my  sins." — From  Pt.  lxxvii.  37.

"  A  dispensation  is  committed  to  me  ...  I  will  not  abuse  my  power." — From I  Cor.  ix.  17,  18. "
 

Source: adapted Meditations for the use of the clergy : for every day in the year. On the Gospels for the Sundays, Volume 3

-"And Jesus said to His disciples: I have compassion on the multitudes, because they have nothing to eat, and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way."-St. Matt. xv. 32.

If our Divine Lord were to reappear in the flesh to-day, walking amongst men, as He did nineteen centuries ago, He would, no doubt, have with Him again the multitudes, attracted by the sweetness of His divine personality. He would see at His feet amongst the miserable millions embodying mankind's collected woe not only the dumb, the blind, the lame and maimed, casting themselves down before Him to be healed, but crowding around Him a multitude of those who have nothing to eat. Compassion would again be dominant and rule supreme in His Sacred Heart, and who can doubt that the Healer of mankind would again, while healing the sick, not send away the others fasting?

I will not dwell here on the fact that in the present as in bygone times there is scarcely much difference as to the vastness in numbers of those who literally, in plain Gospel language, "have nothing to eat." I will only say, that if the percentage of the poor and needy, of those hungering for their daily bread, has remained unchanged, as great as in the past, it is owing to the prevalent, all but universal love of gain. If, then, the wretched become dependent upon others more fortunate than themselves, their relief is a means to make those who help them like Jesus Christ. But though without such help the wretched multitude must go away fasting and fainting, this sorrowful truth is not the whole truth. The real state of things is still worse. For if we consider likewise, as we ought to, the spiritual and moral condition of the greater number of those that have abundancethat is, that are filled with bread and meat and the other good things of this life-we find that in another sense of the divine text they have nothing to eat. If we only were able to read their souls, it would be seen that, in spite of their bodily fulness, they still are spiritually fasting owing to the void in their hearts.