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Ye would not sit at ease while meek men kneel
Did ye but see His face shine though the veil,
And the unearthly forms that round you steal,
Hidden in beauteous light, splendent or pale
As the rich Service leads. And prostrate faith
Shroudeth her timorous eye, while through the air
Hovers and hands the Spirit's cleansing Breath
In Whitsun shapes o'er each true worshiper.
Deep wreaths of Angels, burning from the East,
Around the consecrated Shrine are braced,
The awful Stone where by fit hands are placed
The Flesh and Blood of the tremendous Feast.
But kneel - the priest upon the Altar-stair
Will bring a blessing out of Sion there.

Source: Poems by Fr. Frederick W. Faber

That such a Power should live and breather, doth seem
A thought from which men fain would be relieved,
A grandeur not to be endured, a dream
Darkening the souls, though it be unbelieved.
August conception! far above king, law,
Or popular right; how calmly doth thou draw
Under thine awful shadow mortal pain,
And joy not mortal! Witness of a need
Deep laid in man, and therefore pierced in vain,
As though thou wert no form that thou shouldst bleed!
While such a power there lives in old man's shape,
Such and so dread, should not his mighty will
And supernatural presence, godlike fill
The air we breathe, and leave us no escape?

Source: Poems by Fr. Frederick W. Faber

The ignorance of priests and the disorders which follow upon it very largely account for the loss of faith and morals in a country.

This the enemies of the Church know perfectly well. When at the outbreak of the French Revolution the clergy were called upon to take the oath to the Civil Constitution, Mirabeau said: Educated priests will refuse to take this oath, and once we have driven them out and brought the cloisters into disrepute, we can replace them with men destitute of faith and morals, who will do more to aid us in robbing France of her Catholicity than we can possibly do with all our decrees.

Source: Jesus Living in the Priest: Considerations on the Greatness and Holiness of the Priesthood by Rev. Jacques Millet S.J., 1901

Who is she that stands triumphant,
Rock in strength, upon the Rock,
Like some city crowned with turrets,
Braving storm and earthquake shock?
Who is she her arms extending
In blessing o'er a world restored;
All the anthems of creation
Lifting to creation's Lord?

Hers the kingdom, hers the scepter,
Kneel, ye nations, at her feet;
Hers that Truth whose fruit is Freedom;
Light her yoke; her burthen sweet!

As the moon that takes its splendor
From a sun unseen all night,
So from Christ, the Sun of Justice,
Evermore she draws her light.
Hers alone the hands of healing,
The Bread of Life, th'absolving Key;
The Word Incarnate is her Bridegroom,
The Spirit hers, His temple, she.

Hers the kingdom, hers the scepter,
Kneel, ye nations, at her feet;
Hers that Truth whose fruits is Freedom;
Light her yoke; her burthen sweet!

Empires rise and sink like billows;
Their place knoweth them no more:
Glorious as the star of morning
She o'erlooks the wild uproar.
Hers the household all embracing"
Hers the Vine that shadows earth:
Blest thy children, mighty mother,
Safe the stranger at thy hearth;

Hers the kingdom, hers the scepter,
Kneel, ye nations, at her feet;
Hers that Truth whose fruit is Freedom;
Light her yoke; her burthen sweet.

Source: The Holy Family Manual,Sisters of Notre Dame, Ohio 1883

Jesus Christ having so dignified chastity in His own person left it to His priests as the most beautiful adornment of their priesthood and the greatest glory of their ministry. A priest whose reputation is clean and whose morals are pure is dear to the heart of God and useful to His Church; whereas, on the contrary, a priest whose morals are not beyond  reproach, a pastor who is not chaste, what sort of a priest, what sort of a pastor is he?

Source: Jesus Living in the Priest: Considerations on the Greatness and Holiness of the Priesthood, By Rev. Jacques Millet 1901

Whoever the priest is who does not strive to do something more than his predecessors have done, who does not seek out new means by which to draw men from the torrent of iniquity in which they are being lost, is a priest who suffers himself to be beaten by the wicked, and a pastor who sleeps while the wolves are devastating his fold. 

Be up and doing, then ye priests and pastors of souls; set to work promptly with all earnestness and zeal to do something for these men. 

Source: Jesus Living in the Priest: Considerations on the Greatness and Holiness of the Priesthood by Rev. Jacques Millet, S.J. 1901

My God, if only priests clearly understood and fully appreciated the tremendous power which unity of doctrine, unity of hierarchy and, above all, their divine mission confer upon them; if only they had a living faith and an abiding trust in Him from whom they received their mission; if only they worked with the zeal, charity and disinterestedness of the first Apostles, the whole world would be subdued and kneel at their feet. They are more potent than statesmen with all their political craft and subterfuge; they are more potent than even kings and emperors with their armies; they are the depositories of a great moral force which alone can move the world.

Forward, then, O priests of the Lord; forward, with the sword of the Word and the shield of faith, all obedient to the same Head, all animated with the same spirit; diocesan priests and regulars, young men with the oil of consecration still fresh upon your hands, old men, veterans of the Sanctuary, forward, as one man; vice and error will flee at your approach, victory will be yours and the world will be saved.

Source: Jesus Living in the Priest: Considerations on the Greatness and Holiness of the Priesthood by Rev. Jacques Millet, S.J. 1901

  And He spoke to them this parable, saying, What man of you that hath an hundred sheep,
 and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go
after that which was lost till he find it ? And when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders,
rejoicing." — St. Luke xv. 3—5.

 Go after that which was lost.
 In this Parable Jesus Christ indicates Himself, Who (says St. Gregory) left the choirs of
Angels in Heaven, and, in order to fill up the number of His flock in Heaven, sought lost
man upon earth. And the Priest who leaves the charge of devout souls in order to visit
 the land of infidels, and to seek the salvation of those lost souls towards whom Jesus
has such compassion, is a follower of this Good Shepherd, Who came down upon earth
 to seek the lost sheep.

Most necessary is it to have pity on those who are perishing (says St. Cyril). This is a most
 noble vocation, for it is similar to that of the Son of God ; most glorious is this destiny, which
 renders the Missionary a partaker of the Apostolate. The Apostles were to "sit upon thrones "
 (St. Luke xxii. 30) — to be " the salt of the earth," "the light of the world," "the light put upon a
candle-stick" (St. Matt. v. 13, 14, 15); and the rewards promised to them — " the hundredfold "
of that which they had left, and the thrones" on which they should "judge the twelve tribes of Israel"
(St. Matt. xix. 28) — represent the infinite value of the recompense reserved for them, and for all
those who are partakers  of the Apostolical ministry. Happy those who " are numbered with them
and have part in this ministry" (Acts i. 17) ! whereas to many others God says, " Thou hast no part
nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of  God " (Acts viii. 2 1 ).
What worldly glory can be put in comparison with that of a man thus truly Apostolical ?
 How many good works, what great virtue, what abundant merits, are his! How sweet will death
 become to him ! How superabundant his happiness in Heaven !

Source: Meditations for the Use of the Clergy by the Oblates of St. Charles

St. Cyril of Jerusalem teaches that Christ was Priest before all ages,
 anointed by the Father in His eternal generation, so that His Priesthood 
had not its beginning in time, but is immutable. This Priesthood consisted
 not in humiliations, in sufferings, in prayers, but in knowing the Father,
 in acknowledging Him as the source of the Godhead, and Himself as true God 
of true God. It consisted (according to St. Thomas) in saying to Him,
 "Thou art my Father," " I am in Thee, and Thou in Me; I love Thee and honor
 Thee with an infinite love and infinite glory; for infinite is the love 
which Thou bearest Me, and infinite the glory which Thou hast communicated to Me." 

He united this Priesthood with His temporal Priesthood when He assumed human nature;
taking from us (as St. Augustin says) that which 
He would offer for us. The Word (says St. Ambrose) appeared clothed with flesh, in His 
dignity of King and of Judge, and full of sacerdotal justice. Our guilt could not be 
cancelled without a sacrifice, and therein a sacrifice was sought. The Son (says St. Gregory)
took our nature, but not our sin, and offered Himself a sinless Victim. His Incarnation 
was itself a Sacrifice which lasted His whole mortal life, was consummated upon the Cross,
and is continued in glory at the Right Hand of the Father, and on our altars on earth.
In the womb of Mary (says Dionysius of Alexandria) the King of Glory was made a High 
Priest; and He continueth such for ever, now that He has entered once into the Holies,
having obtained eternal redemption.

 Let us adore our great High Priest, in Whose hands is our salvation. 

Source: Meditations For the use of the Clergy, Oblates of St. Charles 

Do not be afraid, if you find yourselves in the minority. "Woe to you when men shall bless you!" You must be censured if you are the disciples of Jesus Christ. The world that hated Him will not love you. "The disciple is not above his master, not the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord." "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household?" And therefore, if you have the mark of the world's hatred upon you, accept it; press it to your bosom. It is the token that you are the disciples of the true and only Master. If you have the world's favor and sunshine, look to yourselves.

There is a dark future before the world. What it may be, God alone knows. The Church will have to suffer; but there is a light upon it, and that light can never fade. We are in evil times, marked deeply by the four great evils of which I have spoken. Around us are "evil men and seducers, who grow worse and worse, erring, and driving into error. " "Many shall come in my name," our Lord has said, "and seduce many"; and because of their iniquity the love and the charity of the many shall wax cold. Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be wars and pestilences in many places. But the end is not yet. This is only the beginning of troubles. Keep close to the footsteps of the Master who spoke those words; and, when these signs are in the sky and upon the earth, remember that He also said, "When these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption is at hand."

Source: Catholic Oratory, Discourse from the pulpit, Cardinal Manning 1891