CAPG's Blog 

St. Therese, Our Lady of Lourdes, Raleigh NC

"Now it is in the Host that I can see you carry your annihilation in full. How humble you are , oh Divine King of Glory in submitting Yourself to all your priests without making any distinction between those who love you and those who, alas, are lukewarm or cold in your service! You descend from Heaven to their call. They can anticipate or delay the time of your Holy Sacrifice. You are always ready! (Proverb 20)"-- St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Thérèse is the advocate of priests; indeed one of the intentions of the Carmelite Order is to pray for priests.

"The second piece of knowledge I acquired concerned God's Priests. Up to this time I could not understand the chief aim of the Carmelite Reform. The thought of praying for sinners afforded me the utmost delight, but I was surprised at the idea of praying for priests, whose souls I deemed purer than crystal. In Italy, I understood my vocation, and the long journey was well worth undertaking to gain such useful knowledge.

During that month I met many holy priests. Yet I saw that despite the sublime dignity of the Priesthood, which raises them above the Angels, they still remain men, and subject to human frailty. Now if those whom Our Lord in the Gospel calls "the salt of the earth' -if holy priests have need of our prayers, what must be the needs of the lukewarm? Has not Our Lord said also: "If the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted?" (Matt. V. 13)"  A Compendious Critical Life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux: The Little Flower By  Andrew Edward Breen 1928

• From Therese to Celine, July 14 1889"

"Celine, during the short moments that remain to us, let us not lose our time...Let us save souls...souls are being lost like flakes of snow, and Jesus weeps, and we...we are thinking of our sorrow without consoling our Fiance...Oh,Celine, let us live for souls... let us be apostles...let us save especially the souls of priests; these souls should be more transparent than crystal...Alas, how many bad priests, priests who are not holy enough...Let us pray, let us suffer for them, and on the last day, Jesus will be grateful. We shall give Him souls!
Celine, do you understand the cry of my soul? "

•  From Celine to Sister Agnes of Jesus, Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart, and Therese, July 1880.: 

"Oh! how necessary it is to pray for priests! I find they have a great responsibility; there is so much to do, and in my opinion, they don't do all that is within their power. Never any sermons, never any paternal instructions, never any visits to their flocks. Most of them don't know their parishioners. I would say, without judging the priests in particular, that I find the people much more excusable than the priests. They don't know their duties, how then would they carry them out? I don't think God expects anything from them. 
It's true that in these parts there are only old priests, very aged and infirm, and they no longer have the zeal and strength of youth to lift up the crowds.
However, I will resume once again the chapter of my impressions of all that is around me... I don't understand how they can seek to build up a human family when there is scarcely anyone who devotes himself to forming these people in spiritual matters. Earthly marriages form bodies, the soul produces souls, but how many souls without wings! Who, then, will engender souls for heaven? Oh, little sisters, this will be ourselves through our mystical union with Jesus and our soul... And this union will not stop at tens but at a thousand million! The world doesn't understand us, that thinks us selfish, says we are living a useless life; it will see later on the ones who worked the most. People will compare with astonishment the variety of Vocations."

• From Therese to Celine, October 1890

 "Dear Celine, I always have the same thing to say to you. Ah! Let us pray for priests; each day shows how few the friends of Jesus are...It seems to me this what He must feel the most, ingratitude, especially when seeing souls who are consecrated to Him giving others a hear that belongs to Him in so absolute a way.

• St. Therese of Lisieux Spiritual Maxims

"Our vocation is not to go and reap in the Father's fields: Jesus does not say to us: " Cast down your eyes and reap the harvest"; our mission is still more sublime. Here are the words of the Divine Master: "Lift up your eyes and see..." see that in Heaven there are empty places; yours it is to fill them...you are as Moses praying on the mountain; ask of Me laborers and I will send them; I await but a prayer, a sigh from out your heart!"