Sunday for Priests
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 19, 2026 at 12:00AM in Tradition
O Holy Spirit, Creator, be propitious to the Catholic Church; and by Thy heavenly power make it strong and secure against the attacks of its enemies; and renew in charity and grace the spirit of Thy servants, whom Thou has anointed, that they may glorify Thee and the Father and His Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. amen.
Manual of prayers to the Holy Ghost by Very Rev. Fr. Felix of Jesus 1941
Duties of Parents
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 19, 2026 at 12:00AM in Sunday Sermons
The Good Shepherd (Le bon pasteur) - James Tissot
"I am the Good Shepherd: I know mine."-St. John x. 14.
"Our Divine Lord, my dear brethren, not only asserts that He is "the Good Shepherd," but also proves Himself to be so by the care and solicitude which He has for the well-being of His flock. He spared no pain, no labor, in His watchful care over His sheep, and finally shed the last drop of His
Blood in their defense, leaving an example to those who are likewise
shepherds in their own sphere. St. Augustine says that parents are
shepherds in their houses, and that they must have the same care for their children that a shepherd has for his flock. They, like the Good Shepherd, must know and feed their sheep, protect them from the wolves, and go before, leading them in the right way. Parents, you must realize that the sheep entrusted to your care are spiritual beings, that they have souls, that they are images of God, created by God the Father, redeemed by God the Son, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and that, in heaven or hell, they shall continue to live for ever. Stainless and bright in baptismal purity are these sheep when placed in your hands to be led to their inheritance of the kingdom of heaven.
In order that you may be good shepherds you must know your children. Know them interiorly, what their dispositions are, what they wish, desire, and aim at; what troubles they have, what they need, what is good or evil, expedient or injurious to them, what their faults and defects are, whether they are inclined to this or that vice, that evil habits may not be allowed to grow up and take root in them. "Hast thou children," says sacred Scripture, "instruct them and bow down their neck from their childhood." You must instruct your children in the truths of religion. Impress upon them the end for which they were created. Speak to them of the future life, of the eternal happiness or the eternal misery which awaits us - a heaven full of joy or a hell full of suffering. Speak to them of God's knowledge, who knows and sees all things; of God's justice, who leaves no good unrewarded and no evil unpunished. Instruct and warn them regarding all things appertaining to salvation. Let the words uttered by Tobias, when on his death-bed, be re-echoed in every household : Hear, my son, the words of my mouth, and lay them as a foundation in thy mind, and take heed thou never consent to sin nor transgress the commandments of the Lord our God. Never suffer pride to reign in thy mind or in thy words, for from it all perdition took its beginning. See thou never do to another what thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another. Eat thy bread with the hungry and needy. Bless God at all times, and desire of Him to direct thy ways and that all thy counsels may abide in Him.Fear not, my son; we indeed lead a poor life, but we shall have many good things if we fear God, and depart from all sin, and do that which is good."
You must protect your children from the wolves. Know who their companions are. Watch over them that no wolf in sheep's clothing may enter amongst the flock, that none of the flock may stray into the wolf's den of the dance-hall, the public house, or any of the other miscalled places of amusement. Be not like the hireling who leaveth the sheep and flieth when he seeth the wolf coming.
You, like good shepherds, must go before your flock leading it in the right way. Children are taught far more by example than by words. You yourselves must be virtuous and God-fearing, diligent in the practice of your Christian duties. Do you go punctually to Confession, or are you slothful and careless, and put off for a year, or years, the worthy reception of Holy Communion? Are all your acts influenced by the consciousness of God's presence? Are you just and forgiving in your transactions with others? Are you solicitous to perform good works, works of charity, of mercy ? Would you have your children live according to the dictates of their holy faith? Then set them good example and they are sure to walk in your footsteps. "If any man have not care of his own, and especially those of his house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." Source: 5 minutes Sermons by the Paulist Fathers, Gospels 2nd Sunday after Easter 1893
Bearing Injustice
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 19, 2026 at 12:00AM in Sunday Sermons
Let Him Be Crucified (Qu'il soit crucifié) - James Tissot
'Who, when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly."— Epistle I. St. Peter ii. 22.
" One of the hardest trials, my dear brethren, to which we can be exposed; indeed, perhaps the hardest one of all, is to be condemned unjustly. And the condemnation need not be pronounced in court, and published to the world. It need not even be given by public opinion; no, there may be only a few who share in it, perhaps only one, and that may be one whose judgment is not of much weight; still, to be falsely judged, to be accused of what we have not done, to have even our motives misinterpreted, is a pretty heavy cross to bear. How often will you hear people alleging as a reason for a permanent breach of friendship with someone, that one has belied them? It is of little use to point out that the person who is or seems to be a false accuser, may really not intend to be guilty of falsehood, nor be conscious of rash judgment, but may in his or her heart actually believe the charge, and feel not only justified, but even under an obligation of conscience in making it, and thus be guiltless before God. No, the sting is perhaps even greater, that he should believe a thing about us that we feel is not true, and could not be.
Nor is it enough to say that there are many things which we ought to be judged guilty of, but are not; and that so we can afford to take some punishment that we do not deserve, as we escape a good deal that we do. No, we say to ourselves: "I would not mind it so much if it were true; I would rather take the burden of all the many wrong things that I have done, than of one that I have not." Perhaps that would not really be the fact, but we feel as if it were.
I think, then, that to find a real cure for our heartache about matters of this kind, we must take the one which St. Peter gives us in this Epistle of today. We must take refuge under the shadow of the cross of Him who, as the Apostle says, suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. The Cross of Christ is the only remedy in the last resort for all the pain and misery of the world, as well as for its sins; and we may as well come to it at once as wait till other consolations have failed.
Let us, then, lay to heart our Lord's example in this matter, as St. Peter tells us; let us keep it always by us, to be ready for use at the first moment. Let us consider how slight and insignificant are all the false judgments that can be made about us, miserable sinners that we are, compared with that which was passed on Him, the Saint of saints; on Him who was not merely holy, but holiness itself, the source of all sanctity, the Giver of every virtue that we can have. Let us consider how He was reckoned with the malefactors, how He was condemned not merely to death, but to the shameful death of a criminal; and how not merely one or two, but the crowds of His own people, whom He had come to save, turned against Him and believed all the false charges which His accusers made.
And let us not imagine that, being in truth God, His human nature was made insensible to all this outrageous injustice by its essential sanctity, or by the homage of the angels, or of those on earth who really knew and loved Him and remained faithful to Him. No; it was no more rendered in this way insensible to the pain of the false charges than it was to the sharp piercing of the nails driven through His hands and feet. Indeed, that He could much better have borne. His infinite purity and sensitiveness to sin only made these suspicions and accusations of it the more intolerable; physical suffering was little in comparison.
Yet, as the Apostle says, in this He did not defend Himself. He was willing to drink this bitter chalice to the dregs. When He was reviled, He reviled not again. He neither cleared Himself, which He could easily have done, nor took the poor remedy which we sinners are too apt to take, of accusing His accusers.
Let us then, when thus tried in our poor way, ask Him to give us the grace to do as He did, and even, if it be possible, to rest for a time at least under accusations which we might remove, when the honor of God is not concerned. And let us remember not to be guilty of rash judgment in our turn, but make, as He did, every possible excuse for those who belie us; let us believe that, so far as they are wrong, they know not what they do. And, lastly, let us take the greater pains to abstain from uncharitable thoughts or words about our neighbors, thus exposing them to a trial which we have found so hard to bear." 2nd Sunday after Easter - Five minute Sermons by the Paulist Fathers, 1893
St. Alphege, Bishop and Martyr A.D. 1012.
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 19, 2026 at 12:00AM in Saints
"He was born of noble and virtuous parents; but renounced the world whilst he was yet very young. He served God first in the monastery of Derhurste in Gloucestershire; but after some years, he built himself a cell in a desert place of the abbey of Bath, where he shut himself up, unknown to men, but well known to God, for whose love he made himself a voluntary martyr of penance. His eminent virtues invited many to be his followers. But some of them falling from their first fervor, contented themselves with deceiving their superior with pretended exactness, while out of his sight they took very scandalous liberties, particularly in sitting up in the night to feast and drink, and fasting in the day with the rigor of the strictest hermits. But though they imposed upon this good man; yet God's justice soon discovered their hypocrisy in the punishment of it. St. Elphege in a short time reclaimed them; and God, by the sudden death of one, opened the eyes of all the rest. See that you imitate not these unhappy men, but observe discipline exactly. It is the practice of too many to transgress it, and their glory is to deceive those under whose care they are, by unduly going abroad, and unseasonable meetings at home. Break off all such customs: for there is so much folly, injustice, and deceit in them, that they cannot fail of proving your scourge in bringing mischief upon you.
The see of Winchester
falling vacant, St. Dunstan was admonished in a vision to oblige St.
Elphege to receive episcopal consecration. After he had governed the see of Winchester twenty-two years, he was chosen archbishop of Canterbury. The Danes landing in England took the city of Canterbury, seized the holy
prelate, laid him in irons, and confined him for several months in a
filthy dungeon. He was then released, but soon after cruelly martyred in
the year 1012.
Pray for all the bishops of Christ's Church; and in particular for him, under whose charge you are. Pray for this nation, that God would in His mercy preserve it from atheism and infidelity; and not let these be the punishment of its vice, but make it zealous for virtue, justice and truth." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
St. Apollonius, MARTYR, A.D. 186.
by VP
Posted on Saturday April 18, 2026 at 12:00AM in Saints
"The Emperor Marcus Aurelius had persecuted the Christians from principle, being a bigoted Pagan: but his son Commodus, who succeeded him in the empire, after some time, shewed himself favorable to them. During this calm, the number of the faithful exceedingly increased, and many persons of the first rank enlisted under the banner of the cross. Of this number was Apollonius, a Roman senator. He was very well versed both in philosophy and the Holy Scriptures. In the midst of the peace, which the Church enjoyed, he was publicly accused of Christianity by one of his own slaves, named Severus. St. Apollonius was ordered to renounce his religion, as he valued his life and fortune; for though Commodus had forbidden any one to accuse the Christians, he had not repealed the former laws against them. The saint courageously rejected such terms, and obtained leave to give an account of his faith in full senate. This he did in an excellent discourse, which has not come down to our times. But it not being in the power of his brethren to overrule the law, he was beheaded; and thus sealed the truth with his blood.
St. Anicetus, Pope and Martyr, A.D. 173.
by VP
Posted on Friday April 17, 2026 at 12:00AM in Saints
"He was born in Syria, and succeeded St. Pius in the see of Rome, in the latter part of the reign of Antoninus Pius. He sat about eight years, from 165 to 173. He is styled a martyr in the Roman and other martyrologies. If he did not shed his blood for the faith, he at least purchased the title of martyr by great sufferings and dangers. His vigilance protected his flock from the wiles of the heretics, Valentine and Marcion, instruments whom the devil sent to Rome, seeking to corrupt the faith in the capital of the world.
Pray for the present Pope, for all prelates and pastors, and for the whole Church; that as God has promised to lead it into all truth, so by their care who watch over it, it may be delivered from all abuses and scandals. Pray for all those who are divided from it, whether by heresy or schism.
Praise and bless God for His goodness to this holy martyr. For what could nature do amidst so many difficulties, and the terrors of a
cruel death, if God had not raised it above itself, and by His grace
taught it to overcome? For this mercy to His servant, bow down, adore
and bless His name; and as you rejoice in His triumphs, let it be the subject of your joy, that God is glorified in poor creatures like ourselves. Yet while you celebrate the triumph of this martyr, pray that this solemnity may be to you an increase of God's mercy, that you may find some portion at least of that holy spirit in yourself, which you honour in His servant.
For as often as the memory of the martyrs occurs, so often you are reproached with the evidence of your own weakness; and you cannot see their courage and patience, without condemning your own great indisposition of soul, who can discover so little of that
in yourself, which you admire and honour in them. Beseech God therefore
to hear you, and by His grace to overcome your weakness, change your
unhappy temper, and bring you nearer to the happy disposition of the martyrs." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
There are few saved in the sanctuary
by VP
Posted on Friday April 17, 2026 at 12:00AM in Meditations
Giuseppe Passeri - The Cleansing of the Temple
"On the small number of the elect."
1. There are few saved in the sanctuary: The sentence of our Savior, recorded in St. Matthew, applies to the sanctuary as well as to the Christian life. It is a terrible truth. It is a dreadful idea. It is an awful reflection to make - that, of God's greatest servants and ministers, many will fall down, to their eternal perdition. This is commonly believed. Of all those who offer sacrifice on God's altar, and who labor in his sanctuary, how many are there who never had any vocation, who perform the work of the ministry, but who were never invited to do so by God? They came of themselves, impelled by human motives, entering through the window and not through the door, and if their lives be not changed as well as their motives, God will say to them in the end as well as in the beginning, that He never knew them.
How many are there whom God himself led by the hand into the sanctuary, and who have trampled on His heavenly graces in the holy place?
What use was it for Luther to have been made a religious when he violated his vows, and preferred his passions and his pleasures to eternal life? What value was it to Photius to have been gifted with great learning, and to have been made a prince of the house of God, if he used his great abilities, and his high office, to introduce the evil of schism and heresy; to tear asunder, as far as he could, the seamless garment of Christ; and to waste and destroy that vineyard which God had planted? What utility was it to Nicholas to be one of the first seven deacons, if he allowed the spirit of impurity to seize upon him, body and soul, and to lead him to his destruction? What a misfortune for Judas to have been called to follow the person and doctrine of his Divine Savior, and to have been made an apostle by his side, when he, for the love of money, sold the life blood of his Master, and consummated his iniquity by the destruction of himself? How many are there who have been called to high places, in whose hands have been placed the graces and the treasures of heaven, who have been made rulers in Israel and princes among the people of God, and whose lives are not in accordance with their office, and who despising the graces of God neglect and betray the sacred interests which are committed to their care? How true is it of them that they have been called and that they are not chosen?
Hear the sentiments of St. Chrysostom, one of the wisest and greatest saints of the Church, and one who does not express himself lightly or rashly on this important subject: "Non temere dico, sed ut affectus sum, sentio. Non arbitror inter Sacerdotes, plurimos ess qui salvi fiant; sed multo plures qui pereant. In Causa est qui res ista excelsum requirit animum." And hear also the words which are pronounced by the great St. Augustine upon those who undertake the sacred office, and who discharge its duties in a manner which is careless before God, and flattering to the world: "Nihil esse in hac vita, et maxime hoc tempore, facilius et laetis et hominibus acceptabilius Episcopi aut Prebyteri aut Diaconi Officio, si perfunctorie atque adulatorie res agatur, sed nihil apud Dum miserius, et tristius, et damnablius."
2. Reasons why so few are saved: One of the great reasons why there are so few ecclesiastics saved is that their lives are not in accordance with the sanctity of their state. They preach the Gospel, but they do not follow it. Their state is holy, but their lives are not so. They have upon theirs lips the word and wisdom of God, but there is no holiness in their life, nor no love in their hearts.
Look at the live of Ophni and Phinees, priests of the Old Law, and see did they walk worthy of their vocation. They were called by God to serve in His sanctuary and to labor in His house. They were the sons of the High Priest, and belonged to the peculiar family which God destined for the work of the ministry. But though Ophni and Phinees called to the altar, they had not the virtues of the altar. They oppressed the people, taking largely of their goods and substance, and they gave themselves over to the most wicked vices. They had not the virtues of the priesthood, no more than their father Heli, and God took visible vengeance upon them all for their sins. They increase the number of those unhappy ecclesiastics, who, though called with the many, are not chosen with the few.
Secondly, many ecclesiastics are lost because they come to offer sacrifice and to pray for the people although the voice of God has forbidden them to do so, and His hand pushes them off the altar. Their fate is as certain as their presumption. What could they be in the house of God but "fures and latrones"? What are they but wolves in the clothing of sheep, wolves who ravage and destroy the flock of Christ? Do they no turn the Temple of God, which is the gate of heaven and the place of prayer, into a house of traffic, and would they not change the sanctuary, which is the seat of God's mercy, where He receives the homage and love of the people, into a cavern of Satan, and a den of thieves? They surely are neither called nor chosen.
Besides the want of co-operation with their vocation, and besides the want of vocation itself, there is a third cause which contributes to increase the number of those ecclesiastics who will never see the face of God. It is this, that the sins of ecclesiastics are greater than the sins of other men, and that the repentance of their hearts, and their return to God, are very rare and very difficult. St. Jerome says, "that if a monk sin, the priest will pray for him, but if a priest fall, who will entreat God for him." See what the Scripture (1 Reg. ii, 26) says with regard to those evil priests, whom God on account of their wickedness slew with the sword of the enemy: "Si peccaverit vir in virum placari ei potest Deus, si autem in Dominum peccaverit vir, quis orabit pro eo?"
The sin of the priest is peculiarly against God. The ways and workings of grace are more known to him, and yet with that knowledge he commits the evil in which his heart delights. What changes and touches the minds of others has no effect upon his. In the midst of the proofs of God's love, which surround the priest in the sanctuary, the sinful ecclesiastic loses all feeling of gratitude, and sense of shame. His faith has become so cold or dead that he cannot realize to himself the terrors of the judgment and of the justice of God, and if the Almighty do not save his soul by a miracle of grace, his eyes are blinded for ever, and his heart is hardened. Though he was among the called he will never be among the chosen.
Let us admire and adore the incomprehensible wisdom, and the inscrutable ways of God. Let us bow down before the goodness of Him who loves to exalt His mercy above His justice, and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin let us beg of Him that our whole lives would be a continual struggle to enter by the narrow gate, and that we might be of those happy few who find it." Ecclesiastical meditations suitable for priests on the mission and students in diocesan seminaries, by a Catholic clergyman James Duffy, 1866
#11 Acts of Adoration Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament in reparation for all the offenses committed against Him by mankind
by VP
Posted on Thursday April 16, 2026 at 01:00AM in Thursday Reparation
11. We adore Thee, never failing bounty and goodness! And to repair manʼs offensive diffidence in Thy tender mercy, we offer up to Thee the steadfast reliance and assurance of the holy Patriarchs in Thy promises. Eternal praise and thanksgiving be to the Most Holy and Most Divine Sacrament.
O Queen of heaven and earth, hope of mankind, who adores thy Divine
Son incessantly! We entreat thee, that, since we have the honor to be of
the number of thy children, thou would interest thyself in our behalf
and make satisfaction for us, and in our name, to our Eternal Judge, by
rendering to Him the Duties which we ourselves are incapable of
performing. Amen.
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
by VP
Posted on Thursday April 16, 2026 at 12:00AM in Saints
Sister Bernadette Soubirou, from Lily of Mary 1918
Father Price's Daily Prayer: O Mother Immaculate, Patron of America, who, through little Bernadette,
bade us pray and work for the conversion of the countless souls now
perishing. I offer all the prayers, actions, and sufferings of this day
and every day of my life for their conversion, and I beg of thee to
bless my resolution to do what I can throughout my life to bring about
their salvation. Hail Mary
St. Bernadette, Pray for Father Price.
Imprimatur: Most Rev. Vincent S. Waters, D.D. May 2 1949
" A priest (NB. Fr. Thomas F. Price) who has been deeply interested in all that concerns Maryknoll from its beginning expresses in printed form from time to time his particular devotion to Bernadette of Lourdes as the little client of Mary Immaculate. Realizing as he does that the Immaculate Conception is the sole National Patron of America, he has aimed consistently during his priestly life to deepen love in American Catholic hearts for her who, inspired by God, exclaimed, "Behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed!" One of this priest's books, Bernadette of Lourdes has been constantly on The Field Afar table, and is known to many of our readers. Another has just taken its place there: The Lily of Mary, a charming little volume that contains a short life of Bernadette of Lourdes." The Field Afar, Volumes 11-12 July 1918, page 101
St. Encratia, Virgin and Martyr, A.D. 303.
by VP
Posted on Thursday April 16, 2026 at 12:00AM in Saints
"She was a holy virgin, born in Portugal; but coming with her father to Saragosa in Spain, and seeing there the great cruelty of Dacian in persecuting the Christians, she was so strongly moved with holy zeal in their behalf, that she publicly reproached him with his barbarous proceedings. Upon which he was so enraged, that he put her to all the torments that a malicious cruelty could suggest, tearing her flesh with hooks of iron, cutting off her breast, and laying open her liver and bones. He then ordered her to be thrown into prison, to die a lingering death under the corruption of her wounds. Thus she finished a glorious combat at the commencement of the fourth century.
Can you Christian, now complain of what you suffer? Your troubles are no other way great, than as your want of patience makes them so. Stand by this martyr of Christ, and compare. And yet she rejoices, while you are complaining. She casts the devil
into despair, while you are pleasing him by your fretful impatience.
Repent, ask pardon for what is past, and by your prayers and tears
prevail on Heaven to grant you a better
spirit. Grieve not at your troubles, but at your weakness: for this is
your only affliction. All others may help you on your way: this only puts you back. While you see how much the patient suffering of the martyrs
was to their advantage, you plainly see likewise how much you are a
loser by your impatience. You see how great is your indiscretion, who
being industrious in managing temporal affairs to your own interest, are
so very careless in the greater concern, as to neglect the improvement of opportunities daily offered for your salvation. You see how much you are your own enemy, in complaining of the injuries which others offer you, and at the same time doing your own soul more hurt by your impatience, than the whole world could do against you. Amend in earnest, and beg God's grace for your entire reformation." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
