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"Without Contradiction, the most perfect model of sanctity that God has given to His Church in our times is the Venerable John Mary Vianney, so well and so universally known, by the name of the parish which he sanctified and made a place of pilgrimage from all parts of the world, as the Curé of Ars.

One of the great means of sanctification which God has provided for souls is the devotion to His holy Mother. Mary is the intermediary between her Son and the souls who desire to come to Him. They who seek Jesus find Him in her arms; she presents Jesus to the simple and humble, as she presented Him to the Shepherds who came to adore Him in the stable of Bethlehem; she presents Him also to the learned and noble, as she presented Him to the magi, who came from the far East.

As therefore the Curé of Ars was distinguished for his holiness, we naturally expect to find in him a special love and devotion for the Blessed Virgin. And when we come to read his life we find it almost in the very first lines. He learnt it from his pious mother, who even before his birth had dedicated him to serve God in the priesthood, and the practice of it began on the very day of his birth (in the month of May), when he was baptized and received our Lady's name in addition to that of John.

He had hardly learned to speak when he already began to pray. Even at the age of three years old he joined in the prayers that were said by the family, and when the Angelus rang he was the first to kneel down and say it.

The first present that he received from his mother was a wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin. To him, who was already so serious and prayerful, this statue was more than a plaything; it was an object of pious veneration as well. Sixty years afterwards he would speak of it. "Oh, how I loved that statue !" he said. "Day or night I would never separate myself from it. I should not have slept in peace if I had not had it by my side in my little bed."

A priest once asked him how long he had loved the Blessed Virgin. He replied, "I loved her almost before I could know her. . . . When I was very little I had a pretty rosary. My sister wanted to have it, and this was one of my earliest sorrows. I went to speak to my mother about it; she advised me to give it up for love of God. I did so, but it cost me many tears."

When he was seven years old the little John Mary Vianney was sent to the fields to take charge of his father's sheep. He was accustomed always to take with him his little statue of the Blessed Virgin. When his sheep were in safety, and he could without danger relax his watchfulness over them, he would make a little altar with sods, and on it he would enthrone his statue. Then he would gather his companions - young children occupied like himself - around it, and would recite with them the Hail Marys of the Rosary, and then he would preach to them gravely in moving and expressive terms. He never lacked a congregation on these occasions; his piety was not disagreeable to his companions, on the contrary it made him amiable and winning; they were disappointed if he happened to be absent, and welcomed him with joyful shouts when he arrived amongst them. Nothing pleased him better than to have his companions join with him in some such pious exercise, but when he was alone he did not regret his solitude. He would place his little statue in the hollow trunk of some tree, and there he would pass long hours absorbed in prayer. Sometimes his companions would mind his sheep for him in order to give him time for prayer, in which, as they knew, he took so much delight.

As he grew older he was employed in more laborious work in the fields, but even in this his devotion to our Lady accompanied him and helped him. Before beginning his work he used to place an image of our Lady some distance before him, and then work on towards it, praying all the while that the Blessed Virgin would help him to keep up with his brother, much older and stronger than he, who was working close by. Then, when he had reached the statue, he would take it up and place it some distance further on, and work on towards it, and so he would continue till the day's labour was over. His brother was compelled to own that the Blessed Virgin had indeed helped John Mary, and had enabled him to do as much work as he had been able to accomplish himself.

We cannot doubt that this special devotion to our Lady obtained for John Mary Vianney many interior graces, and powerfully helped him on in the path of sanctification. But, besides this, there were some special favours that evidently seemed to come in answer to his prayers to his holy Mother. The whole of his life hinged on his escape from military service. It was during the wars of the first Napoleon, when every effort was made in order to secure young men for the army. John Mary was at this time an ecclesiastical student, and as such was exempted from service, but by some mistake his name was included in the list of those liable to serve, and he was drawn at the conscription. It was a terrible blow to him, for all his desires were to be a priest. Nevertheless, he submitted, and took his way to Bayonne, where he was to join his regiment. He thought of deserting, and certainly he would have committed no sin had he done so, for the law itself exempted him, and but for an unfortunate mistake he would have been left free to continue his studies for the priesthood. But he did not dare to desert. A strict search was made for such as did so, and they were treated with the greatest severity; not long before he had himself seen deserters brought back in chains, and the idea of being treated in the same fashion filled him with horror.

Filled with these gloomy thoughts of his frustrated vocation, he pursued his way to join his regiment. He had recourse to the Blessed Virgin for consolation, and in order to obtain it from God through her intercession he recited his Rosary. No sooner had he done this than an unknown individual accosted him, and asked him what made him so sad. John Mary told his story. Without further discussion, the unknown bade him follow him, telling him that from him he had nothing to fear, and that he would take him to a place of safety. John Mary followed his guide across the country, over hills and through woods, scarcely ever passing by a public road or an inhabited house, until at last he brought him to a remote village, where he remained undiscovered though not unsearched for. He never knew who his guide was; but he looked on him as a messenger sent by heaven in answer to his Rosary.

When, later on, he had been ordained priest, and the parish of Ars had been confided to his care, he was not unmindful of the graces which he had received through the devotion to our Blessed Lady and her Rosary. At this time, Ars was far from being edifying by the piety and virtue of its people. He adopted two means for their reformation; the one was the devotion to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and the other the devotion to His holy Mother. He encouraged the former by bringing his people to frequent Communion, and to frequently visiting the Blessed Sacrament; the other he promoted by means of the Rosary. He remembered, too, that the confraternities the most encouraged by the Church are those of the Blessed Sacrament and the Rosary, while they are also the most ancient and the most universal, and he therefore resolved that these two confraternities should be established in his parish, and that through them he would reform his people. From the beginning, he established the practice of reciting the Rosary in public every night in the church; meanwhile he waited an opportunity of establishing his confraternity.

That opportunity soon came. One Sunday evening several young people, who were far from being the most fervent of his parishioners, remained in the church for confession. The holy Curé noticed them, and said to himself, "Now I have got them! My confraternity is found!" He went towards them, and said, "My children, if you like, we will say the Rosary together, to ask of the Queen of Virgins to obtain for you the grace to do well what you are about to do." The conversion of several of these young persons dates from that moment. The Curé of Ars looked upon this as his first conquest; it was followed by many more, until at length the parish was completely transformed.

The holy priest was not ungrateful to her through whose prayers he acknowledged that he had obtained this signal grace. He always caused the feasts of the Blessed Virgin to be devoutly celebrated at Ars; on these days the communions were always numerous, and the attendance of people large. Everywhere in the village her image is to be seen, from the front of the church to the interior of the poorest cottage. He loved to speak of this good Mother. He used to say,"The heart of Mary is so full of tenderness for us that the hearts of all mothers put together would be but a lump of ice compared to hers. I think that at the end of the world the Blessed Virgin will be at rest, but as long as the world lasts she will be bothered on all sides."

His own great resource when he was in any special difficulty was to walk out into the country, with his beads in his hand, saying the Rosary. On one such occasion he was greatly troubled by the want of money with which to pay the workmen who were engaged on his new chapel of St. John Baptist; he had nothing, for he had given away all he had to the poor. On the day of which we are speaking he had got but a very short distance from the village, when he was met by a gentleman on horseback, an entire stranger to him, who stopped, raised his hat respectfully, and inquired after his health. "I am not amiss," replied the good priest, "but I am in great trouble." "What!" said the gentleman, "do your parishioners give you pain ?" "On the contrary," was the reply,"they have much more consideration for me than I deserve. That which troubles me is that I have just been building a chapel, and that I have no money with which to pay for it." The unknown seemed to reflect for a moment, then took twenty-five gold pieces from his pocket, and gave them to M. Vianney. "Sir," he said, "this will pay your workmen. I recommend myself to your prayers." He then disappeared at a gallop, without leaving the priest time to think where he was.

On another occasion he had bought from one of his parishioners a considerable quantity of corn. This was for the use of his "Providence," as he called the house where he maintained a large number of orphan girls. He had not the means of paying for this corn, and he therefore begged his creditor to give him a little time, and this was willingly granted him. However, the time stipulated approached its close, and he was still without means. He therefore went out into the country, and recited his Rosary, recommending his poor little orphans to the Mother of the poor. His prayer was heard without delay. A woman came up to him suddenly, and said, "Are you the Curé [parish priest] of Ars ? "Yes, my good woman." "Here is some money that I have been told to give to you," she continued. "Is it for masses?" he asked. "No, sir," was the reply; "your prayers are asked for the giver." Thereupon the woman emptied her purse into his hands, and he never knew who she was, or from whom she had come.

For many years before the death of the Curé of Ars scarcely any good work of importance was undertaken in France without being submitted to him, and receiving his blessing. Thus it happened that when the Perpetual Rosary, which had for many years almost fallen into disuse, was being revived, the work was submitted to the holy priest. As soon as he had understood the nature of the devotion he cried out, "Oh, this work is beautiful, very beautiful! It is a divine work, and it is destined to produce great fruits in men's souls and in the Church. I unite myself to it with all my heart, and I wish to be united in intention to all the hours of prayer, both by day and night."

Some time after this, the registers containing the names of those who had been enrolled in the Perpetual Rosary up to that time were presented to him that he might bless them. He did so, saying, "I bless all the names that are inscribed, and those that shall be inscribed; I unite myself in intention to all the hours, in this world and in the other, if God gives me the grace to receive me into this happy eternity."

The holy Cure of Ars died in 1859, on the 4th of August, the feast of St. Dominic, to whom our Lady revealed the devotion of the Rosary."

Source: The monthly magazine of the holy rosary; under the direction of the Dominican fathers, Vol 5. 1877 p155

"The priest as the perfect man of God must be the "light of the world." As Pius XII expressed it: "...this the appointed aim of the Catholic priesthood: to act as the supernatural sun, illuminating the minds of men with the truth of Christ and inflaming their hearts with the love of Christ. To this end and appointed purpose all the preparation and formation of a priest must conform." (Pius XII, Discourse to the seminarians of the Roman Colleges, June 24, 1939, Veuillot, II, p 22)

It is the priest's task to preserve in the world a "sense of the supernatural" - which the world is constantly in danger of losing and which in fact a large segment of our modern world has already lost. It is the task of the priest of Jesus Christ to bring to the world the clear vision of one who sees the proper relationship between man and God. He it is who must withstand all the corrosive elements of human existence and, being made strong himself, must fulfill his role as "steward of the mysteries of God" by dispensing to men the message and the means of salvation.

The priest must be faithful to this sacerdotal function at all times. He is not a priest merely when he sits in the confessional or when he ascends the altar. As sacred as these activities are, it is a woeful error to conceive of preparation for the priesthood simply as the training of good confessors or devout ministers of the altar. The Catholic priesthood stand at the very point of conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. It is a powerful weapon in the hands of Christ the King in His battle with the kingdom of darkness. The priest fulfills his role as instrument of salvation first of all in his person."

Source: Rev. John J. King, OMI The American Ecclesiastical Review, Vol. 144 1961 page 361

Prayer to Our Lady of Desolation, For the Universal Triumph of the Faith.

O Mother of the Church, Mother most desolate, who didst consent to prolong for fifteen years thine exile upon earth that thou mightiest be the guide, and help and nursing Mother of the Infant Church; let thy maternal care be extended over her now as ever. Let thy great virtues and privileges be her shield and buckler.

Obtain for the Church and her rulers in her many tribulations an increase of light, courage, and devotion. Let thy powerful intercession bring back to the Faith all countries and peoples who have denied thy Son, and fallen into heresy and schism.

May thy protection be extended specially over us thy Children, remembering the words that Jesus spoke from the Cross that not one may be lost, but remaining steadfast in the Faith they may persevere to the end.

Build again the altars once consecrated to Jesus and to thee. And thus, O our Mother, bring us all as one fold to one Shepherd, to the honor and glory of God. Amen

Source: Mary in sorrow and desolation, Help of the Holy Catholic Church. With the Ritual of the Confraternity of our Lady of Dolours Servites Burns, Oates, and Company, 1868

"The idea of penance is all too commonly associated with the external act. This materialistic notion of penance works one of two evils: its entire neglect or its unworthy performance. The superficial are satisfied in the external act of penance; the self-indulgent find it too burdensome to attempt. So penance has lost its prestige and our age has wandered far from its spirit. A confirmation of this, which needs no commentary, is the dictionary definition which declares the word obsolete except as applied to the sacramental penance given by the priest. This is an index of how almost entirely the idea of penance is lost outside the Church, and it would often seem that, even in the minds of the children of the Church, its practice is frequently restricted to this sacred obligation lightly performed. And yet penance is an essential for everlasting life.

And why?
Because all true penance is in its nature sacramental: it is an outward sign of inward grace. Its action is twofold: it is not only a turning away from sin but a re-turning unto God. Indeed the closer union of the soul with God is the primary purpose of penance and it fails of its purpose when it fails in this. Man was made for God; sin frustrated this purpose; the Passion and Death of the Man-God alone was capable of restoring the union severed by sin: of admitting mankind again to the state of grace; only t!he application of the merits of Jesus Christ to the individual soul enables it to “bring forth fruits worthy of penance.” In other words, outside of the state of grace, no act, however good in itself, is efficacious for expiation. This fact shows that penance indicates a state of grace: sorrow for sin and a certain union with Christ, and implies a strong motion towards closer union with Him. This interior and necessary quality of penance cannot* be too strongly accentuated. Without it a lifetime spent in good works is waste; with it every simplest thought, word or deed enriches the soul with the infinite treasures of Divine Love and gives immense glory to God: “In this is My Father glorified; that you bring forth very much fruit, and become My disciples” (John xv. 8).

Truly, therefore, the external act is but a means to an end, and that end is not the self-satisfaction of having expiated personal sin but the impulse of love to remove all that is obnoxious to the Beloved, that withdraws the soul from His embrace. It is but the body giving effect to the will of the spirit which vivifies and impels it. The external act of penance is good, even necessary, as the tangible and visible expression of the soul’s purpose to remove every obstacle that impedes its progress towards God, but lacking the true spirit, it resolves itself into dust.

This interior purpose shines through every penance prescribed by the Church. During the seasons of penance, and most especially during Lent, she urges us to turn aside, not only from sinful pursuits but even from those harmless and legitimate, in order to have more time for God: to enter more fully into the life of Christ; to participate in His Passion as willing disciples and explore the depths of His love. We frustrate this purpose when we compromise with this spirit and find ready excuse for frequenting entertainments, not evil to be sure, but time consuming and fatiguing, leaving less time and taste for prayer, an inability to rise for early Mass, an un-readiness for Holy Communion. The prescription of the marriage ceremony, the counsel to continence has in view the purification and uplifting of the bond of human love. In withdrawal the soul sees in better perspective the divine purposes of matrimony and its holy responsibilities: abstinence cultivates strength in unselfishness and subordinates lust to reason and will. The very mitigations of the law of fast and abstinence in regard of food, prove that the law was not fashioned as an end in itself, but to cultivate temperance and force home the purpose of appetite: to preserve life; and to enforce the spiritual truth that we must come to God empty, if we would be filled.

It thus becomes evident that weakness of body neither excuses nor debars from penance. The spirit of the law is open to all. And in the practical cultivation of this spirit, the letter of the law will acquire new meaning and attraction. Far from wishing to elude it, many will seek to fulfill it in larger measure.

What we will make of Lent in practice depends upon ourselves. The opportunities are large and the grace of God sufficient. "

Source: Lent in Practice by Fr. John Burke, Paulist

Saint Pope Pius X Offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

"Pius X affirmed his deliberate conviction that the church is now rent through the machinations of traitors within the fold, "The rights and laws of the church," he exclaimed," have been trampled on by those who should safeguard them." A press described by his Holiness as "impious and vulgar: has fought the church "even to the extent of disturbing the public order." (...) "To this must be added," Pius X went on, "the disastrous propaganda within the bosom of Catholicism itself which is being carried on by modernists, who disdain the pontifical authority." The true aim of the modernists, as the Pope thereupon defined it, is to create "a new faith and a new conscience." The vehemence of the pontiff in saying these things proved, says dispatches, "startling" to the listening Cardinals.

If the modernists would enlist themselves "frankly among the enemies of the church," the Pope declared, "the evil would be less." As it is, they proclaim themselves Catholics, partake of the sacraments and go to the extent of celebrating Mass."

Source: Current Literature Vol 44

Prayer to the Holy Angels for Parishes

All you legions and choirs of Angels, please make haste to come to the aid and defense of our One Holy Roman Catholic Church. Led by St. Michael, may She be protected from destruction within by all modernistic attempts that try to diminish the true presence of God and take away His proper and due respect! In particular, come to the aid of my parish (name your parish) that it may remain or be remade to be a place of reverence and a stronghold from which the One True Triune God may continue to lead and strengthen us. Amen.

"Canon 21 of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), binding on the whole Church, lays down the obligation of secrecy in the following words: "Let the priest absolutely beware that he does not by word or sign or by any manner whatever in any way betray the sinner: but if he should happen to need wiser counsel let him cautiously seek the same without any mention of person. For whoever shall dare to reveal a sin disclosed to him in the tribunal of penance we decree that he shall be not only deposed from the priestly office but that he shall also be sent into the confinement of a monastery to do perpetual penance". Catholic Encyclopedia

"O God, who didst make Blessed Raymond, thy confessor, wonderful, in delivering thy faithful from the captivity of the wicked, grant to us through his intercession, that, freed from the chains of sin, we may with free minds pursue those things that are pleasing to thee."

"St. Raymond instructed the faithful and the infidels; and to prevent him from this, his enemies most barbarously closed his mouth with a lock. Oh! How much more just it would be, if such a lock were suspended from your mouth, which you open so frequently to lie, to curse, to blaspheme, to quarrel, to calumniate, to make impure speeches, to sing impure songs, and to talk frivolously in Churches. But believe me, if your mouth is not punished in this world, it will most surely suffer in the next, and as the mouth of St. Raymond, which he used so nobly, and in which he suffered so cruelly, will be specially rewarded in the abode of the angels, so will your wicked mouth be specially punished in the dwelling of the evil spirits. St. Gregory believes that the rich man suffers special pains in his tongue, because he used it at table for indecent speeches, as is yet today the habit of many. The same punishment awaits your tongue, your sinful mouth; and if you wish to escape it, be careful how you use them. Place the fear of God as a guard over them, that they may not utter a word offensive to the Most High. "Hedge in thine ears with thorns, hear not a wicked tongue, and make doors and bars to thy mouth." (Eccles. XXVIII)

St. Raymond, at the close of his days gave fervent thanks to the Almighty for all favors bestowed upon him, and thus ended his life full of heavenly comfort. To give thanks to God is a duty which we ought to perform every morning and evening; for, no day, no night passes in which we, do no partake of the bounty of the Lord. You thank men who bestow kindness upon you; why then do you not thank God who has overwhelmed you with favors, and still grants them to you daily. Do not forget your duty, but attend to is every day. Give thanks to Him also at the end of each month, in consideration of so many benefits which you have received from Him and for which you did not even ask. Whom have you to thank that you did not die during the past four weeks; that you have not been condemned to eternal flames, as so many that have been called away? Whence comes it that you were preserved from the dangers and misfortunes that befell so many others? that time and opportunity are left you to work out your salvation, whilst thousands no longer possess them? Most assuredly, these are all benefits of the Almighty which you deserve much less than a great many others. Is it not just that you should give fervent thanks to God at the end of each month? But is your soul in such a condition that you can end this month or close your life, as peacefully as St. Raymond? Ah! if you had lived as he did, if you had constantly practiced good works, and had borne adversity with his patience, you might be comforted now, as well as at the end of your days. As. however, this is unhappily not the case, repent of your wickedness and indolence with your whole heart, and pray humbly for grace to make better use of the next month. Endeavor to atone, during the same, for your past negligence, that, one day you may not sigh uselessly: " I have had empty months." (Job. VIII) "Who will grant me that I might be according to the months past." (Job XXIX)."

Lives of the saints, Fr. Weninger SJ 1876

"To become a Catholic is simply to return to the truth from which Luther departed. A convert from Protestantism, if asked why he changed his Religion and became a Catholic, may answer that he did so because Luther himself was a Catholic; he may say, Ask Luther why he changed, I have only returned to the truth. This was Count Stolberg's answer to the King of Prussia, who had remarked to him, that he did not like people who changed their Religion. "Neither do I like them, sire," was the reply; "If Luther had not changed, I should have had no occasion to do what I have done; I have only returned to the first Church." "It is a shame," says St. Augustine, "to change one's opinion of it is right and true, but to change a false and dangerous opinion is praiseworthy and useful. As fortitude does not allow a man to become depraved, so obstinacy does not allow him to amend: as the former is praiseworthy, so the latter should be corrected."

One great obstacle to conversion is public opinion. To become a Catholic is simply to perform a duty on which happiness in time and eternity depends; yet hundreds who are convinced that the Catholic Church is the only true Church of Christ, are prevented by fear of censure from following their convictions. They fear displeasing their relations; they dread the opinion of the world, and choose to please men, rather that obey God. They choose to incur the dreadful denunciations of Christ: " Whosoever shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father, who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father, who is in heaven...He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me."

They determine to expose themselves to the eternal anger of God, sooner than incur the displeasure of censure of men. The fear of blame is the rock on which the noblest hearts have suffered eternal shipwreck."

Source: Catholicity, Protestantism, and Infidelity: An Appeal to Candid Americans, By Fr. Franz x. Weninger 1861



"And for as much as Almighty God gave express commandment to the Priests of the ancient law, that they should not approach to His altar to offer unto Him, but first to be washed and invested, not with their profane, but with their holy ornaments, is it not, then, most convenient that the Priest of the new law should be peculiarly adorned, and thereby dispose themselves with much more reverence to handle and touch the most precious Body of our Redeemer and Savior Jesus, than the old Priests and Prophets did, the flesh of sheep and oxen or the body of a brute beast?

Our Priests, therefore, going to the altar thus appareled, do set before our eyes our Savior Jesus as He was at His Passion, and consequently those that scoff at the Priest, thus representing Christ unto us, do nothing else than, with the wicked Jews, scoff and deride at Christ Himself; and even as those Jews put all these ornaments upon our Savior for despite, and the more to dishonor Him, yet Christ's holy Mother and His blessed Apostles did both love Him and reverence Him so much the more entirely, for enduring such reproaches and shame for our sakes; so these men, now-a-days, whose minds are wholly set against the Catholic Church, will mock, perhaps, at the Priest standing at the altar in such apparel, but, contrariwise, the true Christian and Catholic people do esteem and honor him so much the more, who is, by the ordinance of God, exalted to so high a dignity as the present unto us so great a mystery.

To conclude, Priestly habits, so much offensive to the heretics of our age, were so highly respected by Alexander the Great, although a Paynim and idolater, going to Jerusalem with deliberation to ruin it, that he, withholden by the only sight of the Pontifical vestments of the High Priest, and touched instantly with the fear of God, did cast himself from his horse upon the ground, as it were to crave pardon for this sinister designs, and granted to the city and country of Jewry all the privileges, franchises, and immunities, that possibly they could desire, as witnessed Josephus."

Source: A Devout Exposition of the Holy Mass, John Heigham R. Washborne, 1876

"The Mass is not the meeting of a committee; nothing is decided; it is not a public forum or public debate—it is an ancient rite instituted by Christ and, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, molded by the Church. What about it requires presiding? The Mass is the perfection of the ancient Judaic sacrifice, the offering up of the Lamb of God rather than an actual lamb. Judaic sacrifice had no presider, no president, only a priest, a consecrated man set aside from the bustle of life—not necessarily a holier person, but one consecrated and set aside for a single glorious purpose: to offer sacrifice to atone for the sins of the people. 

He did not preside, he served—he got his hands dirty. He consecrated the utensils, the altar, and the people by sprinkling them with the blood of the sacrifice! Our priests offer the Eternal Sacrifice, serving us in persona Christi, that is, as representatives of Christ, the servant of all, serving the people by giving up their very lives. Christ did not reinvent Judaism; He perfected it. "

Source: Crisis Magazine, Presiders be gone! Give us Priests! by Jerome German