CAPG's Blog 

"Incorruption," says Holy Scripture, "bringeth near to God." (Wish. vi, 20.) Virginity has received in woman, through Mary, an almost divine consecration; it receives in the priest a still more striking glorification. It is by virginity that the priest and the divine Lamb meet daily at the hour of sacrifice; that they walk along the same rivers of purifying grace; that they repose under the same roof; that they sit at the same table and are separated neither day nor night. Chastity is likewise the primary condition of our (the priest's) strength; and it is to this virtue that the priesthood owes its greatest conquests.

'Oh, how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory: for the memory thereof is immortal, because it is known both with God and with men. It triumpheth, crowned forever, winning the reward of undefiled conflicts. (Wisdom iv, 1,2.)

Chastity raises the priest's to a level with the angels: "Just as purity makes man equal to the angels, indeed makes him more than an angel," says Eusebius, "so does sensuality brutalize man, aye, degrade him even below the brute."

"If you persevere in unsullied chastity," says Sixtus III, "you shall be as an angel in the sight of God, and like a God in the sight of men."

Chastity raises the priest to the understanding of the highest mysteries: "Chastity," says St. Ambrose, "soars above the clouds, the skies, nay above the very angels, above the stars of heaven. The chaste soul finds the Eternal Word in the bosom of the Father and drinks in his sweetness with her whole heart."

"The faithful soul that preserves her chastity," says St. Basil, "is so far advanced that she forms in herself, as in a most clear mirror, a likeness of the God of all purity."

Chastity fills the (priest's) soul with joy. "How sweet," says St. Augustine, "was it at once to me to be without the sweetness of those trifles! I dreaded to renounce the sweetness of those trifles, and now at once it was a great sweetness for me to give them up. Thou didst cast them forth from me, Thou true and highest Sweetness, and in place of them Thou didst thyself enter into my heart, sweeter than every pleasure." "Nothing so delights the faithful heart," says St. Cyprian, "as a conscience untarnished by any impure stain. To have overcome sensual pleasure is the highest pleasure: not is there any victory greater than that which is won over the passions."

Chastity unites (the priest) to Jesus by a certain mysterious tie. "Although all the just are spouses of Christ," says St. Anthony of Padua, "yet virgins are his spouses in a far more special manner; for as husband and wife are one flesh, so are virgins one flesh with Christ, their Spouse."

"Jesus," says St. Fulgentius, "is the fruit born by holy virginity; He is its glory and its reward. Holy virginity brought Jesus into the world; he is the spouse of virgins. He alone made virginity fruitful; He crowns the virgins with a special glory in heaven."

Source: The Catholic Priesthood, by Rev. Fr. Michael Muller 1885

Q. What is the reason why the Catholic clergy are not allowed to marry?

A. Because at their entering into Holy Orders, they make a solemn promise to God and the Church to live continently. Now the breach of such a promise as this would be a great sin; witness St. Paul (I Tim. v. II, 12), where speaking of widows that are for marrying, after having thus engaged themselves to God, he says: "They have damnation, because they have cast off their first faith"; that is their solemn engagement made to God.

Q. But why does the Church receive none to Holy Orders but such as are willing to make this solemn engagement ?

A. Because she does not think it proper that they, who by their office and function ought to be wholly devoted to the service of God, and the care of souls, should be diverted from these duties by the distractions of a married life. (I Cor. VII. 32, 33.) "He that is unmarried, careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord : but he that is married, careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife."

Q. But was it always the law of the Church that the clergy should abstain from marriage?

A. It was always a law in the Church that bishops, priests, and deacons shall not marry after having received Holy Orders; and we have not one example, in all antiquity, either in the Greek or Latin Church of any such marriage; but, it has been at some times, and in some places, as at present among the Greeks, permitted for priests and deacons, to continue with their wives which they had married before their ordination, though even this was disallowed by many ancient canons.

The 27th of the Apostolic canons allows none of the clergy to marry but those that are in the minor Orders, that is, lectors and cantors. The Council of Neo- caesarea, which was more ancient than that of Nice, in its first canon, orders that if a priest marries he would be deposed. The Council of Ancyra, which was held about the same time, orders the same thing with regard to deacons, except they protested at the time of their ordination that they could not live unmarried, and were therefore presumed to be dispensed with by the bishop. (Council Ancyra, Can. 10.)

The great Council of Nice, in the third canon forbids clergymen to have any women in their house, except it be mother, sister, or aunt, etc., a caution which would never have been thought of if they had been allowed to have wives.

In the West the Council of Illiberis, which was held about the close of the third century, canon 33 commands bishops, priests, deacons and sub-deacons to abstain from their wives, under pain of degradation. The second Council of Aries (can. 2) ordains that no married man be made priest, unless he promise conversion, that is to live continently. The second Council of Carthage (can. 2) ordains that bishops, priests and deacons should live continently, and abstain from their wives; and this because the Apostles so taught, and all antiquity observed. Ut quod Apostoli docuerunt, et ipsa servavit antiquitas, nos quoque custodiamus. And the fifth
Council of Carthage, anno 598, can. 2, ordains, in like manner, that all bishops, priests and deacons should abstain from their wives, or be deposed. There are many other ancient canons to the like effect, as well as decrees of the ancient Popes; as of Siricius, in his epistle to Himmerius, bishop of Tarragona, c. 7; of Innocent I in his epistle to Victricius, bishop of Roan c. 9; of St. Leo the Great, epist. 82, to Anastasius, c. 3 and 4.

Hence St. Epiphanius, who flourished in the East in the fourth century, in his great work against all heresies (Haer. 59), writes thus: "The Church does not admit him to be a deacon, priest, bishop, or sub-deacon, though he be a man of one wife, who makes use of conjugal embraces." He adds that this "is observed in those places chiefly in which canons of the Church are exactly kept which being directed by the Holy Ghost, aims always at that which is most perfect; that those who are employed in divine functions may have as little as can be of worldly distractions." And St. Jerome, Epist. 50. "Bishops," says he, "priests and deacons are chosen either virgins or widowers, or from the time of their priesthood perpetually chaste." He affirms the same in his book against Vigilantius, by the name of the Churches of the East, and of Egypt, and of the See Apostolic; and of all bishops, in his book against Jovinianus. See also Origen, Homily 13, upon Numbers; Eusebius, 1. I. Demonst Evang. c 9; and St. John Chrysostom, Homily de Patientia Job.

If you ask the reason why the Church has insisted so much in all ages upon this point of discipline, besides the reason alleged above out of St. Paul (1 Cor. VII 32, 33), "The reason of single life for the clergy," says Mr. Thorndyke, an eminent Protestant divine, in his letters at the end of Just Weights and Measures, p. 239, "is firmly grounded by the fathers and canons of the Church upon the precept of St. Paul, forbidding man and wife to part, unless for a time to attend unto prayer. (1 Cor. VII. 5.) For priests and deacons being continually to attend upon occasions of celebrating the Eucharist, which ought continually to be frequented; if others are to abstain from the use of marriage for a time, then they always." Thus far Mr. Thorndyke.

Q. But were not the Apostles married?

A. Some of them were before they were called to the apostleship; but we do not find that they had any commerce with their wives after they were called by Christ. St. Jerome expressly affirms that they had not. (Epist. 50.) And this seems to be dear from St. Matt, (XIX 27), where St. Peter says to our Lord, "Behold, we have forsaken all things, and followed thee"; for, that amongst the ALL which they had forsaken, wives also were comprehended, is gathered from the enumeration made by our Saviour in the 29th verse, where he expressly nameth wives.

Q. But does not St. Paul say (Cor. IX. 5), "Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other Apostles, " etc.?

A. The Protestant translation has willfully corrupted the text in this place; it should have been translated a woman, a sister. The Apostle speaks not of his wife, for it is visible he had none, from 1 Cor. XII. 7, 3. But he speaks of such pious women, as, according to the custom of the Hebrew nation, waited upon the Apostles and other teachers, serving them in necessaries; as they had done also upon our Lord in the time of His mortal life. (See St. Luke VIII. 2, 3.) Though St. Paul, that he might be less burdensome to the faithful, chose rather to serve himself and live by the work of his own hands.

Q. Does not the Apostle (I Tim. III. 2 and 12), require that bishops and deacons should be "the husband of one wife?"

A. The meaning of the Apostle is not that every bishop, priest or deacon should have a wife, for he himself had none; and he declares (I Cor. VIII. 8): "I say to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I." But his meaning is, that none should be admitted to be a bishop, priest or deacon, that had been married more than once, which law has ever since been observed in the Catholic Church: for since it was not possible in those days of the first preaching of the Gospel (when there were few or no converts, either among the Jews or Gentiles, but such as were married), to have found a sufficient number of proper ministers, if they had not admitted married men, they were consequently obliged to admit such to the ministry; but still with this limitation provided they had not been twice married. But now the Church has a sufficient number of such as are trained up to a single life, and are willing to embrace perpetual continency ; and therefore prefers such to the ministry, and is authorized so to do by the Apostle (I Cor. VIII. 32, 33, 38). And if after having consecrated themselves to God in this kind of life, they should be for looking back, and engaged in a married life, they are expressly
condemned by the same Apostle. (I Tim. V. 12.)

Q. Is it not said (Heb. xm. 5), " Marriage is honorable in all?"

A. The Protestant translation has strained the text to make it say more than the original, which may as well be rendered in the imperative mood, thus: "Let marriage be honorable in all, and the bed undefiled; for whoremongers and adulterers God will judge;" as the next verse which is rendered in the Protestant translation by the imperative, "Let your conversation be without covetousness," etc. So that the true meaning of this text is, that married persons should not dishonor their holy state by any liberties contrary to the sanctity of it ; but not to allow marriage to those who have chosen the better part, and consecrated themselves by vow to God.

Q. But is not forbidding marriage called a doctrine of devils ? (I Tim. IV. 3.)

A. It certainly was so in those of whom the Apostle there speaks, viz., the Gnostics, the Marcionites, the Encratites, the Manicheans, and many other heretics, who absolutely condemned marriage as the work of the devil. For our part, nobody reverences marriage more than we do; for we hold it to be a Sacrament, and forbid it to none but to those that have voluntarily renounced it to consecrate themselves more wholly to the divine service: and in such as these St. Paul condemns it as much as we. (See I Tim. V. 12.) That these same heretics also condemned absolutely the use of all kinds of meat, not on fasting-days only (as was also practiced by the Church), but at any time whatsoever; because they looked upon all flesh to be from an evil principle. So that it is evident these were the men of whom the Apostle (I Tim. IV.) intended to speak.

Q. But do you think that a vow of continency so strictly obliges any person, that it would be a sin in such a person to marry?

A. Yes, most certainly; because the law of God and nature requires that we should keep our vows to God (Deut. XXIII. 21, 22, 23). "When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform." (Psal. LXXVI. II.) "Vow and pay unto the Lord your God." (Eccles. V. 4.) " Pay that which thou hast vowed. Better it is that thou shouldst not vow, than that thou shouldst vow and not pay." For if it be a crime to break our faith with man, how much more with God ? If you say that the state of continency is not more acceptable to God than that of marriage, and therefore cannot be the proper matter of a vow, you contradict the doctrine of the Apostle: (Cor. VII. 38), "He that giveth his virgin in marriage, doth well; but he that giveth her not doth better."

Hence St. Augustine (L. de bono Viduiatis, c. II), affirms that the breach of such a vow of chastity is worse than adultery: and St. John Chrysostom (ad Theodorum Lapsum), "Though you call it marriage a thousand times, yet I maintain it is much worse than adultery." Hence the Council of Illiberis, can. 13; the fourth Council of Carthage, can. 104; and the great Council of Chalcedon, can. 15, excommunicate those who presume to marry after such a vow. What would the Church of those ages have thought of a religion introduced into the world by men that had notoriously broken through those most solemn engagements, and who raised the fabric of their pretended reformation upon thousands of broken vows ?

Q. But all have not the gift of continency ; why then should the first reformers be blamed, if, finding they had not the gift, they ventured upon marrying with nuns?

A. Continency is not required of all, but such as have by vow engaged to keep it: and therefore, before a person engages himself by vow, he ought certainly to examine whether he has a call from God, and whether he can to through with what he thinks of undertaking: but after he has once engaged himself by vow, he is not now at liberty to go back; but may assure himself, that the gift of continence will not be denied him, so that he uses proper means to obtain and preserve it, particularly prayer and mortification, which because Luther laid aside, by quitting his canonical hours of prayer and other religious exercises, to which he had been accustomed in his convent, no wonder if he lost the gift of continency, which he owns he enjoyed whilst he was a popish friar : " Whilst I was a religious (says he), I observed chastity, obedience and poverty: and, in short, being wholly disengaged from the cares of this present life, I wholly gave myself up to fasting, watching and prayer." (In Gal. 2, 15, t. 5, Wittemb. fol. 291. 2.) But as soon as he commenced reformer, to demonstrate that he was changed for the worse, he declares he had so far lost this gift that he could not possibly live without a woman. (Sermon de Matrim., L 5, fol. 119, 1.)

Q. But does not Christ say, concerning continency (St. Matt, XIX II), "All men cannot receive this saying:" and St. Paul (Cor. VII. 9), "If they cannot contain, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn?"

A. No; both these texts are willfully corrupted in the Protestant Testament. Where he speaks not of such as have vowed chastity, but of other Christians, whom he advises rather to marry than to burn with unlawful lust here, and for unlawful lust hereafter. And the same advice is most frequently inculcated by Catholic divines. But as for those that have vowed chastity, they must make use of other means to prevent this burning, particularly prayer and fasting. But what a wretched case must that of the adversaries of the celibacy of the clergy be when to maintain it they have in so many places willfully corrupted the Scripture! and what a melancholy case it must be, that so many thousands of well-meaning souls should be wretchedly deluded with the pretense of God's pure word, when instead of this, they have nothing put in their hands but corrupted translations, which present than with a mortal poison, instead of the food of life!

Source: Our Church Her Children And Institutions, Volume 1. 1908

Is it a small thing unto you that the God of Israel hath separated you from all the people, and joined you to himself, that you should serve Him in the service of the tabernacle, and should stand before the congregation of the people, and should minister to Him? Numbers XVI, 9

Blessed is he whom Thou hast chosen and taken to Thee: he shall dwell in Thy courts. We shall be filled with the good things of Thy house; holy is Thy temple. Psalm LXIV, 5.

One of the works that craves the sympathetic cooperation of all Catholics, especially our Catholic parents, is the recruiting of young men for the service of the altar. The very existence of religion and its advancement in the world depend upon the constant supply of those ambassadors to whom God has delegated His mission and His power. The priest is the propagator of Christ's doctrines, the dispenser of His graces, the lieutenant of the Holy Ghost in the work of man's sanctification. The Holy Ghost is continually operating in individual souls, striving to keep them in a state of grace, or striving to restore it to them when it is lost, but in this sublime effort His instrument is the priest. The Holy Ghost floods the intellect with the light of faith, but it is the words of the priest that set the rays in vibration. The charity of the Holy Ghost warms men's cold hearts and moves their wills, but this is done through the Sacraments conferred by the hands of the priest. It is God's
desire to remain with us, to be the nourishment of our souls, but He depends on His priests to utter the words that keep Him in our tabernacles. "Where there is no priest there is no sacrifice says the (..) Cure d'Ars; "where there is no sacrifice there is no religion; where there is no religion there are no reasonable men, only brutes destroying each other."

True, the Christian faith might subsist for a time, even though Christ's ambassadors had disappeared, but once the souls of men were deprived of the benefits of absolution and of that heavenly manna which is Christ's own Body and Blood, they would soon pine away and die a spiritual death. Without the priesthood the light of faith would soon dwindle and disappear altogether. This has been the result in every land where persecution has succeeded in banishing the clergy. We have only to mention the instance of England under the Tudors, or of Japan under Tiacosama. A vital affair, then, in the life of the Church, is the filling up of the priestly ranks to continue the work of those whom death claims, or whom age and fatigue oblige to lay down the burdens of the ministry.

Before the Council of Trent, the old monastic and cathedral schools educated youth in preparation for the service of the altar. The universities crowned these preliminary studies with courses of philosophy and theology, and the young Levites then started out to labor for souls. But the upheaval of the sixteenth century caused such disruption in this order of things, the leaven of heresy tainted the wells of knowledge to such an extent, that the Fathers of the Council of Trent had to initiate other methods and provide other means for the rearing of the future servants of the sanctuary. It was then that they resolved that every country, every diocese even, should provide its own pastors and carefully train them to meet the spiritual needs of the faithful. They decreed that institutions should be established where young men showing signs of a vocation to the priesthood should be trained in science and virtue. These institutions they called seminaries. The name was well chosen. In its etymological sense, "seminary" means a nursery where saplings are planted and carefully tended until they are strong enough to resist the action of the elements, when they may be transferred to other soil. In the minds of the Fathers of Trent, the saplings were to be the young men destined for the priesthood, who, after they had been strengthened morally and intellectually, should go out into the world to spread the Faith by their teaching and uphold it by their example.

This wise legislation of the Council of Trent has been the salvation of the Catholic religion ever since the sixteenth century. For the past four hundred years, our seminaries have supplied the Church with her ministers, and the prospects are that for centuries to come the Church must look to the same sources for them. Such being the case, the question of the recruiting of the priesthood should concern every Catholic, layman and cleric; it should, in fact, appeal to all who have the interests of our holy religion at heart; for we are all responsible to God in some way or other for the soul of our neighbor.

In recent years the number of young men who enter our diocesan seminaries has diminished in a marked degree, and yet the needs of the Church have grown with the spread of the Faith, not merely at home but in foreign lands. Our bishops everywhere are deploring the scarcity of priests to cater to the religious wants of Catholics; the foreign missions are clamoring for workmen; everywhere, at home and abroad, the harvest is ripe, and there are not reapers enough to gather it in.
The glamor of the world naturally at tracts inexperienced young men, and it is sad to think that Catholic parents will not turn a hand to influence their decisions. There was a time when the prospect of seeing a son at the altar was a father's or mother's highest ambition on earth, but that time has evidently gone. Wealth and honors and the pleasures of life have too strong an attraction; abnegation and poverty and suffering in the footsteps of the Crucified seem too great a sacrifice to ask from the sons of worldly minded Catholic parents. And yet the claims of religion are just as cogent as they ever were. The need of holy and learned priests is greater than ever before; for in these strenuous times, souls not merely must be fed with the Bread of Life, but they must also be fortified against the pernicious doctrines and influences that are rife on every side.

A heavy responsibility shall rest on the shoulders of some one, and if it is parents who discourage their sons from entering the ranks of the priesthood, they should be warned while there is yet time. God's designs are never thwarted with impunity. To parents, preferably to all others, He has confided the eternal interests of young souls. Their duty is to try to discern early His providential designs and to second their execution. Parents should be the first to foster in a child the germ of vocation to the priesthood, when it begins to show itself; above all, they should be watchful, lest the frail germ be stifled amid worldliness and the temptations of life. When the moment comes for its final blossoming in the seminary or in the novitiate, they should not hesitate to give their son willingly to God, in order that in the course of time he may not only honor them in the dignity of his priesthood, but also and this should be of much greater moment for them that they may have their in direct share in their son's labors in the Master's vineyard and their own reward for eternity.

So much for the candidate to the priesthood; a word now about his training in the novitiate or the seminary. How may lay-Catholics help in this work? By contributing to the support of those institutions wherein priests are educated. The precept obliging us to support our pastors has a wider range that is generally supposed, nor is it restricted to the needs of the moment. The young seminarian of today will be the pastor of tomorrow, the novice of today will be the missionary of tomorrow; and if we understand our obligations aright, the future as well as the present has its claim upon the generosity of all who are able to help.

From those who are favored by fortune more generous sacrifices may be asked. The Spirit of God breathes where It willeth. We know too well that the whispering Voice calling a child to the sanctuary is often heard in homes where worldly wealth is a stranger, and it often happens that no matter how pressing his desires, how lofty his hopes, how urgent his call, the young man sees the priestly career closed against him unless some generous benefactor steps in and provides the wherewithal to enable him to carry out his wishes. One of the most Godlike of charities, when a family is in a position to do so, is to provide for the education of a young priest either in a diocesan seminary or in a religious community. God promises His blessing to the generous giver, even when an alms is doled out for the mere welfare of the body; how much more readily will He bless those who give of their substance to save immortal souls! Wealthy Catholics should seize this opportunity of showing their generosity. They may not be called by God directly to save souls, but it is their privilege, if they will only use it, to help those who are called by God directly to save souls.

To sum up. There is a great scarcity of priests to carry out the work of the Church. Let young men who feel the call to the priesthood not hesitate to follow it. Let Catholic parents be generous in giving their sons to God when His holy will is made known to them. Let the Catholic laity, the well-to-do especially, be generous in helping on the work of training in our seminaries. All may not be able to give of their worldly substance, but all may help by their prayers. Let us ask God to supply His Church with holy and learned men who will carry on the work which He Himself began during His earthly career.

Source: Fireside messages : adapted for reading in Catholic homes by Rev. E.J. Devine, S.J.

The Catholic Church never changes. 

As her divine Founder is unchangeable, so His Church remains ever the same.

"Is there then to be no progress in the Catholic Church?a learned monk of the fifth century asks. He gives himself the correct answer: "God forbid! Only it must be progress, not alteration in the faith. The idea of progress is growth in identity; alteration means a change from one thing to another. May the whole Church, and each one of the faithful, grow in wisdom and knowledge; not altering, but advancing in the same doctrine, mind, and faith. The doctrines of the divine philosophy of Christianity may be developed, defines, and perfected, but they cannot be altered, diminished, or mutilated without sin. They may, indeed, gain additional proof, light, and definiteness, but to do so they must retain their fullness, integrity, and essence." ( Vincent of Lerins).

With this answer in mind, we shall be able to distinguish between true and false progress, between reality and sham. Growth in wisdom and knowledge, while preserving the identity of truth; advancement in doctrine, mind, and faith; development of Christian philosophy by looking for additional proofs, light, and definiteness - here is what we understand by progress.

Away with your hazy definitions and foggy notions, ye philosophers of the "unknowable,"  ye advocates of "modern" progress! Away with your lying ideals of intellectual advancement, your will-o'-the-wisps of moral and temporal progress! You maliciously accuse the Catholic Church of being the enemy of all progress, while you attempt to reduce mankind to the abominable condition of paganism. Where do you find real progress outside the Catholic Church? Accumulation of wealth or centralization of power under a tyrant is not progress.

The Church encourages not only spiritual progress, but temporal prosperity like-wise. The highest spiritual aims do not interfere with industrial and material prosperity. Look at the history of the Church. "There grew up under the shadow of her mighty Cathedrals those centres of commerce, each one a very forest of towers and spires, palaces, with whose magnificence the residences of no modern millionaires can compare." (Hettinger).

 All the marvels of medieval art, of which only a few memorials remain, were wrought not by the toil of the overcrowded, destitute poor, as is now so often the case, but the humblest as well as the highest shared in the splendor of commercial prosperity. The grand market-places and spacious halls of commerce in Belgium tell us of the material progress that has lasted for centuries and is evident at the present time among a thoroughly Catholic nation. The gorgeous halls of that solid building now used as the University of Louvain was once the place of assembly for the guild of the wool-merchants when religion flourished most in Belgium. Progress, moral and material, follows the steps of the Church. Wherever and whenever the Catholic Church freely exercises her glorious mission, unfettered by temporal governments and secret societies, there true progress flourishes, and peace and prosperity abound.

Source: Spiritual Pepper and Salt for Catholic and non-Catholics, by Bishop William Stang

He was baptized and became a member of the Catholic Church. He was instructed in the faith of Christ. His parents gave him a sound Catholic education; he was frequently nurtured by the holy sacraments. He looked upon Mary as his loving mother and he felt happy in the company of angels and saints. But - oh the dreadful change! - he now spurns the doctrine of the Church, he laughs at believers, he ridicules religious practices, he considers all priests consummate hypocrites, he scorns the ignorance and credulity of simple people.

What has brought about this radical revolution?

He says he has examined things for himself, he has investigated matters thoroughly, he has read, studied, and weighed arguments, and he has come to the conclusion that religion is an imposition.

He lies.

He has examined nothing for himself; he has neither time nor talents for deep study. He has never been able and will never be able to read the product of our master-minds, the great works of our Christian philosophers and Catholic Theologians. If he had studied and reflected, he would not give knowledge as a cause of unbelief; for knowledge leads to religion. He may deceive children with his clatter of speech and his air of wisdom; he cannot thus cheat a sensible man.

Come, and I will show you why you lost your faith. Your pretended infidelity is nothing but the corruption of your wicked heart. You have fallen intellectually, because you have sinned against the light, and now spiritual darkness lies heavy upon you. You boast of it, - boast of your shame and degradation! I never met a turn-coat of this type who was sober, just, and chaste. I never heard of good men falling away from the Church, but I have often heard of good men coming into the Church.

Bergier, who lived in the midst of the famous French infidels and read all their works, affirms that their infidelity had no other source than licentiousness and the unbridled sway of their passions. The royal protégé of Frederic II, the arch-infidel Voltaire, was no exception. The king wrote of him to Dargot: "Voltaire behaved here like a consummate scoundrel and cheat. He is a wretch...the most wicked fool I have ever known. You cannot imagine what duplicity, cheating, and villainy he practiced here."

Passions cause men to lose the light of faith. "Every one that doth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved." (St. John iii, 20). The great St. Augustine traces all intellectual errors to moral errors: "All error is, in a certain sense, founded on sin." And the distinguished theologian Suarez writes: "Sin alone deceives the soul when, after deserting and despising the truth, it seeks to find what is true."

He who had the true faith and lost it, has lost all, and deserves our pity.

Source: Pepper and Salt for Catholics and non-Catholic By Bishop William Stang

Be most devoted to hearing confessions, regarding this function as one of the chief duties of the priest and as a most necessary most powerful and most effective means of cooperating with God in the Salvation of Souls.

Take great care not to violate the command of our Divine Master, namely: "Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine" (Matt. 7, 6). Let no unworthy person, no public sinner approach the holy table; withhold absolution from those unworthy of it, particularly those who persist in living in the proximate occasion of sin or constitute themselves such occasions for others; those, too, who live at enmity with their fellow men, refusing all attempts at reconciliation; those who remain constantly in the state of mortal sin without purpose or desire of amendment.

Be solicitous for the sanctity of the Sacrament of Matrimony, being particularly careful that none shall enter that holy state unless they are free from all canonical impediments and are thoroughly familiar with the obligations of marriage as well as its rights.

Regarding the Sacrament of Baptism, likewise be on guard against permitting unworthy godparents to assume the duties of sponsors, for these spiritual fathers and mothers cannot discharge the duties of their high office unless they are properly instructed and fitted for the task.

Be diligent in your care of the church, the cemetery and all places set aside for the service of God. Let all appointments reflect the sanctity that must characterize a consecrated environment. Everything should be neat and clean and in good order, especially the objects inside the Sanctuary. There the Great King should be served and honored with a dignity and excellence befitting His exalted position; there above all else the sacraments should be administered with the most exacting care; there the Divine Office should be recited with gravity and devotion, and every ceremony carried out with grace and dignity. The House of God should be a place where the worshiper conducts himself with modesty, respect and appreciation of the Real Presence.

Cherish and ardent devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and her holy spouse, St. Joseph, and endeavor to implant it also in the lives of those under your charge. Likewise impress upon your congregation the necessity of honoring the patron saints of the diocese and of the parish. Have a special devotion to all holy Pontiffs, Priests, and Levites. Let it be felt that the observance of their feast days is actually the celebration of our own brothers and fathers: Filii Sanctorum sumus. (Tob. 2, 18).

Source:The Priest His Dignity And Obligations by St John Eudes

0 great saints, chosen from all eternity by Jesus Christ, the Saint of saints, to be clothed in an especial manner with His admirable sanctity; glorious priests selected from thousands of men by Jesus, the Supreme High Priest, to be His associates in the Divine Priesthood, prostrate at your feet with all respect and humility I salute you!

I honor you by every means in my power as my masters and spiritual fathers, as shining lights in the firmament of the Church, as true shepherds of the flock of Christ, as oracles of the Eternal Word, as prophets of His holy teaching, as chiefs in the celestial militia, as captains of the army of the Great King, as princes of His realm, as kings of His empire.

I revere you as members of the greatest and most dignified order in heaven and on earth, the Eternal Priesthood, founded and established by Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

I hail you as the solid pillars supporting Mother Church, as the unshakable foundation of the house of God. I respect you as custodians of the keys of heaven, as cherubim stationed with flaming swords at the gates of paradise to prevent the unworthy and profane from entering its portals. I see in you living and perfect images of the Sovereign Priest, Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God, with whom you are one, being clothed with the very Priesthood conferred upon Him by His Eternal Father, and one with Him as all members are one with their head.

With all my heart I thank God for having elevated you to the highest dignity in his heavenly kingdom and in the family of His Divine Son. I rejoice that you are now crowned with glory and happiness, commensurate with the loftiness of your priestly dignity.

From my innermost soul I thank you for the heroic service you have rendered here on earth to our Divine Master and to His Holy Church, by the faithful discharge of your sacerdotal duties, and for the glory you have rendered God in time and eternity.

Who can tell the ardor of the love for Holy Mother Church which consumed you? Who can ever express in words the vigilance and zeal with which you labored in her interests? You realize now more than ever her great need in our materialistic age for priests who will follow in your footsteps, imitating your virtue and holiness. You understand how true is the saying of the Eternal Truth Himself that the harvest is great but the laborers few.

Permit me to address to you the prayer that Our Lord and Savior recommended to all His children: "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest (Matt. 9, 38). But pray that He send workers "approved unto God"(2 Tim. 2, 15), workers seeking not their own interests, but having as their only goal the glory of the Master and the salvation of the souls which He purchased with the shedding of His Precious Blood. Pray that He may send to His Church priests after His own heart, who will walk the same road you trod while you were on earth.

O saintly priests, you know full well the importance and necessity of having holy priests in the Church of Christ. It is the most ardent longing of all true Christians who are animated with the love of God and the zeal for His Church.

Source: St. John Eudes

From the beginning of the world the servants of God were always accustomed to offer Sacrifice to Him, by way of acknowledging His sovereignty and paying their homage to Him ; and in all ancient religions, true or false, this worship of Sacrifice was always regarded as a most solemn act of religion, due to the Deity worshiped.

In the law of nature, and in the law of Moses, there was a great variety of Sacrifices : some bloody, in which the victim was slain ; others unbloody. Some were called Holocausts, or whole burnt-offerings, in which the whole host or victim was consumed in fire upon God’s altar, for His honor and glory : others were called Sin-offerings, which were offered for sins ; others were offerings of Thanksgivings ; others were pacific or Peace-offerings, which were offered for obtaining favors of God— the word “ peace ” in the Scripture style signifying all manner of good and prosperity.

All these Sacrifices of the law of nature, and of the law of Moses, were of themselves but weak and needy elements (Gal. IV. 9), and only figures of a Sacrifice to come, viz., that of Jesus Christ; in consideration of which Sacrifice only, and of the faith of the offerers, by which they believed in the Redeemer to come, those ancient Sacrifices were then accepted by the Divine Majesty, when they were accompanied with the inward sacrifice of the heart; but not for any intrinsic worth or dignity of the things offered, for no other blood but the Blood of Christ could wash away sins. Hence, St. Paul says (Heb. x . 5), quoting from the 39th Psalm : Sacrifice and oblation Thou wouldst not have : but Thou hast fitted to Me a Body. This gives us to understand that, by reason of the insufficiency of the Sacrifices of the old law, Christ Himself would come to be our Sacrifice, and would offer up His own Body and Blood for us.

Accordingly, our Savior Jesus Christ, at the time appointed by His Father, having taken flesh for us, was pleased to offer Himself a Sacrifice for us, dying upon the Cross for the sins of the whole world. By this one offering we were completely redeemed, inasmuch as our ransom was paid, and all mercy, grace, and salvation were purchased for us. Neither can there now be any need of His dying any more, or purchasing any other graces for us than those for which He has already paid the price of His Blood.

Nevertheless, for the daily application of this one eternal Redemption to our souls, and that the mercy, grace, and salvation which He has purchased for us may be actually communicated to us, He not only continually appears in our behalf in the Sanctuary of Heaven, there representing and offering to His Father His Passion and Death for us, but He has also instituted the Blessed Eucharist, the night before His Passion, in which He bequeathed us His Body and Blood, under the sacramental veils, not only to be received by us as a Sacrament, for the food and nourishment of our souls, but also (mystically delivered) to be offered and presented by His ministers to His Father as a Sacrifice : not by way of a new death, but by way of a standing Memorial of His death ; a daily celebrating and representing of His death to God, and an applying to our souls of the fruits thereof.

This Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ, daily offered under the forms of bread and wine, in remembrance of His Passion, is what we call the Mass. This is the solemn Liturgy of the Catholic Church. This is that pure Offering which is made to God in every place among the Gentiles, according to the prophecy of Malachi (I. 10 , 11). By this, Christ is a Priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 109), whose Sacrifice was bread and wine (Gen. xv.)

This Sacrifice of the Mass is the same in substance with that which Christ offered for us upon the Cross; because both the Victim offered, and the Priest or principal Offerer, is the same Jesus Christ. The difference is only in the manner of the offering ; because upon the Cross our Savior offered Himself in such a manner as really to shed His Blood and die for us ; whereas now He does not really shed His Blood, or die. And therefore this is called an unbloody Sacrifice; and that of the Cross a bloody Sacrifice.

By virtue of this essential sameness, the Sacrifice of the Mass completely answers all the different ends of Sacrifice, and that in a way infinitely more effective than any of the ancient Sacrifices. Christ is here both Priest and Victim, representing in person and offering up His Passion and Death to His Father.

This Sacrifice of the Mass is offered up to God, in the Catholic Church, first as a daily remembrance of the Passion of Christ: This do for the commemoration of Me (I Cor. XI. 24) ; secondly, as a most solemn worship of the Divine Majesty ; thirdly, as a most acceptable thanksgiving to God, from whence it has the name of Eucharist ; fourthly, as a most powerful means to move God to show mercy to us in the forgiveness of our sins, for which reason we call it propitiatory ; and, lastly, as a most effectual way to obtain of God all that we need, coming to Him, as we here do, with Christ and through Christ.

For these ends both Priest and people ought to offer up the Sacrifice of the Mass — the Priest, as Christ’s minister and in His person ; and the people, by the hands of the Priest ; and both the one and the other by the hands of the Great High-Priest Jesus Christ. And with this offering of Christ, both the one and the other should make a total offering of themselves also by His hands and in union with Him. 

Source: A Manual Of Prayers For The Use Of The Catholic Laity: Prepared And Published By Order Of The Third Plenary Council Of Baltimore 1888

For carrying on Divine worship, ruling the Church, and administering the Sacraments, a Priesthood is required, and it belongs to God alone to institute the Priesthood.

In the Old Law, God chose and raised to the Priesthood Aaron, his children and descendants, and they were to be assisted in their priestly functions by the members of the tribe of Levi; and thus the Priesthood was transmitted to posterity simply by family descent. In the New Law the means instituted by Christ for the transmission of the Priesthood was not by limiting it to one family or tribe, but by having the Sacrament of Holy Order conferred on those Christians whom the Apostles and their Successors should choose among the baptized, and ordain for that dignity and office.

Holy Order, then, is a Sacrament by which Bishops, Priests, and other Ministers of the Church are ordained, and receive power and grace to perform their sacred duties.

The Sacramental character of Holy Order is manifest in Holy Scripture. St. Paul, in his Epistles to St. Timothy, says: "Neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given by prophecy, with imposition of the hands of the Priesthood." (I Timothy IV. 14.) "I admonish thee that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee by the imposition of my hands. (2 Timothy I. 6.)

Here we have all the essentials of a Sacrament - the outward sign - the inward grace annexed - and divine appointment; for, as we have before said, God alone can make outward signs to be means of grace.

Source: Catholic Belief: or A Short and simple exposition of Catholic Doctrine by Very Rev. Joseph Faa Bruno 1878

The Mass is the unbloody Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ. Through it God has given us the Blessed Eucharist, His living Body and Blood, His Soul and Divinity. Through it He Himself is "with us all days," dwelling in the tabernacles of our altars as truly as he dwells in Heaven.

The word Mass is from the Latin missa, derived from the verb mittere, to send, and signifies a sending away, a dismissal. In the ancient liturgy of the Church there were two dismissals at the Holy Sacrifice:

1. That of the catechumens, those partly instructed and not yet baptized after the Gospel and sermon, and 2. that of the faithful at the end of the Mass - still preserved in our Masses by the announcement "Ite Missa Est" ("Go, it is the dismissal") gradually came to denote the service itself. The French from, "Messe," was modified in England into "Maesse," " Masse, and finally "Mass".

In the early centuries of the Church the Mass was known as the Breaking of Bread, the Lord's Supper, the Solemnity of the Lord, the Sacrifice, the Holy Liturgy and the Eucharist, which means thanksgiving.

A priest who offers the Mass is called its celebrant.

Source: The Visible Church, Her government, ceremonies, sacramentals, festivals and devotions; a compendium of the "Externals of the Catholic Church". Fr. John F. Sullivan 1920