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"All true monks devote themselves to God; they separate themselves from the world, and do not entangle themselves in secular business, that they may more easily seek perfectly and with their whole hearts, not those things which are upon earth, but those which are in heaven. This is the duty of every Christian, as Origen elegantly observes, and as Saint Paul himself teaches, according to the divine lessons of our blessed Redeemer. For to be dead to the world, and to live for Christ, is the part of all who are truly his disciples. Those who live in the world must so behave as not to be of the world. They must be assiduously conversant in prayer and other exercises of religion. Their work itself must be sanctified and dedicated to God by the like motives with which the ancient monks applied themselves to penitential manual labor, or to eternal spiritual functions."

Source:The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints By Alban Butler

Saint Francis, Holy Name Cathedral Raleigh NC VP

"I also beseech in the Lord, all my brethren who are, or who shall be, or who desire to be priests of the Most High, that whenever they wish to celebrate Mass, they be pure, and offer with purity and reverence the true Sacrifice of the most holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ with a holy and perfect intention; not from any earthly motive, nor for the fear or love of any creature, as though desiring to please men; but let every will (according to the grace given) be directed solely to the most High God, and do you desire to please Him alone, for He alone works in this holy Sacrifice according to His good pleasure, as the Lord has Himself said: "Do this in remembrance of Me:" and he who does otherwise becomes a traitor like Judas.

Remember, O priests, my brothers, how it is written in the law of Moses, that those who transgressed even in corporal sacrifices were condemned by God to death, without any mercy. What a far more terrible punishment will he deserve, who tramples under foot the Son of God, and treats the Blood of the New Testament by which he is sanctified as a vile thing, and offers insult to the Holy Ghost! A man stained with sin despises and tramples on the Lamb of God, when, as the Apostle says, not discerning the sacred Bread, which is Christ, from other food, he eats unworthily by being guilty of unworthy actions; for the Lord has said by His Prophet: "Cursed it the man who does the work of God with negligence or fraud." And on account of those priests who will not lay these things seriously to heart, we are condemned, when Our Lord days: " I will curse your blessings."

Hearken, my brethren. If the Blessed Virgin Mary is honored, as she well deserves, for having borne our Savior in her most holy womb; if St. John the Baptist trembled, and did not dare to touch the forehead of his Lord; if the Holy Sepulcher in which this same Lord reposed for a short time is so venerated - how holy, how just, and how worthy ought not he to be who touches with his hands, receives into his mouth and heart, and gives to others, this God Who is now no more to die, but Who will live and be glorified for ever, on Whom the angels desire to gaze! Understand your dignity, O priests, my brothers, and " be ye holy, because He is holy." As God has honored you more than all others through this Mystery, do you love, reverence, and honor Him through this Mystery. It is a great misery, and a deplorable weakness, when you have Him thus present, that you should care for anything else in the whole world. Man should be seized with fear, the earth should tremble, and the heavens rejoice exceedingly, when Christ the Son of the living God descends upon the altar in the hands of the priest.

O admirable greatness! O stupendous condescension! O humble sublimity! the Lord of the universe, God, and the Son of God, so abases Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under the form of a morsel of bread! See, O my brethren, the lowliness of your God! pour out your hearts before Him and humble yourselves, that you may be worthy to be exalted by Him. Do not keep back anything of yourselves, that He Who gives Himself to you without reserve may receive your entire being."

Source: Works of the Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi By Saint Francis (of Assisi) 1882

"The oftener I reflect upon these things, the more I am astonished at the extravagance of some men, at that complication of impiety and blindness; in a word, at that strange insatiable lust after novelty in religion, that they cannot rest contented with the old rule of faith, once delivered and deposited in the Primitive Church, but must be, every day, upon new researches, and are never well but when they are aiding altering, or curtailing Christianity; as if the doctrine was not from heaven, nor one Revelation sufficient, but only a human institution, which could not possibly be perfected, but by mending it every day; or to speak more truly, by picking holes in it every day.

And yet the divine oracles, both in the Old and New Testament, loudly remonstrate against all such alterations. Pass not beyond the bounds, which thy fathers have set, Prov. xxiii. 28. And judge not against a judge, Eccles. viii. 17. He, that breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him, Eccles. x.8. And so likewise that severe charge of the apostle, which has often been, and always will be, as it were the Spiritual Sword, to lop off the sprouting heresies of every age. The charge is this, 1 Tim. vi. 20,21. O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trusts, avoiding the profane novelties of words, and oppositions of knowledge falsely so culled, which some promising, have erred concerning the faith.

And yet, after all this, there are some such hardy veterans in wickedness, of that barren effrontery, and irrefragable obstinacy, as to stand proof against all this powerful impression of scripture; men, who will capitulate upon no terms of reason, nor be touched by the most shocking  arguments, nor be dismayed, to say no more, by the most terrible menaces from heaven. But to proceed: Avoid, says St. Paul, the profane novelties of words; he did not say, avoid the primitive doctrines, but just the contrary; for if novelty is to be avoided, antiquity is to be retained; if novelty is profane, antiquity is sacred. But the apostle goes on and adds, oppositions of knowledge falsely so called. A most true character of the doctrine of heretics, who set a gloss upon their ignorance, with the title of science, and call darkness light, and light darkness. Which some, says he, promising have erred concerning the faith. Promising what? Why some new, strange, unheard of doctrines; for this is the cant of these promisers to the Catholics: Come hither, O ye unwise and simple wretches, come to our meetings, O ye that love to go by the name of Catholics, and here learn the true and saving faith, which none are gifted to understand, but those of our way only; a mystery, that has been hidden from the world for many ages, and graciously revealed, but of late, to the Lord's people; but you must be content to learn this faith privily, and by stealth, and then you will find it wondrous sweet and edifying.

And moreover, I must advise you to teach it with the same privity as you learned it, and be sure, that it comes not to the ears of the world, not that the Church knows one syllable of the mystery: for it is given but to few to know the secrets of the Lord. But is not this the very invitation of the courtesan in the Proverbs of Solomon, calling them that pass by the way, and go on their journey: he that is a little one, let him turn to me, and to the fool she said: Stolen waters are sweeter, and hidden bread is more pleasant. But what are the words following? Why, he knoweth not that giants are there, and that her guests are in the depths of hell. Prov. ix. 15,16,17,18. And who are the giants, but those whom the apostles says, have erred concerning the faith?"

Source: Grounds of Catholic Doctrine: by Bishop Challoner: as contained in the Profession of Faith, published by Pope Pius IV,

St. Michael the Archangel, Sacred Heart Dunn, NC

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.

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.

O Jesus our great High Priest, hear my humble prayers on behalf of Thy priests. Give them a deep faith, a bright and firm hope and a burning love which will ever increase in the course of their priestly life. In their loneliness, comfort them. In their sorrows, strengthen them, In their frustrations, point out to then that it is through suffering that the soul is purified, and show then that they are needed by the Church; they are needed by souls; they are needed for the work of redemption. O loving Mother Mary, Mother of priests, take to your heart your sons who are close to you because of their priestly ordination and because of their power which they have received to carry on the work of Christ in a world which needs them so much. be their comfort, be their joy, be their strength, and especially help them to live and to defend the ideals of consecrated celibacy.

Source: Rosary for the Sanctification of Priests

Among all the various callings on earth the vocation to the priesthood is first in holiness and dignity. The priest is the mediator between God and men. His is the dispenser of the mysteries of God. The teacher of men. The preacher of the word of God. The Confessor. The friend of the sick and the comforter of the dying. the offerer... the representative of Christ.

On the first Holy Thursday the Savior gave to His Apostles the power to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass when He said: "Do this for a commemoration of Me." On the evening of the first Easter Sunday He gave them the power to forgive sins. And during the time that remained before His ascension into heaven He bestowed upon them other powers: to teach, to baptize, to govern.

It is therefore the defined teaching of the Church that "There is in the Church of God a special priesthood with special powers, a Sacrament of Orders, which bestows upon the recipient the necessary graces of vocation and also power over the Sacrifice of the Church and her Sacraments as well as the office of teaching and governing the faithful."

The Apostles exercised their priesthood. In the Acts of the Apostles we read (2;42): "And they were persevering in the doctrine of the Apostles, and in the communication of the breaking of bread, and in prayers."

By the imposition of hands and prayer the Apostles communicated the priestly powers to others and handed on what thy had received. Thus the Apostles Matthias was chosen to take the place of Judas the traitor. By fasting, prayer, and the imposition of hands their office was conferred upon Paul and Barnabas. The Apostles themselves ordained new priests and installed them in the newly established parishes. Paul admonishes Timothy, upon whom he had conferred the priesthood: " Neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with imposition of the hands of the priesthood." (I Tim. 4:14) "For which cause I admonish thee, that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee, by the imposition of my hands." (2 Tim. 1:6) As the Apostles, so also their successors transmitted these powers to others and constantly endowed new priests, new apostles, with the powers given by Christ.

Of the fist deacon, St. Stephen, Holy Writ tells us that all those who sat in the council, looking on him, saw his face as if is had been the face of an angel. As a bright light, has the great and unmerited grace of the priesthood shone down through the centuries. That is may continue so to shine in many devout and holy priests depends to a great extent also upon the prayers of the faithful for the priests. Wherefore, in the words of St. Gregory: "Faithful people, pray for your priests!"

Source: Priest's  Saturday Series, Pamphlet #2, Salvatorian Fathers 1945