CAPG's Blog 

Father Kim Taegon Holy Name Cathedral, Raleigh NC

• "No matter how fiercely the powers of this world oppress and oppose the Church, they will never bring it down. Ever since His ascension and from the time of the apostles to the present, the Lord Jesus has made His Church grow even in the midst of tribulations." From the final exhortation of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon priest and martyr

• "Why do you practice this religion contrary to the king's orders? Give it up."
  "I practice my religion because it is true; it teaches me to know God, and brings me to eternal happiness: I know of no such thing as apostasy."
  The torture was then applied to me, and the judge said, "If you do not apostatize you shall die under the blows."
  "As you please, but I will never abandon my God. Do you wish to hear the truth of my religion? Listen. The God whom I worship is the Creator of heaven and earth, of men and of everything that is: He punishes sin and rewards virtue, etc. Whence it follows that all men are bound to do homage to Him. For my part, I thank thee, O mandarin, for making me suffer these tortures for His love. May my God reward you for this benefit, and raise you to a higher rank." Gloriaromanorum.blogspot
  

• " This is my last hour of life, listen to me attentively: if I have held communication with foreigners, it has been for my religion and for my God. It is for Him that I die. My immortal life is on the point of beginning. Become Christians if you wish to be happy after death, because God has eternal chastisements in store for those who have refused to know Him." Last words of St. Andrew Kim (Archdiocese of Toronto)

Prayer:

O God, who have been pleased to increase your adopted children in all the world, and who made the blood of the Martyrs Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gon and his companions a most fruitful seed of Christians, grant that we may be defended by their help and profit always from their example. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

"These fasts were instituted to sanctify each season of the year, and thus obtain the favors of God, especially His mercy. They were also established to obtain the blessing of the Almighty on the fruits of the land. In spring we pray for fertility; in summer, for preservation of the crops; in autumn, for a good harvest; and in winter we offer up our grateful thanksgiving for the blessings received.

  The Church, too, wishes us to pray for those who are to be ordained priests on these days, that they may obtain the graces necessary to fulfill all their obligations, and the virtues that adorn their sacred calling. “And when they had ordained for them priests in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, in Whom they believed.” (Acts xiv.22.)

  As alms generally accompany fasting and prayer, a donation toward the education of priests for the foreign mission would be in keeping with the spirit of the Church on these occasions. We ought also to pray for vocations, especially for the foreign missions. “The harvest is great, but the laborers few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He send laborers into the vineyard.” (Matt. ix. 37,38.).

  These days should also remind us of asking ourselves how we stand with regard to God. If there be anything troubling our conscience, we ought to set it right, and then make good resolutions for the coming quarter. Thus, keeping ourselves always ready for the final summons, death will be disarmed of its terrors, and the close of life will be marked with a beautiful serenity." (Source: Catholic Life, or, The Feasts, Fasts, and Devotions of the Ecclesiastical Year, 1908. )

"The violence of the enemy is always directed against those priests who are most generous and most loyal. The more you are like your Divine Model, your Savior and your God, the more certainly will you be the target for the calumnies, the abuse and persecutions of the wicked." Revs. Jacques Nicolas et  P. Millet, S.J. (Jesus Living in the Priest: Considerations on the greatness and Holiness of the Priesthood)

Way of the Cross for Priests:
INTENTION: O dearest Lord Jesus, I offer Thee the way of the Cross which I am about to make for Thy honor and glory and for all Thy priests, especially those who are suffering persecution for Thy sake.

Prayer to St. Joseph for Persecuted Priests: 

Dearest St. Joseph, be the protector and defender of those priests undergoing persecution for being faithful to their Lord and Sovereign Priest, Jesus Christ. See in them the image of thy beloved child, and cherish them with that tender solicitude which God places in Thy paternal heart. Obtain for them the good graces of thy Queen and Spouse, for such graces of predilection will surely lighten their burdens and render their crosses sweet. Amen.