Saint Juliana, Virgin and Martyr, About 300 AD
by VP
Posted on Sunday February 16, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
Domenico Fetti: St. Juliana
"In prison, she was said to have been exposed to a vision of a demon who
pretended to be an angel of light and asked her to sacrifice to the
pagan gods. Juliana recognised the deception and shouted: “Lord God of
heaven and earth, do not leave me and do not allow your maid to perish.”
She defeated the tempter who admitted to her that the devils suffer
especially when Christians assist at Mass." Prayer for Reparation
"A holy virgin of Nicomedia, who in the persecution of Galerius Maximianus, not consenting to marry a certain governor, who was a heathen, drew upon her the fury of her idolatrous father, and likewise of him whom she had refused to marry. Finding her not to be prevailed upon by all the flatteries they could propose, they commanded her by order of justice to be hung up by the hair, to be cruelly scourged, to be tormented with hot plates of iron, to be cast into a furnace, and into boiling oil; and being miraculously preserved, she was at length beheaded, and so brought to the possession of her heavenly spouse.
Are you not here taught how much you ought to value your faith, and not to put this to the hazard upon any consideration which this world can offer you? Is not here a condemnation of those, who in disposing of themselves or of their children, look about for worldly advantages of titles, state, or preferments, and let these determine their choice as to marriage, profession, or service, without any regard to the hazard they run of that which is most valuable, and is the only thing above all to be considered? This is not according to the Gospel, which commands, before all things, to seek the kingdom of God and His justice, and to venture everything else for securing this. Resolve to make this your rule for yourself, and all that belong to you. If you are a loser by it, remember that such loss will be your greatest gain. It is the loss of the martyrs, and will not your gain be the same as theirs. It is a loss for time, but it will be gain for eternity.
Pray for all who are under troubles, whether temporal or spiritual; that God would be their protector and comforter, and strengthen them against all temptations of impatience and distrust. Your charity to them now may bring relief to you when it comes to your turn. Pray to this holy virgin and martyr, to intercede in your behalf." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Septuagesima
by VP
Posted on Sunday February 16, 2025 at 12:00AM in Tradition
"Septuagesima Time lasts three weeks. The first week is called Septuagesima Week, the second Sexagesima Week, and the third Quinquagesima Week ; names taken from the Sundays beginning each week.
(...)
The
number seven is found in numberless places in the Bible, and here the
holy Church invites us to stop and ponder on this number, and on these
seasons of the year. Let us go back to the olden times of the fathers of
the Church. St. Augustine says "there are two seasons, one the time of
our trials and of our temptation during this life, the other the time of
our happiness and of our glories in the other life. We celebrate these
times, the first before Easter, the second after Easter. The season
before Easter represents the trials of the present life, the season
after Easter signifies the happiness we will have in heaven. Such is the
reason we pass the first of these seasons in fasting and in prayer,
while the second season is consecrated to canticles of joy, and then
fasting is not allowed."
The Church, the guardian and the
interpreter of the Holy Bible, tells us that there are two places
relating to the two seasons spoken of by St. Augustine. They are Babylon
and Jerusalem. Babylon is the symbol of this world of sin and of
temptation, in the midst of which the Christian must pass his time of
trial ; Jerusalem is the heavenly country where the good Christian rests
after his trials and his labors of this life. Of these two cities, the
one worldly, the other heavenly, St. Augustine writes in his immortal
work, " The City of God." The people of Israel, whose history in the
Bible is but a grand figure of the history of the human race, were
exiled from Jerusalem and were held as captives in Babylon. Their
captivity in Babylon lasted for sixty-six years, and according to the
great writers on the Liturgy of the Church, the seventy days of fasting
and of prayer, from Septuagesima Sunday to Easter, recall the captivity of the Jews in Babylon.
Seven
is a mystic number. In six days, God made the world and he rested on
the seventh day. The most ancient traditions of Christianity tell us
(...) that the race of man upon the earth is divided into seven great
epochs. The first dated from the creation of Adam to the Flood, the
second from Noah to the calling of Abraham, the third from Abraham to
Moses, the fourth from Moses to David, the fifth from David to the
captivity in Babylon, the sixth from the captivity to the coming of the
Savior, and the seventh from the time of our Lord to the end of the
world. Thus the age of man on the earth is measured by these great
epochs. During these different times the Lord prepared the race to
receive their Redeemer, and to come into the Church He established for
their salvation. In the first epoch, from Adam to Abraham, all justice,
all goodness, all godliness, which look down from heaven and was planted
in the heart of man, was driven out by sin. In the second, from Abraham
to Moses, God called the people of Israel and made of them his chosen
race, to receive the prophecies relating to His Son. In the third, from
Moses to David, God commanded the tabernacle to be made, the Rites and
Services of the Jewish law to be carried out, to prefigure the Services
of our Church. In the fourth, from David to the Captivity in Babylon,
the nation of the Jews were ruled by kings, the temple of Solomon stood
grand and gorgeous, and the world saw the greatest glories of the people
of God. In the sixth, from the captivity to the days of our Lord, the
Jewish people were the prey of conquering nations; the Maccabees alone
could restore in part their departed splendors. In the seventh, from
Christ to the end of the world, the Church, founded and established by
our Lord, shines out before the nations called to the faith. Its glories
are far greater than those of the tabernacle of Moses. The cathedrals
of Christendom exceed in splendor Solomon's temple. The ceremonies in
our sanctuaries are more sublime than the most gifted imagination of the
Jewish priests could fancy. (...)
Thus the number seven is
deeply planted in the works of the Creator of the universe. Thus for
seven weeks we bow our heads in prayer and fasting before the coming of
the glorious day of Easter, and in joy and praise we raise our heads for
seven weeks during the glorious Paschal time following Easter. The
seven weeks of sadness for our sins before the passion of our Lord, are
followed by the seven weeks of happiness following His resurrection.
Thus after having fasted and prayed like the Savior in the desert, we
rejoice with Him as we rise from the sackcloth and ashes of Lent. We
rise with our souls filled with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
imprinted in our souls. This is what the mystic writers on the
ceremonies of the Church tell us. They say that the seven weeks before
Easter, and the seven weeks following Easter, are according to the
mystic number seven, revealed to man from heaven.
The seven weeks from Septuagesima
to Easter yearly come and go, while the years of our lives, like the
waters of the rivers, flow onward to be lost in the vastness of the
ocean ; thus our years pass rapidly on toward the boundless ocean of
eternity. The Church, our mother, tells us each year to stop and to
think of the Babylon of this world in which we live as strangers, exiled
from our home. She tells us to hang our harps on the willows growing on
the banks of the Euphrates, like the Jews of old held captives in
Babylon, and to prepare for our call to our heavenly Jerusalem above,
which is our home beyond the skies, and whose glories we celebrate
during the joyful time which follows Easter. She wishes us to sing the
canticles of joy in her services, and that while we live here, far from
our home in heaven, yet to keep our thoughts on God while in this world,
lest attached to earthly things we may be exiled for ever from
everlasting bliss with him, for our unfaithfulness while here below,
yet,"How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?"
Following thus the inspired Book, the songs and hymns of gladness are
hushed in the Church Services during this time of penance, signifying
our exile here below. At other times of the year the heavenly Alleluias
are often repeated, now they are heard no more, for exiles in the
Babylon of this world of sin, we are traveling onward toward the
Jerusalem which is above, for "we are travelers far from the Lord."
(...)
The
joyful forty days of the Christmas season have passed. With happiness
have we celebrated the birth of God on earth. Now the Church enters the
sad and solemn time when we prepare for the mysteries of the suffering
and the dying Savior. All around us in the Church are the sombre signs
of penance. We are entering in amid the three weeks of our baptism of
penance, that we may well and worthily celebrate the Lord's baptism of
blood in his sufferings for us on Calvary's cross. We are leaving
Bethlehem and going to Calvary. We are leaving the infant God in his
mother's arms, and following his steps to see him fasting in the desert.
We are leaving him in the manger, and looking for him in Gethsemane.
The Illuminating Life of the Christmas time has passed, and the
Preparing Life of the Septuagesima time
has come. We have seen him in his sweetness as a child; we are going to
see him in his weakness as a man, fasting in the desert. But we must
pray God for his light, in order to see his Son as each year the Church
shows him to us. We must ask for grace to look first into ourselves, and
see the sins which dim the brightness of our souls and keep us from
seeing the truths of religion. We must ask the light of God to clearly
understand how the human race had fallen when our parents sinned by
eating in the garden, and to realize the deep wickedness of our sins and
the deeper mercy of God in becoming man to save us from being lost
forever.
The Septuagesima
Season, then, is the time of the year for the deepest thought. In the
words of a great writer of the eleventh century, the Apostle says, " We
know that every creature groaneth and travaileth in pain, even till now ;
and not only it, but ourselves, also, who have the first fruits of the
spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption of the sons of God, the redemption' of our body. ' That
creature which groans is the soul looking at the corruption of sin which
weeps to be still subject to the vanities of this world in this exile
of tears. It is the cry of the Royal Prophet, " Woe is me that my
sojourning is prolonged." Thus holy David desired the end of his exile
in this vale of tears. The Apostle who was wrapped up to the third
heaven says, "I am straightened between two, having a desire to be
dissolved and to be with Christ."St. Paul wishes to be taken from this
world of sorrow and to be with Christ.
Such are the thoughts which the Church brings before her children during this holy time of Septuagesima, that all may be prepared to celebrate well and worthily the holy Season of Lent. "
Source: The Festal Year, Or, The Origin, History, Ceremonies And Meaning Of The Sundays, Seasons, Feasts And Festivals Of The Church During The Year, Explained For The People by Fr. James L. Meagher 1883
Work for God (Septuagesima)
by VP
Posted on Sunday February 16, 2025 at 12:00AM in Sunday Sermons
"Why stand you here all the day idle?"-Matt. xx.
"We are all called by God, my dear brethren, to labor in His vineyard. That is to say: we are called to serve God faithfully; to fulfil His Divine will; to observe His laws and precepts; to avoid the evil He forbids, and to do the good He prescribes. And we are not only called, but we are strictly bound to fulfil all that is included in this service of God. We are bound in justice, we are bound by gratitude to labor in God's vineyard for His honor and glory, for the salvation of our souls.
God has a supreme right to our service. We are His creatures. It is God who created us, who called us out of nothing. To God we owe our life; to Him we owe the preservation of that life during every moment of existence. And therefore does St. Paul say, "In Him we live and move and have our being." Thus we are entirely dependent on God: we belong to Him, and He has supreme jurisdiction over us; He has the right to prescribe how we should live, how we should serve Him. There can be no exception to this law; He has the sole right to require every one to labor in His vineyard. Where there is a right, there must also be a corresponding duty. It is God's right to command the service of every one; it is the duty of every one to obey.
Hence there can be no idlers in God's vineyard; no man can offer the excuse that he has not been hired.
Every act of neglect of God's service, every evasion of His law, is always an act of injustice. Every sin has, besides its specific malice, the malice of injustice. Every idler in the vineyard of the Lord is in a state of sin; if he says that he has not been hired, he is a liar. God hires every man who comes into this world.
Besides the claim God has on us in justice, He has also a claim on our service by reason of the Redemption. We belong to Him because of the price He has paid for our salvation. "He has redeemed us at the price of His Precious Blood." Justice makes us serve Him, but higher than justice is the claim of love. And His Love constrains us to obey Him. Love makes Him sovereign Lord and Master. We belong neither to the world, nor to the devil, nor to ourselves: we owe nothing to them; we owe everything to Him whose love for us has moved Him to buy us with His blood. And so it is, my brethren, that every act of rebellion against God's law is always an act of ingratitude as well as injustice; every sin, besides its special malice, has the malice of injustice and ingratitude.
What pitiful, what hardened creatures we are when we forget these plain truths: when we act as though we were a law unto ourselves, and practically act as though we are responsible to no one. How dull is our sense of justice, how hardened is our heart when we can forget or ignore God and the claims He has upon us. We let the devil rule us, we make passion our master, we lift up self in place of God.
Are there any amongst us here this morning who have forgotten what they owe to God? Are there any whose years of sin and neglect of God have made them so deaf that they cannot hear His call to them; who do not know that their place is in His vineyard? To such as these does God now say, "Why stand you idle?" You who have wasted the morning, the noon, perhaps the evening of life in idleness, in sin; "go you into my vineyard"; there is still a chance for you to redeem the wasted time. Wake up out of your lethargy. Shake off the stupor that unhallowed pleasure and secret sin have cast over you. Smash the chains that have bound you to the service of the devil, the slavery that has smothered within you every instinct of justice, every worthy prompting of the heart, every noble aim in life. "Why stand you here idle?" This is the call of God to you. Go you into the vineyard of His service. What though for years you have neglected His call, His mercy is still near you, and He will pay you what is just— will pay you with life eternal.
We are now on the threshold of Lent - the special season of prayer and penance. Be no longer idle. Enter upon God's service with courage, with honest zeal, with firm hope in God's mercy. Begin at once - begin with a good confession. God is now calling you; for many of you it is even now the eleventh hour; for many of you this call may be the last."
Source: Five minutes sermons for Low Masses for every Sundays of the Year by the Priests of the Congregation of Saint Paul 1893
SS. Faustinus and Jovita, Martyrs, A.D. 121.
by VP
Posted on Saturday February 15, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
Vincenzo Foppa
(–1515)
"Two brothers, who by their zealous labours in converting many infidels to the Christian faith, drew upon themselves the fury of unbelievers. They were apprehended, exposed to wild beasts, and cast into the fire and sea. But being miraculously delivered, after many torments, they were at length beheaded, and thus finished a glorious martyrdom, in the year 121.
Pray for their constancy,
courage, and patience: and since God leads his most faithful servants
through so difficult ways, ought you not to offer yourself with patience
to go through those difficulties which he appoints for you? What are
all your troubles, if compared with theirs? You would willingly come at
length to the same crown; but you would have it at an easy rate. And what is this but the effect of self-love, a love of ease and quiet here, without a true sense or faith of that eternal rest that is come? And can this self-love ever bring you to the possession of Him,
who requires self-denial as an indispensable condition in all those who
pretend to follow Him? Consider then seriously to what you pretend; and
if it be to heaven, remember that patience, humility, and submission to
the will of God are the Gospel way to it. The time
for practicing these, is in provocations, persecutions, troubles
difficulties, disappointments, and distress. If in these circumstances
you regard little what God requires, but indulge your own passions, is
not this putting yourself out of the way of heaven, and neglecting those opportunities which He puts into your hands, and which, if well made use of, might be the purchase of it? Resolve now on a better method, on a method of suffering with humility and patience, as often as God shall call you to the trial. Trust in Him; and be confident that He who strengthened the martyrs will also be your helper, either in delivering you from your troubles, or giving you grace to go through them and leave it to Him to do what He knows best for you." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
Saint Valentine, Priest and Martyr
by VP
Posted on Friday February 14, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
Saint Valentine, Kneeling in Supplication. 1677, David Teniers
"He was a priest, and lived at Rome in the third age after Christ, under the Emperor Claudius II. Having employed his charity in instructing the ignorant, helping the sick, and assisting the martyrs in the persecution, he was apprehended. The emperor sent him to the prefect of Rome; who, on finding all his promises to make him renounce his faith ineffectual, commanded him to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards to be beheaded; which was executed on the 14th of February, about the year 270. Pray for all of his sacred character: they have a great charge, and require a powerful assistance of heavenly grace to be faithful in it. Pray that those, who have undertaken it, may follow the charity of this saint, and spare no pains in the discharge of their sacred duties. The corruption and ignorance of the world make their labours endless. Beg therefore for them, patience, zeal, longanimity, and perseverance; for they want all that you can ask for of this kind.The heathens had a lewd superstitious custom of boys drawing the names of girls at this time, in honour of their goddess, Februata Juno. In order to abolish this profane and dangerous practice, several zealous pastors substituted the names of saints in billets which were given on this day. St. Francis of Sales severely forbade the customs of valentines; and to abolish it, he changed it into giving papers with the names of certain
saints, to be particularly honoured, and as an encouragement to imitate
their virtues. This pious custom prevails in many religious houses; and
is to be commended. But there are great abuses in the common practices on this day, which should be condemned and abolished as unworthy of true followers of Christ. Evil is often the more dangerous, when the occasion of it
is less suspected. In this way many Christians are brought into great
snares, while they unwarily strengthen their own passions, and beginning
with the spirit, too often end in the flesh. Be charitable then to all, but familiar with none. This is the advice of the pious author of the Following of Christ; and will prove your best security." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
Prayer:
Antiphon: This Saint fought, even unto death, for the law of his God, and feared not the words of the wicked, for he was set upon a firm rock.
Let us pray: Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that we who solemnize the festival of Blessed Valentine, your martyr, may, by his intercession, be delivered from all the evils that threaten us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Don Gueranger.
#3 Acts of Adoration Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament in reparation for all the offenses committed against Him by mankind
by VP
Posted on Thursday February 13, 2025 at 12:00AM in Thursday Reparation
3. We adore Thee, O eternal Wisdom! And to repair the gross ignorance which has caused us to offend Thee, we offer up to Thee all the knowledge of those most enlightened Spirits, the Cherubim. Eternal praise and thanksgiving be to the Most Holy and Most Divine Sacrament.
O Queen of heaven and earth, hope of mankind, who adores thy Divine
Son incessantly! We entreat thee, that, since we have the honor to be of
the number of thy children, thou would interest thyself in our behalf
and make satisfaction for us, and in our name, to our Eternal Judge, by
rendering to Him the duties which we ourselves are incapable of
performing. Amen
Saint Stephen of Reiti, 6th Century ABBOT AND CONFESSOR.
by VP
Posted on Thursday February 13, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
"He was born in Italy, and having been piously educated, he resolved upon forsaking the world. For this he made choice of a desert mountain covered with woods, where, with the boughs of trees, he made a shelter against the injury of the weather, and there lived in the practice of great austerities of watching, praying, and fasting to the age of fourscore, when God called him to a better life.
If you have forsaken the world, let your life manifest the choice you have made. Retirement has many advantages, but no security. If you are not faithful to what you profess, you will meet with many temptations, and may find at last a deeper hell than others who had not such opportunities for gaining a better life. If you are in the world, walk with fear, because you are in danger. Many things will offer, seemingly innocent, which yet will take off your heart from God. If you admire what others have renounced that they might save their souls, you must either conclude them to have been rash, or that you are obliged to be very cautious how you go on. You must endeavor to separate your heart from the world: otherwise this will separate your heart from God; and how then will it ever come to the possession of him?
This saint retired into a desert, where, free from the distractions of the world, he might attend with greater application to the concerns of eternity. Lament the many dissipations of mind, to which you have voluntarily exposed yourself. Resolve to withdraw from whatever is dangerous, unprofitable, or not becoming your state. Pray for constancy amidst all unavoidable distractions: remember God and eternity in the midst of your business. Learn to be a hermit in the world, by taking off your affections from all that you possess. You are one day to leave all; practice something of this every day. It is a difficult work, and is best done by degrees. Pray for all those who have the charge of governing a community, that they may follow the example of this saint." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, Confessors
by VP
Posted on Wednesday February 12, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
The Holy Founders of the Servites
"While wars were raging all over Italy and its cities mourned the blood that brothers shed in conflict with brothers, the Virgin appeared and showed, as she always does, fresh tokens of a mother's love. She summons seven who waited on her in prayer, bidding them be faithful to her command of recalling in sorrowful contemplation the sufferings that Jesus bore and that she in person shared at the foot of her Son's cross. Immediately they obey their Lady's summons. They turn their backs on their magnificent palaces and wealth and, leaving the city of Florence far behind, hide themselves in the caves of Monte Senario. Here they inflict cruel punishments on themselves, atoning for the sins of guilty men; here by their prayers and tears they turn aside from men God's anger. The sorrowful Mother encourages them and tells them to wear a habit of mourning. Thus the dutiful beginnings of the holy company prosper, and men come to hear of marvellous happenings. A vine puts forth green leaves in winter, thus telling the glory of these men. Unweaned children call them by name as Mary's own 'Servi'.
*The fathers so spend their time of retirement from the world that they seem to Peter of Verona in a vision to be like seven pure white lilies, well pleasing to the Virgin in heaven and dazzling in their beauty. And now, under the impulse of divine love, they hasten from city to city and make their way over all the countryside with the intention of implanting in all souls the sorrows of their Mother. By this means the preaching of the holy men avails to tame senseless anger; it unites savage hearts that are blind to peace, uplifts the sorrowing and calls sinners back to repentance. When at length death comes ot them, the Virgin accompanies her "Servi", brings them to heaven and adorns them, blessed now for ever, with jewelled garlands. May they hear our sighs as we are gathered together to pray, regard us as we make our laborious efforts and always favour our prayers with their kindly help".
St. Meletius, Patriarch of Antioch, Confessor, A.D. 381.
by VP
Posted on Wednesday February 12, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
St. Meletius of Antioch
"THIS saint was of one of the best families of Lesser Armenia. In his youth he made fasting and mortification his choice, in the midst of every thing that could flatter his senses. His conduct was uniform and irreproachable; and the sweetness and affability of his temper gained him the confidence and esteem both of the Catholics and Arians. He was promoted to the see of Antioch in the time of the Emperor Constantius; when, by the tumults of the Arians, the Eastern Church was in confusion. The Arians however, prevailed with the emperor to banish him into Lesser Armenia. The Emperor Julian having allowed the banished bishops to go back to their churches, St. Meletius returned to Antioch about the the end of the year 362; but the generous freedom with which he opposed idolatry, provoked that emperor to banish him a second time. But Jovian soon after succeeding that unhappy prince, St. Meletius returned to Antioch. The next emperor, Valens, banished him a third time; but he was restored a third time by his successor, the Emperor Gratian.
He governed his flock with remarkable exemplarity, and the opinion of his sanctity among his people was very great. He submitted to the orders of Providence with wonderful resignation, and at length died at Constantinople, being called there to the first general Council assembled in that city, in the year 881.
Give thanks for the zeal and virtue of the primitive bishops. It was by them that Christianity was preserved; and you owe it to their sufferings that you are now a Christian. Pray for the pastors of the Church. Good pastors are a great blessing, and bad ones are as great a judgment. It is the sins of the people that draw this upon them: see that you have no part in provoking these public scourges. Imitate the holy life of St. Meletius. Though continually opposed and persecuted, by his great meekness and patience he had converted the various trials he had gone through into occasions of virtue, and had exceedingly endeared himself to all who had the happiness of his acquaintance." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
Prayer for Holiness in Priests
Grant, O Lord, that every hand laid upon
Thee at the altar may be a friendly hand, whose touch is tender and
consoling as Josephʼs was; That the lips which form so many sacred words
may never be profaned by frivolous or unworthy speech;That priests may
guard, even in the noisy streets of the city, the impress of their noble
functions, the bright token that they have but lately come down from
Thy holy mountain; And in their garments the fragrance of the altar,
that everyone may find them living memorials of Thee, accessible to all,
yet more than other men.
Grant that they may contract from the
Mass of today a hunger and thirst for the Mass of the morrow, that the
sacred anticipation be their last thought at night and Thy tender
summons their first awareness in the morning;That Thy priests, filled
with Thee and Thy good gifts may give largely to the rest of men who
look to Thee. Amen
Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes
by VP
Posted on Tuesday February 11, 2025 at 12:00AM in Prayers
Be thou blessed, O most pure Virgin, who
didst deign to appear in the grotto of Lourdes as many as eighteen
times, resplendent with light, sweetness, and beauty, and to say to the
humble and simple child who contemplated thee in ecstasy, " I am the
Immaculate Conception!" be thou blessed for the extraordinary favors
which thou dost unceasingly scatter around this place.
By thy
maternal heart, O Mary, and by the glory which the holy Church has
rendered thee, we conjure thee to pray for the Sovereign Pontiff and for
Father [ name ] and to realize the hopes of peace which the
proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception excited in the
breasts of the faithful. Amen.
Source: St. Josephʼs Manual ( Rev. James Fitton, 1877)
Father Price's Daily Prayer
O Mother Immaculate, Patron of America, who, through little Bernadette, bade us pray and work for the conversion of the countless souls now perishing. I offer all the prayers, actions, and sufferings of this day and every day of my life for their conversion, and I beg of thee to bless my resolution to do what I can throughout my life to bring about their salvation.
St. Bernadette, Pray for Father Price.
Imprimatur: Most Rev. Vincent S. Waters, D.D. May 2 1949
