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