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Les diegrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 m. ^.f^ ^' .r-y-Tp- -y— Y— 75, ^ -y ^1^ \A K PI^IEST J> i i__i i i i_^ MASSON. (^)i i:. JGANNFD'ARCPRINjINd OFFICE IM IMPKIMA7UR: Oitawai, die 25 Mar'ii TC97. >i< J. THOMAS, Arch. d'Ottawa. MASSON,QuK. JEANNE D'AKC PKlMiXG OFFICE. Pie DEDICATION TO MOTIIKII OF THE DiVINE SHEPHERD. My q-ood and tender Mother, I offer you this little work, so that you may dcio-n to present it yourself tc your Divine Son ; for I have under- taken it solely for the glory of Oui Goqd Lord, who is himself the /r/^^?, the so/e, the sovereign Priest, May this book, with the grace of the same Jesus Christ, and your blessing, dear mother, help to make the priest honoured hood loved and respected and to promote amongst Christians a spirit of perfect submission towards our holy mother the Church. To the Reader : — As to you, dear reader, should this little book be o/ an}' benefit to your soul, I would ask you to say for me one Hail Mary. Masson, P. Q. March 25th 1897. Feast of the Annunciation of the B. V. M. A. L. M. S. PREFACE. In disclosing the plan of attack of Free Masonry and the other secret societies, against the Catholic clergy in Canada, I have no intention what- ever of saying or implying that it is the sole n^.eans n^iade use of by those societies to deprive Catholics of their faiih. On the contrary, they are fighting ns in every direction, and using weapons of every pos- sible kind, and of the most for- midable character. To name but one of these, let me mention the plan ol the neitlral or non- sectarian school, which it is sought to implant in our Catholic Province, and which has sprung up, like a deadly fungus, in the darkness of the Free Mason lodges . This system, which has been nurtur- ed and carriedout in several countries. and more particularly in the United States, has in multitudes of instances produced the fruits of spiritual death, apostasy, religfious indifferentism, li- bcr;:inism.o- I slv,l! not de.I u-ftl, ^^^>^']utstn.: huwever, lor I wish to Jiiei7te,t . Many writers have al- reKly dealt with this q„estion ,.f the '^^''^C'^^ •^•^Z^''''/. and o::iu.;-s will I .p, =""vrK:,-.d. defend -i,.- i.st eve'rv ;.s.' -•<'.U.en:drs of the Church, ofVon- ^cence and the true h'bertv of the Ch.drenofGod. Itisvun•to]oo• !orthathbmyinadeceitfuineutn^ 2 : It ,s only to he found in a com- pletesubnirssion t;, die Holy Churcli of Jesus Chns', thnt is to siy ■ ^« obedzcnce to l..c (ns/w,^s in union u,ifA uJr^A '■ ^"V' '''''^•^ ^^e ^hall h ive \UA . ^ ''\'}'"- P°'^''^'°" "<= ''^ enti- tled to hold n-)t only in His own sanctuary and in the hearts of His people l.ut also in the bosom of every funily. at the foundation of every one of our institutions, and at the head of ,11 civil society il v/ith \^ish to i)ject iveal- of the . I .': ni rv :is- f Cofl- )f the look iitrnl- com- uirch ' : z'/i with hive enti- own His 1 of 1 of and CHAPTER I, How FrEE-MaSmnkY is STFilMXO T(^ DES- TROY The Ci-iRiSTiAxN Ri.lic.;o\' IN Canada. 77/ (^ kings of the cartJi Jini'c r:scn uf^ ana the princes have taken eon use/ ti>:;et/Uf a'^ai//st the Lor J aiui a ■■i.'nst ILs Christ. Let IIS break t/ielr ho^n/s asunder and cast aiuay'har yoke from 'is. V . II. r. 3:. Beloved Brethren, the secret societies have fornit-d ar^iinst vout reh'edon a truly diabolical plot, which they are preparino- to carry out, slowly, Imt surely. ''Xcver^f it is true, " shall the oa'es of hell prevail against the Church of y esus Christ' but it is, nevertheless, equally true that, while the Church must survive in spite of every kind of persecution, the Faith mav be ereatlv weaken-cd, and even disappear almost utterly, in a countrv, unless iiianlv, intelli- gent and persistent efforts be made against the machinations of certain societies. There are in vervtruthsoci- etiVsofthfskind, callpd eties, and they are to b Canad secret found soci- a, whose true and only obj in cWrr. \ "^^ ^'^'''^^ "" earth, in or- er to substitute for it-anc! I wo °Jd 'ather the Pop,. U,rr,scU declared f. soci.fi . L *^^^ execrable LL. me tell yon how. C-, I •'"" """f P^'''^^P« than some Cathohcs. _ the work of the nri^sf " the world, and why o D^ ?' Lord est-ibl.-shed the^ pries hood They know th., without the pHes'" t would beornoavaiUoufhat ;.C suffered and died for us, juJ as.t is of no avail to tho.se p.gan t SOCI- ind in >bject, ay I)( le the in or- v'ould ' holy •ed it dder oiibt •able ids ? 'ec t- 3m e •iest 'ine od. est, hat ust ^an nations amongst whom no mis- sionaries have as yet been able to penetrate. And, in truth, without liie priest there could he no preach- i ig", no sacraments, no public wor- • hip offered to God. How much of '•ur relig-ion would then be left ? . clothing whatever. What induce- »nent would you have to attend the Church, when there would be no Mass, when Our dear Lord woulJ consequently no long-er be present in the holy eucharist, and when you could no lonoer listen to the word of God from the lips of one speak- ino- with authority ? You would say to yourselves : We may just :is wel.* s.ay at home! And if you confined your reliq-ion to the saying of a few prayers at home, do you fancy that )ou would long persevere in doing it. when there would be no one tc tell you of the necessity uf prayer. anc, when, on the other hand, rou- tine, nco'i ence, weariness, human respect ruu! the efforts of the evil one. would, da\- by day, combine to divert you from the practice ? Then, who woud instruct vour children in theii reli.u-ion ? Who would teach them tc tove our good God and keep Hi' Commandments ; to obey and res- pect their parents ; to shun evil and avoid bid company ; to refrain from the awful sin of cursinir and the hideous vice of drunkenness, and other sins of every description ? And when the children 'dvanced in years what kind of Christians would they be, and in what way would they dis- charge the duty of worshipping God ? ^ ^ If there were no priest there would be no Sacrifice, no sacraments, nc more preachino- of the word of God no church, no prayers. Men would foiget God and think only of this worlvi ; thev wt)iild no lon'jft^r n nienv ber that the\" have a soul to save, av] would crivc all their attention (othe body. We are made up of a soul in the likeness of God, and a body in common with the animals. Set the soul aside ai.d all \\\\X. re- mains is the l")east, the animal Hence the saying of the venenil le Cure d'Ars : " Leave a [)rirish for twent\' y^ears v/ithout a priest, and \ou will find m.cn worshijjping tlie beasts of the held." All tliis is well known tc the evil-minded men who are plot- ting to destroy Christianity in Can- ada. But, — vou may ask, — whc wants to take away the priests from our parishes ? Are they not perfect- tly free to preach, to administer the sacraments, and to offer |)ublic wor- ship to God in behalf of all the faith- to C-rnHf'"f '"" ''""'^'"^ '° "« '" this J-anada of ours ; may we ever eniov t and may the secret societies never e powerful enough todo here wh:,, ^ ey have done in other countries. mit — I say It again — they have wh; h\t, P'^'Sressivc destruction wh. Ji they are systen,atically carry Jig out. They cannot bannish oit Uthol.c pnests from their parishes, but they say : " We must managj hmgs so that the priest may be in the pansh as though he were nc longer in it, that is to say, stripped ?ni.s influence" This infernal plo, • iic instruction ! Every kind of weapon is used by them in this work of h ite foul insinuation, lies, cakimny and coarse insult. They leaven all sc defdy with politics that, with the help of party spirit, which blinds so many 14 Df our Catholics, they manage to deceive large numbers of our people. The drift ^md object of this infernal conspiracy must now be manifest to you all, my dear friends. It is preci- sely what we see in other countries, where Catholics have blindly allowed the secret societies to carry ^n their machinations against them. Once the people form the habit of judging and criticizing the words and acts of their priest,'they will lose all confidence in him Looking upon him as one devoted to interests an- tagonistic to theirs, or simply as a man working for his hire, they will pay but little attention to his instruc- tions. The word of God will no longer reach their hearts, from which con- fidence and, of course, grace, are shut out. They will soon become indif- ferent, in like manner, as regards religious practices, and will confine ige to ►eople. ifernal fest to preci- n tries, ilindly carry them, ibit of ivords 11 lose upon s an- as a Y will 5truc- )nger con- :shut indif- yards nfine 15 themselves to the leading obliga- tory duties, and will in the end avail themselves of the most trifling cir- cumstance, or put forward a disagree- ment with their parish priest, as an excuse for abandoning every duty of religion, and absenting themselves thenceforward from church r.nd presbytery alike. The church will be deserted, and the priest being n(^ longer li':tened to, will be as thouqh he were no longer in the parish. That is precisely what has happened in France, in Italy, in Belnrium and in Spain,— countries which are nevertheless undeniably Catholic. Things have not come to that in Canada as yet, God be thanked ; but we are on the way to it. See the change which has taken place within a few years ; how Tightly the priests are spoken of in the news- papers and in conversTdon ; vJth ■ vvhat recklessness people cri ici' e misrepresent and contemn the word' ot the bishops, who are nevertheless offering to the ariniirar.ion of the world an ex^nnple of iinit\' in do ■- trine and in action not to'be found o-.itside of the Catholic Church. Cuholics <,f Cm ;(1 1, voin- bishons •■■■'< your pru;sLs are bei;vr rre ;ted "■ith Oi)en and nn lis-iiised c->nteinot }-.)ur b:sho:)s and priests of whr'^n ><)ii^ are so jus.ly proud, v.-ho Irivc mxie your c .un.ry .^reatand povver- lul. who hive preserved for you \our f uth, your morals, by every species of sacrifice,— who have ever defended your interests and vour n;.;Mts. even under every circuais- tance of peril to themselves; your bishops and priests, who Inve not only watched over the interests of your souls and striven ; w/th wore I. ^ h el ess ^f the: 1 doj- lound 1. t: ;tftl Irivc )\ver- you :very ever vour .i;ns- ves ; who Dver iven 17 to lead them to heaven, with unfail- ing- devotedness, but labour, moreo- ver, for your material welfare by pro- moting public instruction in your parishes and helping on the progress and development of agriculture ! Is there one single useful or valuable institution in our country for which we are not, at least in some degree, indebted to the efforts of our bishops and priests ? Well, my brethren, a band of public malefactors, calling thernselves waiters, journalists or public speakers, have taken it in hand to vilify and degrade that clergy, the glory and the pride of our country. ! Day by day they are insulted in the newpap'-t-s, and their right to deal with politkal questions aftecting religion is denied ; their salu- tary influence amongst the people is being undermined,and a host of Catholics, blind to the snare which i8 is set tor them, do not hesitate to repeat and reecho these columnious attacks upon those whom they should unflinchingly defend. ! How can you account for this ex- traordinary conduct on the part of so many Catholics ? Alas ! it is sim- ply because they have lost the true conception of the dignity of the priesthood. They see through an atmosphere saturated with calum- nies and falsehood, and they do not recognize the mission of the priest on earth, or the powers with which God has clothed him. Brethren, your hearts are good and your faith^ is still great. 1 am quite sure that if you can only be shown the priest as he really is, you will continue to love him and respect him, and you will burn with holy In^ dignation against those who' are attacking your clergy and thereby ate to mious they IS ex- art of sim- t true f the h an ilum- not )riest rhich land quite 1 own will pect are reby 19 ■>trivinorto rob you of your reliq-ion and your holy Faith. In order lo explain to you what ihe priest is, and to speak to } ou in a manner befittingthe subject, my l.'ps would need to be purified with a burnino^ coal, as the angel purified t'lose of the prophet. Let me, there- fore, make use of the words of the venerable J. B.M. Vianney who died in 1859. What I shall quote to you is t^iken from his funlliar instructions given, day by day, to the vast num bor of pilgrims who swirmed from al' parts of France and of the world, tc gather from his lips the pearls of wis- dom and the blessings, conveyed ir the humble vehicle of his simple lan- guage. You will find therein as it were a prophecy of the condition of things I have attempted to describe. ^^^^^■^3^a£i * VEN. J. B. VIANNEY' CURE D'ARS. ■*•«#■■ CHAPITRE II. An iNSTiiLiTiox BY Venkrahle Cur# D'ArS on THt PRIKST. *' My Children, we have now come to the Sacrament of Holv orders. It IS a sacrament which would seem not to affect any one amongst you and which, nevertheless, "affects every human l)eincr. This sacra- ment lifts man up to God. What is the priest ? A man who holds the place of God, a man clothed with all the power of God. '* Go," say? Our Divine Lord to the priest, 'As my Father hath sent me, I send you All p(»wer hath been q-jven me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and teach all nations. Ht who hears you heirs me ; he whc des;)!ses you despises me." " When the priest foroives our sins, he c!oe> not sa\' : God for<'iv^es 22 you. He says ; I absolve thee. At the consecration, he does not say : This is the body of the Lord He says : '' This is my body." **Saint Bernard tells us that every thing has come to us through Mary, and we can also say that everything has come to us through the priest • yes every happiness,^ every grace every heavenly gift." ''If we had not the Sacrament of holy orders how could we have our dear Lord ? Who has placed Him there m that Tabernacle ? It was the priest. Who received your soul on Its entrance into this life? The priest. Who nourishes it in order to Rive It strength for its pilgrimage ? 1 he priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, by washincr it ni ^J'^^l^}/''']^'^ the blood of Jesus Christ .M he Priest, the ever ready 1 nest. And if the death of sin strike thee. es not Lord. every Mary, ^thing riesf : ^race, int oi e our Him was • soul The ler to ag-e ? it to no- it [esus eady trike 23 down that soul, who will restore it life ? Again it is the priest. I defy you to call to mind a single one of God's benefits without finding asso- ciated with it the intervention of His priest." '' If you were to confess your sins to the Blessed Virgin or to an angel, could they absolve you ? No. Can they give you the body and blood of Our Lord ? No. The Bless- ed Virgin cannot cause her divine Son to descend into the host. A le- gion of angels, were they here with you now, could not absolve you from your sins. But the simplest and humblest priest of the church can do it ; he can say to you : "Go in peace ; I forgive thee. "Oh great is the dfanitv of the priest ! " Not until we enter heaven shall we fullv understand the nnV«;f 24 Did we understand him and appre- date him in this life, we should die, not of fear, but of love " ** God's other gifts would avail us nothing- without the priest. What ivould be the use of a house filled mth gold, if you had no one to Dpen the door ? " ** The priest has the key to God's l:reasures : it is he who opens the door ; he is God's steward, the ad- ministrator of His treasures and y"oods." '* Without the priest the death and passion of Our Lord would be of no avail to us. Look at the poor pagan savages : what beneht have they derived from the deith of Christ ? Alas, they cannot share in the bless- ings of redemption so long as they are deprived of the ministrations of the priest, whose function it is to apply the vii. .e of the Precious BI'^)od " ippre- d die, 'ail us What filled le to God's s the s ad- and hand of no •agan they irist ? )less- diey ns of is to zious 25 •' The priest is not a priest for himself ; he does not absolve hiiDs elf, he does not administer the sacra- ments to hiir.self. He does not exist for himself, but for you ! " *' Next to God Himself, the priest is everything- Leave a parish for iwenty years without a priest, and }'ou will see the people worshipping the beasts of the field." " If you had no priest here, vou would say to yourselves : Whnt is the use of coming to this Churci ? There is no mass, Our Lord is n) longer here, we can pray ouite. ':vz well at home." *' When men want to destrcy religion, ihey begin by an attack on the pnest, because where there is no priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no sacr:fice there is no rehg- 26 <( When the bell calls you to the church, if you were asked : Where are you going ? You might well answer : I am going to nourish my soul. If some one were to point to the holy tabernacle and ask : What is that little golden door ? Tell him : It is the larder of my soul.'" " Who keeps the key ? Who provides the food ? Who prepares the feast ? Who attends at the table } It is the priest — And what is the f:3od ? It is the adorable body and the precious Ijlood of Our Lord.. O my God, my God, how dearly iiast thou loved us ! " ** See the power of the priest ! By one word from his lips, he chan^-es 3 piece of bread into a God ! A greater feat than the creation of a world." " If I were to meet a priest and an angel, I would salute the [.tiest bfore salutin<>" the aii^r-h The ano-el is a n 27 friend of God, but the priest holds the place of God Saint Theresa used to kiss the ground where a priest had passed. When you see a priest, say tc yourselves : That is he who made me a child of God and opened heaven " to me by holy baptism, who pur- ** ified me after my sin and gives me *' the food of my soul " At the sight of a church steeple you might say : " What is there in " that temple ? —The body of Our *' Lord. How does it ccme to be ** there ?- Because a priest has said '* mis-: at its altar", Wh-t a joy it was for the apostles after the resurrection of Our Lord, to see the Mas:.er they had loved so so much ! The priest must feel the same joy, on beholding Our Lord, whom he holds in his hands Greit value is attached to objects 28 .vhich have been laid in the porrin- l^r of the Blessed Virgin and the ^hild Jesus at Loretto ; but what of :he hands of the priest, which have miched the adorable flesh of Jesus ::hrist, which have been dipped into ;he chalice that contained His pre- :ious Blood, and the ciborium that :ontained His body ? Are not they jomethino- still more precious ! The priesthood is the embodi- nent of the love of the Heart of Je- sus. When you see the priest, think 3f Our Lord Jesus Christ. Suc/i is thelangicace of the saintly Cure dArs, in relation to the priest. \ I orrin- d the lat of have Jesus i into pre- that they • • • • bodi- ,fje- :hink intly i I CHAPTER III. Duties of the faithful towards the PRIEST. What more need I say, my deai iriend, after what you h. ve just read? Would it be possible to inculcate niore foi-cibly the respect and obe- dience we owe to our priests ; the gratitude we owe to God first, for ;he institution of the priesthood, md towards the priest whose mis- sion on earth,- a continuation of that of Jesus Christ - is one wholly oi Charity, of mercy and of pardon ? Who, after reading those pages, can lelp loving and respecting the priest, or avoid forming a resolution tc obey him, in order to obey Jesus Christ himself, whom he represents ? Which of you would venture to show 1 • Ciisrespect towards a priest, now 30 that you know that to despise a priest IS to despise fesus Christ Himself,— to despise God ? But some one may say : I would g-ladly show respect for the priests il it were not that some of them have their faults, and that ^ I know what you mean, mv deat Jriend, you probably would like,~and »t would well become the diVnity of the priesthood,~that (iod should have taken angels from heaven and made priests of them ? How little ^•ou know of the goodness of God tow- ards you ! If our good God were to give you one of His heavenly spirits for parish priest, you would be unable to fix your eyes upon him, for our bodily eyes are too weak to look upon the glory even of the very least of the heavenly spirits. You would st^nnd trembling and speechless before him jpise a Christ would riests ii 1 have y deal e,~and h'gnity should ^n and le you i tovv- 'e you parish to fix )odiIy m the 3f the sta nd ^him. 31 Our Divine Lord J. C. himself, was enabled to accomplish His mission on earth and preach to men, only by concealing His divinity and even by appearing in the garb of a sinner. But let us suppose that the angel priest were to hide his glory, and show himself ever under a veil, ^nd then expound to you the word of God, as for instance the text : ''Bring forth worthy fridts of penanced (St. Luke, III, 8.). You would soon say to him : " It is quite easy for you " to talk to us about penance and " mortification, for you have never ** had the misfortune of committing a " f'uilt and you do not know how dif- " ficult it is to recover oneself. You ** have no body,and you cannot know " how painful it is to mortify it. You " are not weighed down with the con- " sequences of original sin, and you " can not form an idea of the laborious 32 " and constant efforts we hive to ma- " ke in order to stem the tide of our '* evil natnre.Why has not God given ** us for priests men like ourselves, '' having- as we have, the flesh tc ** mortify, sins to expiate, inclinations " to be restrained, occasions to be ** avoided, a crown to be won by pen- " ance, sacrifice and perseverance, — " men who would accomplish the sal- " yation of their own souls by iabor- " ing to save ours ! We should see " them at work, and the force of their " example and their exhortations " combined,would bring us over. We *' should then feel less restraint in go- " ing to confession, for they would '* \mderstand our infirmities better ** and would know how to pity our '* weakness." That is what you would undoubtedly say. and that is precisely wh tGod has done,out of lovefor you. The glor)- of God would have been to ma- of our 1 given selves, lesh tc lations to be y pen- nce, — he sal- i a bor- ic! see if their ations T. We in go- would better tv our would cisely r^'ou. been 33 more strikingly manifest In the eyes of men, and the dignity of the Sacra- ments would have sutfered less had the priesthood been confided to the angels ; but just as, in instituting the Holy Eucharist, Our dear Lord set aside His glory and consulted only His love for us, exposing Himself to the indifference and coldness of Christians, to the outrages of the impious and to ever recurring acts of irreverence, in order to remain in our midst and unite Himself to us by Holy Communion, — so in institut ing the priesthood, Our Lord look- ed solely to promoting our greatei good, to rendering it more easy foi us to save our souls, and all this because of the mighty love of Our God for his poor, insignificant, little, feeble and sinful creature. Hence it was that He gave us for our priest a man who fights the sam^^ battles as 34 ourselves, who aspires to the same reward, who is for us a true fellow soldier on the field of battle of this life and ever ready to give usahelp- inor hand. Was not the venerable Cur^ d'Ars perfectly riirht, then, when he said that "The priesthood is the embodi- ment of the love of the Heart of Jesus;" and when he exclaimed, in speakino- of the priest : "My God I my God ! how dearly Thou hast loved us!" Another reason is this, that God permits the priesthood to be entrusted to men who have their own faults, in order that we may more clearly see that the value and force of their ministerial acts is not deriv- ed from their personal holiness, how great soever it may be, but that it Hows from the merits of fesus Christ, m whose name those same acts are accomplished. You must always se^ e same fellow of this ahelp- i d'Ars le said nbodi- eart of ned, in ^ God I t loved 5, that to be irown more force deriv- 3, how hat it Christ, ts are ^s se^ 35 Our Lord Jesus Christ through the Priest, as through a crystal, though the crystal may at times be some- what clouded or obscured In addition to respect, gratitude and obedience, there are also two other duties which you owe to your priest. One of these duties is to furnish to the priest, who is charged with the care of your souls, the things he needs for the support of his life. He provides for the life of > our souls and you should provide for his bodily needs That is merely a duty ol strict justice, and each year when you contribute to the support of your clergy, yoy do what is not simply an act of generosity, but a duty from which you cannot be exempted, except in case of real poverty, just as you cannot be exempted from paving- vour debts or nrnvidino- fr od and clothing for } o ir family. God Himself has willed that it should be so, and He dictated this law, that " The priest shall live by the altar T The system of Tythes existed under the old law, and Christ came, '' not to destroy the law, but to accomplish it." He made His holy mother and St Joseph submit to that law. When He was presented in the temple Mary made in His Ix^half the offering requir- ed by the IVIosaic law. He Himsell when preaching His Gospel, paid the tribute to Caesar and a fortiori, con- tributed to the Temple what every son of Abraham had to contribute year by year, filled with zeal as He was for His Father s houje. Is it not simple justice that the priest, who has left his own family, made a long and difficult course of study and given up the hope of any lucrative position in the world in order to devote J, God )uld be ^ that altar r [ under i, '' not mplish er and When 1 Mary requir- limsell aid the 2, con- every Lribute as He it not t, who a long and :rative levote 37 himself exclusively to the service ol souls, placing- himself at their dis- posal at any hour of the day or night, and often risking his life in order to attend at the bed side of the dy- ing ; is it not simple justice and noth- ing more, that he should be provided with the means of procuring the ne- cessaries of life, and relieved from anxiety as to his daily brend, by those whose spiritual needs he so generously supplies at the cost of his own labour and sweat ? And if, through your generosity, he should receive more than is strictly neces- sary, is he not the father of the poor ; do not the widow and the orphan, as a matter of course, make the priest's house their first and surest refuge ? In very truth does he not himself, in most cases, forestall the appeal of the needy and the afflic- ted ? 38 I feel that it is needless for me to dwell longer on this point, for your sense of justice and your o-^nerous hearts naturally lead you to the dis- charge of this duty of religion. It IS not, perhaps, the sinie as regards another duty about which I have to speak to you, for many Christians do not seem to know of Its existence. I me:m die duty ol praying for your priest Yes, mv tnends, you should prnv for vmrr priests ; for they are ^•our spiritual lathers, the fathers of )our souls, to which they have given the only true life -the hfe of grace,— by baptism and the other sacraments. If tl;p fourth Commandment obliges you to help your earthly father and mother, by your prayers, with how much greater reason are vou not bound to pray for the priest who is your father in the supernatural life ? r me to )r your nerous he dis- i. me as ^hich I many low of ity oi s, my your iri 1 11 'il jIs, ro y true ptism f the you • and how 1 not ho is life ? A holy, enlightened, devoted and pious priest is the greatest gift that God can bestow on a parish Now God is generous with His gifts, but he wants us to ask for them. He Himself has taught us to say, each and every day : '*Give us this day our daily bread'' in order that we may receive from His bounty the food we require for the support oi our corporal life. With much greater reason still should we ask Him for the priceless gift of a holy priest. God*s gifts are given in proportion to what w^e ask o\ Him and to the Faiih and perseverance with which we ask it. When few prayers are offered up for God's priests, He grants them, q-en- erally, but ordinary graces, and re- serves His choice graces, grace.s which produce great saints, for pe riods when the people, being better instructed, honour their priests and 40 pour forth abundant en in their behalf. prayers to heav- Our Lord Jesus Christ was the first to give us the example of pray- mg for the priest. During His hid- den life at Nazareth, He prayed un- ceasingly for the Church He came to establish, and for the pastors who ^ere to govern it Before selectino- His apostles, He spent the night in prayer ; and when He conferred on ^t. Peter the tide of head of the ^hole Church, He told him that He :»ad prayed for him. Lasdy He gives JS His Command to prav for the wriest, when He says to us'- " Pray therefore, to the Master of 'thehar- v^est that he send workmen to his Harvest" (St, Math. ix,38). This example and this precept of the Lord, the Church has ever understood and put in practice. The iposiles did not lay hands on those 4.1 3 heav- as the r pray- is hid- ed un- ' came rs who acting ght in "ed on 3f the at He gives >r the Pray, ehar- o his ecept ever The ihose whom thev associ ited in their minis- try, until after they had long prayed and fasted ; and to this custom of the apostles we owe the establish- ment of the Emher days, during which the people are cdled upon to offer up their acts of mortiiicition and their pr vers in l^elvilf of all who are to be c j'v.-- nv d in t'^.e ordi- nations, so that thr. Dl-hopr, iirL\' consecrate none hut wordr; su In- jects, and that the persons orcl lined may become fiifhful ministers at God's altar. We read in the Acts of the Apo;;- tles that when St. i\:ter was cast into prison for tlie F;iitli, the wliole Church prayed for him. In the epis- tles which St. l^aul wrote to the faithful of the churches, he frequent- ly urges them to pray for him. A moment's rejection on theheavy responsibility which devolves upon 42 the priest, and on the difficulties he meets in his holy ministry, will easily convince you that it is a great work of chnrity to pray for the priest. Thus the priest must render an account to God of all he shall have done, or ne.crlecied to do for each soul confid- ed to his care. The judgment to be Lmdergone by a priest at death will be far more severe than that of an Drdmary Christian, precisely because of the wonderful powers God puts in his hinds and the special graces He pours out upon him. That is the reason also why God will not allow the faithful to take it upon themsel- ves to judge, criticise, blame and censure their priests : this is reserv- ed to the bishops and to the Pope in this world and to God Himself. And should the faithful at any time have serious complaints to formulate (which God forbid ! ) against their Ities he I easily Lt work t. Thus Dunt to ne, or :onfid- t to be th will t of an ecause d puts gfraces is the allow smsel- s and eserv- Pope mself. ' time lulate their 43 priest, they should, instead of talkino- about the matter right and left, after having prayed for him, inform their bishop, who, believe me, is far more anxious than you yourselves can possibly be, to see that all his priests should faith- fully discharge their duties. Far from acting thus wisely, many Catholics constantly impede the work of the priest by their com- plaints and recriminations, - in most cases unjust, - and prevent him from doing for the good of souls all that his zeal in their behalf prompts him to do. Would it not be wiser to give to your pastor the assistance of your prayers, so that God may render his ministry fruitful for the greater good of the parish and particularly of your own soul ? And if you think you notice in your priest a fault which is an obstacle to the cause of religion, 44 in place of pointino- it out to your neighbour and injunnq- the good name of your priest, - which is a far mjre serious matter than defamation as regards a neighbour not invested with the sacred character of the priesthood - prav to God to make him conscious of his fauh rmd to crive him the grace to amend. Imitate^the chiritahle conduct of the two good Sons of No'ih.-Sem and (aohet who earned !)y thfir fih'al piety the bless- ing of God for themselves and their children; while Ch im their brother, for having derided his father, was pronounced accursed with his whole race What answer could you make, niy Brother, if, on the judgment day' God were to hold vou to account for that such and such a one was nol converted, or that such and such a subject of scandal was not removed from the parish? You, no doubt fancy it (( a li n your 90 od > a far \ition tested f the make te the good : who iless- their )Lher, was /hole lake. (lay. :ount s not ich a oved ancy 45 yoii might say : "Lut, Lord, I was not '* invested with the care of souls ; it . ** was priest's b'isiness to see *' to that!" D'lto'ir heavenly Father would reply : "Yes. most certainly, *' the priest should hive warned the ** sinner and removed thescandil; 'Mit it w IS your c;iroiiir ; ind vour *' insu'H)rdmation, that prevented " hi.", senr.ons and remonstrances *• from l.c.ring fruit". I ask you ag'iin, wh It answer could you make to such an accusation ? And must you not then acknowledge the full justice of the sentence of condem- nation God would then pronounce against you, — that is to say the malediction pron^unjt^d against Cham ? Strive, therefore, hencefor- ward to merit the l^lessing bestowed on Sem and Japhet. by your obe- dience and respect for your priesi and by faitfully praying for him. 46 In order to confirm you in these grood resolves, I will set before vou the complaint and the formal coun- sels which Our Lord Himself addres- sed to a holy soul (Marie Lataste) whom^ He favored at times with ex- traordinary communications ; " My daughter/' He said, "pray nuch, pray for my priests ; the people do " not pray for them as much as they " should. The faithful are prone to " forget that certain day. are ap- •* pointed by my Church for prayino- " for the graces required by those " who are to be initiated into the " priesthood. The faithful forget that " It IS their bounden dutv to pray ''for their priests, who 'are their .! l^\r^'? ^^^ ^'^^^ o^ salvation. 1 he faithful forget that it is their " duty to pray for their priests, who I* give them the life of grace in bap- " tism, life and the sustenance of it (( ii «( 1 these re you I coun- ddres- ataste) ith ex- "My much, pie do s they 3ne to •e ap- •aying- those to the ;t that pray their ation. their , who bap- :e of 47 « a <( it i( n <« « <( shall ^ holy be full 'ather- every ; keep 'er to alk in before nd all se foi their rm tc iXIII. 55 ^. May the Lord preserve him nnd give him life ; may He render him happy on earth, and save him from the violence of his enne Prayer. . Almighty and eternal God, have pity on thy servant Leo, our Pontifi and ot Thy goodness lead him in the way of etenn! salvation, so that by 1 hy grace, he may desire what- soever pleaseth Thee and accom- plish It with all his strength. Amen, Prayer for the Bishop. O God, who art the Pastor and Leader of all the faithful, look with an eye of pity upon Thy Servant whom Thou hast placed over this diocese as its Pastor ; grant him, we beseech Thee to benefit by word and exan.ple those who are committed to n.s cure, so that he may obtain eternal life together with the flock entrusted to him. Through Jesus — i.^, v.. vjr j^om. /-Linen. 56 Prnyer f r 'Id frirst ofCcd. O Holy Ghost. God of li^ht, of wisdom, of strength and of piety pour forth abundantly Thy precious '^liis into the hearts of all Thy priests, for their sanctification and ours. Amen. Prayer for pries ?;] 7 aid ReligiDus VoOatlOl S. O Mary, good and tender mother who didst at will press to thv heart the mfant Jesus and cover him with maternal kisses, do thou obtain for Holy church an increase of eccle- siastical and religious vocations • and watch over the children who shall be c iiled, as thou didst watch over the infancy of Jesus. Amen. lit, of piety, Vicious Thy \ and IS )ther, lieart with n for ccle- and Lllbe : the