Life of St John Vianney.pdf - the Catholic Kingdom!
Life of St John Vianney.pdf - the Catholic Kingdom! Life of St John Vianney.pdf - the Catholic Kingdom!
"When""Make270 THE CUR^ OF ABS.to every one. This Sacrament raises man to God. Whatis a priest? A man who holds the place of God, a maninvested with all the powers of God. Go, says ourLord to the priest; as My Father hath sent Me, so sendI you. All power is given to Me in Heaven and onearth. Go, therefore; teach all nations.*the priest remits sins, he does not say, God*absolve thee ;he says, I absolve thee. At the Consecration he does not say, This is the Lord sBody. Hesays, This is My Body.St. Bernard tells us that all comes to us by Mary.We may say also that all comes to us by the priest ; yes,all happiness, all grace, every heavenly gift."If we had not the Sacrament of Order, we shouldnot have our Lord.Who placed Him here in this Tabernacle ? The priest. Who first received yoursoul on itsentrance into life ? The priest. Who nourishes it, togive it strength for its pilgrimage ? The priest. Whowill prepare it to appear before God, by washingit forthe last time in the Blood of Jesus Christ ? The priest;still the priest. And if that soul should die, who willraise it again, who will restore it to tranquillity andpeace? Once more, the priest. You cannot recall tomind a single blessing from God without beholding bythe side of that remembrance the image of the priest.your confession to the Blessed Virgin or toan angel will they absolve you ? No. Will they giveyou the Body and Blood of our Lord ? No. TheBlessed Virgin cannot cause her Divine Son to descendinto the Host. You might have two hundred angelsround you, but they could not absolve you. A priest,simple and humble as he may be, can ; he can say to you,Go in peace; I pardon you,
"""Next""THE PRIESTHOOD. 271Oh, how great, then, is the priest! The priesthood can only be understood in Heaven. If we couldunderstand itupon earth, we should die, not of fear, butof love.The other gifts of God would avail us nothing without the priest.What would be the use of a house full ofgold, if there were nobody to open the door for you ?The priest has the key of all the treasures of Heaven : itis he who opens the door ; he is the steward of the goodGod, the administrator of His goods. Without thepriest, the Death and Passion of our Lord would profitus nothing. Look at the poor heathen : of what benefitis our Lord s death to them ? Alas, they can obtain noshare in redemption so long as they have no priests toapply His Blood to their souls. The priestis not apriest for himself; he does not absolve himself, he doesnot administer the Sacraments to himself. He is not forhimself, but for you.to God, the priest is every thing. Leave aparish for twenty years without a priest, and it will worship the brutes.If M. le Missionaire and I were to go away, youwould say,What should we do in this church ? Thereis no Mass now. Our Lord is no longer there ;we mayas well pray at home. When people want to destroyreligion, they begin by attacking the priest ; for whenthere is no priest, there is no sacrifice ; and when thereisno sacrifice, there is no religion.When the bell calls you to church, if you are asked,*Whither are you going ? you may answer, I am goingto feed my soul. If they point to the Tabernacle, andask yon, What is that golden door? answer, It is thestore-house of my soul. And, Who * has the key who?
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"""Next""THE PRIESTHOOD. 271Oh, how great, <strong>the</strong>n, is <strong>the</strong> priest! The priesthood can only be understood in Heaven. If we couldunderstand itupon earth, we should die, not <strong>of</strong> fear, but<strong>of</strong> love.The o<strong>the</strong>r gifts <strong>of</strong> God would avail us nothing without <strong>the</strong> priest.What would be <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> a house full <strong>of</strong>gold, if <strong>the</strong>re were nobody to open <strong>the</strong> door for you ?The priest has <strong>the</strong> key <strong>of</strong> all <strong>the</strong> treasures <strong>of</strong> Heaven : itis he who opens <strong>the</strong> door ; he is <strong>the</strong> steward <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> goodGod, <strong>the</strong> administrator <strong>of</strong> His goods. Without <strong>the</strong>priest, <strong>the</strong> Death and Passion <strong>of</strong> our Lord would pr<strong>of</strong>itus nothing. Look at <strong>the</strong> poor hea<strong>the</strong>n : <strong>of</strong> what benefitis our Lord s death to <strong>the</strong>m ? Alas, <strong>the</strong>y can obtain noshare in redemption so long as <strong>the</strong>y have no priests toapply His Blood to <strong>the</strong>ir souls. The priestis not apriest for himself; he does not absolve himself, he doesnot administer <strong>the</strong> Sacraments to himself. He is not forhimself, but for you.to God, <strong>the</strong> priest is every thing. Leave aparish for twenty years without a priest, and it will worship <strong>the</strong> brutes.If M. le Missionaire and I were to go away, youwould say,What should we do in this church ? Thereis no Mass now. Our Lord is no longer <strong>the</strong>re ;we mayas well pray at home. When people want to destroyreligion, <strong>the</strong>y begin by attacking <strong>the</strong> priest ; for when<strong>the</strong>re is no priest, <strong>the</strong>re is no sacrifice ; and when <strong>the</strong>reisno sacrifice, <strong>the</strong>re is no religion.When <strong>the</strong> bell calls you to church, if you are asked,*Whi<strong>the</strong>r are you going ? you may answer, I am goingto feed my soul. If <strong>the</strong>y point to <strong>the</strong> Tabernacle, andask yon, What is that golden door? answer, It is <strong>the</strong>store-house <strong>of</strong> my soul. And, Who * has <strong>the</strong> key who?
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