Pope Benedict XVI / St. Jean Vianney

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St. John Vianney, the great parish priest of Ars, France said in his catechism lesson on priesthood:

The priest is not a priest for himself; he does not give himself absolution; he does not administer the Sacraments to himself. He is not for himself, he is for you… When people wish to destroy religion, they begin by attacking the priest, because where there is no longer any priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no longer any sacrifice there is no religion…
What joy did the Apostles feel after the Resurrection of Our Lord, at seeing the Master whom they had loved so much! The priest must feel the same joy at seeing Our Lord whom he holds in his hands. Great value is attached to objects which have been laid in the drinking cup of the Blessed Virgin and of the Child Jesus, at Loretto. But the fingers of the priest, that have touched the adorable Flesh of Jesus Christ, that have been plunged into the chalice which contained His Blood, into the pyx where His Body has lain, are they not still more precious? The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus.

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Vatican City, May 12, 2009 / 01:47 pm (CNA).- The Vatican has announced that during the Year for Priests, which will run June 19, 2009 – June 19, 2010, the Pope Benedict will grant plenary indulgences to priests and the faithful.

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The year will begin with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “a day of priestly sanctification,” according to a press release from the Vatican.  On that day, the Holy Father “will celebrate Vespers before relics” of St. Jean Marie Vianney, patron saint of priests.

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The Year will end in St. Peter’s Square, in the presence of priests from all over the world “who will renew their faithfulness to Christ and their bonds of fraternity.”

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The means to obtain the indulgence are as follows:

(A) All truly penitent priests who, on any day, devotedly pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle, and … offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Penance, will be granted a Plenary Indulgence, which they can also apply to their deceased confreres, if in accordance with current norms they take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Priests are furthermore granted a Partial Indulgence, also applicable to deceased confreres, every time they devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them.

(B) All truly penitent Christian faithful who, in church or oratory, devotedly attend Holy Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mold them to His Heart, are granted a Plenary Indulgence, on the condition that they have expiated their sins through Sacramental Confession and prayed in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. This may be done on the opening and closing days of the Year of Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.

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The elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain a plenary indulgence if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the usual three conditions, “on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles.”

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Additionally, a partial indulgence will be offered to the faithful each time they pray five “Our Father,” “Hail Mary” and “Glory Be,” or any other duly approved prayer “in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life.”

The post Year of the Priest begins June 19th first appeared on AirMaria.com.

LITANY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
PRIEST AND VICTIM

Lord, have mercy – Lord, have mercy

Christ, have mercy – Christ, have mercy

Lord, have mercy – Lord, have mercy

Christ hear us – Christ hear us

Christ, graciously hear us – Christ, graciously hear us
God the Father of heaven, *Have mercy on us

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

God the Holy Spirit,

Holy Trinity, One God,
Jesus, Priest and Victim, *Have mercy on us

Jesus, Priest forever according to the Order of Melchizedek, Have mercy on us

Jesus, Priest Whom God sent to preach the Gospel to the poor, Have mercy on us

Jesus, Priest Who at the Last Supper institute the form of the eternal sacrifice, Have mercy on us

Jesus, Priest Who lives forever to intercede for us, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest chosen from among men, Have mercy on us

Jesus, made High Priest for men, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest of our confession of faith, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest of greater glory than Moses, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest of the true tabernacle, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest of the good things to come, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest, holy, innocent and undefiled, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest faithful and merciful, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest inflamed with zeal for God and souls, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest, perfect forever, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest, Who by Your own Blood entered the heavens, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest, who opened us a new way for us, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest, who loved us and washed us from our sins in Your Blood, Have mercy on us

Jesus, High Priest, who offered Yourself to God as an oblation and sacrificial Victim, Have mercy on us

Jesus, sacrificial Victim of God and men, Have mercy on us

Jesus, holy and immaculate sacrificial Victim, Have mercy on us

Jesus, pleasing sacrificial Victim, Have mercy on us

Jesus, peace-making sacrificial Victim, Have mercy on us

Jesus, sacrifice of propitiation and praise, Have mercy on us

Jesus, sacrificial Victim of reconciliation and peace, Have mercy on us

Jesus, sacrificial Victim in whom we have confidence and access to God, Have mercy on us

Jesus, sacrificial Victim living forever and ever, Have mercy on us

Be merciful, spare us, Jesus.
Be merciful, graciously hear us, Jesus.

From rashly entering the clergy, * deliver us, Jesus

From the sin of sacrilege,

From the spirit of incontinence,

From sordid pursuits,

From every lapse into simony,

From the unworthy administration of the Church’s treasures,

From the love of the world and its vanities,

From the unworthy celebration of Your Mysteries,

Through Your eternal priesthood,

Through the holy anointing whereby You were constituted a priest by God the Father,

Through Your priestly spirit,

Through that ministry whereby You glorified Your Father on earth,

Through the bloody immolation of Yourself made once and for all upon the Cross,

Through that same sacrifice daily renewed upon the altar,

Through that divine power which You exercise invisibly in Your priests,

That You would deign to maintain the whole priestly order in holy religion, * We beseech You, hear us

That You would deign to provide Your people with pastors after Your own heart,

That You would deign to fill them with the spirit of Your priesthood,

That the lips of Your priests might preserve true knowledge,

That You would deign to send faithful workers into Your harvest,

That You would deign to multiply the faithful dispensers of Your Mysteries,

That You would deign to grant them perseverance in the service of Your will,

That You would deign to give them gentleness in their ministry, resourcefulness in their actions, and constancy in prayer,

That through them You would deign to promote the veneration of the Blessed Sacrament everywhere,

That You would deign to receive into Your joy those who have served You well,

Lamb of God, Who take away the sin of the world, spare us, 0 Lord

Lamb of God, Who take away the sin of the world, graciously hear us, 0 Lord

Lamb of God, Who take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us, 0 Lord

Jesus, Our Priest, hear us

Jesus, Our Priest, graciously hear us

 

Let us pray:

O God, Sanctifier and Guardian of your Church, raise up in her through Your Spirit suitable and faithful dispensers of the holy Mysteries, so that by their ministry and example, the Christian people may be guided under Your protection in the path of salvation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, who, while the disciples were worshiping and fasting, ordered Saul and Barnabas to be set apart for the work to which You had called them, be present now to Your Church in prayer, and You, who know the hearts of all, indicate those whom You have chosen for ministry. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.(This prayer was prayed in Latin by Pope John Paul II as a seminarian in Cracow,
and often in later life as well.)

The post Litany of Our Lord, Priest and Victim first appeared on AirMaria.com.