Quote/s of the Day – 19 January  – The Memorial of Blessed Marcelo Spínola y Maestre, Cardinal-Priest (1835-1906)

“Speaking of Priests”

“The power of the priest,
is the power of the divine person;
for the transubstantiation of the bread
requires as much power
as the creation of the world.”

St Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)

“The worthy priest is
an angel of purity,
in mind and body,
a cherub of light and knowledge,
a seraph of love and Charity,
an apostle of zeal in work and sanctity,
a little god on earth
in power and authority,
in patience and benignity.
He is the living image of Christ in this world,
of Christ watching, praying, preaching,
catechising, working, weeping,
going from town to town,
from village to village,
suffering, agonising, sacrificing Himself
and dying for the souls
created to His image and likeness. . .
He is the light of those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death.
He is the destroyer of error,
schisms and heresies,
the converter of sinners,
the sanctifier of the just,
the strength of the weak,
the consolation of the afflicted,
the treasure of the poor.
He is the confusion of hell,
the glory of heaven,
the terror of demons,
the joy of angels,
the ruin of Satan’s kingdom,
the establishment of Christ’s empire,
the ornament of the Church. . .”

St John Eudes (1501-1680)

“What tongue, human or angelic,
may ever describe a power so immeasurable
as that exercised by the simplest priest in Mass?
Who could ever have imagined that the voice of man,
which by nature hath not the power,
even to raise a straw from the ground,
should obtain through grace,
a power so stupendous,
as to bring from Heaven to earth,
the SON of GOD?”

St Leonard of Port Maurice OFM (1676-1751)

“St Bernard tells us that everything
has come to us through Mary;
and we may also say that everything
has come to us through the priest;
yes, all happiness, all graces, all heavenly gifts.”

“The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus.
When you see a priest, think of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“If we had not the Sacrament of Orders,
we should not have Our Lord.
Who placed Him there, in that tabernacle?
It was the priest.
Who was it that received your soul,
on its entrance into life? The priest.
Who nourishes it, to give it strength
to make its pilgrimage? The priest.
Who will prepare it to appear before God,
by washing that soul, for the last time,
in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest –
always the priest.
And if that soul comes to the point of death,
who will raise it up,
who will restore it to calmness and peace?
Again the priest.
You cannot recall one single blessing from God
without finding,
side by side with this recollection,
the image of the priest.”

St Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars (1786-1859) – Patron of Priests

To be Continued ……………….