Prayer for Vocations

The Curé d'Ars Prayer Group has a page with a Vocations Prayer through the intercession of St. John Vianney:

A Prayer for Vocations
Through the intercession of St. John Vianney

O God our Father, You promised "I will appoint shepherds for My sheep who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble: and none shall be missing." (Jer. 23:4-5). Hear the prayers of Your flock. Through the intercession of Your beloved priest, Saint John Vianney, we beg You to call to the sacramental priesthood generous men who will desire nothing more than to serve You in imitation of Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, our High Priest.

And after You call them, we pray that You sustain the doubtful, console the discouraged, and strengthen the weak as they start the long and demanding preparation for the priesthood.

Mary, Mother of priests, and example of faithful, humble, and joyful acceptance of God's will, help all those who are called to the priesthood to open their ears and hearts to the gentle call of the Holy Spirit.

Who Is A Priest?

Ignatius Insight has reprinted an article Who Is A Priest? by Fr. Benedict Ashley, O.P. At quick reading, seems to be thorough and yet concise at the same time.

To preach well is to...

Insight Scoop posted an article about a book by Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., Why Preach: Encountering Christ in God's Word. The article stresses that a preachers task is speaking of the vocation of all men. They quote Pope Benedict, "The aim of preaching is to tell man who is and what he must do to be himself. Its intention is to disclose to him the truth about himself, that is, what he can base his life on and what he can die for."

Logos Bible Software for Catholics

Logos Software has released software for Catholic users. See their Logos Bible Software Blog. For more information, check out their Product Guide - Catholic Resources page, too.

I have used their software in the past (on PC's) while in seminary. It was easy to use and had great sources for Scripture studies. They recently released a Mac Version of the software platform. As I have and use a Mac, I have not used the Mac version, and am looking at purchasing in the future (but which version?).

Feast of Corpus Christi

The feast of Corpus Christi allows us the time to remember the importance of the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist. Because we formally celebrate the Institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday, a day marked by not only the gift of the Eucharist and the example of love in Jesus' washing of feet, but a day mired in betrayal and denial, the Church gives us this day to remember. In some parts of the world, it is still celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, but in our country, we celebrate it this weekend.

As Pope John Paul II stated, every Mass is a cosmic event, that we gather with the angels and saints of all time and places. Vatican II's document Lumen Gentium, states that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian lives. It is a foretaste of the eternal banquet of the Lord, and therefore also the impetus to live our lives in such a way that we can be there! Every Eucharistic encounter is a call to holiness. We hear Christ calling us, leading us as He did the saints who have gone before us.

Eucharist and Vocations

Just a thought from Ecclesia de Eucharistia:

¶ 31. If the Eucharist is the centre and summit of the Church's life, it is likewise the centre and summit of priestly ministry. For this reason, with a heart filled with gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ, I repeat that the Eucharist “is the principal and central raison d'être of the sacrament of priesthood, which effectively came into being at the moment of the institution of the Eucharist”.

Priests are engaged in a wide variety of pastoral activities. If we also consider the social and cultural conditions of the modern world it is easy to understand how priests face the very real risk of losing their focus amid such a great number of different tasks. The Second Vatican Council saw in pastoral charity the bond which gives unity to the priest's life and work. This, the Council adds, “flows mainly from the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which is therefore the centre and root of the whole priestly life”. We can understand, then, how important it is for the spiritual life of the priest, as well as for the good of the Church and the world, that priests follow the Council's recommendation to celebrate the Eucharist daily: “for even if the faithful are unable to be present, it is an act of Christ and the Church”. In this way priests will be able to counteract the daily tensions which lead to a lack of focus and they will find in the Eucharistic Sacrifice – the true centre of their lives and ministry – the spiritual strength needed to deal with their different pastoral responsibilities. Their daily activity will thus become truly Eucharistic.

The centrality of the Eucharist in the life and ministry of priests is the basis of its centrality in the pastoral promotion of priestly vocations. It is in the Eucharist that prayer for vocations is most closely united to the prayer of Christ the Eternal High Priest. At the same time the diligence of priests in carrying out their Eucharistic ministry, together with the conscious, active and fruitful participation of the faithful in the Eucharist, provides young men with a powerful example and incentive for responding generously to God's call. Often it is the example of a priest's fervent pastoral charity which the Lord uses to sow and to bring to fruition in a young man's heart the seed of a priestly calling.

Sequence for Corpus Christi

For our prayer, I offer you the Sequence for Corpus Christi, written by St. Thomas Aquinas.

Sion, lift thy voice and sing;
Praise thy Savior and thy King;
Praise with hymns thy Shepherd true:
Dare thy most to praise Him well;
For He doth all praise excel;
None can ever reach His due.
Special theme of praise is thine,
That true living Bread divine,
That life-giving flesh adored,
Which the brethren twelve received,
As most faithfully believed,
At the Supper of the Lord.

Let the chant be loud and high;
Sweet and tranquil be the joy
Felt to-day in every breast;
On this festival divine
Which recounts the origin
Of the glorious Eucharist.

At this table of the King,
Our new Paschal offering
Brings to end the olden rite;
Here, for empty shadows fled,
Is reality instead;
Here, instead of darkness, light.

His own act, at supper seated,
Christ ordained to be repeated,
In His memory divine;
Wherefore now, with adoration,
We the Host of our salvation
Consecrate from bread and wine.

Hear what holy Church maintaineth,
That the bread its substance changeth
Into Flesh, the wine to Blood.
Doth it pass thy comprehending?
Faith, the law of sight transcending,
Leaps to things not understood.

Here in outward signs are hidden
Priceless things, to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things, are all we see:-
Flesh from bread, and Blood from wine;
Yet is Christ, in either sign,
All entire confessed to be.

They too who of Him partake
Sever not, nor rend, nor break,
But entire their Lord receive.
Whether one or thousands eat,
All receive the selfsame meat,
Nor the less for others leave.

Both the wicked and the good
Eat of this celestial Food;
But with ends how opposite!
Here 'tis life; and there 'tis death;
The same, yet issuing to each
In a difference infinite.

Nor a single doubt retain,
When they break the Host in twain,
But that in each part remains
What was in the whole before;
Since the simple sign alone
Suffers change in state or form,
The Signified remaining One
And the Same forevermore

Lo! upon the Altar lies,
Hidden deep from human eyes,
Angels' Bread from Paradise
Made the food of mortal man:
Children's meat to dogs denied;
In old types foresignified;
In the manna from the skies,
In Isaac, and the Paschal Lamb.

Jesu! Shepherd of the sheep!
Thy true flock in safety keep.
Living Bread! Thy life supply;
Strengthen us, or else we die;
Fill us with celestial grace:
Thou, who feedest us below!
Source of all we have or know!
Grant that with Thy Saints above,
Sitting at the Feast of Love,
We may see Thee face to face. Amen