Monstrance

“ In his eyes you are accursed and excommunicated, and have no right in the altar or in the sacrifices; you are one who comes to stain, by your sole presence, the sanctity of the awful mysteries, to seat yourself in a place where you have no right to be seated, and from whence the angel of the Lord, who watches at the gate of the temple, invisibly chases you, as he formerly chased the first sinner from that place of innocence and of sanctity which the Lord sanctified with his presence. ”

“ Again the high priest asked him, and saith unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.
63 And the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What further need have we of witnesses?
64 Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be worthy of death. ”

“ O MY sweet Saviour Jesus Christ, thou art my Sovereign Good, the Fountain of all Good, my God and my All. I most firmly believe, that for us sinners, and for our salvation, thou wast pleased to come down from heaven, to take upon thee, by the mystery of thy incarnation, our human nature, and to become one of us, that so thou mightest be our High Priest and our Victim. I most firmly believe that thou offeredst thyself upon the cross a sacrifice for us all, after having suffered man cruel torments for us ”

“ What are we thence to conclude? — that, if a sinner, we are to banish ourselves from our temples, and from the holy mysteries? God forbid! Ah! then it is, that we ought to come to this holy place in search of our deliverance; then it is, that we ought to come to solicit, at the foot of the altar, the tender mercies of the Lord, ever ready in that place to lend a favourable ear to sinners; then it is, that we ought to call in every religious aid held out to faith, to arouse in ourselves, if possible, some sentiments of piety and of repentance. ”

“ It felt the priest s voice strike against its surface when he sanctified the sacrifice ; the shuffle of the monks feet as they took their places in the choir above, the echo of their coughs, the slamming of the doors were the familiar records of its life. ”

“ The blood, which as a Priest he bears For sinners, is his own The incense of his prayers and tears Perfume the holy throne. In him my weary soul has rest, Though I am weak and vile I read my name upon his breast, And see the Father smile. ”

“ But, being what I am, I implore thee, O most holy Father, through Jesus Christ thy Son, to pour into the hearts of all thy priests, and especially those who might perchance otherwise offer thee this acceptable sacrifice coldly and without due recollectedness, the spirit of grace and of fervour that they may be enabled to celebrate thy tremendous Mystery with becoming awe and devotion. Grant to me, and to all those who are here present with me, that we may join in this most sacred action with reverence and devotion, so that we may have our portion in its fruit and effect. ”

“ Lord, I offer to thee all my sins and offences, which I have committed in thy sight, and that of thy holy angels, from the day that I was first capable of sin until this hour, upon thy propitiatory altar, that thou mayst burn and consume them all with the fire of thy charity, and mayst remove all the stains of my sins, and cleanse my conscience from all offences, and restore to me thy grace, which I have lost by sin, by fully pardoning me all, and mercifully receiving me to the kiss Of peace. ”

“ I believe thou dwellest on our altars, not alone to receive our adorations, but to listen to our petitions — to remedy our evils — to be the strength and nourishment of our souls, our powerful Helper, our Refuge, and our Sacrifice, I hope in that boundless mercy which detains thee among us poor weak sinners. I love that infinite goodness which induces thee to communicate thyself so liberally and so wonderfully to thy creatures. ”

“ My Jesus, mercy!
Night Offering to the Blessed Sacrament.
O DIVINE Jesus! lonely to-night in so many tabernacles, without visitor or worshipper, I offer Thee my poor, but loving heart. May every pulsation be a prayer of love to Thee. Thou art ever watching under the sacramental veils; in Thy love Thou never sleepest, and Thou art never weary of Thy vigil for sinners. O good Jesus, I love Thee. Thou art infinitely good, and I have displeased Thee by many sins. ”

“ Woe to the mountain that is so surrounded by mists and vapors, that the city on its top is lost to the sight of the expectant pilgrim!
If souls are committed to the priest's charge, and if he is to lead them to heaven, he must surely walk himself in the way of salvation. ”

“ For as he brings the mighty globe of day out of the darkness of night, between his claws, so for thee the Sun of Spirit has risen from the darkness of night and in the name of the living God, we hail thee Priest of Ra. ”

“ Thou art the Lamb that was slain, and hast redeemed us to God, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us to our God a kingdom. ( Apoc . v. 9, 10.) Let none, then, be excluded from that saving faith, which is the only sure road to thee; let all hear thy voice, O good Pastor of our souls, that all may follow thee; and let there be but one sheepfold and one shepherd. Permit me also, adorable Jesus, to implore thy mercy on all who, having received from thee the precious gift of faith, have suffered the light to become darkness in their hearts. ”

“ Bless God for what my heart feels, for a good conscience is better than a sacrifice. Two sermons preached in said Church, I spoke from Acts 13 chap., 41 ver.,—the power of God filled the place—some shouted, others mourned, some testified God for Christ’s sake had forgiven sin, whilst others were felled to the floor. From thence we went to Sinapuxom, spoke on Sabbath day to a large congregation from Num. 24 chap., 17 ver,—the Lord gave light, life and liberty on that portion of Scripture. Great time. The elder closed the meeting, the memory of which will be sweet in eternity. ”

“ Let our meditation be upon Divinity, that our reward may be in heaven; that when this earthky tabernacle of ours shall be dissolved, we may be received into the kingdom of glory: let the door of our hearts and souls stand open, that when our Saviour Jesus knocks, he may be received with a joyful welcome: For which fulness of goodness and glory, let it be the desire of sinners earnestly to entreat our blessed Lord and Saviour to draw us with the cables of his love to himself, and place us in the bottom of his love, where we shall be made more than conquerors thro' him that love us, Rom. ”

“ May the Lord, in mercy to my soul, save me from setting up an idol of any sort in his place; as I do by preferring even a work professedly done for him, to communion with him. How obstinate is the reluctance of the natural heart to love God! But, O my soul, be not deceived; thy chief work upon earth is, to obtain sanctification, and to walk with God. ”

“ The people cried out at this wonder, the gods have come down to us, and when the rumour reached the High Priest that the gods had come to their city, he drove out two oxen, garlanded, and would have sacrificed them in our honour, but we tore our garments, saying, we are men like yourselves and have come to preach that you should turn from vanities and false gods and worship the one true living God, who created the earth, and all the firmament. ”

“ We are the true adorers and true priests, who, praying in the spirit, in the spirit sacrifice prayer, proper and acceptable to God, which, assuredly, He has required, which He has looked forward to for Himself. This victim, devoted from the whole heart, fed on faith, tended by truth, entire in innocence, pure in chastity, garlanded with love [agape] , we ought to escort with the pomp of good works, amid psalms and hymns, unto God's altar, to obtain all things from God for us. ”

“ One thing alone bars us from this glorious communion and shuts heaven against us, and that is sin. But in the Church there is provided for repentant sinners the Absolution from Sins, the remission of sin and its penalty. When we finally die in the grace of God our soul shall enjoy eternal life, and our glorified body shall be joined to it on the great day of resurrection.
This, then, is what we are taught to believe in the Apostles' Creed. When we say this Creed with devotion and perfect faith, we honor and glorify first of all the Blessed Trinity. ”

“ Through Jesus Christ our great High Priest; in whom we are built up as living stones of a holy temple, that we might offer before you a sacrifice of praise and prayer which is holy and pleasing in your sight. ”

“ In the soul of such a priest can there be holy fear, a sense of the sanctity of God, of the account he must give for every idle word, or a love of souls, or a desire for the glory of God, or a consciousness that he is grieving the Holy Ghost? ”

“ Here is a supreme priest who believes God to be—what, in the name of God, does he believe God to be?—and discerns that all worship of God is a scenic phantasmagory of wax candles, organ blasts, Gregorian chants, mass-brayings, purple monsignori, wool-and-iron rumps, artistically spread out, to save the ignorant from worse.... ”

“ All God's lonely ones are the reflections of His pain when they attain to sanctity. And holy priests are the reflections of His Hands. Little children and saints may look into His Eyes and see their own. And repentant sinners may reflect His Feet in their tears. ”

“ The priests chant texts, and the people wait upon the worship. And we see faces-in-the-fire of the time to be, when the eyes of the poet shall rest upon the sacrifice, and shall fashion therefrom this mighty vision of God and nature, the soul and life. ”

“ May His Kingdom be established in the whole world; may He live and rule in all hearts. Blessed and praised every moment be the most holy and divine Sacrament. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us — pray that we who now adore and love Jesus here below under the veil of the sacred species, may one day have the joy to behold Him in His unveiled beauty in the realms above, and to sing His praises with the angels and the saints, and above all with you, dear Mother, in eternal tabernacles. ”

“ Of this sacrament, this sacrifice, this priest, this God, before, having been made of a woman, He entered on His mission, all sacred and mystical, angelic and miraculous appearances to our fathers, as well as their own deeds, were resemblances, in order that every creature might in a manner by its acts speak of that One destined to come, in whom should be the salvation of all that were to be restored from death. ”

“ O MOST dear and adorable Jesus! who wast crucified for the redemption of mankind, I beseech thee, by thy dreadful agony, by thy countless wounds, by the effusion of thy precious blood, by the recommendation of thy sacred soul into the hands of thy Eternal Father, and by thy ignominious death on the altar of the cross, that thou wilt graciously vouchsafe at my last hour to receive my spirit into the bosom of thy mercy. ”

“ I beseech Thee, that Thou wouldst for His sake be gracious unto me, and of Thy great mercy, forgive my temporal and eternal punishment. Guide me by Thy Holy Spirit, that I may separate myself from the great multitude of the ungodly, that I may strive after the true faith showing itself in good works; but especially that I may be patient under afflictions, fight a good fight, keep the faith and a good conscience, and finally live in Thy tabernacle forever. ”

“ Now think thou of God’s great mercy to thee, and if thou wilt accept the Christ, I will on the morrow pour upon thee the waters of baptism. Then thou canst take all the burden of thy sins to the mercy of thy Saviour. ”

“ And from the gathered thousands surged the hymn,
Some strong power choked my voice, my eyes grew dim,
I knew that old man eloquent, a priest.
There is a consecration not of man,
Nor given by laid-on hands nor acted rite,
A priesthood fixed since the firm earth began,
A dedication to the eye of Light,
And this is of them. ”

“ Messages came from convent and monastery as to how they fared, so that each might encourage the other in His way. Each strove painfully, for himself and his, to love God the more dearly, and to abide in His holy faith. ”

“ The thought that bringeth every boon proceedeth to worship first the Priest of the libation, That we may greet the Strong One with our homage. Urged, may he bring the Gods, best Sacrificer. 4. On high your way to sacrifice was made ready; the radiant flames went upward to the regions. Full in the midst of heaven the Priest is seated: strew we the sacred grass where Gods may rest them. ”

“ God has spoken to us to ask us if we realize what we are. He now asks us whether we belong to the church of this land, whether we have borne the burden of [pg 166] sin around us. Let us go to God and may He by the Holy Spirit fill our hearts with unutterable sorrow at the state of the church, and may God give us grace to mourn before Him. And when we begin to confess the sins of the church, we will begin to feel our own sins as never before. ”

“ Instead of the old passive sentiment concerning the world’s ruin,—instead of the former ardor of indignation against its ungodliness,—the apostles and the church were now inspired with a divine pity and beneficent love,—with an active and aggressive zeal for the conversion of men. ”