I
have been crucified with Christ and I no longer
live,
but Christ lives in me.
- Galatians
2:20
Here
is a prayer by the saintly Irish Jesuit priest, Father William
Doyle.
You
will recognize straightaway his distinctive blend of manly
fervour
and
passion for the Most Holy Eucharist.
O my God,
pour out in abundance Thy spirit of sacrifice upon Thy
priests. It is both their glory and their duty to become
victims,
to be burnt up for souls,
to live without ordinary joys,
to be often the objects of distrust, injustice,
to be burnt up for souls,
to live without ordinary joys,
to be often the objects of distrust, injustice,
and
persecution.
The words they say every day at the altar,
"This is my Body, this is my Blood,"
grant them to apply to themselves:
"I am no longer myself, I am Jesus,
Jesus crucified.
I am, like the bread and wine, a substance
I am, like the bread and wine, a substance
no longer itself, but
by consecration another."
O
my God, I burn with desire for the sanctification of Thy priests.
I wish all
the priestly hands which touch Thee
were hands whose touch is gentle
and
pleasing to Thee,
that all the mouths uttering such sublime words at the
altar should never descend
to
speaking trivialities.
Let
priests in all their person stay at the level of their lofty functions,
let
every man find them simple and great, like the Holy Eucharist,
accessible to
all yet above the rest of men.
O my God, grant them to carry with them from the Mass of today,
a thirst for the Mass of tomorrow,
and grant them, ladened themselves with gifts,
to share these abundantly with their fellow men. Amen.
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