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From time to time, I present anew some of the prayers that I composed for the Spiritual Mothers of Priests and for all, men and women alike, who pray, suffer, and offer themselves for the sanctification of priests. Here are three of these prayers:

A Morning Offering

Most merciful Father,
I offer Thee the prayers, works,
joys, and sufferings of this day
by placing them in the holy and venerable hands of Jesus, the Eternal High Priest,
and by saying, as He did upon entering the world,
"Behold, I come to do Thy will" (Hebrews 10:9).

For the sake of all His priests,
and in particular for the priests
entrusted to my intercession,
I entreat Thy beloved Son to unite my offering
to the Sacrifice of the Cross,
renewed upon the altars of Thy Church
from the rising of the sun to its setting (Malachy 1:11).

Holy Father,
look upon these men chosen by Thy Son
to show forth His death until He comes (1 Cor 11:26);
keep them from the Evil One (John 17:15)
and sanctify them in the truth (John 17:17).

Bind them by a most tender love
to the Virgin Mary, their Mother
that, by her intercession,
they may be overshadowed by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35)
in every act of their sacred ministry;
thus may their priesthood reveal
the Face of Jesus and the merciful love of His Heart,
for the fruitfulness of His spouse, the Church.
and the praise of Thy glory. Amen.

Prayer for Priests

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who hast commanded
that the men whom Thou hast called and set apart
for the service of Thy holy altars,
should themselves be holy:
grant such holiness to your priests
that in them Thy Father may take delight,
and Thy Bride, the Church, find consolation.

Send the promised Paraclete upon them
to keep them firm in their faith
in the midst of an unbelieving world;
to keep them ardent in their love
among those that love Thee not;
to keep them pure amidst the impure;
and to keep them Thine
amidst those who are as yet not Thine
--but whom Thou, O gentle Shepherd,
didst come to seek and to save.

Through the intercession of our most gracious Lady and Queen,
Thy Mother, Blessed Mary Ever-Virgin,
give them grace so to serve Thee
among all the changes and chances of this passing world
that, at the hour of their death, they may be ready
to enter in with Thee, O Eternal High Priest,
to the sanctuary not made by human hands,
where Thou livest for ever
to make intercession for us,
and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost,
one God, world without end.
Amen.

Prayer for Vocations

Lord Jesus Christ,
Who callest to Thy service whomsoever Thou wilt,
let the light of Thy Face and the tenderness of Thy Heart
rest upon the young men of our own parishes and families.
Grant that those whom Thou hast chosen from among us
may hear Thy invitation and respond to Thy call
with generosity and courage.
For our part, we are resolved
to welcome and support priestly vocations in our midst
with gratitude, humility, and joy.
We promise to pray tirelessly
for those whom Thou hast set apart to preach Thy Word,
to offer Thy Sacrifice, and to nourish, heal, and comfort our souls.
Confident that Thou hast already heard our prayer,
we entrust the future priests among us
to the Immaculate Heart of Thy Virgin Mother
that, for each one, she may be a guiding star in the night
and, day by day, a perpetual help.
Amen.

A group of the Spiritual Mothers of Priests of the Diocese of Tulsa gathered in the oratory of the monastery this morning at 10:00 to pray a scriptural rosary on the Mysteries of Our Lord's Eternal Priesthood. They offered their prayer for all priests and, in a special way, interceded for our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in this moment of assault from below.

The Mysteries of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest:
A Rosary for Priests

First Mystery: The Incarnation

1. Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Eternal High Priest, we recall that mystery by which the Word entered thy virginal womb, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, to make it the first sanctuary of His priesthood on earth, and to offer Himself therein as a sacrificial Victim to the Eternal Father.

Mother of Priests and their Advocate, we offer the prayers of this mystery, imploring thee to obtain for every priest the grace of a deeper identification with Jesus in His obedience and self-offering to the Father.

Second Mystery: The Presentation in the Temple

2. Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Eternal High Priest, we recall the prophecy of Simeon that a sword of sorrow would pierce thy soul, which prophecy was fulfilled on Calvary. The Infant, already offered to the God of Israel in thy arms, was to become the Victim raised high on the cross, the Host lifted to the Father in every Mass by the hands of the priest, and the immolated Lamb in the glory of heaven and in the tabernacles of the Church on earth.

Mother of Priests and their Advocate, we offer the prayers of this mystery, imploring thee to obtain for every priest the grace of a spotless chastity so that, in the joy that springs from purity of heart, he might follow the Lamb wheresover He goeth.

Third Mystery: The Cenacle

3. Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Eternal High Priest, we recall thy Son's institution of the Priesthood and of the Most Holy Eucharist in the Cenacle on the night before He suffered. There His sacrifice was consummated in mystery; the next day it would be consummated in His Blood.

Mother of Priests and their Advocate, we offer the prayers of this mystery, imploring thee to obtain for every priest the grace of a holy awe in the daily celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, so that he might know by faith the blessed presence of the Lamb and, lost in wonder, adore Him truly present in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

Fourth Mystery: The Sacrifice on Calvary

4. Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Eternal High Priest, we recall the Sacrifice in His Blood, offered from the altar of the Cross on Calvary. With thee, we want to receive the outpouring of the Spirit from His mouth; with thee we want to gaze upon His pierced side; with thee we want to intercede for all priests, but especially for the weakest and most wounded among them.

Mother of Priests and their Advocate, we offer the prayers of this mystery, imploring thee to obtain for every priest the grace of a tender and filial relationship with thee, that in the valley of the shadow of death, thou wouldst be to them a fountain of life; that in bitterness, thou wouldst be their sweetness; and that in hours of despair, thou wouldst be their hope.

Fifth Mystery: The Ascension

5. Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Eternal High Priest, we recall the glorious Ascension of thy Son into the sanctuary of heaven where He stands forever before the Father, displaying His radiant wounds, and interceding for us.

Mother of Priests and their Advocate, we offer the prayers of this mystery, begging thee to obtain from the Eternal Father an abundance of priestly vocations from the rising of the sun to its setting and, in particular, for this diocese, that the earth may be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and that His Sacrifice may be offered in every place by men of holy life, ablaze with the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Hail, Holy Queen.

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

O God, by Whose will, the Blessed Virgin Mary
became the Mother of Thy Son, the Eternal High Priest,
and was associated most intimately to Him in the Work of Redemption,
grant that by pondering with her the mysteries of His Priesthood,
we may, through her who is our Mother in the order of grace,
so contribute to the sanctification of Thy priests,
that they more worthily represent Jesus Christ
the Head, Shepherd, and Spouse of His Church,
who is Lord forever and ever.
R. Amen.

I sometimes wonder if those of you who keep watch before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus for the sake of His priests, really grasp the significance of your adoration. Allow me on this Lenten First Friday of March to suggest something of what you are doing, and of what Our Lord is doing through you, when you persevere in prayer close to the tabernacle or in the radiance of the monstrance containing His adorable Body and Blood.

A Divine Work

You are participating in a divine work, in a work of grace. You are before Our Lord's Eucharistic Face as an empty vessel to be filled with the power and sweetness of the Holy Spirit, so that souls might drink of His Love and, drinking, know that His Love is sweeter than any earthly delight.

Intercession

You are before Our Lord's Eucharistic Face as an intercessor in whose soul the Holy Spirit is sighing with ineffable groanings, and obtaining from the Father, through Christ, the Eternal High Priest, all that the Father desires to give His priests in this world and in the next.

Reparation

You are a reparator opening yourself to receive the love that so many others ignore, refuse, or treat with indifference, coldness, and disdain. By offering yourself to the Lord Jesus in an adoration of reparation, you console His Eucharistic Heart, which burns with love and so desires to fill souls with His tender mercy.

Friendship

When you are before HIs Eucharistic Face, you are the privileged friend of His Heart, keeping Him company in His loneliness and allowing Him to share with you His sorrows, His grieving over sin, and His designs for a priesthood made pure and radiant with holiness.

Victimhood

When you are before Our Lord's Eucharistic Face, you are with Him a victim of love, handed over and bound to remain at your place before the altar with no desires or plans other than to love, to adore, to make reparation, and to represent all priests in a prayer that simple, and confident, and life-changing.

The Work of Christ the Priest

When you are in adoration before His Eucharistic Face, you are are not idle; you are working in a way far more efficacious than any human undertaking can be. This is your work and it is Christ's work in you. This is a work that many will criticize and not understand. You are before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus in a divinely active collaboration with Him, who from the Sacrament of His Love, continues His priestly mediation before the Father on behalf of poor sinners.

Never Doubt

Never doubt of the value of your hours of adoration. It is this that Our Lord is asking you to do, and He will draw from your presence in the sanctuary a great good and a superabundance of graces for His priests.

Last Saturday, I spoke at a Lenten day of recollection for the women of Saint Peter's Parish in Tulsa. One of the ladies in attendance remarked that the chaplet for priests, which I had presented over a year ago during some conferences of formation for the Spiritual Mothers of Priests, had become an integral part of her daily prayer life. Here it is, for the benefit of the readers of Vultus Christi. Like most chaplets or repetitive prayers, it is meant to be prayed quietly and gently as a way of "turning into prayer" (oratio), the Word of God received (lectio), and meditated (meditatio). This sort of prayer can, by the grace of God, lead one to a simple abiding in adoration in the presence of God (contemplatio).

This chaplet of reparation and intercession is meant to be prayed on an ordinary five decade rosary.

Incline (+) unto my aid, O God; O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Alleluia. (After Septuagesima: Praise be to Thee, O Lord, King of eternal glory.)

On the Our Father beads:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee
the Precious Blood of Thy Beloved Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lamb without blemish or spot (1 Peter 1:19)
in reparation for my sins
and for the sins of all Thy priests.

On the Hail Mary beads:

By Thy Precious Blood, O Jesus, purify and sanctify Thy priests.

In place of the Glory be to the Father:

O Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named (Ephesians 3:14), have mercy on all Thy priests, and wash them in the Blood of the Lamb.

A Resolution

I apologize to you, dear readers, for my absence from Vultus Christi over the past few weeks. The task of settling into the new house and the duties of hospitality that, almost immediately, presented themselves, made it difficult to find time to write daily. One of my Lenten resolutions is to be more faithful to writing on Vultus Christi and this in obedience, not only to the Holy Father's desire that priests make good use of the apostolic opportunities offered by the internet, but also in obedience to my own bishop, who believes it important that I continue writing daily.

Visitors from Florida

The petite chronique of the last two months includes the visit of Father Jordi, Lourdes, and Tessie from Miami, Florida, as well as that of Mary from Iowa. Father Jordi and Lourdes, founders of the Community of Love Crucified in Miami, met with the Spiritual Mothers of Priests of the Diocese of Tulsa and also addressed priests of the diocese of Tulsa on January 14th. Tessie and Mary offered support in prayer. Father Jordi stayed here at the monastery, while Tulsa's Spiritual Mothers of Priests, Sheila and Kate, offered hospitality to the ladies. Heartfelt thanks to all.

January Day of Recollection for Priests

The January Day of Recollection for the Priests of the Diocese of Tulsa was abundantly blessed. Father Jordi's message, and the challenging conference given by Lourdes, touched many priestly hearts.

Retreatants

Shortly thereafter, Father Rick Jones of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri arrived to spend several days in prayer, and on February 2nd, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, a young Nebraskan, who graduated in 2009 from the University of Tulsa, began an extended period of observership in order to discern a vocation to this particular expression of Benedictine-Eucharistic life.

NAC Seminarian Sean Donovan, currently serving a pastoral year at Tulsa's Church of the Madalene, shared our life for a full week of retreat. Immediately after Sean's retreat, Father Gerard Dewan of the Diocese of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan arrived from Canada to begin his retreat.

February Day of Recollection for Priests

Last, but by no means least, we welcomed Father Basil Cole, O.P., of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., to address the priests of the Diocese of Tulsa for their monthly Day of Recollection on February 18th. Father Basil is the author of The Hidden Enemies of the Priesthood, The Contributions of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Father's stay was all too brief. Apart from his brilliant conferences, I especially enjoyed his contributions in choir, at table, and at recreation.

Et Haec Tua Dona

During all this time of comings and goings, Spiritual Mothers of Priests of the Diocese of Tulsa supplied us with a splendid variety of tasty casseroles, breads, salads, and soups. Thank you to each one. May the King of glory make us all partakers of the heavenly table.

Lenten Horarium

Some readers and friends asked what the Lenten Horarium is at 1132 East 21st Street in Tulsa. Here it is. You are welcome to join us for prayer.

4:45 a.m. Rise
5:15 Matins, Angelus

Lectio Divina

7:30 Lauds
Chapter

9:30 Tierce and Holy Mass
Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

12:30 p.m. Sext, Rosary, Angelus
1:00 Dinner / Kitchen duties
2:00 Rest

3:00 None

5:00 Vespers
Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

6:45 Supper / Kitchen duties
7:45 Compline Reading
8:00 Compline, Angelus