From Vultus Christi - Prayer of a Priest
[What follows is another gem from Father Mark at Vultus Christi. I thought you might want to print this and give it as a gift to your priest. It is a great reminder for us to prayer for them as well.]
"Convert
Thou me entirely, O my beloved Jesus, that I may live every moment— up to and
including the very moment of my death — with my eyes fixed on Thine adorable
Face, and with my heart hidden in Thy piercèd Heart. Make me, I pray Thee, what
Thou hast called me to be.
Let
me so love Thee and adore Thee that I may be for Thine afflicted Heart the
consoling friend for whom Thou hast waited so long. Leave me not alone, never
forsake me, so that I may never leave Thee alone, and never forsake Thee.
Fix
my vagrant heart before Thy tabernacle — before the one where Thou art least
adored and most forgotten — that I may persevere in a watch of adoration, of
reparation, and of love before Thy Eucharistic Face.
What
can I give Thee that Thou hast not given me? Give Thou, then, to me
super abundantly so that I may give back to Thee super abundantly. Give Thou me,
I beseech Thee, but a spark of Thine own blazing zeal for the glory of the
Father; let it consume me entirely as a holocaust to the praise of His glory.
Give
Thou me, I beseech Thee, a share in Thy spousal love for the Church, Thy Bride
in heaven and on earth. Like Thee, with Thee, in Thee, let me lay down my life
for her. Give Thou me, I beseech Thee, Thine own Heart’s filial love for Thine
Immaculate Mother, that I may love her as Thou wouldst have me love her; that I
might serve her with a devotion that is true, and pure, and constant.
Give
Thou me, I beseech Thee, the tender compassion with which Thou wouldst have me
care for souls, that in my care for them they may experience the solicitude of
Thy Sacred Heart.
Make
me, if possible, more Thy priest today than I have ever been before. Ratify and
confirm me in the ineffable grace of real participation in the Mystery of the
Cross where Thou art Priest and Victim. Burn more deeply into my soul the
indelible character of Thy priesthood, and, in that same fire, consume and
destroy all that dims, obstructs, or impedes its glorious radiance, so that the
light of Thy sacrifice may shine before men, and its healing power go forth
from me as it went forth from Thee, for Thou, O merciful Saviour, hast made me
Thy priest forever.
A
thousand thousand lifetimes would be too little time to thank Thee, to bless
Thee, to praise Thee for so immeasurable a gift. Give me then, when Thou
callest me to Thyself, an eternity in which to praise Thee beyond the veil
where, for the moment, Thou art hidden in the glory of the Father and in the
brightness of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
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