The Science of the Saints

St. Silvester

2010-09-03T06:41:00.001-07:00

“Hence St. Silvester ordained that for ecclesiastics the days of the week should be called Feriae, or vacant or free days; he says 'It is everyday that the priest, free from earthly occupations, should occupy himself entirely with God.'” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 46)

St. Ambrose

2010-09-02T07:03:00.001-07:00

“For according to St. Ambrose, the minister of the altar belongs not to himself, but to God.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 44)

St. Peter Damian + St. Ambrose

2010-09-01T10:17:00.001-07:00

“In the book of Leviticus the Lord says to His priests: I have separated you from the other people, that you should be Mine. Mark the words that you should be Mine; that you may be employed in My praises, devoted to My service, and to My love.” “The co-operators and dispensers of my sacraments,” says St. Peter Damian. “Mine,” says St. Ambrose, “that you may be the guides and the rulers of the flock of Christ. (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 43)

St. Ambrose

2010-08-31T13:53:00.001-07:00

“He made them [priests],” says St. Ambrose, “the vicars of His love.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 42)

St. Bernard

2010-08-30T06:27:00.001-07:00

“But how, I ask, does it happen that the saints, who live only for God, resist their ordination through a sense of their unworthiness, and that some run blindly to the priesthood,and rest not until they attain it by lawful or unlawful means? 'Ah, unhappy men, says St. Bernard, to be registered among the priests of God shall be for them the same as to be enrolled on the catalog of the damned.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 40-41)

St. Basil

2010-08-28T06:37:00.003-07:00

“Hence, to try the obedience of one of his monks, St. Basil commanded him to ask in public the Order of priesthood. His compliance was regarded as an act of heroic obedience, because by his obedience in asking to be ordained priest he, as it were, declared himself to be a man filled with the spirit of pride.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 40)

St. Francis

2010-08-28T06:37:00.001-07:00

“It is known to all, that St. Francis remained a deacon, and refused to ascend to the priesthood, because he learned by revelation, that the soul of a priest should be as pure as the water that was shown to him to a crystal vessel.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 40)

St. Ephrem + St. Mark + St. Ammonius

2010-08-28T06:36:00.001-07:00

“To avoid being ordained, St. Ephrem feigned madness. St. Mark cut off his thumb. St. Ammonius cut off his ears and nose, and because the people insisted on his ordination, he threatened to cut out his tongue, and thus they ceased to molest him.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 40)

St. Gregory

2010-08-26T18:33:00.001-07:00

“St. Gregory, even after it was made manifest by miracles that God wished him to be a priest, concealed himself under the garb of a merchant, in order to prevent his ordination.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 40)

St. Ambrose

2010-08-26T18:31:00.001-07:00

“St. Ambrose, as he himself attests, resisted for a long time before he consented to be ordained.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 39-40)

St. Cyprian + St. Fulgentius + St. Athanasius

2010-08-26T18:29:00.001-07:00

“In his life of St. Cyprian, Paul the Deacon states that when the saint heard that his bishop intended to ordain him priest, he through humility concealed himself.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 39)

“It is related in the life of St. Fulgentius that he too fled away and hid himself.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 39)

“St. Athanasius also, as Sozomen relates, took flight in order to escape the priesthood.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 39)

St. Gregory Nazianzen

2010-08-25T07:06:00.001-07:00

St. Gregory Nazianzen says, “ No one rejoices when he is ordained priest.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 39)

St. Epiphanius

2010-08-25T07:05:00.001-07:00

“St. Epiphanius writes, that he found no one willing to be ordained a priest.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 39)

St. Cyril of Alexandria

2010-08-25T07:04:00.001-07:00

“I see,” said St. Cyril of Alexandria, “all the saints frightened at the sacred ministry, as an immerse charge” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 39)

St. Peter Damien

2010-08-25T06:59:00.001-07:00

“St. Peter Damien tells that his sister remained several years in Purgatory because she had listened to an evil song with some little pleasure.” (St. John Vianney, Sermons of the Cure Ars, Page: 133)

St. Francis de Sales

2010-08-24T07:31:00.001-07:00

“Most of the failures of good people in the discharge of their duty come to pass because they do not keep themselves sufficiently in the Presence of God.” (From Holy Communion to the Blessed Trinity, M.V. Bernadot, O.P. Preface Page: 5)

St. Teresa

2010-08-24T07:30:00.001-07:00

“All sins are committed,” says St. Teresa, “because we do not think of God as really present, imagine Him as very far off.” (From Holy Communion to the Blessed Trinity, M.V. Bernadot, O.P. Preface Page: 5)

St. Cyprian

2010-08-23T04:29:00.001-07:00

“St. Cyprian said, that all those that had the true spirit of God were, when compelled to take the order of priesthood, seized with fear and trembling, as if they saw an enormous weight placed on their shoulders, by which they were in danger of being crushed to death.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 37)

St. Gregory

2010-08-23T04:27:00.001-07:00

St. Gregory cries out: “Purified by the hands of the priest the elect enter the heavenly country, and alas Priests precipitate themselves into the fire of Hell.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 37)

St. Jerome

2010-08-23T04:26:00.001-07:00

“For,” says St. Jerome, “ great is the dignity of priests, but also, when they sin, great is their ruin. Let us rejoice at having been raise so high, but let us be afraid of falling.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 37)

St. Ambrose

2010-08-22T09:40:00.001-07:00

“How great, then, says St. Ambrose, the disorder to see in the same person the highest dignity and a life of scandal, a divine profession and wicked conduct!” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 36)

St. Augustine

2010-08-22T09:39:00.001-07:00

“God, said David, stood in the congregation of the gods. [Psalms 81:1] These gods are, according to St. Augustine, the priests of God.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 36)

St. Clement

2010-08-22T09:38:00.001-07:00

“St. Clement, then, had reason to say that priest is, as it were, a God on earth.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 36)

St. Gregory of Nyssa

2010-08-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

“Of all the things that are esteemed in life,” says St. Gregory of Nyssa, “there is none that should be preferred to the spirit of prayer, because prayer is the universal and efficacious means of performing all that God has regulated for the eternal predestination of His elect.” (Fr. Girardey C.SS.R., Conference Matter for Religious, Page: 77)

St. Augustine

2010-08-21T08:04:00.001-07:00

“There is none so wicked as apostate religious. Of them St. Augustine says: 'I have never seen men more perverse and more deeply corrupt than the religious who have become wicked.'” (Fr. Ferreol Girardey, Conference Matter For Religious, Pages: 32)

St. Gregory

2010-08-21T06:56:00.001-07:00

“On priests,” says St. Gregory, “it is incumbent to give the final decision, for by the right that they have received from the Lord they now remit, now retain sins.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 36)

St. Ambrose

2010-08-21T06:55:00.001-07:00

“According to St. Ambrose, a priest, in absolving a sinner, performs the very office of the Holy Ghost in the sanctification of souls.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 36)

St. Augustine

2010-08-21T06:53:00.001-07:00

“St. Augustine says, that to sanctity a sinner is a greater work than to create Heaven and Earth.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 35)

St. Augustine

2010-08-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

“Saint Augustine said in his own day: 'The origin of all heresy is the bad interpretation of the good Bible, and the rash and bold utterance therefore.'” (Bishop John Cuthbert, Lex Levitarum, Page: 129)

St. Chrysostom

2010-08-20T07:51:00.001-07:00

“When,” says St. Chrysostom, “you have seen a priest offering sacrifice, consider that the hand of Christ is invisibly extended.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 34)

St. Cyprian

2010-08-20T07:49:00.001-07:00

“According to St. Cyprian, a priest at the altar performs the office of Christ.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 34)

St. Laurence Justinaian

2010-08-20T07:48:00.001-07:00

“Let the priest,” says St. Laurence Justinaian, “approach the altar as another Christ.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 34)

St. Charles Borromeo

2010-08-19T04:24:00.001-07:00

“In the Council of Milan, St. Charles Borromeo called priests the representatives of the person of God on earth.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 34)

St. Augustine

2010-08-19T04:21:00.001-07:00

“You hold the place of Christ,” says St. Augustine to them, “ you are therefore His lieutenants.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 34)

St. Jerome

2010-08-19T04:20:00.001-07:00

“As the Word of God created Heaven and earth, so, says St. Jerome, the words of the priest create Jesus Christ. 'At a sign from God there came forth from nothing both the sublime vault of Heavens and the vast extent of the earth, but not less great is the power that manifests itself in the mysterious words of the priest.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 33)

St. Augustine

2010-08-18T11:29:00.001-07:00

“And St. Augustine has written, 'O venerable sanctity of the hands! O happy function of the priest! He that created (if I may say so) gave me the power to create Him, and He that created me without me is Himself created by me!” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 33)

St. Bernardine of Sienna

2010-08-18T11:28:00.001-07:00

“The power of the priest,” says St. Bernardine of Sienna, “is the power of the divine person. For the transubstantiation of the bread requires as much power as the creation of the world.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 33)

St. Bernard

2010-08-18T11:26:00.001-07:00

“Hence priests are called the parents of Jesus Christ. Such is the title that St. Bernard gives them, for they are the active cause by which He is made to exist really in the consecrated Host.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 32)

St. John Chrysostom

2010-08-18T04:18:00.000-07:00

“St. John Chrysostom says: The salvation of souls is far greater than fasts or vigils or the austerities of hermits; it is great than to give most generous alms to the poor.” (Saint John Eudes, The Priest His Dignity and Duties, Page 140)

St. John Chrysostom

2010-08-18T04:15:00.001-07:00

“He who is content with saving himself and neglects the salvation of others,” says St. John Chrysostom, “cannot secure his own salvation.” (Saint John Eudes, The Priest His Dignity and Duties, Page 130)

St. Augustine

2010-08-17T05:43:00.000-07:00

“O wonderful dignity of the priests,” cries out St. Augustine, “in their hands as in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, the Son of God becomes incarnate.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 32)

St Bernardine of Sienna

2010-08-17T05:35:00.001-07:00

St Bernardine of Sienna: “Holy Virgin, excuse me, for I speak not against thee: the Lord has raised the priesthood above thee.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 32)

St. Francis of Assisi

2010-08-17T05:32:00.001-07:00

“St. Francis of Assisi used to say, 'if I saw an angel and a priest I would bend my knee first to the priest and then to the angel.'” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 31)

St. Francis de Sales

2010-08-16T05:40:00.000-07:00

“After having given the order of priesthood to a holy ecclesiastic, St. Francis de Sales perceived, that in going out he stopped at the door as if to give precedence to another. Being asked by the saint why he stopped, he answered that God favored him with the visible presence of his angel guardian, who before he had received priesthood always remained at his right and preceded him, but after wards walked on his left and refused to go before him. It was in a holy contest with the angel that he stopped at the door.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 31)

St. Peter Damian

2010-08-16T05:39:00.001-07:00

“Although,” says St. Peter Damian, “angels may be present, they yet wait for the priest to exercise his power, but no one of them has the power of the keys of binding and of loosening.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 31)

St. Gregory Nazianzen

2010-08-16T05:38:00.001-07:00

“The sacerdotal dignity also surpasses the dignity of the angels, who likewise show their veneration for the priesthood, says St. Gregory Nazianzen.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 31)

St. Boleslans

2010-08-15T08:46:00.001-07:00

“The holy king St. Boleslans had so great a veneration for priests, that he would not dare to sit in their presence.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 30)

St. Martin

2010-08-15T08:45:00.001-07:00

“Being invited to the table of Emperor Maximus, St. Martin, in taking a draught, first paid a mark of respect to his chaplain, and then to the emperor.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 30)

Pope St. Marcellinus

2010-08-15T08:38:00.001-07:00

“It is a mark of a good prince,” says Pope St. Marcellinus, “to honor the priests of God.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 30)

St. John Chrysostom

2010-08-15T05:23:00.001-07:00

“Princes, says St. John Chrysostom, “have the power of binding, but they bind only bodies, while priest binds the souls.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 29)

St. Clement

2010-08-15T05:22:00.001-07:00

“Hence St. Clement, as much as the soul is more noble than the body, as much is the priesthood more excellent than royalty.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 29)

St. Ambrose

2010-08-15T05:20:00.001-07:00

“According to St. Ambrose, the dignity of the priest as far exceeds that of kings, as the value of gold surpasses that of lead.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 29)

St. Bernard

2010-08-14T06:46:00.001-07:00

“Sacerdotal dignity transcends,” says St. Bernard, “all the dignities of kings, of emperors, and of angels.”(St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 29)

St. Ambrose

2010-08-14T06:45:00.001-07:00

“Thus the sacerdotal dignity is the most noble of all the dignities in this world. 'Nothing,' says St. Ambrose, 'is more excellent in this world.'”(St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 29)

St. John Chrysostom

2010-08-14T06:43:00.003-07:00

“The Son,” says St. John Chrysostom, “has put into the hands of the priests all judgment. For having been as it were transported into Heaven, they have received this divine prerogative. If a king gave to a mortal the power to release from prison all prisoners, all would pronounce such a one happy, but priests have received from God a far greater power, since the soul is more noble than the body.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 29)

St. Prosper

2010-08-13T19:32:00.003-07:00

“They are,” says St. Prosper, the glory and the immovable columns of the Church. They are the doors of the eternal city. Through them all reach Christ. They are the vigilant guardians to whom the Lord has confided the keys of the kingdom of Heaven. They are the stewards of the King's house, to assign to each according to His good please His place in the hierarchy.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 28)

St. Ignatius Martyr

2010-08-13T19:32:00.001-07:00

“Consider the priests,” says St. Ignatius, Martyr, “as the dispensers of divine graces and the associates of God.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 28)

St. John Chrysostom

2010-08-13T19:31:00.002-07:00

St. John Chrysostom: “The Sovereign Master of the universe only follows the servant by confirming in Heaven all that the latter decides upon earth.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 28)

St. Peter Damian

2010-08-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

“The sentence of the priest precedes, and God subscribes to it, writes St. Peter Damian.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 28)

St. Maximus of Turin

2010-08-13T12:49:00.001-07:00

“Such is, says St. Maximus of Turin, this judiciary power ascribed to Peter that its decision carries with it the decision of God.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 27)

St. Laurence Justinian

2010-08-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

“Oh, how every great is their power,” says St. Laurence Justinian, speaking of priests. “A word falls from their lips and the body of Christ is there substantially formed from the matter of bread, and the Incarnate Word descended from Heaven, is found really present on the table of the altar! Never did divine goodness give such power to angels. The angels abide by the order of God, but the priests take him in their hands, distribute him to the faithful, and partake of him as food for themselves.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 27)

St. Ephrem

2010-08-13T12:06:00.001-07:00

“The priest according to St. Ephrem, treats familiarly with God.”(St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 25)

St. John Chrysostom

2010-08-09T17:53:00.001-07:00

“Besides, the priest is an ambassador of the whole world, to intercede with God and to obtain graces for all creatures.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 25)

St. Cyril of Alexandria

2010-08-05T07:36:00.001-07:00

“Divine,” says St. Cyril of Alexandria, “are the offices confided to priests.”(St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 24)

St. Mary of Oignies

2010-08-05T07:28:00.001-07:00

“Through respect for the sacerdotal dignity St. Mary of Oignies used to kiss the ground on which a priest had walked.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 24)

St. Ephrem

2010-08-05T07:25:00.000-07:00

"St. Ephrem says that the gift of the sacerdotal dignity surpasses all understanding." (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 24)

St. Denis

2010-08-02T12:47:00.001-07:00

"St. Denis calls the priest a divine man. Hence he has called the priesthood a divine dignity." (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 24)

St. John Chrysostom

2010-08-02T10:02:00.001-07:00

“That though its functions are performed on earth, the priesthood should be numbered among the things of Heaven.” (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 24)

St. Ephrem

2010-08-02T05:45:00.000-07:00

"The priesthood is an astounding miracle, great, immense, and infinite." (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 23)

St. Ignatius

2010-07-31T09:19:00.000-07:00

"The apex of dignities is the priesthood." (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 23)

St. Ambrose

2010-07-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

"The measure of honor must be measured by the strength of him that is to bear it, otherwise if the bearer is too weak the burden will weigh him down and cause his ruin." (Dignity and Duties of the Priest, St. Alphonsus, Page: 353)

St. Alphonsus

2010-07-28T10:07:00.001-07:00

“When the Lord chastises a people, the chastisement begins with the priest, for he is the cause of the sins of the people, either by his bad example, or by his negligence in attending to their sanctification.” (Dignity and Duties of the Priest, St. Alphonsus, Page: 83)

St. John of the Cross

2010-07-26T05:54:00.000-07:00

"Every little thread of attachment to this world impedes the spiritual progress of the soul." - St. John of the Cross (Dignity and Duties of the Priest, St. Alphonsus, Page: 105)

St. Thomas Aquinas

2010-07-25T17:53:00.001-07:00

The Science of the Saints

St. Silvester

St. Ambrose

St. Peter Damian + St. Ambrose

St. Ambrose

St. Bernard

St. Basil

St. Francis

St. Ephrem + St. Mark + St. Ammonius

St. Gregory

St. Ambrose

St. Cyprian + St. Fulgentius + St. Athanasius

St. Gregory Nazianzen

St. Epiphanius

St. Cyril of Alexandria

St. Peter Damien

St. Francis de Sales

St. Teresa

St. Cyprian

St. Gregory

St. Jerome

St. Ambrose

St. Augustine

St. Clement

St. Gregory of Nyssa

St. Augustine

St. Gregory

St. Ambrose

St. Augustine

St. Augustine

St. Chrysostom

St. Cyprian

St. Laurence Justinaian

St. Charles Borromeo

St. Augustine

St. Jerome

St. Augustine

St. Bernardine of Sienna

St. Bernard

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom

St. Augustine

St Bernardine of Sienna

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis de Sales

St. Peter Damian

St. Gregory Nazianzen

St. Boleslans

St. Martin

Pope St. Marcellinus

St. John Chrysostom

St. Clement

St. Ambrose

St. Bernard

St. Ambrose

St. John Chrysostom

St. Prosper

St. Ignatius Martyr

St. John Chrysostom

St. Peter Damian

St. Maximus of Turin

St. Laurence Justinian

St. Ephrem

St. John Chrysostom

St. Cyril of Alexandria

St. Mary of Oignies

St. Ephrem

St. Denis

St. John Chrysostom

St. Ephrem

St. Ignatius

St. Ambrose

St. Alphonsus

St. John of the Cross

St. Thomas Aquinas

"Every sin committed through malice is against the Holy Ghost." St. Thomas Aquinas (St. Alphonsus, Dignity and Duty of Priests, Page: 72)