By Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, OP
In The Priest in Union with Christ, the famous Thomistic theologian, Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. expounds in a disciplined manner upon the specific holiness of the priesthood and the supernatural fruitfulness of the priestly apostolate. Steeped in Sacred Scripture, St. Thomas Aquinas and other traditional Catholic sources, the author presents the classic Catholic traditions on the priestly vocation - traditions which many seminarians and young priests today may have never even heard of. He begins by explaining the character and the specific sacramental grace of Holy Orders, as well as the central sarcedotal work: to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. From this foundation he proceeds to the interior life of the priest, and then to the priest's apostolate as confessor, as preacher and as spiritual director, keeping constantly focused on the great twofold goal of every priest's life: the glory of God and the salvation of souls. For without this constant "bias toward eternity" in all he does, the priest is fundamentally off course.
Among the topics covered are:
•Union with Christ as Priest and Victim
•Different ways of offering Mass - from the sacrilegious Mass to the Mass of the Saints
The Priest's own Communion
•Examples of priests who were Saints
•The priest and Our Lady
•The Confessor as father, doctor, teacher and judge, according to St. Alphonsus Ligouri
•And much more!
Today when many priests and seminarians have been led to believe that they must personally design their own particular priesthood to meet the needs of the people, this book is of primary importance to help them re-focus their pristhood on God, on eternal life and on the saving of souls as based on the perennial teachings of the Church and as exemplified in the lives of the Saints who were themselves priests. A seminarian or priest who reads and digests The Priest in Union with Christ will realize that the priest is not meant to be merely a functionary of the Church or a fulfiller of the desires of his flock but rather that he has been called by God to the highest vocation on earth, to great personal sanctity and to a lofty, disciplined ministry to souls - all in union with the Great High Priest Himself, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
TAN Publishers, Soft cover, 263 pg |
