The Dignity of the Priest Surpasses all other Created Dignities.

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.” It transcends, says St. Bernard, "all the dignities of kings, of emperors, and of angels.” According to St. Ambrose, the dignity of the priest as far exceeds that of kings, as the value of gold surpasses that of lead. The reason is, because the power of kings extends only to temporal goods and to the bodies of men, but the power of the priest extends to spiritual goods and to the human soul. Hence, says St. Clement, "as much as the soul is more noble than the body, so much is the priesthood more excellent than royalty.” "Princes," says St. John Chrysostom, "have the power of binding, but they bind only the bodies, while the priest binds the souls."

The kings of the earth glory in honoring priests: "It is a mark of a good prince," says Pope St. Marcellinus, "to honor the priests of God.” "They willingly," says Peter de Blois, "bend their knee before the priest of God; they kiss his hands, and with bowed down head receive his benediction.” "The sacerdotal digni-ty," says St. Chrysostom, "effaces the royal dignity; hence the king inclines his head under the hand of the priest to receive his blessing.” Baronius relates that when the Empress Euse-bia sent for Leontius, Bishop of Tripoli, he said

that if she wished to see him, she should con-sent to two conditions: first, that on his arrival she should instantly descend from the throne, and bowing down her head, should ask his benediction; secondly, that he should be seat-ed on the throne, and that she should not sit upon it without his permission: he added, that unless she submitted to these conditions he should never go to the palace. Being invited to the table of the Emperor Maximus, St. Martin, in taking a draught, first paid a mark of respect to his chaplain, and then to the emperor. In the Council of Nice, the Emperor Constantine wished to sit in the last place, after all the priests, and on a seat lower than that which they occupied; he would not even sit down without their permission. The holy king St. Boleslaus had so great a veneration for priests, that he would not dare to sit in their presence.

The sacerdotal dignity also surpasses the dig-nity of the angels, who likewise show their veneration for the priesthood, says St. Grego-ry Nazianzen. All the angels in heaven cannot absolve from a single sin. The angels guardian procure for the souls committed to their care grace to have recourse to a priest that he may absolve them: "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." When St. Michael comes to

SuNday WITHIN OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS

December 30, 2018

SUNDAY WITHIN THE

OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS Volume 6 Issue 42

Our Lady of the Rosary

15 Pepper Street Monroe CT 06468

Fr. Adan Rodriguez (Pastor) frrodriguez@rosarychapel.net

(203) 261-8290 Emergencies: (203) 268-9200

www.rosarychapel.net

HOLY MASS Sundays: 7:00 & 10:00 a.m. Weekdays: 8:00 a.m.

CONFESSIONS Sundays

6:40—6:55 a.m. 9:15—9:55 a.m.

Weekdays 7:40—7:55 a.m.

and by appointment

HOLY ROSARY Sundays: After 7:00 a.m. Mass and 9:40 a.m.

First Saturdays: after 7:00 a.m. Mass

BLESSED AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

FOR ALL MY PARISHIONERS

FROM MY HEART, SINCERELY, FR. ADAN

RODRIGUEZ.

O u r L a d y o f t h e R o s a r y C h a p e l

The ordination of Fr. Santiago Richards, Dec. 12, 2018, Bishop Andres Morello presiding. Argentina

The Priest to be ordained is summoned by name to enter unto the altar of God.

The bishop gives a special blessing to the ordinand during the litany of the saints.

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY CHAPEL

MASS

INTENTIONS:

We have Mass intentions until January 17th, 2019.

We are asking you to sign up for Gregorian Masses for my

Brother Margarito Rodriguez, to be said by the new Priest,

Santiago THANK YOU. Fr. Rodriguez.

a dying Christian who invokes his aid, the holy archangel can chase away the devils, but he cannot free his client from their chains till a priest comes to absolve him. After having giv-en the order of priesthood to a holy ecclesias-tic, St. Francis de Sales perceived, that in going out he stopped at the door as if to give prece-dence to another. Being asked by the saint why he stopped, he answered that God fa-vored him with the visible presence of his an-gel guardian, who before he had received priesthood always remained at his right and preceded him, but afterwards 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. 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."

Besides, the power of the priest surpasses that of the Blessed Virgin Mary; for, although this divine Mother can pray for us, and by her prayers obtain whatever she wishes, yet she cannot absolve a Christian from even the smallest sin. "The Blessed Virgin was eminently more perfect than the apostles," says Innocent III; "it was, however, not to her, but only to the apostles, that the Lord entrusted the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” St. Bernardine of Si-enna has written: "Holy Virgin, excuse me, for I speak not against thee: the Lord has raised the priesthood above thee." The saint assigns the reason of the superiority of the priesthood over Mary; she conceived Jesus Christ only once; but by consecrating the Eucharist, the priest, as it were, conceives Him as often as he wishes, so that if the person of the Redeemer had not as yet been in the world, the priest, by pronouncing the words of consecration, would produce this great person of a Man-God. “O

wonderful dignity of the priests," cries out St. Augus-tine; "in their hands, as in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, the Son of God becomes incar-nate.” Hence priests are called the parents of Jesus Christ: such is the title that St. Ber-nard gives them, for they are the active cause by which He is made to exist really in the con-secrated Host.

Thus the priest may, in a cer-tain manner, be called the cre-ator of his Creator, since by saying the words of consecra-tion, he creates, as it were, Jesus in the sacrament, by giv-

ing Him a sacramental existence, and produces Him as a victim to be offered to the eternal Father. As in creating the world it was suffi-cient for God to have said, Let it be made, and it was created—He spoke, and they were made—so it is sufficient for the priest to say, "Hoc est corpus meum," and behold the bread is no longer bread, but the body of Jesus Christ. "The power of the priest," says St. Ber-nardine 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." And St. Augustine has written, “O ven-erable sanctity of the hands! 0 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!” 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 sub-

CATHOLIC DOCTRINE

Q. What is the Sacrament of Holy Orders?

A. It is the Sacrament by which bishops, priests, and other ministers of the Church re-ceive the power and grace to perform their sacred offices.

Q. Who can receive Holy Orders? A. Any Catholic of the male sex,

who has the necessary qualifi-cations and is chosen by a bishop.

Q. Which are the chief powers of a priest?

A. To offer the Sacrifice of the Mass and to forgive sin.

Q. Did Christ give these powers to His Apostles? A. Yes; Christ gave these pow-ers to His Apostles: a) At the Last Supper when He said: “This is My Body which is given for you. This do for a com-memoration of Me”, (St. Luke xxii. 19) b) On the day of His Resurrection, when He said: “As the Father hath sent Me I also send you… Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained” (St. John xx. 21-23) c) Before His As-cension into Heaven, when He said: “All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth. Going, therefore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have command-ed you, and behold I am with you all days even to the con-summation of the world” (St. Matt. Xxviii. 18-20).

The Apostles, therefore, were to consecrate the Bread and Wine, they were to pardon sin, they were to teach all that Jesus Christ had taught them.

Q. Why is a priest called “Father”?

A. Because he continues the work of the apostles who were spir-itual fathers of the Faithful (1 John ii. 1;Cor. Iv. 5)

The Imposition of the hands.

The bishop anoints with holy oils the hands of the priest.

M A S S S C H E D U L E

MASS TIMES AT ST. MARY THE VIRGIN

1520 Delaware St, Paulsboro, New Jersey 08066

*Mass may be cancelled in the event of inclement weather.

For information: Call Mary at 856-228-4450 or Miriam at 856-456-4232 www.stmarychapel.org

SUNDAY December 30

SUNDAY WITHIN OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS

W 7:00 am 10:00 am

Christmas Novena Missa pro Populo

MONDAY December 31

St. Silvester I, PC W 8:00 am 11:00 pm

Christmas Novena HOLY HOUR

TUESDAY JANUARY 1

CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION

W 7:00 am 10:00 am

CHRISTMAS NOVENA MASS PRO POPULO

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 2

MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS

R 8:00 am CHRISTIN DOLAN

THURSDAY JANUARY 3

OCTAVE DAY OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

W 8:00 am MICHAEL DOLAN, R.I.P

FRIDAY JANUARY 4

FIRST FRIDAY OCTAVE DAY OF HOLY INNOCENTS

R

8:00 am

JACK KENNEY

SATURDAY JANUARY 5

FIRST SATURDAY VIGIL OF EPIPHANY

W 8:00 am Special Intention, Jannin H.

SUNDAY JANUARY 6

EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD W 7:00 am

10:00 am Superior’s Intentions

Missa pro Populo

The Offering of Holy Mass in Reparation The faithful, who make an offering and have the sacrifice of the Mass said in reparation for

the insults offered by mankind to the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, may gain: A plenary indulgence under the usual conditions (Pius X, Rescript in his own hand, Nov. 15, 1907, exhib., Nov. 19, 1907).

December 30th NO MASS

January 6th 5:00 pm Fr. Rodriguez

January 13th NO MASS

January 20th 5:00 pm Fr. Rodriguez

For those wishing to have Masses said, an expected stipend of at least $20.00 must be paid at the time of the request. (more may be offered) If this is to be paid by check, make the check payable to Fr. Rodriguez or Company of Jesus and Mary

lime vault of the heavens and the vast ex-tent of the earth; but not less great is the power that manifests itself in the mysterious words of the priest.” The dignity of the priest is so great, that he even blesses Jesus Christ on the altar as a victim to be offered to the eternal Father. In the sacrifice of the Mass, writes Father Mansi, Jesus Christ is the principal offerer and victim; as minister, He blesses the priest, but as Victim, the priest blesses Him.

Taken from: The Eternal Priesthood, By Cardinal Manning

VISIT US ON THE WEB For up-to-date information, such as last-minute changes to the Mass schedule, special prayer requests, and other

breaking news, refer to our website at: www.rosarychapel.net

NOTICE TO NEWCOMERS

Founded in 1973 in the wake of the disastrous Second Vatican Council, the mission of Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel is to maintain and restore as far as possible the traditional faith, values and liturgical practice of the Roman Catholic Church, and to provide a haven of sanc-tity where men and women of good will may grow in love for God and their neighbor. Please don’t hesitate to introduce yourself and ask questions. After Mass come to the Social Hall, and join us for coffee and refreshments. We hope your visit with us is a pleasant one, and we look forward to seeing you again and welcoming you as a member of Our Lady of the Rosary. We welcome Spanish-speaking guests, and confessions are heard in Spanish and English every Sunday and by appointment with the pastor.

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY CHAPEL

ANNOUNCEMENTS WE WILL HAVE THE HOLY HOUR ON DECEMBER 31st, AT 11:00 P.M.

THE EPIPHANY PARTY: This will be after the 10:00 A.M. Mass on January 6th. All are invited to attend.

REPARATION TO THE HOLY FACE: First and second Sundays of the month will begin at 9:30 A.M. (before the Holy Rosary), and the other Sundays will begin immediately after 10:00 o’clock Mass.

CATECHISM FOR ADULTS continues this week a few minutes after the 10:00 A.M. Mass.

The newly ordained priest con-celebrates the ordination Mass with the ordaining bishop.

The blessing of a priest on his ordination day carries with it a

plenary indulgence.

The wrapping used after the anointing of the priest’s hands will be kept in reverence by his mother,

traditionally to be buried with her at her death.