|
Misc. |
"A vocation is a mystery of divine
election." (Pope John Paul II)
"[W]e are taught of God through the
instrumentality of men" (St.
John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"Give
the soul of the faithful wings with which to fly from the earth to
contemplate heavenly matters" (Pope Clement XIII, "A Quo
Die", 1758 A.D.)
"It
is most highly expedient for the salvation of souls, that they be
governed by worthy and competent parish priests." (Council of
Trent)
"Can.
219 All the Christian faithful have the right to be free from any
kind of coercion in choosing a state of life." (1983 Code of
Canon Law)
"Can.
135 §1 The power of governance is divided into legislative,
executive and judicial power." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"[T]hose
who are honoured with pontifical rank and other prelates of the
church... should [be shown] honour and reverence." (Fifth
Lateran Council)
"Adopted sons are the ministers of the only
Son. The only Son has power, adopted sons have ministry."
(St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church, c. 417 A.D.)
"For though prelates may sometimes be of
different merits, the rights of sees, nevertheless are
permanent." (Pope St. Leo I the Great, Doctor of the Church,
c. 453 A.D.)
"In
the next place, that irreverence may be avoided, each, in his own
diocese, shall forbid that any wandering or unknown priest be
allowed to celebrate mass." (Council of Trent)
"Can.
546 To be validly appointed an assistant priest (parochial vicar),
one must be in the sacred order of priesthood." (1983 Code of
Canon Law)
"It
is very important that all priests, whether diocesan or religious,
help one another always to be fellow workers in the truth."
(Second Vatican Council)
"Can.
293 A cleric who loses the clerical state cannot be enrolled among
clerics again except through a rescript of the Apostolic
See." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
150 An office which carries with it the full care of souls, for
which the exercise of the order of priesthood is required, cannot
validly be conferred upon a person who is not yet a priest."
(1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
1752 In cases of transfer, the provisions of Can. 1747 are to be
applied, always observing canonical equity and keeping in mind the
salvation of souls, which in the Church must always be the supreme
law." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
575 The evangelical counsels, based on the teaching and example of
Christ the Master, are a divine gift which the Church received
from the Lord and which by His grace it preserves always."
(1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
274 §1 Only clerics can obtain offices the exercise of which
requires the power of order or the power of ecclesiastical
governance. §2 Unless excused by a lawful impediment, clerics are
obliged to accept and faithfully fulfil the office committed to
them by their Ordinary." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"A vocation is a call that comes from God's
sovereign power and free gift.. However, such a call must find an
open path in the heart. It must enter into the depths of the
subject's thoughts, feelings and will in order to influence one's
moral behavior." (Pope John Paul II)
"Can.
2378 Major clerics who gravely neglect in their sacred ministry
the rites and ceremonies prescribed by the Church, having been
warned, and failing to reform themselves, are suspended according
to the varying gravity of the thing." (1917 Code of Canon
Law)
"Can.
370 A territorial prelature or abbacy is a certain portion of the
[Church], territorially defined, the care of which is for special
reasons entrusted to a Prelate or an Abbot, who governs it, in the
manner of a diocesan Bishop, as its proper pastor." (1983
Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
1389 §1 A person who abuses ecclesiastical power or an office, is
to be punished according to the gravity of the act or the
omission, not excluding by deprivation of the office, unless a
penalty for that abuse is already established by law or
precept." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
556 Rectors of churches are here understood to be priests to whom
is entrusted the care of some church which is neither a parochial
nor a capitular church, nor a church attached to the house of a
religious community or a society of apostolic life which holds
services in it." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Obedient
to this duty, the priest continues to do down the course of the
ages, that which Christ Himself had done, who 'in the days of His
earthly life, with a loud cry and tears, offered up prayers and
supplications...and was heard because of His reverent
submission'." (Pope Pius XII, "Menti Nostrae", 1950
A.D.)
"Can.
503 A chapter of canons, whether cathedral or collegial, is a
college of priests which performs more solemn liturgical functions
in a cathedral or collegial church. In addition, it is for the
cathedral chapter to fulfill the functions which the law or the
diocesan bishop entrusts to it." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
505 Each and every chapter, whether cathedral or collegial, is to
have its own statutes, drawn up through a legitimate capitular act
and approved by the diocesan bishop. These statutes are neither to
be changed nor abrogated except with the approval of the diocesan
bishop." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"There
will be one thing only sought (says St. Bernard) by His subjects,
one glory, one pleasure - to make ready for the Lord a perfect
people. For this they will give everything with much exertion of
mind and body, with toil and suffering, with hunger and thirst,
with cold and nakedness." (Pope Leo XIII, "Exeunte Iam
Anno", 1888 A.D.)
"But
unfaithful servants arose, who divided Christ's flock, and handed
down the division to their successors: and you hear them say,
Those sheep are mine, what seek you with my sheep, I will not let
you come to my sheep. If we call our sheep ours, as they call them
theirs, Christ has lost His sheep." (St. Augustine, Doctor of
the Church)
"May
the enormity of the labors which it will be necessary fervently to
undertake for the glory of the Most Benign Redeemer and for the
salvation of souls not daunt you, Dearly Beloved, but may it
rather stimulate you, whose confidence is in the Divine Help,
since great works generate more robust virtues and achieve more
resplendent merits." (Pope Pius XII, "Sertum Laetitiae",
1939 A.D.)
"Can.
1503 With due regard for the prescription of Canons 621-24, it is
forbidden that private persons, whether clerics or laity, collect
[donations] for any pious or ecclesiastical institute or purpose
without the permission of the Apostolic See or of their Own
ordinary and the Ordinary of the place [where the collection
occurs], given in writing." (1917 Code of Canon Law)
"Far be it from
me to censure the
successors of the apostles, who with holy words consecrate the
Body of Christ, and who make us Christians. Having the keys of the
kingdom of heaven, they judge men to
some extent before the day of
judgement, and guard the chastity of the bride of Christ."
(St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church, c. 375 A.D.)
"[N]othing
impedes the church of God more than when unworthy prelates are
accepted for the government of churches. Therefore, in the
preferment of prelates, the Roman Pontiffs must give much
attention to the matter, especially because they will have to give
an account to God at the last judgment about those given
preferment by them to churches and monasteries." (Fifth
Lateran Council)
"Can.
283 §1 Even if clerics do not have a residential office, they
nevertheless are not to be absent from their diocese for a notable
period of time, to be determined by particular law, without at
least the presumed permission of their proper Ordinary. §2 They
are entitled, however, to a fitting and sufficient time of
vacation each year as determined by universal or particular
law." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"While
still on earth, He instructed us by precept, counsel and warning
in words that shall never pass away, and will be spirit and life
to all men of all times. Moreover He conferred a triple power on
His Apostles and their successors, to teach, to govern, to lead
men to holiness, making this power, defined by special ordinances,
rights and obligations, the fundamental law of the whole
Church." (Pope Pius XII, "Mystici Corporis
Christi", 1943 A.D.)
"Can.
292 A cleric who loses the clerical state in accordance with the
law, loses thereby the rights that are proper to the clerical
state and is no longer bound by any obligations of the clerical
state, without prejudice to can. 291. He is prohibited from
exercising the power of order, without prejudice to can. 976. He
is automatically deprived of all offices and roles and of any
delegated power." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
282 §1 Clerics are to follow a simple way of life and avoid all
things which have a semblance of vanity. §2 Goods which they
receive on the occasion of the exercise of an ecclesiastical
office, and which are over and above what is necessary for their
worthy upkeep and the fulfillment of all the duties of their
state, they may well wish to use for the good of the Church and
for charitable works." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
290 Sacred ordination once validly received never becomes invalid.
A cleric, however, loses the clerical state: 1° by a judgement of
a court or an administrative decree, declaring the ordination
invalid; 2° by the penalty of dismissal lawfully imposed; 3° by
a rescript of the Apostolic See; this rescript, however, is
granted to deacons only for grave reasons and to priests only for
the gravest of reasons." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
1274 §1 In every diocese there is to be a special fund which
collects offerings and temporal goods for the purpose of
providing, in accordance with Can. 281, for the support of the
clergy who serve the diocese, unless provision is made for them in
another way. §2 Where there is as yet no properly organized system of
social provision for the clergy, the Episcopal Conference is to
see that a fund is established which will furnish adequate social
security for them." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Is any one of Us not aroused by the words
God speaks to Us through the prophet Ezechiel: 'Son of man, I have
given you as a guide to the house of Israel: and you shall hear a
word from my mouth, and you shall proclaim to them from me. If
when I say to the wicked, you shall die the death, you do not
proclaim it to him...the wicked man shall die in his iniquity but
I shall look for his blood from your hand.'' I confess this
statement startles me and prevents me from being slothful and
fearful in executing the demands of my office." (Pope Pius
VII, "Diu Satis", 1800 A.D.)
"Through the intercession, therefore, of
the most Holy Virgin, the August Mother of the Incarnate Word
Himself, and the Queen of the Apostles, may Jesus Christ the
merciful and everlasting Shepherd of souls vouchsafe to look down
with favor on His flock, fill the clergy with the apostolic
spirit, and grant that there may be many who will strive eagerly
'to present themselves approved unto God workmen that needeth not
to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.' [2 Tim.
2:15]" (Pope Benedict XV, "Humani Generis Redemptionem",
1917 A.D.)
"Can.
2317 Those pertinaciously teaching and defending, whether publicly
or privately doctrines that have been condemned by the Apostolic
See or a General Council, but not formally defined as heretical
are prevented from the ministry of preaching the word of God and
[from the ministry] of hearing sacramental confessions and from
any office of teaching, with due regard for other penalties that a
sentence of condemnation might establish or that an Ordinary,
after a warning, concludes were necessary to repair scandal."
(1917 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
1386 § 1 Secular clerics are forbidden, without the consent of
their Ordinaries, [and likewise] religious without the permission
of their major Superiors and local Ordinaries, to edit books that
treat of profane [secular] things and to write for or supervise
newspapers, pamphlets, and periodical literature. § 2 Neither
shall laity, unless persuaded by just and reasonable cause
approved by the local Ordinary, write for newspapers, pamphlets or
periodical literature that is accustomed to attacking the Catholic
religion or good morals." (1917 Code of Canon Law)
"The
priestly life certainly requires an authentic spiritual intensity
in order to live by the Spirit; it requires a truly virile
asceticism - both interior and exterior - in one who, belonging in
a special way to Christ, has in Him and through Him 'crucified the
flesh with its passions and desires,' not hesitating to face
arduous and lengthy trials in order to do so. In this way Christ's
minister will be the better able to show to the world the fruits
of the Spirit, which are 'charity, joy, peace, patience,
benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty,
continency, chastity.'' (Pope Paul VI, 1967 A.D.)
"Those
goods which priests and bishops receive for the exercise of their
ecclesiastical office should be used for adequate support arid the
fulfillment of their office and status, excepting those governed
by particular laws. That which is in excess they should be willing
to set aside for the good of the Church or for works of charity.
Thus they are not to seek ecclesiastical office or the benefits of
it for the increase of their own family wealth. Therefore, in no
way placing their heart in treasures, they should avoid all
greediness and carefully abstain from every appearance of
business." (Second Vatican Council)
"Can.
557 §1 The rector of a church is freely appointed by the diocesan
Bishop, without prejudice to a right of election or presentation
to which someone may lawfully have claim: in which case the
diocesan Bishop has the right to confirm or to appoint the rector.
§2 Even if the church belongs to some clerical religious
institute of pontifical right, it is for the diocesan Bishop to
appoint the rector presented by the Superior. §3 The rector of a
church which is attached to a seminary or to a college governed by
clerics, is the rector of the seminary or college, unless the
diocesan Bishop has determined otherwise." (1983 Code of
Canon Law)
"[M]en
are but the instruments whom God employs for the salvation of
souls; they must, therefore, be instruments fit to be employed by
God. And how is this to be achieved? Do we imagine that God is
influenced by any inborn or acquired excellence of ours, to make
use of our help for the extension of his glory? By no means; for
it is written: God has chosen the foolish things of the world to
confound the wise, and the weak things of the world God has chosen
to confound the strong, and the humble and contemptible things of
the world God has chosen, the things that are not, in order to
bring to nought the things that are." (Pope St. Pius X,
"Haerent Animo", 1908 A.D.)
"Not
many years ago, with great satisfaction, We decreed the honors of
the altar to the Turinese priest, Giuseppe Cafasso who, as you
know, in a most difficult period, was the wise and holy spiritual
guide of not a few priests whom he helped to progress in virtue
and whose sacred ministry he rendered particularly fruitful. We
are fully confident that, through his powerful patronage, our
Divine Redeemer will raise up many priests of like sanctity who
will bring themselves and their brethren in the ministry to such a
height of perfection in their lives that the faithful, admiring
their example, will feel themselves moved spontaneously to imitate
it." (Pope Pius XII, "Menti Nostrae", 1950 A.D.)
"The
closer collaborators of the bishop are those priests who are
charged with a pastoral office or apostolic organizations of a
supra-parochial nature, whether in a certain area of the diocese
or among special groups of the faithful or with respect to a
specific kind of activity. Priests assigned by the bishop to
various works of the apostolate, whether in schools or in other
institutions or associations, contribute an exceedingly valuable
assistance. Those priests also who are engaged in supra-diocesan
works are commended to the special consideration of the bishop in
whose diocese they reside, for they perform outstanding works of
the apostolate." (Second Vatican Council)
"Venerable
brothers in the episcopacy, priest and ministers of the altar, by
way of completing and leaving a remembrance of this written
conversation with you, we should like to suggest this resolution
to you: that on the anniversary of his ordination, or on Holy
Thursday when all are united in spirit commemorating the mystery
of the institution of the priesthood, each one should renew his
total gift of himself to Christ our Lord; reviving in this way the
awareness that He has chosen you for His divine service, and
repeating at the same time, humbly and courageously, the promise
of our unswerving faithfulness to His love alone in your offering
of perfect chastity." (Pope Paul VI, 1967 A.D.)
"Can.
285 §1 Clerics are to shun completely everything that is
unbecoming to their state, in accordance with the provisions of
particular law. §2 Clerics are to avoid whatever is foreign to
their state, even when it is not unseemly. §3 Clerics are
forbidden to assume public office whenever it means sharing in the
exercise of civil power. §4 Without the permission of their
Ordinary, they may not undertake the administration of goods
belonging to lay people, or secular offices which involve the
obligation to render an account. They are forbidden to act as
surety, even concerning their own goods, without consulting their
proper Ordinary. They are not to sign promissory notes which
involve the payment of money but do not state the reasons for the
payment." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"In such retreats and recollection even one
who may have entered in sortem
Domini, not by the straight way of
a true vocation, but for earthly or less noble motives, will be
able to 'stir up the grace of God.' For he, too, is now
indissolubly bound to God and the Church, and so nothing remains
for him but to follow the advice of St. Bernard: 'If sanctity of
life did not precede, let it at least follow ... for the future
make good your ways and ambitions and make holy your ministry.'
The grace of God, and specifically that grace proper to the
sacrament of Holy Orders, will not fail to lend aid, if he
sincerely wishes to correct whatever was originally amiss in his
purpose or conduct. However it may have come about that he
undertook the obligations of the priesthood, the abiding grace of
this divine sacrament will not be wanting in power to enable him
to fulfill them." (Pope Pius XI, "Ad Catholici
Sacerdotii",
1935 A.D.)
"In
our own day, alas! it is the contrary that happens all too
frequently. Members of the clergy allow their minds to be overcome
gradually by the darkness of doubt and turn aside to worldly
pursuits; the chief reason for this is that they prefer to read a
variety of other works and newspapers, which are full of cunningly
propounded errors and corruption, rather than the divine books and
other pious literature. Be on your guard, beloved sons; do not
trust in your experience and mature years, do not be deluded by
the vain hope that you can thus better serve the general good. Do
not transgress the limits which are determined by the laws of the
Church, nor go beyond what is suggested by prudence and charity
towards oneself. Anyone who admits this poison into his soul will
rarely escape the disastrous consequences of the evil thus
introduced." (Pope St. Pius X, "Haerent Animo",
1908 A.D.)
"Among
the virtues that priests must possess for their sacred ministry
none is so important as a frame of mind and soul whereby they are
always ready to know and do the will of Him who sent them and not
their own will. The divine task that they are called by the Holy
Spirit to fulfill surpasses all human wisdom and human ability.
'God chooses the weak things of the world to confound the strong'
(I Cor. 1:27). Aware of his own weakness, the true minister of
Christ works in humility trying to do what is pleasing to God.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, he is guided by Him who desires the
salvation of all men. He understands this desire of God and
follows it in the ordinary circumstances of his everyday life.
With humble disposition he waits upon all whom God has sent him to
serve in the work assigned to him and in the multiple experiences
of his life." (Second Vatican Council)
"Bring it home to their minds, as We have
Ourselves oftentimes conveyed the warning, that matters of the
highest moment and worthy of all honor are at stake, for the
safeguarding of which every most toilsome effort should be readily
endured; and that a sublime reward is in store for the labors of a
Christian life. On the other hand, to refrain from doing battle
for Jesus Christ amounts to fighting against Him; He Himself
assures us 'He will deny before His Father in heaven those who
shall have refused to confess Him on earth.' As for Ourselves and
you all, never assuredly, so long as life lasts, shall We allow
Our authority, Our counsels, and Our solicitude to be in any wise
lacking in the conflict. Nor is it to be doubted but that especial
aid of the great God will be vouchsafed, so long as the struggle
endures, to the flock alike and to the pastors" (Pope Leo
XIII, "Sapientiae Christianae", 1890 A.D.)
"Many
constitutions have been issued in the past against the evil of
simony, but they have not been able to eradicate the disease. We
wish to attend carefully to this matter in the future according as
we are able to. We therefore declare, with the approval of this
sacred council, that persons ordained in a simoniacal fashion are
automatically suspended from exercising their orders. Simoniacal
elections, postulations, confirmations and provisions that are
henceforth made to or in respect of any churches, monasteries,
dignities, parsonages, offices or ecclesiastical benefices are
rendered null by the law itself and nobody acquires any rights
through them. Those who have been thus promoted, confirmed or
provided may not receive their fruits but are bound to restore
them as though they had received things that had been unjustly
taken. We decree, moreover, that both those who give and those who
receive money in this matter of simony automatically incur the
sentence of excommunication, even though their rank be pontifical
or cardinalatial." (Council of Constance)
"He commands that the teaching of the
Apostles should be religiously accepted and piously kept as if it
were His own - 'He who hears you hears Me, he who despises you
despises Me' (Luke x., 16). Wherefore the Apostles are ambassadors
of Christ as He is the ambassador of the Father. 'As the Father
sent Me so also I send you' (John xx., 21). Hence as the Apostles
and Disciples were bound to obey Christ, so also those whom the
Apostles taught were, by God's command, bound to obey them. And,
therefore, it was no more allowable to repudiate one iota of the
Apostles' teaching than it was to reject any point of the doctrine
of Christ Himself. Truly the voice of the Apostles, when the Holy
Ghost had come down upon them, resounded throughout the world.
Wherever they went they proclaimed themselves the ambassadors of
Christ Himself. 'By whom (Jesus Christ) we have received grace and
Apostleship for obedience to the faith in all nations for His
name' (Rom. i., 5). And God makes known their divine mission by
numerous miracles. 'But they going forth preached everywhere: the
Lord working withal, and confirming the word with signs that
followed' (Mark xvi., 20)." (Pope Leo XIII, "Satis
Cognitum", 1896 A.D.)
"A
priest exercises a twofold action: the one, which is principal,
over the true body of Christ; the other, which is secondary, over
the mystical body of Christ. The second act depends on the first,
but not conversely. Wherefore some are raised to the priesthood,
to whom the first act alone is deputed, for instance those
religious who are not empowered with the care of souls. The law is
not sought at the mouth of these, they are required only for the
celebration of the sacraments; and consequently it is enough for
them to have such knowledge as enables them to observe rightly
those things that regard the celebration of the sacraments. Others
are raised to exercise the other act which is over the mystical
body of Christ, and it is at the mouth of these that the people
seek the law; wherefore they ought to possess knowledge of the
law, not indeed to know all the difficult points of the law (for
in these they should have recourse to their superiors), but to
know what the people have to believe and fulfill in the law. To
the higher priests, namely the bishops, it belongs to know even
those points of the law which may offer some difficulty, and to
know them the more perfectly according as they are in a higher
position." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"We
praise you and we thank you, O God: all the earth adores you. We,
your ministers, with the voices of the Prophets and the chorus of
the Apostles, proclaim you as Father and Lord of life, of every
form of life which comes from you alone. We recognize you, O Most
Holy Trinity, as the birthplace and beginning of our vocation;
You, the Father, from eternity have thought of us, wanted us and
loved us; You, the Son, have chosen us and called us to share in
your unique and eternal priesthood; You, the Holy Spirit, have
filled us with your gifts and have consecrated us with your holy
anointing. You, the Lord of time and history, have placed us on
the threshold of the Third Christian Millennium, in order to be
witnesses to the salvation which you have accomplished for all
humanity. We, the Church which proclaims your glory, implore you:
let there never be lacking holy priests to serve the Gospel; let
there solemnly resound in every Cathedral and in every corner of
the world the hymn 'Veni, Creator Spiritus'. Come, O Creator
Spirit! Come to raise up new generations of young people, ready to
work in the Lord's vineyard, to spread the Kingdom of God to the
furthermost ends of the earth. And you, Mary, Mother of Christ,
who at the foot of the Cross accepted us as beloved sons with the
Apostle John, continue to watch over our vocation. To you we
entrust the years of ministry which Providence will grant us yet
to live. Be near us to guide us along the paths of the world, to
meet the men and women whom your Son redeemed with His Blood. Help
us to fulfill completely the will of Jesus, born of you for the
salvation of humanity. O Christ, you are our hope! 'In te, Domine,
speravi, non confundar in aeternum'." (Pope John Paul
II, 1996)
"Whereas
it is by divine precept enjoined on all, to whom the cure of souls
is committed, to know their own sheep; to offer [the Eucharistic]
sacrifice for them; and, by the preaching of the divine word, by
the administration of the sacraments, and by the example of all
good works, to feed them; to have a fatherly care of the poor and
of other distressed persons, and to apply themselves to all other
pastoral duties; all which (offices) cannot be rendered and
fulfilled by those who neither watch over nor are with their own
flock, but abandon it after the manner of hirelings; the sacred
and holy Synod admonishes and exhorts such, that mindful of the
divine precepts, and made a pattern of the flock, they feed and
rule in judgment and in truth. And for fear lest those things
which have been already elsewhere holily and usefully ordained,
concerning residence, under Paul III., of happy memory, may be
wrested to a meaning alien from the mind of the sacred and holy
Synod, as if by virtue of that decree it were lawful to be absent
during five continuous months; the sacred and holy Synod, adhering
to those decrees, declares, that all persons who are - under
whatsoever name and title, even though they be cardinals of the
holy Roman Church - set over any patriarchal, primatial,
metropolitan, and cathedral churches whatsoever, are obliged to
personal residence in their own church, or diocese, where they
shall be bound to discharge the office enjoined them; and may not
be absent thence, save for the causes and in the manner subjoined.
For whereas Christian charity, urgent necessity, due obedience,
and the evident utility of the Church, or of the commonwealth,
require and demand that some at times be absent, this same sacred
and holy Synod ordains, that these causes of lawful absence are to
be approved of in writing by the most blessed Roman Pontiff, or by
the metropolitan, or, in his absence, by the oldest resident
suffragan bishop, whose duty it shall also be to approve of the
absence of the metropolitan; except when such absence happens in
consequence of some employment and office in the state attached to
the bishoprics; the causes of which absence being notorious, and
at times sudden, it will not be necessary even to notify them to
the metropolitan; to whom it shall however belong, conjointly with
the provincial Council, to judge of the permissions granted by
himself, or by his suffragan, and to see that no one abuse that
right, and that transgressors are punished with the penalties
adjudged by the canons. Meanwhile let those about to depart
remember to provide in such sort for their sheep, as that, as far
as possible, they may not suffer any injury through their absence.
But, forasmuch as those who are only absent for a short period,
are, in the sense of the ancient canons, not supposed to be
absent, for that they are about to return immediately; the sacred
and holy Synod wills, that that term of absence, whether
continuous or interrupted, ought not by any means to exceed two,
or at most three, months; except for the causes above named; and
that regard be had that it be done from a just cause, and without
any detriment to the flock: which, whether it be the case, the
Synod leaves to the conscience of those who withdraw themselves
which It hopes will be religious and timorous; seeing that their
hearts are open before God, whose work they are bound, at their
peril, not to do deceitfully. In the meantime It admonishes and
exhorts them in the Lord, that unless their episcopal duties call
them to some other part of their own diocese, they on no account
be absent from their own cathedral church during the period of the
Advent of the Lord, and of Lent, on the days of the Nativity, of
the Lord's Resurrection, of Pentecost, and of Corpus Christi, on
which days especially the sheep ought to be refreshed, and to
rejoice in the Lord at the presence of the Shepherd."
(Council of Trent)
Also
See: Priests
/ Priesthood [Pg.] | Religious
/ Religious Life / Religious Institutes | Vatican
View Section | Sacraments
Section | Church
Talk Section
Note:
Categories are subjective and may overlap. For more items related
to this topic, please review all applicable categories. For more
'Reflections' and for Scripture topics, see links below.
Top |
Reflections: A-Z | Categ.
| Scripture: A-Z |
Categ.
| Help |
