Quigley Preparatory Seminary - La Petit Seminaire Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

Page 36 text:

A ' Every morning we may find the fervent seminarran attending Holy Mass either in his own parish church or at the Quigley St ames Chapel By attending the Holy Sacrifice as often as possible the aspiring seminarian can cultivate the necessary love and reverence for this great power the power of saying Nlass ol changing ordinary bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ the greatest power of the priest The ineffable greatness of the human priest says Pope Pius XI stands forth in all its splendor lor he has power over the very body of fhrist and malces it present upon the altar ln the name of Christ Himself he offers a victim infinitely pleasing to the Divine Majesty Wondrous things are these justly exclaims St ohn Chrysostom so wonderful they surpass wonder Every priest must have sanctity then learning and through daily Mass Quigley shows the proper direction for an effective union between the two It is truly fitting for the seminarian to learn early to live in the holy and prayerful surroundings of the altar and he must cultivate a pious love of the Mass for these two are his ultimate goal as a priest. It is this morning act done by the entire student body which makes Quig ey an institution much diFterent from the ordinary high school. Daily Mass pro- vides the help necessary to carry the Quigley student through the day s lessons and through his homeworlc at night. l brings him nearer to Christ Who is his ideal in the world, but not of the world. Since the worlc of the priest is a continua- tion ol the Worlc ol Christ, it is fitting that he who is to become a priest be in close union with Christ through the greatest ol prayers, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Page 35 text:

It would be a grave error fraught wrth many dangers both to hvmself and to others should the prnest carrued away by false zeal neglect hrs own sanctlfucatuon and become overlmmersed In the external worlcs of the priestly mnnvstry Pope Plus XII The personal sanctnflcatlon of the priest therefore ns of prrme Importance rn order that he may retain that unctnon of the Holy Splflf whuch gives such a marvelous force and efficacy to the external apostolate A prlest does not attaun holiness overnrght ln has seminary days must the seed of sanctity be cultivated The Sacraments of penance and Holy Eucharist are the prlme means of attaining sanctity Sanctnty ns the struvrng for the perfectuon of Chrnst Chrnst IS the Ideal of the semlnarran Through Communion Christ Hrmself as present In the heart of the semlnarlan ln weelcly Confesslon the semrnarran roots out the habnts of sun In order that he may become more like Chrust In perfec tlon and that the flower of virtue and holiness may bloom ln this matter St Bernard tells us Examine your lrfe dauly as a curuous explorer of your own nntegrnty Wengh carefully how much you are advancing or how much you are receding Strrve to lcnow yourself Put all your transgresslons before your eyes place yourself before yourself as before another and thus weep over yourself

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Once a weelf and on Frrst Frrdays each class attends a holy hour In the St ames chapel wrth Benedrctron ot the Blessed Sacrament Talfrng trme out from classes thus impresses the semrnarran with h purpose rn the semrnary and lceeps hm from regardrng the semrnary as an ordr nary hrgh school The holy hour consrsts rn the srngrng of the hymns O Salutarrs ostra and Tantum Ergo wr a sermon by one of the professors varrous prayers and frnally the blessrng and conclusron Benedrctron probably orrgrnated shortly after the rntroductron of the elevatron at Mass for rt gradually became rmpressed on the popular mmd that there was special vrrtue and merrt attached to adorrng the Blessed Sacrament Formerly a closed crborrum was used for exposrtron of the were added above the rrm to malce the host vrsuble Soon this developed rnto a glass cylrnder into whrch the host could be mounted Ornaments of varrous lands were added and the srze ot the glass was cut down to ht the host Thus developed our monstrance ln Benedrctron of the Blessed Sacrament we see another of the solemn powers of the prrest ln Benedrctron we get a chance to turn our prayers from the ordinary form of petrtron to the lofty Ideal of adoratron As the smolce of the burning Incense rrses upon the altar so do our prayers ruse before God Upon the altar for the future prrest to behold adore love and prarse lres the God of Mercy about Whom that very semlnarran must center hrs entire life For rt rs He Whom the semrnarran must rmrtate rn every act of hrs time of earth It rs He Whom the prrest the teacher of eternal errtres rs to offer to the Faithful as the only true norm of morality rt rs He Whom the prrest wrll drspense to the body of the tarthtul rn the Sacrament of the Eucharrst Truly rt rs about this God of Mercy that the semrnarrans every actron must revolve . . I . J . . . . . r I i H ' 'th Blessed Sacrament. Gradually glass sides V , . I . I I