An Occasion of Grace for Priests

Called to a Vocation of Holiness
“I would remind thee to fan the flame of that special grace
which God kindled in thee
when my hands were laid upon thee.
The spirit he has bestowed on us is not one that shrinks from danger;
it is a spirit of action, of love, and of discipline.
Do not blush then for the witness thou bearest to our Lord,
or for me, who am his prisoner;
share all the tribulations of the Gospel message
as God gives thee strength.
Has he not saved us, and called us to a vocation of holiness?”
(2 Timothy 1:6–9)
Monthly Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit
On May 18, 1874, the Carmelite Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified (1846–1878) beheld a chalice streaming with light and a dove. From the light she heard a voice saying:
I ardently desire that priests say a Mass each month in honour of the Holy Spirit. Whoever will say it or hear it will be honoured by the Holy Spirit Himself. He will have light, he will have peace. He will cure the sick. He will awaken those who are asleep.
True Devotion to the Paraclete
In June 1877, through the intermediary of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, she sent a message to Blessed Pope Pius IX, saying:
The world and religious communities are seeking novelties in devotions, and they are neglecting true devotion to the Paraclete. That is why there is error and disunion, and why there is no peace or light. They do not invoke the light as it should be invoked, and it is this light that gives knowledge of truth. It is neglected even in seminaries. . . .
Light for Priests
Every person in the world that will invoke the Holy Spirit and have devotion to Him will not die in error. Every priest that preaches this devotion will receive light while he is speaking of it to others.
I was told that each priest in the whole world should be required to say one Mass of the Holy Spirit each month, and all those who assist at it will receive very special grace and light.
I have tried, since my own ordination twenty-two years ago, to celebrate a Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit on the first available ferial day of each month. For me it is a way of following Saint Paul’s injunction to the young priest Timothy: “Fan the flame of that special grace which God kindled in thee, when my hands were laid upon thee” (2 Tim 1:6). The Roman Missal contains a wealth of texts for the Mass of the Holy Spirit.