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Commentary – Yes, the Holiness (Faith) of a Priest Counts

By a soul
(Feast of the Martyrs of Ephesus, January 12, 2018)

Recently, I wrote a short commentary about the benefits of drinking holy water as a healing medicinal, and I realized that I made some statements that might be controversial to some people (see: https://maryrefugeofholylove.com/2018/01/10/commentary-drinking-holy-water-as-a-healing-medicinal/ ). And so, I want to address some things that I said, and then, speak about the larger issue of holiness, especially, of priests.

Now, firstly, many people believe that there is no difference between blessing oneself with holy water and actually drinking holy water. After all, the Holy Spirit is still acting upon the person, so they believe that the blessing is the same, whether it is internally or externally received, and that it depends on the faith of the recipient whether they will be helped or not. So, it is pointless to drink holy water.

Well, I speak directly from personal experience from actually drinking holy water as a medicinal as well as from my family using it as regular treatment for illness. There can be a huge difference between simply blessing oneself or blessing a wound with holy water and actually drinking the holy water coupled with prayer. I have seen immediate positive effects in both my family and my pets, as I revealed in my other commentary, from drinking the holy water.

Also, drinking holy water makes a huge difference if you are suffering from a demonic sickness or especially, demonic possession. I do not even know if exorcists know this or not, but if a priest is uncertain whether a person is possessed, using holy water or Lourdes water can be used as a simple test. Either the reaction will be immediate or may occur a few hours later, but the devil within the person WILL react to the ingested holy water. Trust me, I am speaking from very personal experience. And the more holy water ingested, the more violent the reaction in the person, so this test must be done with care.

satan does not want the drinking of holy water to become widespread in its use. Why? Well, in the Book of Truth (Maria Divine Mercy), Our Lord has said many times that many people are suffering from demonic possession and demonic sicknesses, even though, it may not look apparent to others, etc.

If people start drinking holy water or miraculous spring waters on a widespread basis, many instances of demonic possession would start getting properly diagnosed and people would start getting healed from physical and mental illnesses that are either demonic in origin or whose severity of symptoms have been “enhanced” by demonic powers. In my special commentary, “Exposing Satan’s Evil Agenda – Part One – The Antichrist,” I actually touched upon the fact that the fallen angels (devils) have the ability to manipulate living matter, which includes both imparting spiritual sicknesses on people, as well as making existing illnesses and physical ailments several times worse, etc. (See: https://maryrefugeofholylove.com/exposing-satans-evil-agenda-part-one-the-antichrist-by-a-soul/ )

satan does not want anyone to be healed!! his trademark is suffering!!

So, if a person–or even a priest–says there is no difference between blessing oneself and actually drinking holy water, I want people to recognize that the person probably stating that false fact likely has no experience in how drinking regularly holy water coupled with faith can improve someone’s situation. Again, as I stated in my prior commentary, I cannot promise a cure or complete healing from solely drinking holy water, but my family has greatly benefited from its regular use in all kinds of illnesses–physical, mental, and spiritual.

Now, I want to turn to the greater and more important reason for this commentary–the holiness of priests. In my previous commentary about using holy water as a medicinal, I said something very important that all people, especially, priests, need to understand. I said that the holier the priest, the more effective the blessing on the holy water.

Perhaps many people missed what I said on first blush, but that statement I made is pretty huge and yes, can be controversial to many people, especially, priests. Because many people, including–I will dare say, the majority of priests, believe that “a blessing is a blessing” and that their personal priestly holiness does not matter on the efficacy of a blessing.

I am sorry, but that mentality is wrong–very wrong. And it is because of that mentality why the priesthood is in trouble. The faith and holiness of a priest DOES COUNT. Not only do bad priests set a poor example to others–as everybody knows–bad priests also lose graces for their flock due to their poor behavior!!

Sometimes, I will approach a priest after Mass with items to be blessed and I will get a very “sloppy” blessing. By “sloppy” blessing, I mean something like where the priest will barely look at me or the items, say like four or five words, and wave their hand in the air in a nonchalant sign of the cross, etc. I notice that this tends to happen more with parish priests than other types of priests, because they become so preoccupied with trying to greet everyone, they forget their priestly duties come first!

Well, I have two responses to a “sloppy” blessing–one, for the recipient of the blessing, and two, for the priest who gives it.

One, for the recipient of a “sloppy” blessing, you deserve a proper blessing with the proper words said with care by a priest. If you can go to another priest, obtain another blessing. Most people do not know this fact, but items (and people) can be blessed multiple times–there is no limit to the generosity of God and His grace.

Many years ago, I was living in an apartment and I was suffering terribly from satan. And so, my family invited a Franciscan priest to come to my apartment to bless the dwelling. And this nice priest did everything required–praying with my family over each room, sprinkling holy water, etc., and so, the apartment got blessed. Then afterwards, I approached him and asked if he could bless my Holy Bible, and this nice priest said, “oh, no, it already got blessed,” and I was so disappointed, simply accepting the fact.

Years later, I know better. My dear recipient of the “sloppy” blessing, you deserve a properly worded blessing for your Holy Bible, your rosary, your miraculous medal, your crucifix, etc. Never accept a “sloppy” blessing and never accept that items can only be blessed “once” and no more. A priest that tells you that is limiting the generosity of the Infinite God!

And my second comment directed to priests who give “sloppy” blessings is this… You do have pockets in your clothing, no? Every priest should be carrying on themselves a small book of commonly-used priestly prayers! That small book should be in your hands ready for use after every Mass, if you do not have your prayers memorized! And imagine, if you had a small bottle of holy water in your pocket–what a difference that would make if you could anoint people, too!

Sadly, I think that there might be too many shallow pockets among our priests!

Now, why get the item re-blessed? Why not accept the “sloppy” blessing and move on? Well, as I stated earlier, the faith of a priest has direct bearing on the efficacy of their blessings and their prayers. The holier the priest, the more powerful their works. If the faith of a priest is weak, their blessings and prayers will be weaker in grace, and that is really a disservice for their flock.

If I am using holy water as a medicinal, the blessing should be as strong as it can be from the priest. Otherwise, the faith of the recipient of the holy water will need to be even more stronger to compensate where the blessing is lacking in power from the priest. That is not right. Grace should not be so hard to come by.

Many priests do not accept that their own personal holiness has any bearing on their service. And yet, I think that many priests would accept the premise that to be an exorcist, a priest needs to be holy and very faith-filled with much spiritual preparation beforehand any exorcism, etc.

Why (generally) do priests accept that holiness matters only when dealing directly with the devil? My dear father priests, personal holiness matters all the time!!

Holy Scripture, Acts, Chapter 5, Verse 15

“Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them.”

Acts 5:15 is often cited as a supporting verse for why the Catholic Church believes in the use of holy relics by the faithful for healing and blessing. However, did the famous stigmatic priest, St. Padre Pio’s relics suddenly become holy upon his death? No, it was because Padre Pio grew in holiness throughout his life so that things he touched and wore, and even his very self, were blessed in great healing grace. Likewise, in Acts 5:15, St. Peter was still alive and was so holy, that even his mere shadow would impart healing to the sick in its path.

Yet, the personal holiness of priests is not just important for blessings of healing, but for grace from any type of intercessory prayer!

Holy Mother Church recognizes the fact that those who are closest in friendship with God are most powerful as intercessors. This belief is why Mother Church holds so many Saints and Martyrs in high esteem after their deaths for the pious to call upon for aid. Yet, intercessory help begins on earth, as many faithful will seek out people who they feel are particularly holy for additional prayers. For example, many people sought the intercession of Padre Pio while he was alive. They witnessed the evidence of his close friendship with God, i.e., stigmata and other spiritual gifts, etc., and as his lifetime holiness grew, even more people sought him out daily for prayers, as well as for Confession and Holy Mass.

Priestly holiness is not just a calling for the Twelve Apostles, like St. Peter, or Padre Pio. All priests are called to a vocation of personal holiness, even more so than the laity, because their personal holiness has a direct effect on everything they do and every person they reach. Priests must strive to be powerful intercessors for their flock gaining as much grace as they can for their spiritual children.

In a message at Holy Love Ministries (http://www.holylove.org), Jesus once said that when we receive the Most Holy Eucharist, we should ask for the grace given His Blessed Mother at the Annunciation. That it is a special grace that will be given. As taught in seminaries, the same word used for the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit on the Blessed Mother at the Annunciation is used to describe the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit at the moment of Consecration of the Most Holy Eucharist by a priest. That is the moment when the priest stretches out his hands over the bread and wine and pronounces the sacred words. Thus, in a sense, they are essentially the same Act by God.

The moment of the Annunciation is one of the greatest moments of Our Blessed Mother demonstrating her great self-less love of God and neighbor–of the Commandment of Holy Love. Totally devoid of any care to self, the Blessed Mother completely loves God and us–all Her children. It is an act of total humility to become the Mother of God.

Thus, if the moment of the Annunciation and the Consecration of the Most Holy Eucharist can be seen as similar Acts by God, how important it is for a priest to be totally devoid of any semblance of self at that moment in the Holy Mass. In imitation of the Blessed Mother, a priest must be a total and complete vessel of absolute grace in self-less love–Holy Love of God and his spiritual children. Truly, the moment of the Consecration of the Most Holy Eucharist is when a priest becomes a father to all his spiritual children and recommits himself to this fatherhood in every celebration of Holy Mass.

Now, just imagine the horror it must be to God if a priest is not in a state of grace at the moment of the Consecration of the Most Holy Eucharist. It is as if the Blessed Mother, full of grace, was in mortal sin at the Annunciation! Instead of being a reflection of radiating absolute grace to his flock, a priest is repelling the encounter of the Holy Spirit, Who only comes because God has sacredly bound Himself to mankind in this Holy Act. Of course, I, a soul, am not educated in these theological matters, so I cannot say if this would constitute an act of sacrilege for a priest, etc. But, how it must displease the Holy Child Jesus in His coming to us on earth through such a vessel of disgrace.

Such an act of utter pride! “I am a priest therefore I command down the presence of God” versus “I am a priest therefore I tremble in fear and awe of this great servitude of God.” Pride!

In conclusion, I want people to know that although I have been somewhat critical of priests in this commentary, that I love very much our priests. Honestly, if I could kiss the hands of every priest who has ever brought me Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist, I would do so with much gratitude. Some people might say that I have no right to be critical, because I do not know the challenges of modern-day priests, etc. Yes, I am not a priest (I am a lay female), but sometimes, it is necessary for someone on the outside to look in at a situation for a problem to be properly diagnosed and cured. And so, I offer this entire commentary in deep love and charity for our dear fathers. I want every priest to have a deeply satisfying and fulfilling relationship with Our Lord. A deeply holy faith that brings great graces for not only our priests but benefits us, all their spiritual children.

God bless!

Also see:
The Warning – Jesus Christ Speaks To Priests
https://maryrefugeofholylove.com/the-warning-jesus-christ-speaks-to-priests/