'The worthy priest is an angel of purity in mind and
body, a cherub of light and knowledge, a seraph of love and Charity, an
apostle of zeal in work and sanctity, a little god on earth in power and
authority, in patience and benignity. He is the living image of Christ
in this world, of Christ watching, praying, preaching, catechizing,
working, weeping, going from town to town, from village to village,
suffering, agonizing, sacrificing Himself and dying for the souls
created to His image and likeness. . . He is the light of those who sit
in darkness and in the shadow of death. He is the destroyer of error,
schisms and heresies, the converter of sinners, the sanctifier of the
just, the strength of the weak, the consolation of the afflicted, the
treasure of the poor. He is the confusion of hell, the glory of heaven,
the terror of demons, the joy of angels, the ruin of Satan's kingdom,
the establishment of Christ's empire, the ornament of the Church. . .'
