Such a priest does not exercise or put forth what he does not possess; but the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ work their own effects through him, to his own condemnation. They work like gratiæ gratis datæ, which are given for the sanctification of others, but do not sanctify those by whom they are dispensed. This is not the doctrine of the Church: neither is the priesthood of our Divine Master a gratia gratis data. It is a Sacrament which sanctifies those who receive it, and bestows on them a perennial and inexhaustible sacramental grace for its faithful and fruitful exercise.
This is precisely expressed in the Pontifical. In the first preface for the ordination of priests the Bishop warns the candidates that they must ascend to so high a grade as the priesthood with great fear, and must take heed to possess "heavenly wisdom, moral integrity, and a mature observance of justice;" it further says that our Lord, in choosing out the seventy-two and sending them out to preach before Him, taught us both by word and deed that the ministers of His Church ought to be perfect in the twofold love of God and man, and founded in virtue. He charges them to preserve in their morals the integrity of a chaste and holy life. And finally, he
