distractions and irreverences, but with devotion and recollection,
uniting the affections of the heart with so many petitions which they
present to God, they should certainly not be so weak as they are, but
would acquire fervour and strength to resist all temptations and to lead
a life worthy of priests."

Another blessing springs from the attentive recitation of the
Breviary--viz., the daily withdrawal from the world and its cares which
must be banished from the soul which speaks with God. For, as St.
Alphonsus writes, the saying of the Hours devoutly, gives occasion to
pious souls to elicit many acts of virtue, acts of faith, of hope, of
charity, of humility, etc. For one psalm, says the saint, moves all the
powers of the soul and causes us to elicit a hundred acts. And in the
Breviary are found the most beautiful formulae of adoration and praise,
the psalms above all other parts of the Office being wonderfully rich in
magnificent praise of God's attributes. Where can such sublime forms of
prayer and praise be found as in Psalms, 8, 9, 17, 18, 21, 23, 28, 29,
33, 45, 46, 49, 54--to name but a few?

Finally, the attentive recitation of the Breviary is a source of light
and of grace and of merit. How many lights in prayer spring from these
divine words; how many maxims enter the soul, how many beautiful prayers
are said, and if they be well said, they would obtain for priests
treasures of grace, according to Christ's infallible promise, "Ask and
you shall receive"? A person can merit several degrees of glory by one
devout recitation of the Office, what an abundance of merit may be
gained by the devout recitations in a life of twenty, thirty or forty
years! And it was this thought of lost opportunities and of the great
treasures within the reach of priests, which caused St. Alphonsus when
an old man, to study the Breviary psalms and to write his