THE PRAYER

“When our heart is united to God in the intimacy of meditation and prayer, then we will be fervent and our love will inspire us with that diligent, practical persevering and untiring zeal which characterizes the true apostle of Jesu Christ.” (P. Manna, Virtù Apostoliche, Milan 1944, p. 49)

“The man of prayer, immersed as he is in supernatural light.” (P. Manna, Chiamati alla santità, Naples 1977, p. 122)

“It is worthwhile to know how to preach, but it is much more worthwhile to know to pray. The missionary who has learned the language well and knows how to preach, but prays little, can expound perfectly on the truths of our religion, but he leaves the people cold. The missionary who has much intimacy with God in prayer, even if he is not the best in his presentation, will always have the gift of planting the spirit of Jesus Christ in souls […]. The former will teach about Jesu Christ; the latter will make Him visible.” (P. Manna, Virtù Apostoliche, Milan 1944, p. 56)

“The missionary dedicated to prayer obliges the Holy Spirit to work and so brings about true conversions.” (P. Manna, Virtù Apostoliche, Milan 1944, p. 201)

“The omission of the prayer because of work is it ‘not leaving God because of God? What a huge error: this is really leaving God because of the devil. O yes, the devil has no fear of certain Catholic works which are based upon clamor, confusion and self-love; he lets us do them, he helps us…and he laughs at us. It is the interior virtues and prayer which bother him the most.’” (P. Manna, Virtù Apostoliche, Milan 1944, p. 192)

“It’s no wonder that people don’t listen to us, if we don’t know how to listen to God, if it bothers us to spend time with him in prayer, if we can’t stay one hour in front of the holy tabernacle.” (P. Manna, Virtù Apostoliche, Milan 1944, p. 195)

“Now, among the means which Our Lord has placed in our hands for co-operating in the propagation of the Faith and the salvation of souls, the most efficacious, the most indispensable, and also the easiest, is prayer.” (P. Manna, The conversion of the pagan world. A Treatise upon Catholic Foreign Missions, Boston, 1921, 228)

“Prayer is a very easy means of helping, as it does not entail physical force, material contributions, long voyages, work, suffering, or martyrdom. A Mass, a Communion, an offering to Almighty God of our day’s work with its joys and sorrows, a word, a desire, a thought, in the spirit of prayer, are worth more than a generous donation.” (P. Manna, The conversion of the pagan world. A Treatise upon Catholic Foreign Missions, Boston, 1921, 228)

“By our fervent prayers we can be efficacious instruments for the salvation of so many unhappy souls who, perhaps, we shall never know in this world, but who in Heaven will be eternally grateful to us.” (P. Manna, The conversion of the pagan world. A Treatise upon Catholic Foreign Missions, Boston, 1921, 233)

 

THE CROSS

“The crucifix is everything for the missionary. It is his strength, his consolation, his model, his courage, his success! The Crucifix is the explanation of the Missionary, and without it, there is not even the idea of the missionary.” (P. Manna, Operarii autem pauci! La vocazione alle missioni estere, Milano 1960, op. cit., p. 153)

“The apostolic life is challenging, it is useless to deny it! It calls for much sacrifice, painful separations, longstanding privation, great suffering. It would not be so beautiful and admirable, so great and heroic, if it were not arduous and fraught with difficulties. But how many people, even in the world, to achieve an ideal, to accumulate wealth, perhaps for the satisfaction of a passion, face and endure many sacrifices, long-running studies! How many even endanger their lives! What difficulties do not fall down before love! The difficulties of the apostolic life, no matter how severe, are not insurmountable! Just look at them from the right side, through faith and inspired by love; seen this way, rather than causing fear, they entice and allure. (P. Manna, Operarii autem pauci! La vocazione alle missioni estere, Milano 1960, op. cit., p. 127)

“It is at the foot of the crucifix rather than in great ability and natural gifts on the part of preachers that we must look for the secret of a fruitful apostolate.” (P. Manna, The conversion of the pagan world. A Treatise upon Catholic Foreign Missions, Boston, 1921, 233)

“God could save this and a thousand other worlds by a mere act of His will, but instead He wishes to save it by suffering, by prayer, and by the teachings of His Only-begotten Son. And as He brought about the Redemption, so He wishes to apply its merits to men, that is, through suffering, prayer, and the teachings of His Holy Church.” (P. Manna, The conversion of the pagan world. A Treatise upon Catholic Foreign Missions, Boston, 1921, 235)

“It is also most efficacious to unite with our prayers the offering of our sufferings, and to interest afflicted souls and the sick. They may turn their sufferings into good for the apostolate by offering them to the Heart of Jesus for the missions. Jesus has saved the world by means of the Cross, and it is only by expiation that souls are saved.” (P. Manna, The conversion of the pagan world. A Treatise upon Catholic Foreign Missions, Boston, 1921, 237)

“The missionaries convert more by prayer and suffering than by preaching. It might be better to say that their preaching is the more efficacious in proportion to the grace of bearing fruit that they obtain from God through their prayers united with their sufferings.” (P. Manna, The conversion of the pagan world. A Treatise upon Catholic Foreign Missions, Boston, 1921, p. 237)

“Anyone who is dedicated to the salvation of souls must expect suffering; how much more so for the missionary whose only purpose is to give new children to God and the Church in non- Christian countries! Children are not brought forth without pain. By dying on the cross Jesus has brought us forth to new life; it was at the foot of the cross that Mary became our mother. In the supernatural order, pain and often even death, are the source of fertility.” (P. Manna, Apostolic Virtues, translated from Italian by Fr. Steve Baumbusch, PIME, New York 2009, p. 181)

“The passion of our Lord for the salvation of souls did not end in His divine person, but continues in His missionaries and in all the ministers of the Church.” (P. Manna, Apostolic Virtues, translated from Italian by Fr. Steve Baumbusch, PIME, New York 2009, p. 182)

“It brings us closer to the cross of Christ, that which alone explains who a missionary is, that which inspires him, sustains and crowns him. How poor a missionary, how poor the ypung aspirant who has any other vision of his vocation than that of Calvary; who can read many books but not his crucifix; who has other aspirations and intentions than the ones of the Apostle, who did not hope nor glory in anything but the cross of Jesus Christ: ‘May I never boast of anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Gal 6:14).” (P. Manna, Apostolic Virtues, translated from Italian by Fr. Steve Baumbusch, PIME, New York 2009, p. 189)

“In the ways of God, out of death comes life; the sacrifice must precede the glory, from sufferings and soreness comes the strength for the triumph.” (P. Manna, Virtù Apostoliche, Milano 1944, p. 133)

“It is a misunderstanding of the missionary vocation to accept only the active part of one’s ministry by teaching, preaching and baptizing, without also accepting the passive role of being a victim for Jesus, a victim with Jesus for the conversion of souls.” (P. Manna, Apostolic Virtues, translated from Italian by Fr. Steve Baumbusch, PIME, New York 2009, 226)