Fr. Carola's book comes at a particularly opportune time during the Year for Priests, which the Holy Father has inaugurated in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the dies natalis of St. John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests worldwide, so as to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a stronger and more incisive witness to the Gospel in today's world. From the Foreword by Archbishop Mauro Piacenza Secretary of the Congregation of the Clergy .In Conformed to Christ Crucified: Meditations on Priestly Life and Ministry, Father Joseph Carola has edited a number of his homilies in which he reflects upon on the irreplaceable ministry of the ordained priesthood in the Church. Published during the Year for Priests, proclaimed by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Father Carola's homilies draw upon the Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church and other saints to provide a treasured font of sound and deep reflection on the truth declared by St. John Mary Vianney: The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus. Father Carola's homilies will lead priests and seminarians to identify themselves more completely with Christ crucified and so make their hearts one with the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus. For all of the faithful, study of these homilies will mean growth in knowledge of the great gift of the ordained priesthood and love of priests. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Father Carola for his homilies and for their excellent presentation in his book... Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.