The Priesthood

The priest is a Christian man who has been raised above the other members of the Church to participate in Our Blessed Lord's own threefold function of teaching, ruling, and sanctifying, and upon whom the powers to do so have been conferred by the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

A Sacrament, as the Catechism tells us, is "a sacred sign instituted by Our Lord to give grace." The Sacrament of Holy Orders, however, not only bestows on the priest the graces which he will require to perform his priestly functions fittingly, but imprints upon his soul an indelible seal, or character, (the character) by which he receives the power to accomplish sublime acts of worship and of sanctification with a power almost divine. For the Church as a whole, then, Holy Orders is indeed a most important Sacrament, for by it, chosen men receive the power to administer to the faithful all the other life-giving Sacraments.

Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself instituted the Holy Priesthood on the night of His Last Supper, in the same moment as He instituted the "holy and visible sacrifice of the Eucharist" which would become the center of the priestly life. To the Apostles and their successors in the priesthood, He transmitted, as the Council of Trent teaches, "the power of consecrating, offering, and administering His Body and Blood, and likewise the power of remitting and of retaining sins."

"It is of divine Faith," writes Cardinal Manning, "that Our Lord ordained the Apostles to be priests when by the words, 'hoc facite in meam commemorationem - do this in commemoration of me,' He conferred on them the power of sacrifice. It is also of divine Faith that when, three days later, He breathed on them, saying, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained,' He gave them the power of absolution. In these two powers the priesthood was complete."

The lives of saintly priests, such as the Curé of Ars, have always clearly exemplified this doctrine of the Church. Such priests love above all things the daily Mass and the confessional where they reconcile sinners to God.

Many other duties follow upon these principal functions of the priest. In the Psalms and prayers of the Divine Office which he recites at different hours of the day, the priest prays officially in the name of, and for the needs of, the whole Church. He teaches the faithful in his sermons, Catechism lessons, and writings what they must believe, and how they must act in accordance with God's law, strengthened by the graces received in the Sacraments. He counsels the doubtful, encourages the weak, consoles the sick. In every way, by the sacred powers and authority with which God has invested him through the hands of the Bishop, he strives to prepare men for that life of eternal beatitude to which God has destined them.

Though human words barely suffice to expose the true nature and immense dignity of the Order of the priesthood, the following excerpts from well-known ecclesiastics and writers, themselves holy priests, may contribute to a fuller picture of the life of the priest.

"The priest has rightly been called 'another Christ' – not that he shares in Christ's divine nature and human perfection, but because he has been appointed by God to continue Christ's mission in the world, and must consequently, within the limits of his power, try to live the life of Christ on earth. Like Jesus on the cross, he stands at the altar as a mediator between God and man, lifting up to heaven his hands filled with Christ's merits and prayers, and offering the redeeming Blood of the Divine Victim, the price of our salvation. Thus he sends up to God the infinite tribute of adoration, thanks and reparation due to Him, which Christ alone can pay for us; thus he brings down upon men a shower of divine grace and precious blessings. He is the merciful Jesus who forgives sinners, purifies their souls and directs them towards heaven, through the Sacrament of Penance. He is the Good Shepherd who pursues the lost sheep, brings them back to the fold and leads them to the green pastures where Our Lord Himself feeds their souls with His own Flesh and Blood. He is the compassionate Jesus who consoles the afflicted, helps the poor, visits and aids the sick, and prepares the dying for their journey into eternity. He is the way, the truth, the life; for by his preaching and by his conduct, he sets before his people the doctrine, the example and the life of Jesus. He is a man who, like Jesus, must pass through this world doing good. In a word, he is above all else a savior of souls. He is not a priest for himself, for his own temporal or even spiritual welfare; but he is a priest for others; he 'is appointed for men,' as St. Paul says (Heb. 5: 1). He has been chosen by God in order that, through the merits and power of Jesus Christ and through his own prayer, labor, and self-sacrifice, he may enable his fellow man to prepare for and deserve a life of eternal glory and happiness in heaven." Father Benjamin F. Marcetteau, S.S.

"The great mission of the priest is to give Jesus Christ to the world." Abbot Columba Marmion, O.S.B.

Moreover, the priest must limit himself to truly priestly functions:

"The priest is alter Christus and, like his divine Master, he must be a victim immolated to the glory of God, and delivered up for the salvation of souls. He may be a scholar, a social reformer or an organizer of genius, but if he is only that, he does not correspond to God's expectation of him." Abbot Marmion.

"The priest, according to the magnificent definition given by St. Paul, is indeed a man ex hominibus assumptus, 'taken from amongst men', yet pro hominibus constituitur in his quae sunt ad Deum, 'ordained for men in the things that pertain to God'; his office is not for human things, and things that pass away, however lofty and valuable these may seem; but for things divine and enduring. These eternal things may, perhaps, through ignorance, be scorned and condemned, or even attacked with diabolical fury and malice, as sad experience has often proved, and proves even today; but they always continue to hold the first place." Pope Pius XI

Least of all is the priest a "revolutionary":

"Just because a priest is a 'sign of contradiction' he ought not to go about stirring up controversy." "The unrest which the priest must spread is the fear of God, that torment for the infinite, which has brought forth such amazing outbursts from the mystics and thinkers of all times. The revolt which the priest must advocate is the insurrection of consciences, the order which he comes to disturb is the apparent calm which covers up disorders and hatreds... His own way of being a good citizen is to be, in most sincere obedience to legitimate authority, eternally unsatisfied, not so as to upset social peace but so as to foster continually a higher goal for mankind." Emmanuel Cardinal Suhard.

Nor is the priesthood a one-way operation. Certainly God communicates great powers to the priest at his ordination; but the priest must employ these sacred powers as God intends, striving at every moment to conform himself more and more closely to Our Blessed Lord, in whose priesthood he shares.

"Remember that even as priests are clothed with the power and authority of God, so too they should be filled with His holiness, love, Charity, and other divine perfections... Truly the priest is another Christ living and walking on earth. Consequently his life should be a perfect image of that of the Savior, or rather a continuation of Our Lord's life." Saint John Eudes

The holiness of the priest, or in other words, the degree to which he cooperates with God, whose instrument he is, will in many ways be the very measure of the fruits which his apostolate will bear:

"For the promotion of the kingdom of Jesus Christ in the world, nothing is more necessary than the holiness of ecclesiastics, that they may give leadership to the faithful by example, by words, and by teaching." Pope Saint Pius X.

"As the shepherd, so the sheep; as the priest, so the people." Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Saint John Eudes gives a beautiful summary of the dignity and the duties of the priest:

"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..."

And finally, the oft-quoted words of the eloquent French Dominican, Lacordaire:

"To live in the midst of the world with no desire for its pleasures; to be a member of every family, yet belong to none; to share all sufferings; to penetrate all secrets; to heal all wounds; to go daily from man to God to offer Him their homage and petition; to return from God to man to bring them His pardon and His hope; to have a heart of iron for chastity, and a heart of flesh for Charity; to teach and instruct; to pardon and console; to bless and be blessed forever! O God, what a life, and it is thine, O priest of Jesus Christ!"

So now you have a general idea of the priesthood and of the life of the priest: his dignity, his duties, the zeal which he ought to have.

The next question is, of course, "How do I know if the holy priesthood is for me? How do I know if this is what Almighty God intends for me?" Please read our article on discerning a vocation to find out.