"Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority..." Matthew 10:1
Where does the Priest get his power?
If the primary task of the priest is to proclaim the gospel, the source of the preaching and its apex is the celebration of the Eucharist.
Radiating from the celebration of Mass, the priest's office of pastor is concerned with being guide and shepherd in peaceful unity, in adherence to Christ's doctrine, and in a service of charity.
What does a Priest do?
Jesus sent his apostles and their successors and helpers to proclaim the Good News in his name, to celebrate the Eucharist and the other sacraments, and to guide and shepherd the People of God.
This sending is the origin of the new Christian priesthood, and these three functions of the priest are the three great offices of Jesus: prophet, priest, king.
The expression "Holy Orders" comes from the Letter to the Hebrews, where we read, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." (Heb 5:6)
The New Testament uses three Greek words to refer to the various ordained ministries:
+ episcopoi (Acts 20:28)
+ prebyteroi (Acts 14:23)
+ diakonoi (Acts 6:1-6)
From these words we get our English words episcopate ("bishops"), presbyterate ("priests"), and diaconate ("deacons").
Ordination confers on bishops, priests and deacons the power and the responsibility to exercise pastoral leadership in the Church.
Ministry of Bishops
Bishops are the direct successors of the Apostles. Ordination confers on them the role of leadership in the ministry of word, work and worship that Jesus left to His church.
The bishop of Rome is the leader. Among the apostles the leadership role was held and exercised by Peter.
Peter heads all lists of the apostles (Lk 6:14)
He acts as spokesman (Acts 2-5)
He holds the keys of the kingdom (Mt 16:19)
He heals many people (Acts 3:7; 5:15)
He instructs other leaders (Gal 1:18)
Just as Peter held a special leadership role among the apostles, so his successor, the Bishop of Rome, holds a special leadership role among the bishops. In the 11th century, Christians gave him the special title: pope which means "father of the fathers."
What about infallibility?
One of the awesome responsibilities of the pope and bishops is to pass on, free from error, the teachings of Jesus entrusted to them (Mt 28:16-20)
Jesus told Simon, "You are Peter (Rock), and upon this rock I will build my Church. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Mt 16:18-19
Just before ascending to his Father, Jesus commanded Peter and the apostles to teach all nations. To help them in this awesome task, Jesus gave them the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:13) and promised to be with them in their work (Mt 28:20)
Infallibility means that God will not allow his Church to depart from the teachings of Jesus in matters relating to salvation when it teaches with the authority that Jesus gave it.
Ministry of Priests
The apostles ordained assistants to help them. Called presbyters (priests), they were put in charge of smaller units (parishes) of the bishops' assigned territory (diocese).
The custom of remaining unmarried goes back to the New Testament but did not become universal practice in the Western Church until the 12th century.
Celibacy takes its inspiration from Jesus who remained unmarried. Celibacy also serves the practical purpose of permitting greater freedom for service (1Cor 7:32-34)
Two kinds of priests: diocesan (who work under the direction of a bishop) and religious (under vows).
A priest is ordained to act in the person of Christ. The fullness of the ministerial priesthood belongs to the bishop, who is assisted by priests and deacons. The ring worn by the bishop is a symbol of the fact that he is wedded to his diocese.
The priesthood is for the service of the Church. The priest is to gather and mold the whole family of his flock so that everyone may live and work in the communion of love which is the Church. In this the priest follows Christ who "came among us as one who serves." The celibacy of priests is a sign which enables them to more freely devote themselves to the service of God and people.
The sacrament of Holy Orders confers the character of Christ in a special way. The ministerial priesthood differs essentially from the priesthood enjoyed by all the baptized; for the priest is empowered to "consecrate, offer, and administer the body of Christ" for the good of the Church and of the world. The office of the priesthood is a sacrament; for, irrespective of human failing, Christ is made present through the priest's actions. The stole of the priest is a distinctive symbol of his sharing in Christ's priesthood.
A sleepy little girl, a rather battered teddy bear, and a very busy mother. Hardly, one might think, the best starting point for an investigation into the Church's understanding of the priesthood. Or is it?
The little girl, who was being put to bed, simply didn't want her mother to leave her alone. "When I'm gone," her mother whispered, "just cuddle your teddy bear and you won't feel lonely." To which came the immediate rejoinder, "When I'm lonely a teddy bear's no good to me. I need someone with skin on his face!"
When we think about it, this sleepy little girl was throwing more than just her teddy bear out of the window. She obviously would not give the time of day to the idols of gold and silver, the pyramids, and all the mumbo jumbo which litters the long road taken by people in their search for God. "I need someone with skin on his face!" This is what people have constantly sought, and this is what the Father gave us in Jesus, God-made-flesh.
That all happened, of course, nearly two thousand years ago. But a living faith leads us to understand that Jesus is not just a historical memory. His presence, if mysterious, is nonetheless very real and in some way part of our own inner life. In fact, the belief that we are all in some way united internally to the risen Lord is an essential part of our belief.
The earliest Christians were, perhaps, a little more conscious of this truth than we are. So in the Letter to the Hebrews (5:1-10) where the writer is at pains to show that Jesus is the one true priest forever, he is also careful to remind us that since we all share in Jesus' risen life we also share in his priesthood. But what exactly does this mean?
Saint Peter takes up the point in his first letter. He tells us that by offering his own life and death to the Father, Jesus reconciled everyone to God. Reconciliation is what priesthood is all about. So we who share in his life must also share in the task of mediation and reconciliation which led Christ to offer his life for others. We make his life and death our own. We shoulder with him the crushing burden of the world's sinfulness until, as Monika Hellwig writes, "our life is crushed out of us for others, as wine from the grapes."
The Body of Christ, of course, is made up of many different parts. Bishops, priests, and lay people all share in Christ's priesthood in their own special way. "I need someone with skin on his face!" said the little girl. What the world needs is a Christian community who can make their own the Redeemer's words, "This is my body and my blood." The priesthood is for the service of the Church. The priest is to gather and mold the whole family of his flock so that everyone may live and work in the communion of love which is the Church. In this the priest follows Christ who "came among us as one who serves." The celibacy of priests is a sign which enables them to more freely devote themselves to the service of God and people.
40 How does the priest act in the person of Christ?
The priest acts in the person of Christ in three principal ways:
He teaches: The priest's primary duty is the proclamation of the Gospel of God to all. In this way he fulfills the Lord's command: "Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation" (Mark 16:15). Thus he establishes and builds up the People of God.
He sanctifies: Having sowed the seed of faith through his preaching, a priest unites the faithful to God by the administration of the sacraments, especially the celebration of the Eucharist. Through the reception of the Eucharist the faithful are fully joined to the Body of Christ.
He governs: Having gathered together God's family into the one Body of Christ through the celebration of the sacraments, a priest shares in the office of Christ the Head and the Shepherd. Imitating him, he leads individuals under his care to a deeper understanding of their own vocations and so builds up a genuine Christian community.
"The Catholic Church," remarked Monsignor Ronald Knox, "manages to carry on by hook or by crook." He was referring, of course, to the hook of the fisherman, the pope, and the crook of the shepherds, the bishops. And it is true. The Church always looks first to the successor of Peter and his fellow bishops for guidance and inspiration.
Nonetheless, very few Catholics enjoy direct contact with the Bishop of Rome; it belongs to the privileged few even to be received into private audience by the pope. And it remains true, also, that Catholics not only rarely see their bishop but even more rarely speak to him. Most bishops today attempt more contact with their diocese, but the task of getting to know even a portion of those under their care is an almost impossible one.
The fact is that, on the personal level, it is to the priest that most Catholics look for guidance and inspiration.
The priest's principal duties are outlined in the illustrations. In these he assists the bishop, for which purpose he was ordained. For although we may not see him very often, it is the bishop who is the one appointed to shepherd and serve the diocese, the territory under his leadership and given into his care. Yet, the success or failure of the Church in any area depends so much on the relationship between priest and people.
This is a relationship founded on a very remarkable truth, instinctively recognized by every Catholic: The truth, quite simply, that the priest is the Church. We might not always state the truth in such a grand manner; the truth may often be concealed beneath a harsh exterior and an abundance of human failings. But the truth remains: The priest is the Church.
At no time is this more apparent, perhaps,than when the priest enters the home of one of his parishioners who is dying. All human comfort has disappeared. The harsh reality of the passing world has been recognized.The person is alone ‹ surrounded only by four walls soon to enclose him and a few "get well" cards. Into the tomb which is the sickroom enters the priest.
In that instant the room is filled with a new life. It is not the personality of the priest, who may himself only be capable of muttering a few irrelevant pleasantries. It is the personality of Christ. The dying person has been visited by the Church. And, in a sacrament instituted for strengthening the sick, the priest touches the brow and the hands of the dying Christian and feeds him or her with the flesh and blood of Christ. From the tomb to a life of resurrection!
The priest has turned a lonely room which was a kind of "limbo" between heaven and earth, into a place where the Church in heaven and the Church on earth meet.
41 How did Jesus Christ institute the sacrament of Orders?
Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament of Orders when he gave his apostles the authority to teach, to administer his sacraments, and to govern in his name. The College of Bishops, in union with the Bishop of Rome, are the direct successors of the apostles who were appointed by Christ and enriched with a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This gift has been passed down from the apostles by the imposition of hands in the sacrament of Holy Orders.
Soon after the Lord's Ascension a gradation of orders began to develop. Acts, chapter 6, tells us how "seven men of good reputation" were elected for the daily distribution of alms in order that the apostles could be freed for "prayer and the service of the word." Their number included Stephen, the first Christian martyr, stoned to death. The services performed by these men grew into the duties of the deacon.
Immediately after the death of the apostles, the distinction between bishops, priests, and deacons was becoming clearer. About A.D. 100 Saint Ignatius of Antioch wrote: "Be obedient to the bishop, as Jesus Christ was to the Father, and to the presbyterate (priests), as to the apostles. Have reverence for the deacons, as charged by God."
Our Lord had the nicest way of putting things. While preparing his first followers for his departure from this world, he told them: "I will not leave you orphans." These words of our Lord are particularly well chosen, because when we think of orphans we see in our mind's eye forlorn and faltering little children.
And when we think of the apostles we see that, at times, they behaved not like little children but like big children! They argued among themselves as to who was the greatest, as to who was the "king of the castle"! They made rash promises they couldn't keep. They got frightened and ran away. Toward the end of his public life they caused an exasperated Jesus to exclaim: "Have I been with you all this time and you still don't understand?"
Of course, while he was with them, the apostles didn't understand. Indeed, they couldn't understand. For while Jesus was with them they could only remain helpless onlookers. Only when Jesus was gone could they begin, literally, to take his place.
Christ had not only the nicest way of putting things but also the nicest way of doing them. He promised that through his Holy Spirit he would remain with the apostles and with us. But he would remain in a way that we could easily understand. He would remain through signs or sacraments.
Christ remains with us through the sign of what came to be known as the "laying on of hands." To the present day bishops, priests, and deacons, in their differing degrees, are ordained, or impressed with the priestly character of Christ, by the imposition of hands.
Many people may be surprised to see deacons listed with bishops and priests. The fact is, of course, that in the early Church deacons quickly became important, as assistants to the bishops. But over the centuries their tasks were divided up and given to others. Today, their early caring role for the poor and the care of the finances are usually delegated to lay people like the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Legion of Mary, and certified accountants.
Yet, the office of deacon didn't die out altogether. It was always a step, the last, before the priesthood; and Saint Francis of Assisi, for example, remained a deacon all his life. Today, with the reintroduction of the permanent diaconate, they are again becoming important in the life of the Church.
Deacons are chosen from a parish for work with the local priests or bishops. Most countries now have permanent deacons; some of these have other secular jobs, while others make it a full-time vocation. The deacon can baptize solemnly, visit the people, witness marriages, bring Communion to the sick, instruct the people, lead them in prayer, and generally be the leader of the area where he lives.