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THE AMAZING GIFT OF THE PRIESTHOOD
by Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J.
Dr. McInerny asked me to write an essay on the priesthood for this special issue of Dossier. After reflecting on the matter for a few days, it occurred to me that I have written many columns in the Homiletic & Pastoral Review on this topic. Going back over the index I found more than a dozen short editorials that are very much to the point. I have selected five of them and decided to present them to you in this issue. These short reflections offer a good summary of my views on the priesthood and cover a period of about fifteen years.
Why Are Catholic Priests Called “Priests”?
For many years I have been intrigued by the different titles given to their clergy by the
various religious bodies. Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, and perhaps a few others, give
the title of “priest” to their clergy. Most Protestants refer to their clergy as
“Minister” or “Reverend” or “Pastor” or simply
“Mr.” The basic reason for the difference in titles is the difference in
theology.
By definition a priest is one who offers sacrifice. The Catholic Church teaches that the
Mass is a sacrifice; it is, in a mystical sense, a re-presentation of the identical
sacrifice that Jesus made of himself on the altar of the Cross on Calvary almost 2000
years ago. So because the Catholic priest, in celebrating the Eucharist (= Mass, Liturgy)
acts in the person of Christ, and in a mysterious way offers once again the unique
sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, he is called a “priest.” The Latin word for
this is sacerdos (sacra + dans), i.e., one who gives or brings holy things to the People
of God.
Jesus Christ is our eternal priest according to the order of Melchisedek. As St. Thomas
Aquinas says, the proper task of the priest consists in being a mediator between God and
men (S. Th. III, 22, 1). And St. Paul instructs us in 1 Tim. 2:5 that Jesus is the one
Mediator between God and men. Because Jesus is both God and man by reason of the
Hypostatic Union, he is able to reconcile God and man in his own Person. That is what he
did by his death on the Cross.
The Catholic faith teaches that the priest is another Christ, an alter Christus; he takes
on this sublime dignity by receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The most essential
function of the sacerdotal or priestly office is sacrifice. For we read in Hebrews 8:3,
“Every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices.”
It is for this reason, therefore, that the Catholic Church (and others also) calls its
clergy “priests.” Most Protestants avoid the title because they do not believe
that what they call “the Lord’s Supper” is a sacrifice.
In the broadest sense, a sacrifice is the surrender of one good for something else that is
better. Thus athletes make many personal sacrifices in order to excel. In the liturgical
sense, a sacrifice is an external religious act in which some sensible gift is offered to
God by an ordained servant of God in recognition of his absolute majesty and in atonement
for sins. Theologians identify four elements here: 1) a visible sacrificial gift, 2) a
sacrificing priest, 3) the purpose of the sacrifice (e.g., glorifying God), and 4) an act
of sacrifice which removes the gift from man’s dominion to God’s, and represents
the interior sacrificial disposition.
The four elements are verified in Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. In that unique case,
however, the victim and the priest are the same. At Mass in a mystical way the priest
re-presents that same sacrifice to the Father, for he says “This is my body....”
I offer this very brief summary of the Church’s teaching on sacrifice, Calvary and
the Mass because so many, many Catholics, poorly instructed, simply do not understand what
is going on when they attend the Sunday Liturgy. That may also explain why they do not
understand the difference between “priest” and “minister.” The
Catholic priest is also a minister, but he is first and foremost a priest because he has
been empowered by Christ to offer the sacrifice of the Mass for the salvation of all.
The Faith of the Priest
There are some strange things being done in the administration of the Sacraments, and
especially in offering Mass. A subscriber who put her eight children through her parish
school eventually came to the conclusion that she could no longer attend Mass in her own
parish because she doubted the validity of the Masses being offered there.
A Mass can be invalid for a number of reasons (we presuppose that the priest has been
validly ordained): 1) because of a defect in the matter, for example, using sweet rolls
instead of bread made only from wheat flour and water; 2) because of a defect in the form,
for example, changing the words “This is my body” or “This is the cup of my
blood” into something else; 3) because the priest positively excludes the intention
to do what the Church does in offering Mass.
Donatism was a heresy in the 4th and 5th centuries, especially in North Africa, which
caused great harm to the Church. The Donatists believed that the validity of the
Sacraments depends on the sanctity or worthiness of the minister; if he was in the state
of mortal sin for any reason, then all Sacraments administered by him, including Baptism,
were said to be invalid. This opinion was condemned by various Popes and Synods, and it
was vigorously opposed by St. Augustine. The Donatists were in error because the principal
agent in the Sacraments is Christ himself who operates through the priest as the
instrumental cause; by reason of his ordination the priest has the “priestly
character” indelibly imprinted on his soul, like the character imprinted by Baptism.
By the will of God Christ works through the validly ordained priest, even if he is a
sinner. If that were not so, then the faithful would never know for sure whether or not
they had really received a Sacrament.
Most Catholics seem to know that mortal sin on the soul of the priest does not render the
Sacraments he administers invalid. But it may come as a surprise to many Catholics that
the validity of the Sacraments, let us say the Mass, also does not depend essentially on
the faith of the priest who offers the Mass. Thus, Masses offered by heretical priests, by
schismatics, by Catholic priests who are plagued by doubts or who have false ideas about
the Real Presence or transubstantiation, can be and probably usually are valid Masses.
They must of course use the correct words of consecration, use wheat bread and wine made
from grapes, and have the intention of doing what the Church does in offering the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass (Latin: intentio faciendi quod facit ecclesia). The priest does not
have to agree with what the Church does, or understand it perfectly, or have it explicitly
in mind while he is offering Mass. If in some general or vague way he intends to do what
the Church does in the Mass (and in the other Sacraments also), then the Mass is certainly
valid.
The Church’s teaching on the validity of the Sacraments is very important today,
since there is so much confusion among Catholics about Catholic doctrine, coming mainly
from faulty catechetics, distortions in the media, and the errors of dissenting
theologians. Our people should know that, just because a priest preaches heresy from the
pulpit or ad libs at Mass (provided that he uses the correct form of consecration and
valid matter), it does not necessarily mean that the Mass is invalid. It would be invalid
if he did not have the intention of doing what the Church does, that is, if he positively
excluded that. Such a supposition should not be made if he basically follows the rites of
the Church. If, however, he should ridicule the Mass and use invalid matter, or make up
his own formula of consecration, that would be a clear sign that the Mass is invalid.
Priests are weak human instruments of Christ. Let us thank him and marvel at his wisdom
that he did not make his Sacraments wholly dependent on the holiness and faith of his
ministers.
Priests, Prayer and Preaching
One of the main tasks of the priest is preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is
ordained not only to administer the Sacraments, but also to proclaim the Good News of
Salvation.
Training for the priesthood normally includes four years of college, often with a major in
philosophy, although there has been a decline recently and regrettably in the study of
philosophy. This is followed by four years’ study of theology, which includes dogma,
moral theology, canon law, liturgy, history of the Church, Homiletics, Fathers of the
Church, and so forth. When a candidate has successfully completed this course he is
recommended to the bishop for ordination and finally ordained a priest of Jesus Christ
“according to the line of Melchisedek.”
Everything that the priest is— his personal experiences, his studies, the books he
has read— literally everything goes into his preaching. The more he knows and the
better prepared he is, the better a preacher he will make. And his preaching is extremely
important, especially now that there is so much emphasis on the liturgy of the Word. The
point I want to make here is that the key to effective preaching is the personal prayer of
the priest. Of course, he must be well trained in theology, he must study Holy Scripture,
he must know the rudiments of public speaking, and he must diligently prepare each homily
as if it were the only one he would ever give. These are the necessary presuppositions in
the preacher of the Gospel. But one essential element is still lacking. That is prayer.
We must not forget that the priest enters the pulpit not to give expression to his own
opinions on this or that, but to speak the Word of God. God uses him as an instrument to
bring his saving Word to sinners and saints alike.
Preaching well is difficult. It takes a lot of work—and a lot of prayer. The preacher
may not dispense with study and preparation, but if he leaves it there and does not go to
the Lord in prayer for help and inspiration his words will not make much of an impression
on his listeners. By personal prayer and intimate conversation with the Lord the priest
comes to a relish and understanding of the Faith that cannot be acquired from books and
summer institutes.
The Church, in her wisdom, is very concerned that her priests be men of prayer. During
their seminary days priests are taught to spend a period each day in mental prayer; they
make annual retreats; they are urged to pray the rosary daily and they are introduced to
the Liturgy of the Hours. According to the new Code of Canon Law, priests have a duty to
strive for holiness.
“Clerics have a special obligation to seek holiness in their lives, because they are
consecrated to God by a new title through the reception of orders, and are stewards of the
mysteries of God in the service of His people” (c. 276, #1).
This spiritual program is directly related to the priest’s preaching. It is difficult
to preach the Good News convincingly. To preach in a way that touches the hearers’
hearts, the priest must be thoroughly convinced himself of the truth and urgency of what
he is saying. In other words, he must have something important to say and he must say it
with conviction and enthusiasm. Where will he get that? Primarily from prayer.
The praying priest will be a good preacher. He might not be a Winston Churchill or a
Ronald Reagan or a Fr. George Rutler, but he will touch the hearts of the faithful. St.
John Vianney, the famous Cure of Ars, was no Demosthenes or Bourdalou but, in his humble
sincerity, he was still a powerful preacher. His sanctity gave a power to his words that
cannot be substituted for by study and rhetorical skill.
Agent of Christ
One day as I was walking up the side aisle of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York a
woman stopped me and said, “Thank you for being a priest.” Then she walked on
without another word. That brief encounter made a deep impression on me. It brought home
to me vividly how important the priesthood is to the Church and the world. In fact,
without the priesthood there would be no Church.
Ordinary Catholic laymen become priests through the laying on of the hands of the bishop
and receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders. One becomes a priest through the power of
Jesus Christ operating through the normal channels of his Church. Orders produce an
ontological or real change in the one ordained. Once consecrated he is no longer a lay
person and he is no longer exactly like non-priests. He has received a charism that
consecrates him to continuing Christ’s prophetic and sacramental ministry.
Jesus is a priest by nature; he was born a priest and he died a priest. For, from the
first moment of his conception he offered himself to the Father as a propitiation for our
sins and he is our only Mediator with the Father (1 Tim. 2:5). When he instituted orders
at the Last Supper he provided that the work of his Incarnation should be continued in
history by his apostles and their successors—the bishops and priests installed by
them to carry on his mission. So the priest is configured to Christ in a unique way to
proclaim the word and to administer the Sacraments, not for his own profit and glory, but
for the good of the whole flock of Christ.
The priest of Jesus Christ makes Him, in a certain way, visible and tangible in this
passing world. Through the sacramental words of consecration and forgiveness, which only
he can utter efficaciously, the grace of Jesus is planted in time and space in a tangible
way. St. Paul says he is an ambassador for Christ; in his preaching he is his messenger;
in providing for the people Gospel and Sacrament he is also an agent of Christ.
Even if a priest is unworthy of his calling, his sacramental acts are valid and
communicate grace; this occurs, not because of him, but in spite of him and in virtue of
the grace of Christ in the Church.
The holy priest is one who has identified himself with Christ according to the measure of
the grace granted to him. The Church expects her priests to be holy. To be effective, to
be convincing, to be agents of conversion, the priest must integrate his priesthood with
his personal life. This is not just a counsel; it is a duty that flows from the nature of
the priesthood of Jesus Christ. So even if the priest is not a vowed religious, he must
still follow the evangelical counsels in the way proper to diocesan priests. We see a
striking example of this in the life of the Cure of Ars who is now the patron of priests.
Priesthood is not just a 9 to 5 job; it is not just a function that some men perform for
the good of the Church. It is a total way of life. Since he is commissioned to continue
the salvific work of Jesus in word and sacrament, the sacrifice of his sexual love in
celibacy is not just a practical arrangement. His renunciation of wife and children is
basically a clear sign to the world that God has planted in him something that transcends
all earthly values, namely, his own divine life as the life of the new and eternal
kingdom. The woman who greeted me in St. Patrick’s Cathedral was probably not
thinking along these lines, but it was implied in the reverent gratitude she showed for
the precious gift I carry with me wherever I go—the priesthood of Jesus Christ.
The Amazing Gift of the Priesthood
As year is added to year, it is my guess that most priests become more deeply aware of the
unfathomable treasure they posses in the amazing grace of the priesthood. Simply stated,
the Catholic priest is another Christ. Through his ordination he has been granted the
amazing gift of being a channel of divine grace for the eternal salvation of those he come
into contact with—both in his official ministry and in his personal life.
We priests all know this, through our study of theology, in a theoretical or abstract way.
By prayer, service, sacrifice and perseverance in spite of all obstacles we gradually come
to savor it more profoundly in our inner consciousness as we grow older. No doubt, the
whole process is guided by the outpouring of divine grace—especially the grace that
comes to us through our intimate association with God’s Word and his Seven
Sacraments.
Because of his close association with Jesus Christ, with his Word and his Sacraments,
there should be no such thing as an “identity crisis” for the Catholic priest.
Recently while reading an article on this subject by Fr. Cormac P. Burke, an Irish priest
now working in Rome, I came across the following: “A priest then should not only be
convinced of his priestly usefulness, he should be convinced it is unique—because our
Lord has made it unique. He should not only be aware of his identity, he should be proud
of it, and indeed amazed at it. For his real identity is nothing less in fact than
amazing” (emphasis added).
The celibate Catholic priest is a visible witness to the transcendence of God, to the fact
that Catholics really believe in personal survival after death and eternal reward or
punishment. He is a witness to transcendence both in what he is and what he does. Writing
about the priest, some years ago Cardinal Joseph Hoeffner of Cologne, Germany, said that
our people “want a servant of Christ who is a witness and dispenser of a life other
than that of this earth.” “The priest in the modern world,” he added,
“is an extraordinary challenge because he does not announce himself but our Lord
Jesus Christ, judge and savior of humanity.”
The priest is an alter Christus, another Christ. Msgr. Josemaria Escriva put it this way:
“What is the identity of the priest? It is the identity of Christ himself.” The
priest is “set apart,” not to be distant, but to be totally dedicated to the
Lord’s work (Vat. II, Decrees on Priests, #3). Msgr. Escriva also wisely said that
the priest is not more a Christian than the layperson, but he is more a priest.
In the same vein, Pope John Paul II summarized the meaning of the priesthood in his 1979
Holy Thursday Letter to Priests: “In practical terms, the only priest who will always
prove necessary to people is the priest who is conscious of the full meaning of his
priesthood: the priest who believes profoundly, who professes his faith with courage, who
prays fervently, who teaches with deep conviction, who serves, who puts into practice in
his own life the program of the beatitudes, who knows how to love disinterestedly, who is
close to everyone, and especially to those who are most in need” (#7).
Priests who strive to live their priesthood in that way will never have an identity
crisis, but they will be continually amazed at their gift of the priesthood.
Father Kenneth Baker, S.J. is editor of Homiletic and Pastoral Review.