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What is the
'priesthood'? The Catechism of the Catholic Church
defines it in the following manner:
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Of the faithful: The
priestly people of God. Christ has made of His
Church a 'kingdom of priests,' and gives the
faithful a share in His Priesthood through the
Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation
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Ministerial: The
ministerial Priesthood received in the Sacrament of
Holy Orders differs in essence
from this common priesthood of the faithful.
It has as its purpose to serve the priesthood of all
the faithful by building up and guiding of the
Church in the Name of Christ,
Who is Head of the Body.
When we speak of 'priesthood', we are
speaking of the Ministerial Priesthood, where its
members receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders and thus
become an 'Alter Christus' - an Other Christ. In a
special way, the Ministerial Priesthood makes present to
us the Priesthood of Jesus Christ...the Eternal High
Priest, Who offered Himself once and for all in a
perfect sacrifice upon the Cross.
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Is's
and Is Not's |
taken from Bishop
Dolan's Priests for the 3rd Millennium |
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The Priesthood IS a
call, NOT a career
The Priesthood IS
a redefinition of self,
NOT just a new ministry
The Priesthood IS a
state of being, NOT
just a function
The Priesthood IS a
permanent, lifelong commitment,
NOT just a style of service
The Priesthood IS an
identity, NOT just a
role |
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"We are Priests; yes
the doing, the ministry, is mighty important, but it
flows from the being; we can act like Priests,
preach as Priests, because FIRST AND FOREMOST WE ARE
PRIESTS! BEING BEFORE ACT!"
-Bishop Doran |
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What happens at
the Ordination of a Priest?
Perhaps Bl. Columba Marmion
says it best when it says: "Remember what
happens on the day of Ordination. On that
blessed morning, a young levite, overwhelmed by
the sentiment of his own unworthiness and
weakness, prostrates himself before the bishop
who represents the heavenly Pontiff; he bows his
head under the imposition of hands by the
consecrating prelate. At this moment the
Holy Ghost descends upon him and the Eternal
Father is able to contemplate with ineffable
complacency this new Priest, a living
reproduction of His beloved Son: Hic est Filius
meus dilectus....At this moment, full of
mystery, the Holy Ghost takes possession of this
chosen one of the Lord, and effects between
Christ and him an eternal resemblance..."
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"When a man becomes a Priest,
he becomes another Christ. Before his
ordination, he received grace from others.
He is the active, human instrument through which
the grace of Christ passes to men. This
makes it apparent that Holy Orders is s a social
sacrament. ► |
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Baptism, Confirmation,
Communion, Penance, and Extreme Unction sanctify
the individual for his own advantage. But
Holy Orders sanctifies a man for the
benefit of others. It makes him holy so
that he can communcate holiness to others.
- From My
Way of Life |
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"The Priest is a man of
power and authority. By his preaching, example,
and counsel, he directs the lives of his parishioners in
accordance with the revealed wisdom of God and the laws
of the Church. In his administration of the
Sacraments and blessings of the Church, he is the human
channel through which the power of the Passion of Christ
is transmitted to men for their salvation. No man
could give himself such power or arrogate to himself
such authority. No mere man could even dare to
choose himself for so stupendous a role in the life of
men. Only God can make a man a Priest, and He does
so in the Sacrament of Holy Orders."
-from My Way of Life |
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