It is no coincidence that in this issue we remember at the same time Father’s Day and the jubilee of several priests in our archdiocese.
We recognize in God the Father the perfect model of the life-giving role of a human father who provides for all our needs. This role, as it is fulfilled by our natural fathers, is also fulfilled by priests — who feed us spiritually — thanks to the immense gift that is the sacrament of holy orders.
The priesthood, understood as that reality that separated a man from the people to consecrate him to God and, in the name of God, to serve the people, already existed in the Old Testament. The Levites, for example, constituted the priestly class of the children of Israel. But it was the Lord Jesus himself who, in order to ensure the permanence of his gifts among us, instituted the sacrament of holy orders in the church.
The sacrament of holy orders is precisely the sacrament which allows the mission conferred by Christ to his apostles to continue being exercised until the end of time, through the transformation of a worthy man into Alter Christus, into another Christ.
In fact, as St. Thomas Aquinas said, “Only Christ is the true priest; the rest are his ministers.” The sacrament received by those of us who are priests is a participation in the only priesthood of Christ, whom we celebrate as the eternal high priest.
Without this sacrament, the church could simply not exist: there would not be anyone to forgive sins, to reconcile men to God and to consecrate the Eucharist, the bread of eternal life.
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that the sacrament of holy orders “yields a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit which configures the recipient to Christ in his triple office as priest, prophet and king, according to the respective degrees of the sacrament. Ordination confers an indelible spiritual character and therefore cannot be repeated or conferred for a limited time.” (Compendium 335)
In fact, unlike marriage, which unites the spouses “until death do us part,” the priesthood is “forever:” even after death, regardless of his destiny, he will still be a priest.
The first rank of order is the episcopal ordination, which gives the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders, makes the bishop a legitimate successor to the apostles, makes him a member of the episcopal college, sharing with the pope and other bishops the care and concern for all the churches, and it confers upon him the offices of teaching, sanctifying and governing the portion of the people of God that has been entrusted to him by the vicar of Christ.
That is why the bishop is the visible principal and the foundation of the unity of the local church, in which he fulfills, as a vicar of Christ, the pastoral office, assisted by his presbyters and deacons.
The priest, as a cooperator in the episcopal order, is consecrated to preach the Gospel, to celebrate the divine worship, especially the Eucharist, from which his entire ministry receives strength, and to become the pastor of the faithful.
That is why the Christian tradition, since the earliest times, has used the title of “father” to refer to the priest. This is because priests, due to the decision of Jesus Christ, who instituted this sacrament, have received a special ministry directly from Christ. It is not a ministry that comes from themselves, from their human qualities or their leadership abilities. Nor have they received it by mandate or delegation from the community. They have received it from Christ himself through the church.
Therefore, we priests, have a serious responsibility conferred to us by the Lord Jesus. Our vocation is to be the redeeming presence of the sweet Lord Jesus in the midst of the people.
That is why we should say a prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of the priesthood, especially for the priests of our archdiocese, who celebrate special anniversaries of fidelity to their vocation. And let us pray that the Lord will send our archdiocese abundant and holy vocations to the priesthood.