The Priesthood

The Priesthood

In pursuit of the truth - http://www.cinopsbegoneblogsport.com - Friday, June 13, 2014

WE HAVE EXCERPTS FROM THE CLASSIC BOOK BY JOSEPH CARDINAL RATZINGER, CO-WORKER OF THE TRUTH, MEDITATIONS FOR EVERY DAY,  IGNATIOUS 1992 IGNATIUS PRESS, SAN FRANCISCO

  What exactly is ordination? ... "Are you prepared to unite yourself daily more  closely with Christ, our High  Priest, and to become with him a sacrificial offering for the glory of God and  the salvation of mankind?" Although it is not expressly stated, the  concept of the eucharistic ministry as the center of the priest's existence is at the root of this question....

  The first and main requirement is that the priest  make himself the servant of the God who is greater than he is, that he learn to transcend himself and for which we are all waiting; for whether we know it or not, we all long to transcend the works of our own spirit, our own hands, and to receive the festive gift. This last question: "Are prepared to become a sacrificial offering ...?" means "Are you prepared to let yourself be drawn into this mystery and so drink the festive wine of Jesus Christ, the wine of the Godhead...?"  Meditation for June 8.

 
In his autobiographical reflection, the French theologian Marc Oraison relates in a thought-provoking manner how he found this way from doctor to priest.... For him, becoming a priest did not mean bidding farewell to all he had hoped to accomplish as a doctor, but it was only in the priesthood that he saw the definitive and complete answer to death: the Resurrection. To make present Christ's Resurrection and our own - can be accomplished only through the power of the priestly ministry.... For that reason the innermost power center of the priestly ministry is and will always be to celebrate the Eucharist of the Lord, to ratify among us, in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, his death and the victory of love... Meditation for June 9.

  The great and always necessary role of the priest consists in this: that, in a world fragmented by specialization and therefore sick and suffering and disintegrated, the priest continues to be someone  who is there for everyone, who holds humanity together from within.... despite all the training necessitated by his priesthood, he is, in the last analysis, not just one specialist among many but a servant of all humans, who guides us over the  rough places of life into God's merciful love, in the unity of the  body of Christ. Meditation for June 10.

  He (the priest) strengthens others in their faith, but he also always receives faith from them.... Faith and prayer belong inseparably together. The time a priest spends in prayer and in hearing the word of God is never at the expense of his pastoral duties to the souls confided to his care. People can tell if the words and actions of their pastor have their origin in his prayer or only at his writing table...  Meditation June 12

  "And you priests have really only one task: to present Jesus to all people in such a way that they see him and learn to love him. Then everything that faith teaches will be self-evident." I remember then that Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Galations, described his activity as apostle and priest in the  following words: "I depicted Christ clearly before your eyes." (cf. Gal 3:1) Meditation June 13

George H. Kubeck

Addendum - Sunday, June 15, 2014
"The priestly ministry is a ministry of reconciliation.... It is the priest's role to make God's gifts present to us and to associate us with these gifts in such a way that, as the Canon of the Mass puts it, we ourselves become a gift together with him. It is he who is permitted to offer the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in which the things of this world become a glorification of God and new life arises from this sacrifice. He is called not only to speak of God, but to speak with him for all of us and to open to us the highest of all possibilities of human speech - that our words become a conversation with the living God...." Meditation June 14, 2014