Feb
15
The Priesthood: The Bridge to Salvation
As it is my last semester in the seminary before ordination to the Holy Priesthood, I have spent a great deal of time in prayer about and meditation upon the priesthood. My thesis is on the theology and reform of the priesthood of St. John of Avila, the great Spanish reformer of the 16th Century. This has led me to so many different writings and thoughts on the priesthood.
It is truly an amazing role. The priest literally becomes Christ when he is offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and when he forgives sin in the Sacrament of Penance. The priest represents Christ and the Church in all he does in the world. Yet at the Altar of Sacrifice, at Holy Mass, the priest represents all of us in what he does and in what he offers to heaven.
It is truly an amazing role. The priest literally becomes Christ when he is offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and when he forgives sin in the Sacrament of Penance. The priest represents Christ and the Church in all he does in the world. Yet at the Altar of Sacrifice, at Holy Mass, the priest represents all of us in what he does and in what he offers to heaven.