Day 212: In Persona Christi  (1546-1553)

• It’s Day 212!!

• We are continuing to talk about HOLY ORDERS, the first of the sacraments of service

• TWO PARTICIPATIONS IN THE ONE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST

• There is the KINGDOM priesthood aka baptismal priesthood which is us, the community of believers

• There is the MINISTERIAL priesthood of the bishops and priests

• There is a unique claim made about ministerial priests in that they act IN PERSONA CHRISTI CAPITIS

• IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST THE HEAD…

• We will learn what it is for the priest to be an icon of Christ in some ways and what it is for the priest to be a servant

• The ministerial priesthood is at the service of the kingdom priesthood 

• The goal of the ministerial priesthood is to help the baptismal priesthood

• The goal of being a priest in the New Covenant is to be at the service of the lay people aka kingdom priests aka baptismal priests of the New Covenant

• They are given authority and power

• BUT…

• That power is meant to be placed at the service of others

• They act…”IN THE NAME OF THE WHOLE CHURCH”

• This is an incredible opportunity to be reminded of the role of priests and the way in which they are called to serve and build up the Body of Christ

• And also how baptized people are called to build up the Body of Christ

• Let’s pray!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, in the name of Jesus, in the Power of your Holy Spirit, we present ourselves before you, and we ask that you please bless this time. Bless this time that we just hear these words of the Catechism. Bless this time that we come together in this virtual, and somewhat divided, and strange and new way. But bless this time that we can actually be united as a Church, that we can be united as followers of your Son, Jesus, that we can be united by our common priesthood, the priesthood of all believers, and be united by the ministerial priests who have served us. Lord God, I pray that you please bless those ministerial priests. Bless them in their weakness. Bless them in their need for you. Bless them in their need for forgiveness, in their need for reconciliation. Bless them in their struggles. Bless every priest this day. Make them holy. Make them like you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”

• So there we have it!!

• We started with a bit of a review in Paragraphs 1546 and 1547

• It was about the importance and the vital necessity of these two participations in the ONE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST

• We have the baptismal priesthood and the ministerial priesthood

• The ministerial priesthood is also known as the hierarchical priesthood

• So how do the faithful exercise their baptismal priesthood?

• Paragraph 1546 says, “The whole community of believers is, as such, priestly. The faithful exercise their baptismal priesthood through their participation, each according to his own vocation, in Christ’s mission as priest, prophet, and king.”

• We bring that out into the world

• Whatever YOU suffer, you get to unite that with the sufferings of JESUS

• Whenever YOU work, you get to unite that to the work of JESUS

• Whenever YOU rejoice, you get to unite that to the joy of JESUS

• Whenever YOU worship at Mass, you get to unite that to the self offering of JESUS

• THAT IS SO IMPORTANT!!

• Paragraph 1547 says, “The ministerial or hierarchical priesthood of bishops and priests, and the common priesthood of all the faithful participate, ‘each in its own proper way, in the one priesthood of Christ.’ While being ‘ordered to one another,’ they differ essentially. In what sense? While the common priesthood of the faithful is exercised by the unfolding of baptismal grace-a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the Spirit-, the ministerial priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood. It is directed at the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all Christians. The ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church. For this reason it is transmitted by its own sacrament, the sacrament of Holy Orders.”

• THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!

• Why does the ministerial priesthood exist?

• For the glory of the Father

• To serve and worship God

• To build up the Body of Christ on earth

• These are the sacraments of service

• The ministerial priest receives a new power

• IN PERSONA CHRISTI CAPITIS

• The priest is an ICON of Jesus

• THAT IS IMPORTANT!!

• Paragraph 1549 says, “...the bishop is typos tou Patros: he is like the living image of God the Father.”

• BEAUTIFUL!!

• INCREDIBLE!!

• God is present in the priest in a unique way
  Christ has marked this priest in a unique way and has given that priest a certain power

• AND YET…

• That power is meant to be ordered towards service

• IT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND THIS!!

• Dr. Sax wrote a book called “Boys Adrift”

• One of the themes/theories of this book is the way in which young men in the West aka USA and Canada, are given this image of masculinity that has essentially two options

• One option is to be the slacker 

• Whatever

• No big deal

• Just chillin

• Not going to get riled up about anything

• Not going to stand for anything

• I’m cool

• We’re cool

• Be cool

• The other image is the bully or the brute

• Gets their way all the time

• Barges into the room

• Hypermasculine

• What are the two flaws that either the slacker or the bully fall into?

• The flaw is that they are both given a unique strength

• They are given a masculine strength

• The slacker wastes it

• The bully uses that strength to dominate others and serve himself

• There is a third option

• That third option is the image of Jesus

• Jesus has all authority and power given to Him

• He is the King of kings

• He is the Lord of lords

• There is no one who can take on Christ

• AND YET…

• Jesus does not use that power to dominate

• Jesus does not waste that power

• Jesus puts it AT THE SERVICE OF THOSE AROUND HIM

• THIS IS WHAT IT IS TO BE A MAN!!

• This is not an exclusive thing

• Women are given their own graces and special gifts

• But in the context of this book “Boys Adrift” what it is to be a man is to place one’s strength at the service of others

• That is what a good man does

• Not to waste that strength

• Not to use that strength to dominate others

• This is both male and female

• Men are given certain characteristics and women are given certain characteristics

• All of those gifts that God has given us are meant to be placed AT THE SERVICE OF THOSE AROUND US

• The gifts that are poured upon a bishop or priest are given FOR THE SERVICE OF THE COMMUNITY

• He can be a slacker priest or a bully priest who just serves himself

• Neither of those is ideal

• THE IDEAL IS ALWAYS JESUS!!

• Does this priest love like Christ?

• Paragraph 1550 says, “This presence of Christ in the minister is not to be understood as if the latter were preserved from all human weaknesses, the spirit of domination, error, even sin. The power of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee all acts of ministers in the same way. While this guarantee extends to the sacraments, so that even the minister’s sin cannot impede the fruit of grace, in many other acts the minister leaves human traces that are not always signs of fidelity to the Gospel and consequently can harm the apostolic fruitfulness of the Church.”

• Even if a priest is in a state of mortal sin when he is offering Mass or giving absolution in Confession, THAT REALLY IS JESUS STILL THERE!!

• It is not going to get in the way of it being the Mass

• It is not going to get in the way of you being forgiven of all your sins

• Anyone who has been hurt in small or very large, painful ways by a priest or bishop knows that it is true that in many other acts the minister leaves human traces that are not always signs of fidelity to the Gospel

• We have been given flawed fathers

• Yes the ministerial priesthood is completely unique

• The amount of grace that they can bring into our lives is unfathomable

• St. John Vianney said, “If we knew the reality of the priesthood, we would die from joy.”

• At the same time, the failings, flaws, and sins of priests can hurt us maybe more than anything

• Isn’t that true about our families as well?

• To experience the love of a father is incredible

• BUT…

• Our fathers can also be the ones who hurt us the most

• The father can be the one who builds up the family more than any other

• Moms in the family are so incredible

• So amazing

• To have a strong and loving mother is such a gift

• A mom who is flawed and fallen is painful

• AND YET…

• To have a father who is there and a father who loves

• A father who strengthens his children

• Fathers do it in a different way than moms 

• One is not better than the other

• BUT…

• There is something so so devastating to families when the father is not there

• When the father uses his strength for himself

• When the father makes bad decisions and hurts his children

• The Church is a family

• The Church is the family of God

• We have been given fathers and some of them are amazing

• We have all known priests that we love

• We all know bishops that we love

• AND YET…

• We can also know priests who hurt us

• Priests better live up to the weight that is placed on them

• Let’s listen to Fr. Mike’s story about Dr. Chris Thompson…

• MILLSTONES!!

• Jesus said, “If one of you leads any of these little ones to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone was placed around his neck and he was cast into the sea.”

• This is the seriousness 

• God has given His ministerial priests this sacred power

• BUT…

• With great power, comes great responsibility (Shout out to Uncle Ben!!  Uncle Ben Talks to Peter 😉)

• The priest must NEVER abuse that power

• IN FACT…

• Paragraph 1551 says, “The sacrament of Holy Orders communicates a ‘sacred power’ which is none other than that of Christ. The exercise of this authority must therefore be measured against the model of Christ, who by love made himself the least and the servant of all.”

• THAT IS WHAT EVERY PRIEST IS CALLED TO DO!! 

• Fr. Mike is a mess and is not as good a spiritual father as he wants to be

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!