Holy Priests... are they Holier than Us?

[sfracchia]

I have had a really good question from at least two very genuine Christian friends that are not Catholic. The gist is… do we think that priests are holier than other? And if a priest is just as likely to sin as anyone else, why do we look up to them or believe they have special powers to perfect the Eucharist, give absolution, etc.

I believe it has to do with the Sacrament of Holy Orders. And the graces received through the commissioning of Peter and onward. That while these “men” may have human stain, through the power of the Holy Spirit they are able to go “in personna Christi” and be His ordained ministers.

I’d like a little more depth and back up. Especially when we get asked about priests who may have partaken in a grave moral matter, and why that priest can validly hear confession or say Mass. As a cradle Catholic, I feel like I inherently take some of that for granted, and ultimately know that it is through the power of Jesus that the priest is doing His work. But if you can give me a little more reference material, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Margaret_Ann]

First of all, there is one Priest, and that is Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who is both High Priest and Victim.

Every validly ordained Catholic priest participates in the One Priesthood of Christ, from the Apostles down to the present day.

From the moment a man is ordained a deacon to the fullness of the priesthood as a bishop, he is marked with a character which sets him apart from laymen. The three Sacraments which impose a character are Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders. Deacon, Priest and Bishop are the three degrees of Holy Orders. They are not separate sacraments. (This is another reason why women cannot be deacons, Deo Gratias.) A deacon participates in the priesthood of Christ even though he cannot forgive sins, which only a priest or bishop can do. A priest has a higher degree of Holy Orders. He can offer the Liturgy but he cannot ordain another priest, which only a bishop can do. (True trivia tidbit to impress your friends: A Byzantine priest has 7 crosses on his epitrakhilion - 1 on his neck and 3 on each side. The 6 crosses represent the 6 Mysteries/Sacraments he can confer. The 1 cross on his neck represents the Mystery/Sacrament of Holy Orders, which he has received but cannot confer.)

In the Old Testament, the tribe of Levi was set aside as the priestly tribe. The Levites and priests who sinned (read 1 Kings/Samuel to see how God called Samuel) were punished more severely than the rest of the people.

At the Last Supper, Our Lord instituted the Sacrament of Holy Orders as well as the Holy Eucharist. All the Apostles were there, including Judas Iscariot. So Judas Iscariot was one of first 12 bishops of the Church. See Acts 1: 15-20:

[15] In those days Peter rising up in the midst of the brethren, said: (now the number of persons together was about an hundred and twenty

[16] Men, brethren, the scripture must needs be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was the leader of them that apprehended Jesus: [17] Who was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. [18] And he indeed hath possessed a field of the reward of iniquity, and being hanged, burst asunder in the midst: and all his bowels gushed out. [19] And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: so that the same field was called in their tongue, Haceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. [20] For it is written in the book of Psalms: Let their habitation become desolate, and let there be none to dwell therein. And his bishopric let another take.

Then St. Matthias was elected to replace him. C.f. New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia

So the sins of a priest are more grievous than the sins of a layman, and the virtues of a priest are more edifying than those of laymen.

O God, grant us many holy priests!

 

[Beryllos]

I have been re-reading God Is Near Us, a collection of essays and homilies about the Eucharist, by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later, Pope Benedict XVI). In one of his essays, he touches on this question.

Referring to the words of consecration which the priest speaks, “This is my Body,” and “This is the chalice of my Blood,” he writes:

But these words are the words of Jesus Christ. No man can pronounce them for himself… No one can endow himself with such authority; no one else can give it to him. It can only be the gift of the Church as a whole, the one whole Church, to whom the Lord has communicated himself.

Earlier in the essay, he developed the idea that there is only one Eucharistic celebration, the one which Jesus celebrated at the Last Supper; and that, as we celebrate the Eucharist in each Mass, we are present at the Last Supper, as Jesus is present at our Mass; and through this communion, our celebration of the Eucharist is concurrent with every Eucharist celebrated by the Church in every place and every age. This is (approximately) what he means by “the whole Church.”

He continues:

For this reason, the Mass needs the person who… represents the whole Church, the Church of all places and all ages, which has passed on to him what was passed on to her… Being entrusted with the mission that the whole Church in her unity has received is what we call ordination to the priesthood.

 

[Diaconia]

Priests are not holier as a group, but individual priests may be holier than individual people.

They also may be LESS holy than individual laity, as well.

Remember, the holiest human being to ever live (and it’s not even CLOSE), is the Mother of God.

The Queen of Apostles, the Queen of Angels, the Queen of heaven and earth.

Deacon Christopher

 

[lil_user]

do we think that priests are holier than other?

This is as when we proclaim that the Church is holy and immaculate.

Has the Church lacked sinners within it? Have people within the Church, even at high levels, not sinned and caused great scandal?

But the Church is holy and immaculate, by and for the glory of God.

Those who receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders receive a mark upon their souls that sets them apart and cannot be erased, no matter what. They can act in persona Christi, and this is an incredibly high honor worthy of much reverence on our end.

Holiness is a separate issue. A priest can sin. A priest can even go to hell. The Church can suspend and laicize a priest, but these are suspensions of his faculties, not removal, as you cannot undo what God did, anymore than you can undo Baptism! And God forbid we refrain from receiving the Sacraments from an ordained minister due to his personal life!

And if I was in point of death on a sidewalk, and a priest who committed grave sins and lived in sin still and was even defrocked approached me to give me absolution, I would kiss his hand and die knowing God and His Church are with me.

 

[Feel]

Father Salas Casey a priest from Detroit is a good example of a Catholic priest that had prayers answered but was not allowed to say mass.

 

[Nicene]

I’d like a little more depth and back up. Especially when we get asked about priests who may have partaken in a grave moral matter, and why that priest can validly hear confession or say Mass.

Common sense: where in sacred scripture does it say one must be sinless in order to forgive sin?

Point 2 on a more remedial level that also would nullify the Lord’s Prayer for the common parishioner i.e. “forgive us our sins as we forgive those”

Peace and God Bless
Nicene

 

[Genesis315]

Priest’s “powers” are charisms. Charisms are gifts given to some for the good of all. As gifts, they are not conditioned on merit.

That being said, the Church’s leaders should be prudent in who it chooses for positions of leadership and should like for those with wisdom and holiness, since those traits benefit the flock too. But, since all human beings are wounded by original sin and have the potential for to sin themselves (which all do), this does not always happen, as history shows.