Priest a God?

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I was given this quote. It seems a little off so I wanted to run it by you guys, I know that you are much more informed about Catholicism than I, and get some feedback.

This was supposed to come from the Council of Trent “Where for They [Priests] are justl called not only angels, but also God…”

And from a former Archbishop of Ottawa, Canada, “Without the Priest the Passion of Our Lord would be of no avail to us.”

Could anyone clearify this more me?
 
Methodology said:
I was given this quote. It seems a little off so I wanted to run it by you guys, I know that you are much more informed about Catholicism than I, and get some feedback.

This was supposed to come from the Council of Trent “Where for They [Priests] are justl called not only angels, but also God…”

And from a former Archbishop of Ottawa, Canada, “Without the Priest the Passion of Our Lord would be of no avail to us.”

Could anyone clearify this more me?
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Well first of all it is proper to say that we all become like gods with Sanctifying Grace but more so the priest through acting in persona Christi

Second, the priest is through whom the Sacraments are made possible. Thus, without the minister of the priest it is impossible to have access to the Sacraments and thus the Passion of Our Lord does not avail us.
 
Methodology said:
I was given this quote. It seems a little off so I wanted to run it by you guys, I know that you are much more informed about Catholicism than I, and get some feedback.

This was supposed to come from the Council of Trent “Where for They [Priests] are justl called not only angels, but also God…”
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I checked on Google and the only sites that come up with are anti-Catholic ones. Sounds like another myth.
 
Eileen_T said:
I checked on Google and the only sites that come up with are anti-Catholic ones. Sounds like another myth.
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You are probably correct but I think that both can be defended if understood is a proper theological context.
 
Methodology said:
I was given this quote. It seems a little off so I wanted to run it by you guys, I know that you are much more informed about Catholicism than I, and get some feedback.

This was supposed to come from the Council of Trent “Where for They [Priests] are justl called not only angels, but also God…”

And from a former Archbishop of Ottawa, Canada, “Without the Priest the Passion of Our Lord would be of no avail to us.”

Could anyone clearify this more me?
Click to expand...
I have never heard either quote. The first one goes against Catholic teaching and can’t even be argued.

The second is a more complex issue. The priest is through whom Christ acts when administering the sacraments. The priest acts in persona Christi(in the person of Christ). The priest represents Christ and Christ acts through him. Through the sacraments(particularly that of baptism and the Eucharist) we recieve the graces of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Without the priesthood we would not have the sacraments, so it can be said that the passion would not avail us. But it is also part of Catholic teaching that Christ could work apart from the sacraments if He so desired. If Christ desired He could make someone part of the Church without recieving the sacrament of baptism.
 
mosher said:
You are probably correct but I think that both can be defended if understood is a proper theological context.
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If you understand it in the way that ‘what Christ was by nature, we become by Grace’ or ‘He took on our weakness that we might put on His strength’ or any other statement that suggests the idea of those who are saved sharing in Christs divinity then it can be reconciled. But I don’t think that is the essence of this statement. I think it is meant to say that the priest is actually called God(the eternal God not just a participation in the divinity of Christ).
 
The anti-Catholics love to use these quotes and then equate Catholicism with Mormonism.

But anyway, the Catechism of the Catholic Church does say-- quoting St. Thomas Aquinas–that

“God became man so that he might make men gods” (n. 460).

To quote Alan Shore, “There’s a legal term for that. Ah. ‘Ooooooh.’”

There’s nothing scary about any such statements that “priests are God,” heck, the Catechism even attaches the label to all the baptized. It’s just that Catholics cherish so much the fact that we are partakers of the divine nature that in a way we become “divine.” And indeed it makes sense. Just as we cannot adopt our dogs, God cannot adopt us. Why? Because we do not share his nature. But in his love, he took our own nature into the Godhead, and have us a share in his own life, allowing us to be called sons and heirs. So in a way, in order to merit adoption, we need to become “gods.” But nowhere does the Church teach that man’s nature will change; absolutely not. Man will remain man forever.

“To become gods” Is just a fancy, idiomatic way of relishing this fact of divine sonship. Perhaps today, such expressions should be used with prudence, because of the capacity for misunderstanding.
 
Methodology said:
I was given this quote. It seems a little off so I wanted to run it by you guys, I know that you are much more informed about Catholicism than I, and get some feedback.

This was supposed to come from the Council of Trent “Where for They [Priests] are justl called not only angels, but also God…”

And from a former Archbishop of Ottawa, Canada, “Without the Priest the Passion of Our Lord would be of no avail to us.”

Could anyone clearify this more me?
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Gimme the source where you got these quotes. Anything like this is suspect until you can look at the context. Most times I have found these types of things to be either completely spurious or misquoted by someone who has an agenda to make the Catholic Church look like they are wrong. (I’m not alleging this about you Method, but it often happens and then someone like you asks about it, [wisely, I might add] and we simply have to find the sources to respond.)

Can you get them to give you the particular document of the from teh Council of Trent this is supposedly from?

The can you get a document source that specifies the supposed archbishop that made the statement?

If whoever gave you that can’t provide it, I’d discount their assertions as unverifiable.

The fact is that there is nothing in Catholic doctrine that supports this as stated. Our priests are sometimes pretty holy guys but we don’t confuse them with angels and certainly not with God Himself. These references from the Catechism of the Catholic Church will give you some idea of what we actually do believe, but I encourage you to read the context of each in order to insure that you understand what is going on.
Pax tecum,
 
Methodology said:
This was supposed to come from the Council of Trent “Where for They [Priests] are justl called not only angels, but also God…”
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Though attributed to the Council of Trent on several anti-Catholic websites, I’ve searched the decrees of the Council of Trent and could not find this quote.

However, even if the quote should turn out to be genuine, one could merely cite John 10:34-35, Romans 13:1-7, and Galatians 4:14, as justification for calling priests “angels” or “God” because they are God’s ministers.
And from a former Archbishop of Ottawa, Canada, “Without the Priest the Passion of Our Lord would be of no avail to us.”
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If genuine, this statement seems to refer to the Sacraments of Eucharist, Confession, and Anointing of the Sick, which are participations in the Passion of our Lord and require a priest for validity. However, the statement is not entirely accurate since the Sacrament of Baptism is a participation in the Passion of our Lord which does not strictly require a priest for validity.
 
Church_Militant said:
Gimme the source where you got these quotes. Anything like this is suspect until you can look at the context. Most times I have found these types of things to be either completely spurious or misquoted by someone who has an agenda to make the Catholic Church look like they are wrong. (I’m not alleging this about you Method, but it often happens and then someone like you asks about it, [wisely, I might add] and we simply have to find the sources to respond.)

Can you get them to give you the particular document of the from teh Council of Trent this is supposedly from?

The can you get a document source that specifies the supposed archbishop that made the statement?

If whoever gave you that can’t provide it, I’d discount their assertions as unverifiable.

The fact is that there is nothing in Catholic doctrine that supports this as stated. Our priests are sometimes pretty holy guys but we don’t confuse them with angels and certainly not with God Himself. These references from the Catechism of the Catholic Church will give you some idea of what we actually do believe, but I encourage you to read the context of each in order to insure that you understand what is going on.
Pax tecum,
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I apologize. What I have given you was to the extent I was given. I will ask him for further refrence and citing.

I was given other quotes as well which may be dubious as well but, I would like to get you’re wise council on it as I am not educated in Catholicism and can not indeferentiate between what is acctually Catholic Dogma and what is far fetched as Catholicism seems rather strange to me. They are rather numerous. Would everyone at this fine forum have the patence with me if I would post them for you and get your response? Maybe I could also send the response back to the sender if they turn negative.
 
Methodology said:
They are rather numerous. Would everyone at this fine forum have the patence with me if I would post them for you and get your response? Maybe I could also send the response back to the sender if they turn negative.
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Back before I was Catholic, I thought people’s patience would run out here on these forums. And now that I am Catholic, I still expect people’s patience to run out, but it hasn’t happened!!

Any question you’ve got or are presented with, there’s at least a few posters here that could address it.

Being that the Catholic Faith is maybe a little new or strange to you on some points, you would certainly benefit by reading some sort of book that gives an intro into what we believe and why. We could recommend a couple for you I’m sure.

I say that because if you take a chisel approach to Catholicism, you will slowly form a general outline of our beliefs. But if you take some time to look at the complete model, then you will be guided much more in your “chiseling” attempt, and you will probably even be able to answer certain questions yourself!
 
Methodology said:
I apologize. What I have given you was to the extent I was given. I will ask him for further refrence and citing.

I was given other quotes as well which may be dubious as well but, I would like to get you’re wise council on it as I am not educated in Catholicism and can not indeferentiate between what is acctually Catholic Dogma and what is far fetched
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as Catholicism seems rather strange to me. They are rather numerous. Would everyone at this fine forum have the patence with me if I would post them for you and get your response? Maybe I could also send the response back to the sender if they turn negative. [SIGN]No apology neccesary! :)[/SIGN] Certainly!

The links that I have given you will indeed connect you to real Catholic teaching and I, (for one ) will be happy to charitably answer anything that I can.
Pax tecum,
 
Eileen_T said:
I checked on Google and the only sites that come up with are anti-Catholic ones. Sounds like another myth.
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Nope. Not a myth. But it’s not from the Council of Trent. It’s from the Catechism of the Council of Trent, in the section on Holy Orders:
Bishops and priests being, as they are, God’s interpreters and ambassadors, empowered in His name to teach mankind the divine law and the rules of conduct, and holding, as they do, His place on earth, it is evident that no nobler function than theirs can be imagined. Justly, therefore, are they called not only Angels, but even gods, because of the fact that they exercise in our midst the power and prerogatives of the immortal God.
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That said, it’s perfectly legitimate and orthodox. But not a myth.
 
Thanks for the clarification.

Isn’t it amazing though how non-Catholics disect Church writings and Teachings just to try and prove how wrong we are. It seems that way to me anyhow. I just got a booklet “Roman Catholics: What They Believe” from an anti-Catholic source.
 
So Mr. John Henry, am I interpreting that passage correctly in that it means to say that Preists are doing something in the name of God?
 
Methodology said:
So Mr. John Henry, am I interpreting that passage correctly in that it means to say that Preists are doing something in the name of God?
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It is simply meant to underscore the absolute importance of the offices of bishop and priest, in that they teach divine truths and exercise divine power in our midst. It doesn’t say that they are gods and angels (obviously), but that they can be called such. The power they exercise is so great that such names are not out of place.
 
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