The Most important role of a priest

[angelkiss24u]

Hey, can anyone tell me what is the most important role of a priest? Or should i ask if it is more important to decorate or beautify the church than it is to provide spiritual food?

 

[kennewickmike]

I would say hand out the Eucharist. Then the other sacraments.

 

[BSHoop96]

Hey, can anyone tell me what is the most important role of a priest? Or should i ask if it is more important to decorate or beautify the church than it is to provide spiritual food?

By your second question I’m not quite sure where you are going with this but I think there is something else brewing here. I would say his most important role is that of consecration. I would say the sacrament of reconciliation is second. This is a personal opinion.

 

[LilyM]

By your second question I’m not quite sure where you are going with this but I think there is something else brewing here. I would say his most important role is that of consecration. I would say the sacrament of reconciliation is second. This is a personal opinion.

Me smells something coming up too. What happened to make you ask the question angelkiss?

 

[Trishie]

To offer sacrifice, the Sacrifice of the Mass.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1565 Through the sacrament of Holy Orders priests share in the universal dimensions of the mission that Christ entrusted to the apostles. The spiritual gift they have received in ordination prepares them, not for a limited and restricted mission, “but for the fullest, in fact the universal mission of salvation 'to the end of the earth,”'47 "prepared in spirit to preach the Gospel everywhere."48

1566 "It is in the Eucharistic cult or in the Eucharistic assembly of the faithful (synaxis) that they exercise in a supreme degree their sacred office; there, acting in the person of Christ and proclaiming his mystery, they unite the votive offerings of the faithful to the sacrifice of Christ their head, and in the sacrifice of the Mass they make present again and apply, until the coming of the Lord, the unique sacrifice of the New Testament, that namely of Christ offering himself once for all a spotless victim to the Father."49 From this unique sacrifice their whole priestly ministry draws its strength.50

48 OT 20.
49 LG 28; cf. 1 Cor 11:26.
50 Cf. PO 2.

 

[JMJ_coder]

Hey, can anyone tell me what is the most important role of a priest?

To be a steward and dispenser of the Mysteries of God! (1 Cor. 4:1)

 

[Layman]

A pal asked me this question. I said “To say Mass”. He said, actually, no, you’re wrong, it’s to preach the Gospel.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Hey, can anyone tell me what is the most important role of a priest? Or should i ask if it is more important to decorate or beautify the church than it is to provide spiritual food?

To celebrate the Sacraments, specifically Mass and Reconciliation.

 

[BSHoop96]

A pal asked me this question. I said “To say Mass”. He said, actually, no, you’re wrong, it’s to preach the Gospel.

We can all do that…either by words or actions. Only a priest can celebrate certain Sacraments. Was your friend Catholic?

 

[Angel_Bradford]

Hey, can anyone tell me what is the most important role of a priest? Or should i ask if it is more important to decorate or beautify the church than it is to provide spiritual food?

To bring the people to Jesus and Jesus to the people.

 

[Cristiano]

A pal asked me this question. I said “To say Mass”. He said, actually, no, you’re wrong, it’s to preach the Gospel.

Isn’t celebrating the Mass one of the most effective ways to preach the Gospel?

 

[FrCorey]

Hey, can anyone tell me what is the most important role of a priest? Or should i ask if it is more important to decorate or beautify the church than it is to provide spiritual food?

the roll his lunch was on. lol

To be there for the people when they need him.

 

[FrDavid96]

Hey, can anyone tell me what is the most important role of a priest? Or should i ask if it is more important to decorate or beautify the church than it is to provide spiritual food?

The single most important thing a priest does is to celebrate the Mass.

But keep in mind that priests, just like everyone else have to prioritize their time.

A properly decorated Church enhances the beauty of the Mass. A properly decorated Church is one of the means to the end of “providing spiritual food.”

 

[andy120]

We can all do that…either by words or actions. Only a priest can celebrate certain Sacraments. Was your friend Catholic?

I did hear a theologian at a seminary speak about “preaching” as specifically the job of those in Holy Orders. That while lay share the Gospel message in other ways, bishops, priests, and deacons are the only ones who preach the Gospel (specifically in celebrating the Mass). More of a difference in terminology than theology.

I’m not sure if he is right, or if I even understood him right, but that may be where the friend is coming from.

 

[benedictgal]

Actually, you cannot get a more clear picture of the role of a priest than that given by Pope Benedict XVI when he presided over his first ordination Mass as Bishop of Rome. Here is what he said back in 2005:

Dear Ordinandi, in this way the message of Pentecost is now aimed directly at you. The Pentecostal scene of the Gospel of John speaks to you and of you. To each one of you, in a very personal way, the Lord says: Peace to [all of] you - peace to you! When the Lord says this, he does not give something, but he gives himself. Indeed, he himself is peace (cf. Eph 2: 14).

In this greeting of the Lord, we can also foresee a reference to the great mystery of faith, to the Holy Eucharist, in which he continually gives himself to us, and, in this way, true peace.

Sacrament of the Eucharist

This greeting is placed at the centre of your priestly mission: the Lord entrusts to you the mystery of this Sacrament. In his Name you can say: “This is my Body… This is my Blood”. Allow yourselves to be drawn ever anew by the Holy Eucharist, by communion of life with Christ. Consider the centre of each day the possibility to celebrate the Eucharist worthily. Lead people ever anew to this mystery. Help them, starting from this, to bring the peace of Christ into the world.

Furthermore, if you were to look at the Rite for Ordination into the priesthood, the ordinand’s hands are annointed with Chrism to offer the Sacrifice. He is then presented with the chalice, the paten, the stole and the chasuble. These are the symbols of his priestly office.

The deacon, on the other hand, be he permanent or transitional, is presented with the Book of the Gospel, since he is called to preach. Note that St. Francis of Assisi was not a priest; he was a deacon, and he considered it his primary role to proclaim and preach the Gospel.

Obviously, the priest is called to preach the Gospel; however, his primary role is to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Without the priesthood, there would be no Mass.

 

[Cristiano]

Actually, you cannot get a more clear picture of the role of a priest than that given by Pope Benedict XVI when he presided over his first ordination Mass as Bishop of Rome. Here is what he said back in 2005:

Furthermore, if you were to look at the Rite for Ordination into the priesthood, the ordinand’s hands are annointed with Chrism to offer the Sacrifice. He is then presented with the chalice, the paten, the stole and the chasuble. These are the symbols of his priestly office.

The deacon, on the other hand, be he permanent or transitional, is presented with the Book of the Gospel, since he is called to preach. Note that St. Francis of Assisi was not a priest; he was a deacon, and he considered it his primary role to proclaim and preach the Gospel.

Obviously, the priest is called to preach the Gospel; however, his primary role is to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Without the priesthood, there would be no Mass.

I think that all of this is semantics. A priest is ordained first as a deacon and the very first mission that he receives is to go and preach the gospel. If the first mission the foremost? Or is the Mass the foremost? I think that we are making a great theological error in separating the Mass from the Gospel from the pastoral care etc… The Mass and the other Sacraments are one more “tool in the priest’s arsenal” to do God’s will and to help us in accepting our salvation. The role of the priest is to take care of the souls entrusted to him, no more splitting hairs please!

 

[Layman]

My friend is a lay member of a schola. He’s keen on traditional Catholicism.

I suppose preaching the Gospel is the very first thing the apostles and St. Paul did. Mass came later(?). Or if you go into a pagan land, that’s the first thing you have to do. **No preaching = no congregation. **

The Gospel is of course preached at Mass by default (reading + sermon), so priests are covered there, regardless.

 

[benedictgal]

My friend is a lay member of a schola. He’s keen on traditional Catholicism.

I suppose preaching the Gospel is the very first thing the apostles and St. Paul did. Mass came later(?). Or if you go into a pagan land, that’s the first thing you have to do. No preaching = no congregation.

The Gospel is of course preached at Mass by default (reading + sermon), so priests are covered there, regardless.

No. If you read the Acts of the Apostles, the Mass (the phrase “breaking of the bread” in the lectionary) is mentioned early on in the life of the Church. St. Paul also makes note of it in his first letter to the Corinthians (which is also the first record of liturgical abuse in the New Testament).

Here is what Pope Benedict XVI observed a year later, in 2006, when he preached at his second ordination Mass as Bishop of Rome:

Let us now take a closer look at the three fundamental affirmations of Jesus on the good shepherd. The first one, which very forcefully pervades the whole discourse on shepherds, says: the shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The mystery of the Cross is at the centre of Jesus’ service as a shepherd: it is the great service that he renders to all of us.

He gives himself and not only in a distant past. In the Holy Eucharist he does so every day, he gives himself through our hands, he gives himself to us. For this good reason the Holy Eucharist, in which the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross remains continually present, truly present among us, is rightly at the centre of priestly life.

And with this as our starting point, we also learn what celebrating the Eucharist properly means: it is an encounter with the Lord, who strips himself of his divine glory for our sake, allows himself be humiliated to the point of death on the Cross and thus gives himself to each one of us.

The daily Eucharist is very important for the priest. In it he exposes himself ever anew to this mystery; ever anew he puts himself in God’s hands, experiencing at the same time the joy of knowing that He is present, receives me, ever anew raises and supports me, gives me his hand, himself. The Eucharist must become for us a school of life in which we learn to give our lives.

Thus, he stresses that the most important duty of a priest is to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. A deacon cannot do that. All he can do is preach, assist with the distribution of Holy Communion, and assist at baptisms, weddings and funerals. But, it is only the priest who can celebrate Mass.

 

[SMHW]

The problem with asking about the “most important” role of a priest is that “most important” isn’t always a simple concept . It depends on context. Something can be important because it has a unique or it can be important because it is foundational. In general, no matter how unique something is, it can’t exist without that which is foundational.

For example, most people would say carrying an unborn child is an important “act” for a woman. It is unique because men can’t do it. But eating and breathing can be done by both sexes so they are not unique to women but are more foundational to the continuation of the human species than carrying a child to term because both mother and child will die if the woman does not breath and eat.

The role of preaching is foundational to the priesthood. But it’s not unique to the priesthood because deacons also have that role. The role of saying Mass is unique to the priesthood (obviously I’m including bishops here too) but it is not foundational to the priesthood.

When someone asks a question like, “What is the most important role of a priest?” I think most people assume the question is about the most significant unique role of a priest. But if the asker is looking for a more foundational aspect of the priesthood (or of human beings in general), then the answer may be different.

 

[BSHoop96]

I did hear a theologian at a seminary speak about “preaching” as specifically the job of those in Holy Orders. That while lay share the Gospel message in other ways, bishops, priests, and deacons are the only ones who preach the Gospel (specifically in celebrating the Mass). More of a difference in terminology than theology.

I’m not sure if he is right, or if I even understood him right, but that may be where the friend is coming from.

Absolutely a lay person MAY NOT preach the homily. I was thinking more about in our daily lives. As in St. Francis saying (this is not an exact quote) “spread the gospel, if necessary use words.”