Why does Catholicism have priests?

[scylla]

By “Elders” I assume you mean the “Overseers” or “Pastors” which, my church has. We also have deacons and ministers, As the first century church had. And all were chosen according to the scriptures as laid out by Paul. “5The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint[a] elders in every town, as I directed you. 6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer** is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”

Are the priests the elders of Catholic churches?**

Yes the Priests are, and I agree we have Deacons, ministers and even Bishops as the Bible says.

They must be blameless and not be polygamists, but in addition to taking this quote by Paul, most of our Priests in imitation of Jesus, take a vow of celibacy.

As Jesus is the High Priest, in imitation of the perfect Priest, our Priests vow to lead lives of chastity and obedience and some even go further as Jesus recommended to lead lives of poverty also.

As Jesus is the High Priest, Orthodox Christians and Catholics take Him as our example. In imitation of Jesus the Orthodox also take vows of celibacy if they do not marry prior to their ordination, or if they become widowers.

In Christ
Scylla

How about we make a deal, I will make no more jokes about accuracy in your questions and you will make no more cheap shots, such as (“make things up” and “man made traditions”)
Lets try and be civil.

 

[water]

“I eat spiritual food to grow in spirit. So, I will not eat spiritual poison, lest I die in spirit.”
I do not need to hear your “Catholic” answers. And, plz don’t start with the whole,“Your title said this, but you said this and you contradict yourself.” because I’m not up for it. Just put the word priests in parentheses.

1. No, I don’t believe he is present in the sense you are using.
2. I’m not clear on what this is.(You all have made so many things up, I get lost in all the man made traditions.)
3. Yes.

since you are not agreed with number 1. You miss the whole point here. You said you eat spirtiaul good. How about the real flesh of Jesus Christ. Do you think His flesh is just any flesh or it is for your spiritual? The Word becomes Flesh does not mean it will loose its content.

2- We do not made up any sacraments. It is all in the Bible as Jesus said What bound on earth, Heaven will bound. Yes It is Jesus made traditions.

3- If you believe in communion of Saints. Then, do you have problem with praying with Saints for their intercession?

 

[Sixtus]

The title of the Thread is a wind up surely

 

[st_lucy]

.

1. No, I don’t believe he is present in the sense you are using.
2. I’m not clear on what this is.(You all have made so many things up, I get lost in all the man made traditions.)

1. Than read John 6 and tell me will you too leave?
2. The Catholic Church is the original church that is 2000 years of traditions that were started by Our Lord and Savior. Your church although Christian and so still very good, has only been around for maybe five hundred years. So I am wondering who made your traditions. I am really sure the Holy Spirit did not guide millions of people astray just that 1500 years after Christianity began it would show the world a whole new way to do things. That leaves me with conclusion that it is not the CC who has man made traditions is it.

 

[wjp984]

“I eat spiritual food to grow in spirit. So, I will not eat spiritual poison, lest I die in spirit.”
I do not need to hear your “Catholic” answers. And, plz don’t start with the whole,“Your title said this, but you said this and you contradict yourself.” because I’m not up for it. Just put the word priests in parentheses.

1. No, I don’t believe he is present in the sense you are using.
2. I’m not clear on what this is.(You all have made so many things up, I get lost in all the man made traditions.)
3. Yes.

You do not need to hear our Catholic answers? Then why in the world do you post here. Do you simply want to anger us? Are you simply asking rhetorical questions according to your beliefs? Do you really think you are going to convince anyone here when we have the faith and all of us Catholics to defend it on here? I think the moderators should close this thread like they did for all the other ones where the poster had no interest in fnding out information and his goal was simly to anger people and perhaps even weaken the faith of people which is not a good thing. I mean I enjoy debating and while others know much more than me and can help out people with legitimate questions about understanding the faith, I can give my opinion as well. However, it is a waste of my time and anyone else with posters like you and it just clogs our forum.

 

[Todd_Easton]

He was not making a parallel, but a contrast, as you stated. So I’m not sure where you are going with this?

It seems pretty clear that in 1 Corinthians 10:14-22, St. Paul uses the phrases “the table of demons” and “the cup of demons” to refer to the food and drink offered in sacrifice on altars dedicated to pagan idols. Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that, when St. Paul uses the phrases “the table of the Lord” and “the cup of the Lord,” he is referring to the food and drink offered in sacrifice on altars to the Lord. The phrase “the table of the Lord” is used elsewhere in the Bible to refer to “the altar of the Lord” upon which sacrifices were offered. (Malachi 1:7, 12)

Just as the pagan altars and their food and drink sacrifices imply a pagan ministerial priesthood, so too Christian altars and their food and drink sacrifices imply a Christian ministerial priesthood.

As the writings of the early Christians attest (Justin Martyr, etc.), this Eucharistic sacrifice of the New Covenant is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi 1:11.
11For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.

 

[Randy_Carson]

Yes, set forth, but not continued.

Sooner-

Do you have your Bible handy? Let’s see how

Jesus Establishes His Church Forever Via Apostolic Succession

What is Apostolic Succession? Why is it important? Does an Apostolic Church exist today? To answer these questions, let’s begin by turning to the book of Matthew:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ “ (Matthew 28:18-19)

First, notice in the passage, known as the “Great Commission”, that the Apostles were commanded to make disciples of “all nations”. How would it have been possible for these eleven men to travel to every country on earth at a time when travel was slow and difficult? Given that the last of the Apostles died no more than 60 years or so after the Ascension of Jesus, would there have been time for them to physically visit every nation on earth to fulfill His command? No! Clearly, the instruction of Jesus only makes sense if it was given to the Apostles and those who would take the place of the Apostles after their deaths. Those who took the place of the Apostles would have to have the same Apostolic Authority given to the Apostles handed down to them. Thus, the “Great Commission” would be fulfilled over time through the missionary efforts of a greatly expanded Church.

“But,” some people might argue, “the promise of the Holy Spirit was given while Jesus was still on earth. What assurance do we have that the Church would have this same authority after Jesus had ascended into heaven?” In John, we find the answer to this question:

"All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:25-26)

“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7)

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13)

Yes, Jesus was speaking while still with the Apostles; however, he also promises that the Holy Spirit would be sent to them after He ascends to the Father. “But wait,” some will say, “this only applies to the original Apostles while they were still alive. After the death of the last Apostle, the Spirit would no longer be with the church. That is why we have the Bible.” Let’s examine further what Jesus said:

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17)

Does it make sense for Jesus to say “forever” if He anticipated that the Holy Spirit would depart from the church with the death of the last Apostle? No! The Spirit would remain with the Apostles and, through those who succeeded them, with the church forever. As we saw earlier, he also said,

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-19)

Again, how could Jesus remain with the church until the end of the age if the Apostolic Authority of the church ended with the death of the last Apostle? Clearly, Jesus must have intended that the apostles would be succeeded by other men who are still with us and will live until the end of the age. Jesus can be with the Apostles through their successors who also have the same Apostolic Authority by means of Apostolic Succession and hold the office of Apostle.

It is through the office of Apostle, and not through the individual Apostles themselves, that Jesus established and maintains His authority in the Church.

 

[Randy_Carson]

Let us consider the Word of God:

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers” (1 Corinthians 12:28)

From this, we can see that God established the position of Apostle in the Church along with that of prophet and teacher among others. We saw earlier that Jesus did not command his disciples to “go, therefore, write books, and let everyone decide for themselves what is true”. No! The mission of the Apostles, the mission of the Church, was to teach, to make disciples of all nations, to baptize, etc. Making disciples of all nations would take time. Therefore, God established the office of Apostle in the church, but He never says anything about this being for the first couple of centuries only. He never says, “until you can get the New Testament written and canonized.” The Church is still with us, so there must still be Apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ, and these current apostles must still have the same authority that was entrusted to the original Twelve and passed down as was noted earlier. This is called, “Apostolic Succession.”

 

[Sixtus]

hrough Scripture and Tradition, we know that there have always been three kinds of priests within the holy priesthood. In the Old Testament, we see the rank of High Priest (Aaron—Ex. 28:3), the rank of the ministerial priest (Aaron’s sons—Ex. 28:21, Ex.30:30), and the universal priesthood of all believers (Ex. 19:6). This is the model for the New Testament Christian priesthood, too. Jesus Christ, the Apostle and High Priest (Heb. 3:1), has set apart certain men as ministers to be “partners of Christ” (Heb. 3:14) through the ministry of Holy Orders and we, the Church, serve as the priesthood of believers.

NICE ONE!

 

[RobbyS]

“I eat spiritual food to grow in spirit. So, I will not eat spiritual poison, lest I die in spirit.”
I do not need to hear your “Catholic” answers. And, plz don’t start with the whole,“Your title said this, but you said this and you contradict yourself.” because I’m not up for it. Just put the word priests in parentheses.

1. No, I don’t believe he is present in the sense you are using.
2. I’m not clear on what this is.(You all have made so many things up, I get lost in all the man made traditions.)
3. Yes.

But he promised he would always be with us. And he is as he was present at Emmaus, in the breaking of the bread. That is simply another way of saying “the Lord’s Supper.” We call it the mass, and the story of the journey to Emmaus is a figure of the mass. First the reading of the Scripture and then the supper of the Lord in which we recognize him. We say that he is there behind the veil, his body and blood, soul and divinity. Why not,if he can take the form of a human being, a bag of guts just like you and me? In the eyes of unbelievers, each is equally absurd.

 

[Michael_Francis]

Question answered. Thread closed. Thank you to all who contributed.