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Who then is the priest? He isi the defender of truth, who stands with angels, gives glory with archangels, causes sacrifices to rise to the altar on high, shares Christs priesthood, refashions creation, restores it in Gods image, recreates it for the world
And the holy Curé of Ars: The
priest continues the work of redemption on earth. . .
If we really understood the priest on earth, we would die
not of fright but of love. .. The Priesthood is the love
of the heart ofJesus.83 1551 1590 St Paul said to his disciple Timothy: I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on ofmy hands (2 Tim 1:6), and If any one aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a noble task (i Tim 3:1). To Titus he said: This is why I left you in Crete, that you amend what was defective, and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you (Titus i :~). 1591 The whole Church is a priestly people. Through
Baptism all the faithful share in the priesthood of Christ.
This participation is called the common priesthood of
the faithful. Based on this common priesthood and
ordered to its service, there exists another participation
in the mission of Christ: the ministry confrrred by the
sacrament of Holy Orders, where the task is to serve in the
name and in the person of Christ the Head in the midst of
the community. 1592 The ministerial
priesthood differs in essence from the common priesthood
of the faithful because it confers a sacred power for the
service of the faithful. The ordained ministers exercise
their service for the People of God by teaching (munus
docendi), divine worship (munus liturgicum) and pas
toral governance (munus regendi). 1593 Since the beginning, the ordained ministry
has been conferred and exercised in three degrees: that of
bishops, that of presbyters and that of deacons. The
ministries conferred by ordination are irreplaceable for the
organic structure of the Church: without the bishop,
preshyters and deacons, one cannot speak of the Church (cf
St Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Trall. 3, i). 1594 The bishop receives the fullness of the
sacrament of Holy Orders, which integrates him into the
episcopal college and makes him the visible head of the
particular Church entrusted to him. As successors of the
apostles and members of the college, the bishops share in
the apostolic responsibility and mission of the whole Church
under the authority of the Pope, successor of St Peter. |
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