On being
a Catholic
Priest
A living Sacrament
Through the sacrament of ordination, a priest’s whole life is shaped into the pattern of Christ’s life. He is a sign of the Holy Spirit’s action as is clearly seen when he presides at Mass and prays that the Spirit may come down upon the bread and wine, ‘so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.’ In all his prayer and work, he unites himself to Christ the one High Priest and lovingly offers those in his care to God the Father.
Being a Catholic Priest is a way of following Jesus Christ with your whole life, body and soul.
The priesthood is a relationship not a career.
A receiver of the
Word of God
As he reads from the Bible day by day, a priest’s life becomes rooted in the Word of God.
His daily prayer includes the Prayer of the Church (the Divine Office) which is formed out of psalms and biblical texts. Each day he meditates on the Gospel of the day and proclaims it
at Mass. The Rosary provides him with a framework for meditating on the mysteries of the faith celebrated in the Bible. In these and other ways, the priest allows himself to be formed by God’s Word.
A Priestly Ministry
All baptised Christians have a priestly role when they offer up to God both the joys of daily life and the sacrifices they make in the service of others, uniting their self-offering to Christ’s sacrifice in the Mass. The ordained priest offers the sacrifice of the Mass ‘in the person of Christ’ and draws people into communion with God the Father. The priest restores people to communion, as seen, for example, when he reconciles them in confession and when he anoints the sick. The ordained priesthood is a means by which Christ has chosen to lead people into faith, hope and love so that the Church might proclaim God’s mercy to all.
