The Priest as one Chosen from among Men
by VP
Posted on Saturday September 08, 2018 at 01:00AM in Quotes
"We recognize the priest as one chosen from among men to serve men in
the affairs of God. He is the minister of reconciliation with God, the
teacher of the truth, and one who offers the sacrifice, who administers
the sacraments, who prays for the people. We distinguish in him that
double character of man and priest; we recognize the divine character of
the priesthood which forces us to bend the knee to him for the
forgiveness of sins and to receive from his hands the holy sacrifice of
the Eucharist. His ordination has conferred upon the man the character
of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. In the parish he is the ambassador
of God, the administrator of the sacraments, the guardian of the sacred
deposit of faith, the defender of the people's rights, and the unselfish
friend of everyone. From the cradle to the grave, he touches intimately
the lives of his people and brings to them in all the circumstances of
life the blessing of the Divine Savior of whom he is the commissioned
minister. The people feel that in the true priest there is no taint of
selfishness, and that he is willing to sacrifice his life in order that
the spiritual interests of his people may not suffer "
Source: Bishop James Conaty, Our Young People, 1912
