“For Christ not only adorns with a royal priesthood the people he has made his own, but with a brother’s kindness he also chooses men to become sharers in his sacred ministry through the laying on of hands. They are to renew in his name the sacrifice of human redemption, to set before your children the paschal banquet, to lead your holy people in charity, to nourish them with the word and strengthen them with the Sacraments.”
From the Preface of the Chrism Mass
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 conferred 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. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1591)
As the great English saint John Henry Newman wrote, we each have a mission to do, some definite service, for God has committed a work to each of us which he has not committed to another.
For some men, that calling, that mission, might be to the priesthood. The call to the priesthood is a vital one within our Church because a priest is ordained to be a pastor, a sign and instrument of Christ the Good Shepherd for his people, to bring God’s healing touch and reconciliation, and to offer Christ’s sacrifice – the sacrifice of the Mass.
Pope Benedict XVI commended priests to serve God and God’s people:
“To respond to the expectations of modern society and cooperate in the vast evangelising action that involves all Christians, we need well-trained and courageous priests who are free from ambition and fear but convinced of the Gospel Truth, whose chief concern is to proclaim Christ and who are prepared to stoop down to suffering humanity in his Name, enabling everyone, particularly the poor and all who are in difficulty, to experience the comfort of God’s love and the warmth of the ecclesial family.”
If through your life of faith you feel you are being called to the vocation of the Priesthood or Diaconate then you may wish to explore this further by speaking with the clergy in the Parish or by contacting the Diocesan Vocations Director.
