Duties and Dignities of the Priest by St. Alphonsus Liguori, #6

Chapter III: part 2 – What should be the sanctity of the priest as the minister of the altar.

St. Thomas says “Hence the cleric who is ordained sins more grievously under similar conditions if he does anything contrary to sanctity of his state than the religious who is not ordained.  [This is one reason why I did not want to be a priest, “The more one is given the more will be expected.”  The argument for this higher standard is that because the priest has the exalted privilege of celebrating Mass and because he should know better what holiness requires he will be more culpable.]

“The priest on the altar holds the place of Jesus Christ.  ‘He should, then’ says St. Laurence Justinian, ‘approach the altar to offer sacrifice like Jesus Christ; imitating as much as possible the purity and sanctity of Jesus Christ.’”  [Do we really believe today that the priest as the Vatican II teaches that the priest acts ‘in persona Christi.”  If the priest is acting “in person Christi” why does he worry about what people think of him.  The priest should be worried about what people think of Christ.]

Chapter III: part 3- What should be the sanctity of the priest as mediator between God and man.  [Here is another problem with the contemporary practice of the priesthood.  We have lost the sense of mediator.  The priest is no longer seen as a mediator because the Mass is no longer seen as a sacrifice.  This is a key argument in Pope Benedict’s desire to turn the priest around so that priest and people are facing the same way.  His main argument is that we should all be facing East, but the corollary which I find even more compelling is that when the pries and people are facing each other the Mass becomes a self-enclosed dialogue between the priest and the people, rather than the prayer of the preist on behalf of the people.]

“And the priest shall pray for him, and for his sins before the Lord, … and the sin shall be forgiven. (Lev. 19:22)  It is in this account that the holy Church obliges priests to recite the Office every day…”  [I wonder how many priests take seriously their obligation to pray five times a day.  Do we realize that when we pray the Divine Office we are not only praying for ourselves but for those entrusted to our care and for the whole world.]

“St. Gregory says that it would be temerity in a mediator to present himself before a prince to ask pardon for rebels, if he, himself, stood charged with the guilt of treason.” [I think it very clear that one reason for the lack of fervor among all Catholics is the fear that that they are not without sin.  How can I preach against sin why I myself an guilty of sin.]

“St. Bernard says, with tears, ‘Behold, the world is full of priests, and still there are but few mediators.’”  [Archbishop Fulton Sheen, may he soon be beatified, has written that perhaps the reason for the lack of vocations is our failure to stress sacrifice.  If the priest is only a mid-level manager of a branch office of a multi-national corporation, well there are a lot better paying positions that also allow you to get married.  We need REAL MEN willing to sacrifice and to step into the breach between God and humanity; to be a MEDITAOR.  Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.]

Chapter  III: part 4  What should be the sanctity of the priest given to the people to be their model.

‘according to St. Gregory, the sermons of the priest whose life is not edifying, excite contempt and produce no fruit. … In another place he says that the torch that does not burn, cannot inflame others.” [St. Thomas wrote, Nemo dat quod non habet., -- Nobody gives what they don’t have.  If the priest is not on fire with the love of Jesus, if the priest care what people think over what God thinks, then chances are the sermons will be pretty bland.  That is one reason why I became a priest.  I was complaining to God about the quality of homilies I was hearing and God suggested that if I thought I could so better I should be quiet and put my “money where why mouth was.”]

“Hence the Council of Trent, speaking of ecclesiastics, says, ‘Other fix their eyes upon them as a mirror, and derive from them what they are to imitate.’”  [The more copies that ones makes, the fuzzier the original becomes.  If the original is not crisp and clear, we cannot expect the copies to be crisp and clear.  When priest are not faithful to the teaching of the Church or diligent in their pursuit of holiness, then they have nothing to give.”

Chapter III: part 5   Practical consequences

“Be holy, because I am holy (Lev 11:44).  They ought to be prepared to give their lives for souls, because they are the ministers of Jesus Christ, who, as He Himself has said, came to die for us who are His sheep,…(John 10:11)  They ought, in fine, to be entirely employed in inflaming all men with the fire of divine love;…”  [Are we doing all we can to show people that this life is passing away.]

“Every priest should be clothed with faith, by living according to the maxims not of the world, but of faith.  The maxims of the world are: It is necessary to possess wealth and property, to seek the esteem of others, to indulge in every amusement within our reach.  The maxims of faith are:  Happy are the poor; we should embrace contempt, deny ourselves, and love suffering.”  [Does that priest have a reputation for praying or playing?  Is the priest concerned about how much money he is making compared to others?  Does the priest try to get Mass “over with” as quickly as possible?  If the priest does not want to be at Mass, why should the people?  Then we want to know why people are not coming to Mass.  Is the priest calling the faithful to a life of TRUTH, SACRIFICE, and FIDELTY, or is the priest trying to feather his own nest making things as easy as possible, not making waves, and trying to live like and ordinary bachelor in the secular world?]