Christ Obeys The Priest

Do men, specifically priests, have authority over God Almighty?

“The supreme power of the priestly office is the power of consecrating...Indeed, it is equal to that of Jesus Christ...When the priest pronounces the tremendous words of consecration, he reaches up into the heavens, brings Christ down from His throne, and places Him upon our altar to be offered up again as the Victim for the sins of man...Indeed it is greater even than the power of the Virgin Mary [who is said to be all but almighty herself]...The priest speaks and lo! Christ, the eternal and omnipotent God, bows his head in humble obedience to the priest's command. ” - (John A. O'Brien, Ph.D., LL.D., The Faith of Millions, 255-256 , O'Brien. Nihtt obstat: Rev. Lawrence Gollner, Censor Librorum Imprimatur: Leo A. Pursley, Bishop of Fort Wayne,-South Bend, March 16, 1974

We see this quote thrown at us often, and what did Fr. O'Brien mean by these words?  Quite simply, when the priest consecrates the Eucharist he is obeying the command from Jesus Christ to "Do this..." and when he "does this..." then that which was mere bread, Jesus comes down out of Heaven and changes the substance of the bread into the substance of Himself.  The substance of that which was mere wine becomes the substance of His Most Precious Blood.  The "humble obedience" which Fr. O'Brien refers to is God remaining consistent to His own command.  If God did not "obey" the priest's command then the command of Jesus telling our first priests to "do this..." becomes a lie, because if God does not "obey" then when the priest holds up the Sacred Host and/or Sacred Chalice and declares "this IS My body..." and "this IS My blood..." it would be a lie - and that would make Jesus' command to them meaningless and also a lie.

"How this ['And he was carried in his own hands'] should be understood literally of David, we cannot discover; but we can discover how it is meant of Christ. FOR CHRIST WAS CARRIED IN HIS OWN HANDS, WHEN, REFERRING TO HIS OWN BODY, HE SAID: 'THIS IS MY BODY.' FOR HE CARRIED THAT BODY IN HIS HANDS." (St. Augustine, Psalms 33:1:10)  This quote and more from St. Augustine found here:  Was St. Augustine Catholic?

Priestly Celibacy

I've often wondered why priests weren't allowed to get married. I mean wouldn’t they have a much better idea of what we parents have to go through with our spouses and kids? But after a little research I've found that I was quite mistaken. You see, the Catholic Church doesn't forbid anyone from marrying. The Church simply chooses those who have already made a vow of chastity.

You see, everyone is free to decide whether or not to take a vow of celibacy. The Catholic Church of the Roman Rite, this congregation is member of this rite, chooses whom to lay hands on for priestly ordination. This practice is a tradition that could change since this practice is not a divinely ordained practice. It is simply a small‘t’ tradition that began from very early on in Christian history.

Personally, it would surprise me greatly if the Church did change its practice of only ordaining men who have previously made a vow of celibacy. It would surprise me because both Paul and Jesus encouraged the celibate life for those who were called to it. Jesus said:" For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.’ (Matt 19:12)

Paul himself recommends celibacy for those who can live this kind of life since their priorities will be divided. Isn’t it better to have a priest that is able to pick up and go wherever, and whenever, he may be needed, including foxholes, without the worry of being absent from their wives and kids? Paul put it this way in his letter to the Corinthians: “I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.”

Here’s a somewhat lengthy excerpt from catholic.com on the goodness of celibacy in the priesthood.

Most Catholics marry, and all Catholics are taught to venerate marriage as a holy institution—a sacrament, an action of God upon our souls; one of the holiest things we encounter in this life.

In fact, it is precisely the holiness of marriage that makes celibacy precious; for only what is good and holy in itself can be given up for God as a sacrifice. Just as fasting presupposes the goodness of food, celibacy presupposes the goodness of marriage. To despise celibacy, therefore, is to undermine marriage itself—as the early Fathers pointed out.

Celibacy is also a life-affirming institution. In the Old Testament, where celibacy was almost unknown, the childless were often despised by others and themselves; only through children, it was felt, did one acquire value. By renouncing marriage, the celibate affirms the intrinsic value of each human life in itself, regardless of offspring.

Finally, celibacy is an eschatological sign to the Church, a living-out in the present of the universal celibacy of heaven: "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven" (Matt. 22:30).

http://www.catholic.com/tracts/celibacy-and-the-priesthood

God Bless
Nathan

Call no Man Father

One of the first times that a religious individual tried to show me that the Catholic Church was wrong was by pointing out that we call our priest ‘Father’ even though Christ Himself said not to call anyone by that name.  In this article I shall try to explain why it is not against Christ to call our priests ‘father’.

 

I acknowledge that Jesus did say:  “And give no man the name of father on earth: because one is your Father, who is in heaven ” (Mat 23:9).  Was Jesus saying an all-encompassing statement?  Did He leave any room for exceptions?  This verse seems to indicate that the Catholic Church is wrong in calling Her priests ‘father’.

 

After being barraged with questions mostly to trick Jesus into saying something unscriptural, Jesus turned to the people who were following Him and said: “The scribes and the Pharisees have the authority of Moses; All things, then, which they give you orders to do, these do and keep: but do not take their works as your example, for they say and do not.”  Jesus was condemning their actions for they may be teaching correctly but they were not doing what was taught…they were being hypocrites.

 

But Jesus also said in the next few verses: “But all their works they do as to be seen by men…and the things desired by them are the first places at feasts, and chief seats at Synagogues, and the words of respect in the market-places, and to be named by men, Teacher.”  Jesus was denouncing their egos, he was telling everyone that these priests were in it for the fame and not for the Glory of God.   And so, our Lord wanted to make sure that the people knew because he did not wish it to continue.

And so, in this context did Jesus say in Matt 23:8 : “But you may not be named Teacher: for one is your teacher, and you are all brothers.  And give no man the name father on earth: because one is your Father, who is in heaven.”  It seems as if Jesus was trying to condemn what the Pharisees and Saduccees were doing.  They were, in effect, misusing the title of Father.  It is this misuse that Jesus is condemning.

If Jesus was condemning all uses of the title father then surely His disciples would have understood it that way.  But you can see many different instances where Jesus’ apostles use the title father.  In the book of Acts St Stephen addresses the rabbis and his fellow jews as “Men, brothers and fathers, listen”(Acts 7:2).  Also in Acts 4:25 we find Peter and John Glorifying God saying with one accord: “Sovereign Master, You are the One who has made heaven and earth and the sea and all things in them, Who, through the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, has said, ‘Why, did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples devise vain things?’” And once more in Acts we find the apostle Paul talking to the elders of Jerusalem saying: “Men, brothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now make to you.”

 

With these past verses we find that Peter, John, Paul and Stephen all use the title ‘father’.  Would it surprise you that even Jesus himself used that title?  He uses it when referring to Abraham in his parable of the suffering rich man.  Being a parable Jesus is unrestrained in using any and all terms allowable to Him for describing this story and He still chooses to use the term ‘father’ when referring to the rich man by addressing Abraham in Luke 16:24: “…Father Abraham, have mercy on me…”  and again in verse 30: “…No, Father Abraham; but if someone risen from the dead would go to them, they will repent.”  If Jesus was making an all-encompassing statement when He said to call no man Father, then He either made a mistake (which I don’t believe) or He is not the perfect example of man (which I believe He is the perfect example to follow).  Therefore, there is no other conclusion to come of this other than Jesus was denouncing the misuse of the title and not of the word itself.  Anything else would deny the deity of Christ.

 

This little study also points out that to take anything on its own, that is not to use the whole of the scriptures to compare what is said about a certain subject is to possibly bring you to some very wrong beliefs which Christ never intended.  Some of what is said in one verse of scripture cannot be all-inclusive statements.  It needs to be interpreted in light of other passages that refer to the same subject matter in order to have a clear picture of what the Word of God is trying to teach you.

 

God Bless