A Holy Priest Of God Or “The Consecrator”
Let me explain….
That day, Deacon “Bill” seemed to be doing just about everything from the impromptu reflections in the midst of the Kyrie, to the homily, to the closing remarks. In fact at this particular Mass, it seemed that Deacon Bill did just about everything … except consecrate the Eucharist. At the point where Father “Jones” began reciting the Eucharistic Prayer I actually thought to myself “Hey, Father is still here!” I hadn’t heard his voice since the opening prayer.
As I watched Father Jones consecrate the Eucharist, I recalled that without the power given him at ordination I would not be able to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus that day. What a blessing God has given us as Catholics. What a sublime Gift! We should remember often to thank Our Lord for the gift of the priesthood and to thank our priests for saying “yes” to God. Without these men the world would not have the Real Presence of Jesus dwelling in our midst, and ready to dwell within us through Holy Communion.
All that being said, isn't there more to being “Father” than speaking the words and performing the gestures of Institution? Of course there is. Though Christ no longer walks this earth in bodily form, healing, teaching, blessing and breaking bread with His disciples, He did not leave us without His sacred touch, His holy presence. He gave us the priesthood. Yet, it seems that the true role of the priest as “another Christ” is being minimized, and ultimately forgotten.
As I pondered the situation at Mass that day, I couldn't help but think of Dr. Laura's term for father's who have no real role in the child's life beyond giving them that life at the moment of conception. She calls these men “the sperm-donors”. In the case of the deacon dominated Mass, Father Jones seemed to be reduced to “the consecrator”.
Portrait For A Priest
We call ordained men “father” for a reason. And they have a crucial role to play in our lives. In union with Holy Mother Church, priests “father” us by helping us to grow from baby Christians at the moment of baptism to fully mature Christians sometime before the moment of death.
The Rite of Ordination of a Priest gives a suggested homily for the ordaining Bishop. In that homily we can see the mind of the Church for priests. Speaking to the candidate for priesthood, the Bishop says:
When you baptize, you will bring men and women into the people of God. In the sacrament of penance you will forgive sins in the name of Christ and the Church. With holy oil you will relieve and console the sick. You will celebrate the liturgy and offer thanks and praise to God throughout the day praying not only for the people of God but for the whole world. Remember that you are chosen from among God's people and appointed to act for them in relation to God. Do your part in the work of Christ the priest with genuine joy and love and attend to the concerns of Christ before your own.
This paragraph is not just a list of duties to be checked off by the prospective priest, it is a portrait of his role in God's family. The portrait focuses first on the priest's role of bringing men and women into the people of God. Just as a man becomes a “father” biologically speaking when he brings children into the world, so to the priest becomes truly “father” in a supernatural way when he baptizes. Yet, the priest is not just father of those he has baptized, he is father to all the faithful. And, as with biological fatherhood, the job does not stop there.
Our supernatural fathers provide for us the necessary ingredients to maintain and grow the supernatural life given at baptism. As the homily above states, they are our source of healing when that Supernatural Life is injured, or even killed. Priests also bring supernatural consolation when our physical life is in danger. The priest, in fact, is called to sacrifice himself for us and to put us first.
In the Mass, the priest plays a crucial role in giving us life. He provides the Food that nourishes us and makes it possible for us to attain heaven. That is, the Eucharist. But is that all he does? I can't help but recall my father's joke whenever he felt unappreciated. He would humbly lower his eyes and say, “That's OK, I just put the food on the table. Don't worry about me.” We all knew the true meaning of this statement: I am far more than the provider of food! The priest is no less a father. His role at Mass is to make us ready and worthy to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. He greets us lovingly, calls us to conversion, gives absolution and blessing, speaks to God on our behalf, prays with and for us, and uses the power given him by Christ to change bread and wine into Christ's Body and Blood so that we might have life within us!
Have we forgotten that Father is a father? We have. And this is really no surprise since fatherhood is in jeopardy in all areas of society. So many fathers have been reduced to “sperm-donors” either by their own irresponsibility or by a culture that has emasculated men. It seems that in an effort to help women overcome the obstacles society has put in their way in the past, we have feminized men, and subsequently, the priesthood. We have made it difficult, in some cases impossible, for priests to be true fathers. In fact, when young men are discerning their vocation in life, the ones that have a desire for fatherhood are steered away from the priesthood. Shouldn't we be seeking out such men? A prospective priest should be one who will make a great father!
JP II…We Love You!
Once again our Holy Father gives us the answer. In his letter On the Dignity and Vocation of Women (Mulieris Dignitatum), the Holy Father says “…in many ways [the man] has to learn his own “fatherhood” from the mother” (paragraph 18). A mother helps the father of her child to be a father by calling upon him to do fatherly things for the child. She points the child in the direction of the father, teaches the child to call upon him as father, defers to the father in certain matters, and fosters the child’s love for him and his for the child.
Certainly, the Church is “mother” to the priest’s “father”. And we, as members of that Church play a crucial role in helping Father Jones be a true “father”. This role begins with prayer, of course. But we also must call upon our priests to act as fathers, and refuse to get in the way of their fatherly role. We need to find ways to respond to their efforts to father us, even when those efforts seem feeble.
The first step is to get out of Father’s way in the sanctuary. Let’s face it, it is not just the deacon who takes on the priest's duties, the laity do so as well. We must learn to let Father Jones act in all the priestly ways that he can, especially in the celebration of the Mass. Go to him for the other sacraments frequently. Ask him to teach you, even though he may not be a natural teacher. And finally, this Sunday at Mass, pray for all Fathers, the ones in the sanctuary of your church and the ones in the sanctuary of the home.
Let no priest of any parish be reduced to “the consecrator”.
(Carol Kennedy is a Catholic writer with an MA in Theology and Catechesis from Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is the former DRE for the Spiritus Sanctus Academies in Ann Arbor, MI. Carol writes from Northern California where she lives with her husband and infant daughter. You can read more of her writings at www.carolscomments.com)
