The Lay Priesthood

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Divine Providence Family of Parishes,

I pray that the joy of the Easter season continues to flourish in your hearts! Our scripture readings this week contain wisdom about the Church and the laity which is critical to our present situation. In the second reading, St. Peter—our first Pope—reminds us that the Church is built of living stones. In our age of apostolic mission, we must move beyond the idea that the church is a physical building. We may lose our brick and mortar structure, but we never lose our connection to God and our communion in the Church.

Instead of a physical structure, the Church is a ‘nation of priests’. It is interesting that the Greek word for sacrificial priest is hiereus, and it is used exclusively in the New Testament to refer to the laity. Therefore, the laity are those who are called to offer sacrifice. For comparison, the New Testament term for the ordained priests is presbyteros, which means elder or overseer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say about the sacrificial nature of the lay Catholic priesthood, quoting the Second Vatican Council:

Hence the laity, dedicated as they are to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit, are marvelously called and prepared so that even richer fruits of the Spirit may be produced in them. For all their works, prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit—indeed even the hardships of life if patiently born—all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In the celebration of the Eucharist these may most fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord. And so, worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world itself to God, everywhere offering worship by the holiness of their lives.

Thus, a parish community is called to be a community of priests. These priests make the world holy by offering sacrifices in ordinary work. They are led by an ordained priest, who oversees and makes everyone holy by offering the sacrifice of the Eucharist. The sacrifices of the lay priesthood are united with and inspired from the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life, and so all our sacrifices must flow from It and be brought back to It.

If a parish operates this way, then many souls can be led to the sacraments and be saved. Jesus promises us that we will perform greater works than He did, if we act with faith and are inspired by the Spirit. In these words, He was referring to the Sacraments. St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas point out that the sacraments are greater works than even the creation of the world, and they are certainly greater works than the healing of the deaf and the lame and the feeding of crowds. It is a greater thing to reconcile a sinner to God than it is to create the world or raise the dead. And so, with the power of the Spirit, that is the power that we have now in the Church!

I am excited for the future. We can accomplish powerful things together, if we choose to live out our priesthood, sacrificing ourselves for others. Let us move beyond the narrow-minded selfishness of self-preservation, and instead embrace the high calling of missionary discipleship and the unbounded power of the sacramental life.

Yours in Christ, with Mary,

Fr. Henry Hoffmann
Pastor