Part I, Chapter 11: Qualities of a Holy Priest

Qualities of a Holy Priest

THE MOST EVIDENT MARK of God's anger and the most terrible castigation He can inflict upon the world are manifested when He permits His people to fall into the hands of clercs' who are priests more in name than in deed, priests who practice the cruelty of ravening wolves rather than the charity and affection of devoted shepherds. Instead of nourishing those committed to their care, they rend and devour them brutally. Instead of leading their people to God, they drag Christian souls into hell in their train. Instead of being the salt of the earth and the light of the world, they are its innocuous poison and its murky darkness.

St. Gregory the Great says that priests and pastors will stand condemned before God as the murderers of any souls lost through neglect or silence. Tot occidimus, quot ad mortem ire tepidi et tacentes videmus(1). Elsewhere St. Gregory asserts that nothing more angers God than to see those whom He set aside for the correction of others, give bad example by a wicked and depraved life.' Instead of preventing offenses against His Majesty, such priests become themselves the first to persecute Him, they lose their zeal for the salvation of souls and think only of following their own inclinations. Their affections go no farther than earthly things, they eagerly bask in the empty praises of men, using their sacred ministry to serve their ambitions, they abandon the things of God to devote themselves to the things of the world, and i n their saintly calling of holiness, they spend their time in profane and worldly pursuits.

When God permits such things, it is a very positive proof that He is thoroughly angry with His people, and is visiting His most dreadful (1). Homil. 12 super Ezech. (2). Homil. 27 in Evang.

anger upon them. That is why He cries unceasingly to Christians, "Return, 0 ye revolting children . . . and I will give you pastors according to my own heart" (Jer. 3, 14-15). Thus, irregularities in the lives of priests constitute a scourge visited upon the people in consequence of sin.

On the other hand, the greatest effect of God's mercy, the most precious grace He bestows upon mankind, is to send worthy priests, men after His own heart, seeking only His glory and the salvation of souls. The greatest blessing that God bestows upon a church, the most signal manifestation of divine grace, is to have a saintly shepherd, be he bishop or priest. This is indeed the grace of graces and the most priceless of all gifts for it includes within itself every other blessing and grace. What is a priest after God's heart? He is an inestimable treasure containing an immensity of good things.

The holy priest is one of the treasures of the Great King, having in his keeping the infinite abundance of God's mercy to enrich worthy souls. He is an inexhaustible fountain of living water, open and accessible to all those who long to come to drink the waters of salvation.

He is a tree of life planted by God in the paradise of the Church, bearing on its branches at all times fruits of everlasting life, freeing from sin and hell, giving grace and eternal bliss to those who will but cat. Those fruits are the words, instructions, exhortations, prayers, intercession and example of the life and work of the holy priest.

He is an ever burning and shining light set in the candelabra of Mother Church, burning before God and shining before men: burning in his own love for God, shining by his charity for his fellow man; burning with the perfection of his inner life, shining by the perfection of his exterior deportment; burning in fervent prayer for his people, shining by his preaching of the word of God.

The priest is a sun cheering the world by his presence and bearing. He brings heavenly blessings into every heart. He dispels the ignorance and darkness of error and radiates on every side bright beams of celestial light. He extinguishes sin and gives life and grace to the multitudes. He imparts new life to the weak, inflames the lukewarm, fires more ardently those who are aglow with the sacred flame of divine love.

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He is an angel purifying, illuminating and perfecting the souls that God has entrusted to him. He is a seraph sent by God to teach men the science of salvation which is concerned only with knowing and loving Almighty God and His Divine Son, Jesus Christ.

The priest is an archangel and a prince of the heavenly militia, waging constant war against the devil who strives to drag countless souls into the depths of hell.

He is the real father of the children of God, with a heart filled with love which is truly paternal. That love urges him to work unceasingly to nourish his flock with the bread U the sacred word and of the sacraments, to clothe the faithful with Christ and the Holy Ghost, to enrich them with celestial blessings and to secure for them everypossible assistance in the salvation of their souls.

Above all else, the priest is the.father, the advocate, the protector and defender of the poor, widows, orphans and strangers. He is the refuge of the afflicted, of the desolate and the discouraged. He Is happy to visit and console the sorrowful, to bring them what assistance he can, taking upon himself their burdens and defending them against their oppressors.

He is a captain in the mighty army of God, always ready to battle for the glory of God and the defense of Holy Mother Church. He is ever prepared to lay siege to the world, the flesh and the devil. For him the conquest of kingdoms means only the salvation of souls for each soul is a kingdom more precious than all the empires of the world.

The priest is a prince of the realm of God, one of the kings of Christ's empire, the Church. He i s appointed to rule by the maxims and laws of the gospel as many kings and queens as there are Christians committed to his care. His duty is to make them worthy to possess in eternity the very kingdom of the Sovereign Monarch of the world.

The priest is an evangelist and an apostle whose chief work is to preach publicly and privately, by word and example, the Gospel of Jesus Christ; to continue and perpetuate the functions that the apostles were commissioned to perform, and to practise the virtues that they practised.

He is the sacred bridegroom of. the divine spouse, the Church of Christ. He is so consumed with love that his thoughts are concerned

only with seeking means to adorn and embellish the Church in the eyes of men, and to render her yet more worthy of the eternal love of the heavenly and immortal Bridegroom.

The priest is a mediator between God and man, causing the Eternal Father to be known, loved, adored and served, as well as feared, by men. His office is to make known the will of God to men, urging them to be faithful to their every duty. His concern is to be devoted unceasingly to "the things that appertain to God" (Heb. 5, 1).

The priest is one of the chief parts of the Mystical Body of Christ because he occupies the principal parts of that Body, namely, the head, the eyes, the mouth, the tongue and the heart. He is the head with the Chief Shepherd, sharing the right to rule and govern in His place. He is the eyes watching over the other members to enlighten and guide them, and to weep over them when they sin. The priest is the mouth and the tongue to speak the language of heaven, to utter on all occasions the words of eternity. He is the heart circulating the blood stream of Christ's Precious Blood to quicken and vivify the other members, that their works and functions may be ennobled and perfected.

A holy priest is a saviour and another Christ, taking the Master's place on earth, representing Him, clothed with His authority, acting in His name, adorned with His qualifications, exercising His judgment on earth in the tribunal of penance. He is consecrated to exercise the highest functions Christ ever performed on earth, to continue the work of salvation. In imitation of His Redeemer he gives himself, mind, heart, affections, strength, time, all for God. He is ever ready to sacrifice his very blood and even life itself to procure the salvation of souls, particularly those of his own flock.

He is a god, living and walking on earth; a god by grace and by participation, clothed with the perfections and attributes of God, namely, His divine authority, power, justice, mercy, charity, benignity, purity and holiness. He is a god delegated to carry on God's noblest works, the sacerdotal and pastoral duties, as great St. Dionysius says: Omnium divinorum divinissimum est cooperari Deo in salutem animarum. "The most divine of all divine things is to cooperate with God in the salvation of souls.(3) (3). De Coelesti Hierarchia, cap. 5.

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St. Gregory Nazianzen asserts that the priest is a "God who makes gods," Deus deos efficiens,(4) that is, Christians who are given the name of gods in Sacred Scripture.

He is a shepherd bearing within himself the living image of the goodness and the vigilance of the Good Shepherd, a guardian who never deserts his flock lest the wolves devour it. He is a shepherd who knows his sheep, their needs, their maladies, their infirmities, that he may cure them. He is a shepherd who nourishes them by word and example.

What more shall I say? "Who speaks of the priesthood," says St. Dionysius, "speaks of an order which contains within itself all that is most sacred and most holy." (5) "Who speaks of the priesthood," avers St. Ignatius Martyr, "speaks of the fullness of the blessings of God." (6) -Who speaks of a priest," adds St. Dionysius, "speaks of a man who is divine." (7)

Whoever refers to a priest adorned with virtue and holiness becoming the dignity of his calling, bespeaks the greatest degree of sanctity found in Holy Church, a sanctity which is the source and wellspring of grace and love, for the priesthood is the fountain of all holiness.

Such a priest is a man called to the sacerdotal dignity not by men, not by the will of flesh and blood, not by his parents or by the spirit of ambition, not by avarice or human motives, but by vocation from God.

Such a priest is a man endowed with the marks and perfections outlined in the first Chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to Titus, and in the third Chapter of his First. Epistle to Timothy: "a man without crime, as the steward of God; not proud, not subject to anger, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but given to hospitality, gentle, sober, just, holy, continent: of good behaviour, chaste, given to hospitality, a teacher; one that ruleth well his own house having his children in subjection. . . . But if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?" (Tit. 1, 7-8); (1 Tim. 12-5).

Such a priest employs his revenue and income not in vanities nor sinful excesses nor to enrich his relatives or his own estate, but to en (4). Oral. Apolog. (6).Episc. 10 ad Smyrna. (7). De Eccl. Hierarch. cap. 1, 3. (7) Loc. cit.

hance the glory of God. He adorns altars, clothes the naked, feeds the hungry, refreshes the thirsty, frees prisoners, assists religious institutions, builds churches and hospitals, and carries out good works of every description.

Such a priest is seen frequently in the hospitals, prisons and the homes of the poor. He consoles, instructs and assists the people in their spiritual and corporal necessities. He applies himself diligently to the consideration of his duties; he studies the needs of his flock in order to exercise the utmost efficiency i n supplying their wants. He ferrets out any disorders which may exist among his charges in order to eradicate them; he gives himself unselfishly to the advancement of the glory of God and the salvation of those souls under his direction.

The saintly priest employs his mind and heart, thoughts, affections, words and actions, his time, his life, all that he has, to destroy the tyranny of Satan and sin, and to establish the reign of Christ in the hearts of those whom God has entrusted to him.

The worthy priest is an angel of purity in mind and body, a cherub of light and knowledge, a seraph of love and charity, an apostle of zeal in work and sanctity, a little god on earth in power and authority, i n patience and benignity. He is the living image of Christ in this world, of Christ watching, praying, preaching, catechizing, working, weeping, going from town to town, from village to village, suffering, agonizing, sacrificing Himself and dying for the souls created to His image and likeness.

He is the light of those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He is the destroyer of error , schisms and heresies, the converter of sinners, the sanctifier of the just, the strength of the weak, the con-. solation of the afflicted, the treasure of the poor. He is the confusion of hell. the glory of heaven, the terror of demons, the joy of angels, the ruin of Satan's kingdom, the establishment of Christ's empire, the ornament of the Church, the crown of the Supreme Shepherd.

In a word, the holy priest embodies a world of grace and benediction for the entire Church, but especially for that portion which God has called him to govern and guide.

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