Diocese of Toledo, Ohio

Browsing From the Pastor

The Nature of the Priesthood That We Are Invited to Support

   To express in a concise way the nature and work of the Priesthood, I am choosing to do this within the context of questions that persons often ask to learn more specifically about a given endeavor.

WHAT is the Priesthood? It is a unique role in the Church by which a man is equipped and empowered to preach and teach the Faith of the Catholic Church and to celebrate the Sacraments as Christ provided these. Ordination is the action that sets aside a man to express the priestly ministry of Jesus Christ in distinctive ways. Preaching and teaching the Word of God and celebrating the Sacraments provide a life-renewing context within which a priest performs all other aspects of his ministry.

WHY the Priesthood? Christ instituted the priesthood to build up and to strengthen the Faith of the Lord’s People in unique ways. Christ instituted the Priesthood at the Last Supper to perpetuate His saving action in this sacrificial meal until He comes again. Christians celebrate the hub and heart of our Faith as we continue to gather to celebrate the Eucharist. Each of the other Sacraments which a priest is empowered to celebrate are integrally related to the Eucharist. In communion with and under the leadership of the Pope and the Bishops, priests are empowered and entrusted with the task of teaching the Faith as this has come down to the present from Apostolic times.

WHO can serve as a priest of our Lord Jesus Christ? Because the priesthood is an on-going extension of the unique Priesthood of Jesus Christ, priests must be men. God could have come among us as a woman, but He chose to dwell in our midst as a man. No more than the Church can change the elements of bread and wine that are used for the celebration of the Eucharist can it change the fact that only men can be ordained to serve as priests. In no way does this degrade women and their role in the Church. Our Blessed Mother was not a priest. God made her indispensable in relation to her Son. Mary is invoked as the Queen of the Clergy. As this title implies,  in no way are women to be regarded as second class persons in the Church. As a result of clerical celibacy, priests come from lay homes. We do not come down from heaven. Priests have strengths and weaknesses as do the families from which we come.  

HOW is a man led to the priesthood? The Lord works in and through desires that are in accord with His commandments to lead us to where He wants us to be. The desire to serve as a priest can be present and surface in a man from childhood to one’s advancing years. If the desire to serve as a priest is to come to fruition, it needs to be supported. Here is where we all come in. We can support prospective priests by praying for them, encouraging men in whom we see the potential to serve as a priest to consider serving in this vocation, by supporting present seminarians, and by hungering to grow in our own faith life. As prospective priests observe how important and valuable the ministry of priests is, they will want to persevere in following this distinctive way of serving our Lord’s People.

WHERE are men prepared to serve as priests? This happens in a seminary, a unique community setting in which priesthood candidates receive spiritual and academic formation. Internship, usually in a parish, is part of one’s preparation to serve as a priest. Upon the occasion of one’s ordination to the priesthood, the Bishop assigns where a priest is to serve.

WHEN does a man serve as a priest? A man serves as a priest 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for the rest of his life. The role of being a priest can be likened to that of being a husband or wife. As long as both are living, God intends that they be there for each other. Even so, we priests are designed to be there for God’s People for the rest of our lives here and to intercede for the Lord’s People in the life of the world to come.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Nelson Beaver – Pastor

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