Page 6 - The Priest, Summer 2015

monished with these words: “Diligenter con- siderate ordinem per vos susceptum.” (“Con- sider diligently the Order which you have received.”) The priest should continuously nourish in himself a very high estimation of his sacramental state.
The grace of priestly ordination is given so that the priest may ful ll sacramental acts not only validly, but also with real holi- ness. Herein lies the great dignity and the reason for the high moral demands of the Catholic priesthood. St Mary Magdalene of Pazzi had such a great understanding of the priesthood that she conscientiusly addressed the chaplain of her religious community as “Christ.” She did the same for all other priests because she only saw Christ in them.
The divine powers that the priest ex- ercises in persona Christi Capitis bring him into the closest connection with Christ and into constant and complete depend- ency upon him. The life, the endeavors, and the glory of the priest belong, for this reason, to Jesus alone.
The means to priestly holiness
What is the best means for the priest, in his personal way of life, to be an ever clearer image and an ever more docile in- strument of Christ? It is that union with Christ, which the faith- lled, respectful, and loving celebration of the sacri ce of the Mass brings about. What makes the celebration spiritually fruitful is not only the respectful completion of the rites, but, above all else, prayerful preparation be- fore and prayerful thanksgiving after holy Mass.
Cardinal Herbert Vaughan, the former Archbishop of Westminster, addressed his priests in these words:
“If we are deeply convinced that the holy Mass is the sum of our lives, around which all our actions and doings revolve, just as the course of the constellations must needs go around their centre; if we are deeply convinced that the offering of this holy sacri ce is the most sublime act we can ever perform, then we will strive to use our entire day for special and im- mediate preparation for it. It will not be dif cult then, but, on the contrary, pleas- ant and easy, if we strive, rst of all, for a living understanding of what holy Mass
really is, and secondly, to make it a habit to recite often little ejaculatory prayers as
a preparation for holy Mass.”1
The Cardinal continues:
You might add to the Stabat Mater verse: “Fac, ut ardeat cor meum in amando Christum Deum”, the words: “et ut digne celebrem.”
St Jean Marie Vianney remarks:
“If a priest becomes negligent in his way of life, it is because he does not celebrate Mass devoutly.”
The way the priest treats the eucharis- tic species at the consecration, during the rite of communion, and during adoration, is a measure of how much the spirit and the image of Christ lives within him.
As a shining example for a faith- lled, respectful and loving celebration of holy Mass, Pope Pius XII should be mentioned. Sr Pascalina Lehnert assisted at his daily Mass for about 40 years. She testi es:
“At 7:00 a.m. Pius XII goes to the chapel. He kneels on the big kneeler in prepa- ration for the Divine Sacri ce. Then he goes to the altar. He puts the vestments on and says the prescribed prayers so clearly, that you can understand each syl- lable, and at the same time, not loudly or in a disturbing way. Now he begins the prayers at the foot of the altar. Deeply bowing and slowly, putting his soul into each individual word, he prays the Con t- eor. Then he opens his arms wide, puts his eye and face up to the big ivory cruci x and goes up the step to the altar.
I always found the Introit on the feasts of doctors of the Church so seemly for Pius XII himself: ‘In the midst of the Church, the Lord opened his mouth; he lled him with the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, he clothed him in a gar- ment of glory...’ Sursum Corda! The pref- ace follows. I do not know if it could be prayed more beautifully, more captivat- ingly. Then there is a moment of silence. The Holy Father thinks of all those, who have recommended themselves to his prayers and count on his prayers.
The holy Mass comes to its highpoint: the Holy Father speaks the words of con- secration with burning seraphic devo- tion and self-offering, so quietly, but yet
1 Herbert Vaughan, The Young Priest: Confer- ences on the Apoctolic Life. Burn, Oates & Wash- bourne, London. 1905.
so clearly, so full of faith and warm with love, that all those present are drawn into such a holy experience. From the cross, the eternal high priest looks upon his vicar and grants him the petitions that he presents in intimate prayer. ...
Then he opens his arms wide once more, to the cruci ed, and the blessing of the Christ’s vicar goes out, not only to those present, but to the whole world. His thanksgiving after Mass is long and intimate. A prelate who, by chance was able to witness it, was so taken by it, that it took him a long while before he could ap- pear once more before the Holy Father.”2
Image and instrument in the Ministry of the Word
The priest’s task of being an image and instrument of Christ is also to be found in the ministry of the Word — ie: in the proc- lamation of the truth. In the celebration and administration of the sacraments, the priest mediates Christ, the Life. In the ministry of proclaiming, the priest medi- ates Christ, the Truth.
Jesus Christ is the incarnate Word, the incarnate Wisdom, the incarnate Truth, incarnate Reason. Untruth, unclearness, and ambiguity are in contradiction to the very essence of God. Whenever someone rejects Christ, he always thereby rejects the truth. Love of untruth, of half truth, of unclearness, indifference toward the truth, making the truth relative, putting truth and untruth on the same level, all of this is to be found in the core of the sin of Adam and Eve.
The effect of the proclamation of the Word, does not take place by means of the very act, in itself, of proclaiming (ex opere operato), but depends essentially on the qualities of the priest (ex opere operantis: his personal prayer, his way of life, study). Of course in the end it is God who touches souls through the proclaimed Word and illumines them, and it is God who gives the proclaiming priest the necessary, spe- cial actual graces.
Christ himself is the Life and the Truth, and because Christ is indivisible, so also are the Life and the Truth indivisibly united with one another. The rst separa-
2 Pascalina Lehnert, Ich Durfte Ihm Dienen. Bishop Schneider’s translation.
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