In the modern world where the Church has nearly decimated her reputation for having absolutely any authority, it’s easy for us parishioners to stand there and blame our priests. We blame them for not having good enough sermons, good enough charisma, good enough backbone, good enough teaching on the Church’s position, good enough relationships with our youth, with our families, with our ministries. We look at our empty pews and diminished to nearly non-existent church communities in the midst of Catholics leaving the Church in groves and we blame our priests.
And yet, we are the body of Christ. We the people are the Church militant, we are the hands and feet that St. Therese of Avila refers to in her poem so beautifully adapted in a hymn by Steven C. Warner that I have my congregation sing regularly. We are the ones who at the end of Mass are called to "Ite Missa est”, "or “Go forth” which the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains means “the liturgy in which the mystery of salvation is accomplished concludes with the sending forth (mission) of the faithful, so that they may fulfill God’s will in their daily lives” (CCC 1332).
And where do our priests come from? They come from us! They come from “the faithful”. And they continually rely on us for support and encouragement and enthusiasm to serve the Church and receive her ever bountiful harvest of grace and wisdom. We the people, the body of Christ, go into the world and “fulfill God’s will in our lives”…
And how do we do this? We accomplish this through grace given to us from the Sacraments. Can we the people consecrate the bread and wine for Holy Eucharist? Can we the people bless objects and holy water for Baptism and oil for Confirmation? Can we the people forgive sins in Reconciliation? Can we the people administer Last Rites and the Anointing of the Sick? No, only those set apart, those who have answered the call to a special vocation wholly to serve most Holy Mother Church through Holy Orders. Who are these amazing people set apart? They are our priests!
Who are our priests? They are our sons, they are our brothers, they are our uncles, they are our cousins, they are our friends, they are our classmates, they are our colleagues, they are our family. And they were once ordinary men sitting alongside of us at any random Sunday Mass. They were once our altar servers, choir members, lectors, ushers. They were once you and me sitting and listening to yet another priest speak. Our priests are as strong as we are ultimately.
And without our priests, how can we receive our dear sweet Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament? So I say, just give me the sacraments and I will have the strength and fortitude to follow Jesus and lead others to Him, perhaps even a future priest.