Priesthood is a ministry which is part and parcel of the life of the church.  It is a specific call from God as the Letter to the Hebrews proclaims.  "Every High Priest is taken from among human beings and is appointed".  (Heb 5:1)  Moreover, the Letter continues to assert that "no one takes this honour on himself, it needs a call from God". (Heb 5:2)  This means that priesthood is a ministry that comes from God for a very particular mission within the life of the church.

So we might ask.  What is the particular ministry of the priest?  We can think of various things. However, I am going to let the Bible describe the ministry of the priest.  In the same letter to the Hebrews we find written that the priest is "appointed to act on the people's behalf in relationship with God, to offer gifts and sacrifice for sins." (Heb 5:4)  The priest is called to stand before our God on behalf of his people praying for them, interceding for them.  His ministry is to make God's values and ideals part and parcel of the way in which believers live.  He is asked to bring the bride, which is all of you, to the bridegroom; to Jesus Christ.  He is to let the church be what it is supposed to be, the people of God.  He does this by preaching the word, by teaching and celebrating the Sacraments, in particular the Eucharist.  As a church we are called to work together in respectful partnership acknowledging, respecting and promoting the particular ministry that we have been called for.

At this particular time, I ask you to remember in thanksgiving all the priests of the diocese.  May the Lord continue to bless us all and may we continue to become more and more powerful witnesses of the Resurrected Jesus.  Let us all pray for and encourage vocations to the priesthood and religious life and for our seminarians.

What does the church teach about the Eucharist?  During the Last Supper "while they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it and giving it to his disciples said, 'Take and eat, this is my body'. Then he took a cup gave thanks and give it to them saying, 'drink from it all of you, for this is the blood of the covenant which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins". (Mt 26:26-28)  The church professes that in the celebration of the Eucharist the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of consecration prayed by the priest.  The whole Christ is truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity under the appearance of bread and wine (Catechism of the Catholic Church N. 1374)  The church also teaches that Jesus Christ remains present under the appearance of bread and wine as long as the elements remains.

Moreover, the Eucharist is not only a meal but it is also a sacrifice.  Through his life, passion, death and resurrection Jesus Christ offered himself to the Father so that we can today go to Him with all our anxieties, fears, hurts, wounds and sins.  In return we are renewed with hope and strengthened by His presence.  We are brought into the inner life of God, the communion among the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  The celebration of the Eucharist makes present again today what Jesus did on the Cross.  He is even today, "the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." (Jn 1:29)  In the celebration of the Eucharist, Jesus does not sacrifice Himself again and again.  Rather by the power of the Holy Spirit, His one eternal sacrifice is made present once again so that we may share in it and be empowered by His life giving presence to continue His mission. Therefore, during the Eucharist celebration we do not simply remember something that Jesus accomplished long ago, but we are joined in Christ's sacrifice and receive today it inexhaustible benefits.

Furthermore, in the Eucharistic representation of Christ's eternal sacrifice before the Father we are not merely spectators.  The priest and the worshipping community are in different ways active.  The community comes together with the priest in order to give praise and thanksgiving to our God for his never ending love and presence, to be bonded together and to go forth from the Eucharistic celebrations to commit itself to reaching out to others.  Just as the Body of Jesus Christ is broken for us we are called to be broken for others.  Just as we are nourished by the body and blood of Jesus Christ we are also encouraged to nourish others materially and spiritually.  Just as we participate in the offering of Jesus to the Father we are also reminded that part and parcel of our mission as followers of Jesus is to offer ourselves in service to others.

Let us participate actively in these liturgies and let us prepare ourselves to receive this amazing love of Jesus for us by availing ourselves of the sacrament of reconciliation.