May 16 Sat
Should the ministerial priesthood remain?
After being excommunicated, Martin Luther remained at Wartburg Castle in Germany until March 1522. He also notes that, while he was there, Satan appeared to him in a vision and revealed how the Mass should be reformed.
Luther himself described the scene as follows: “It happened to me once that I suddenly woke up around midnight, and Satan began to argue with me.” The three points with which the devil attacked the Mass are the same ones that Luther would eventually defend:
1) the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist;
2) the ministerial priesthood, keeping only the common priesthood of all the faithful;
3) the denial that the Holy Mass is a sacrifice: the Mass, according to the devil and, following him, Luther, would be nothing more than a commemorative supper.
It is terrifying to think that some have the clear intention to abolish the ministerial priesthood, so distinctly Protestant. This stems directly from the evil one.
Without the ministerial priesthood, there is no Eucharist, and without the Eucharist, there is no Church.
In the Catholic Church, a historically common practice, such as the reforms of religious orders throughout the ages, has always consisted of a return to the origins.
We should keep the following principles in mind:
- All the Christian faithful are radically and fundamentally equal.
- All the faithful are radically called and empowered to participate in the mission of the Church, which is the sanctification of all her members. This call and power are received in Baptism and perfected through Confirmation.
- Additionally, there are other priestly functions, primarily related to the Holy Eucharist, the pardon of sins, and the other sacraments. These functions include authoritatively preaching the word of God and governing the faithful in all that refers to the Kingdom of God.
- For these latter functions, the ministerial priesthood—received through the Sacrament of Holy Orders—differs in its essence, not just in degree, from the common priesthood of the faithful—as the recent popes have insistently asserted.
The tasks of priests are consecrating the body and blood of the Lord, forgiving sins, announcing the Gospel, caring for the faithful with their example and doctrine, and administering the sacraments that do not require episcopal powers.
By divine institution, “only a baptized man can validly receive sacred ordination.” Christ wanted those who publicly exercise the sacred ministry in his name to be men. Thus, He chose his Apostles among his male disciples.
Neither the Apostles nor their successors ever ordained women, even though priestesses were common in the Greek world they lived in after leaving their Jewish communities. The Church acknowledges that she is bound by this decision of our Lord.
The sacramental symbolism requires a natural likeness between the priest and Christ, who was and is a male.
The dignity of women is in no way diminished by their not being eligible for ordination. The most exalted human person is the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of God, but Christ chose not to call her to the ministerial priesthood.