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PAGE 5—February 17, 1977
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Am I A Priest?
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BY FATHER ALFRED MCBRIDE, 0. PRAEM.
The word priest is surrounded with a
multitude of meanings. In the Old Testament it
is associated with temple worship. The priest is
the one who performs the sacrifieal rites,
whether they be offering the lambs or the
incense or driving the scapegoat into the desert.
In the New Testament the priest becomes the
celebrator of the Eucharist.
In early Christian times, the priest offered
Eucharist in homes. No big temples. No choirs
of psalm singers. No altars. No vestments. No
banks of candles. No incense. None of the
heavy paraphernalia associated with the Hebrew
temple priesthood. The first priests of the New
Covenant followed more the custom of the
presider of a Jewish household at a Seder meal.
The Liberation of Christianity in the fourth
century by the emperor Constantine witnessed
the introduction of basilicas as worship centers.
Worship moved from the home to the church.
And so did the priest. The style of temple
liturgy from the Old Testament reasserted
itself. Once again, the choirs, the altars, the
candles, the incense. The simple bread and wine
of the house Eucharists assumed the imagery of
the sacrifieal lamb. The presider at the table of
the Lord became the priest at the altar.
The Reformation revolted against this
dominent ceremonial role of the priest and
began to speak of the priest as minister, and of
the priesthood of all the faithful. They cited
the Bible in support. God told the Jews, “You
shall be a nation of priests” (Ex. 3, 6-9). St.
Peter reiterated this notion: “You, however, are
a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people he
claims for his pwn to proclaim the glorious
works of God.” (1 Peter 2,9)
temple liturgies, is now vastly simplified. The
accretion of decorations and confusing
overlayers of symbols has been swept away so
that the simplicity and real meaning of worship
may be revealed.
The uniqueness of the presiding priest is
affirmed, while the value of the people of God
as a royal priesthood is retained. The role of
priest as one appointed and ordained by the
Church to offer Eucharist is enriched by the
title of minister, so that the priest shall never
forget his obligation to be a servant of the
people. The Catholic people are to be made
aware that they are a royal priesthood in the
sense that they are both a worshiping people as
well as ministering Church.
Whereas the meaning of priest in former
times was tied to his “being” more than his
function, there is a greater emphasis today on
his function more than his “priest being.” It’s
not that his being as a priest is less important,
but that his function - what he does -- and his
relationship to the people of.the church-is more
center stage. This is dramatized much better
now at ordination services where the priest
candidate is presented to the people for their
approval. When this is received and the bishop
affirms the will of the people that this man is
called to priesthood, the signal of applause is a
stirring moment of participation by the
people in the ordination event.
What has really occurred in the recent search
for the identity of the priest is a recovery of the
community and human dimension of
priesthood. In a way it is a new celebration of
the incarnation of Christ. God so loved human
beings that he decided to become one. The new
emphasis on the human is but a renewal of
what is always affirmed at Christmas, the value
of the human asserted by one no less than God.
WORSHIP CENTERS -- Father Alfred McBride writes, “The
liberation of Christianity in the fourth century by the emperor
Constantine witnessed the introduction of basilicas as worship
centers. Worship moved from the home to the church. And so
did the priest.” This tapestry shows Constantine being baptized
by Pope Sylvester. (NC Photo)
Lay Persons In Pastoral Ministry
There was bound to be a reaction to this,
and it came from the dedicated group of
northerners, very probably priests, who started
work on what was to be the Book of
Deuteronomy. This code, partially formulated,
was brought south after the fall of the northern
kingdom in 722 and, a century later, exerted a
profound influence on the reform carried out
by King Josiah of Judah. It prescribed that
Yahweh could be worshiped officially only in
the temple of Jerusalem - the so-called
principle of unity of sanctuary. This became a
hard and fast rule and worked real hardship on
the many priests who had earned their
livelihood at the local shrines.
The Jerusalem clergy guarded its privileges
jealously and, while other priests could
function there, they could do so only rarely
and in a limited way. No longer were
descendents of Levi automatically priests. A
complicated hierarchial system was worked out,
especially in the period after the Exile, with all
sorts of temple duties distributed among
different classes, the two main ones being those
of Priests and Levites.
A HOPEFUL SIGN -- Dr. Michael Warren writes of the
growing number of theology students seeking careers in lay
ministry. Dr. Warren sees this as a hopeful sign for the Church.
This young man discusses an art project with a boy at a migrant
reading program in upstate New York. (NC Photo by Susan
McKinney)
Vatican Council II seems to have brought
together all these many views of priesthood.
House liturgies are restored, while Church
liturgies are retained. The priest is one who
presides at the table of the Lord in homes, or at
the altar of the Lord in churches. The bulk of
church ceremonies, once redolent of ancient
The priesthood was a vastly important
institution in the life of God’s people. It was, in
fact, one of the three basic institutions which
gave structure to their life in the Old Testament
period. The other two were kingship and
prophecy. (One could include also the highly
influential Wisdom movement with its sages,
but this was hardly an “institution” in the same
sense as the others.) Priesthood was not
peculiar to Israel; Egypt, Mesopotamia, Canaan
all had priests. They were numerous and
performed an amazing variety of functions.
That they served as models for Israelite
priesthood goes without saying; if the latter was
unique, it was because of the uniqueness of the
God it served: Yahweh.
The history of the development of the
priesthood in Israel is complicated. The
traditions recorded in the Bible are far from
homogeneous, but this complex question need
not concern us here. For all practical purposes,
we can accept the relatively late tradition that
the priests were descendants of the patriarch
Levi and members of the tribe which bore his
name, keeping in mind, however, that this is an
oversimplification. In any event, the
priesthood, like kingship, but unlike the offices
of prophecy, was hereditary. A man bom into
the tribe of Levi was, by that fact, a priest.
In the very early days following the
settlement in Canaan there were shrines
throughout the tribal territories, each served by
its own priesthood. Here the Israelites
worshipped at will, even though the one
containing the Ark of the Covenant must have
enjoyed special prestige. In the course of time
and as the result of many historical factors,
these local shrines and their priestly personnel
were phased out.
One event in particular speeded up the
process: the secession of the 10 northern tribes
from the southern tribe of Judah after
Solomon’s death in 926 B.C. The first king of
the new Kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam I,
established shrines in the north to rival the
temple in Jerusalem. These new shrines were
gradually infiltrated by pagan, Canaanite,
influences, and in many instances ended up as
thinly disguised centers for the worship of Baal
with its attendant fertility cuit.
This richer tapestry of priesthood should
eventually mean a fresh resurgence of ordained
priesthood as well as a broader community
consciousness of the royal priesthood of the
people of God.
Multiplicity of functions was nothing
entirely new; priests had never been simply
cultic ministers, charged with* the offering of
sacrifice. In fact, it seems that at first this was
not even their primary function. The earliest
texts suggest that they were considered
primarily as givers of oracles, making known
God’s will to the people (Dt 33, 7-11; Jgs. 18,
5; 1 Sm. 14, 41; 28, 6). An extension of this
function was that of instruction in the Law (Dt.
33, 10). They offered sacrifice, of course, but it
seems that others could to this also: heads of
families, prophets occasionally, like Elijah, and
some kings. Eventually the prophets took over
the oracular function and the scribes that of
instruction in the Law so that, in the end,
priests came to be associated almost exclusively
with sacrifice and other cultic matters.
This was the priesthood which the first
Christians knew and, for various reasons, they
were rather slow in developing one of their
own. For quite a while they remained devoutly
attached to the temple, and the only priests
mentioned in the New Testament are Jewish
priests. (References to “bishops” and “priests”
in some translations of the apostolic letters is
BY MICHAEL WARREN
Recently an undergraduate, a junior,
stopped by my office to discuss career
possibilities. As a drama major in a state
university, he became involved in charismatic
misleading. The underlying Greek terms mean
“supervisors” and “elders.”) Christianity, like
Judaism, is a historical religion; its institutions
have undergone development from the
beginning. That development was historically
conditioned; the Church did not come of age in
an incubator. For the clear emergence of
a distinct Christian priesthood there had first to
be a clean break with the temple and its
priesthood. That did not happen overnight.
Again, since there was not such a close tie-up
between priesthood and sacrifice, the Church
had to grow in its realization of the
full sacrifieal implications of the Eucharist.
Without a Christian sacrifice there was no
obvious need for a Christian priesthood as such.
This, too, took time, although we can see it
developing in Paul’s treatment of the Eucharist
in 1 Cor. The only New Testament book to
treat the priesthood in a Christian setting is the
very late first century “Letter” to the Hebrews
that of the glorified Christ, the eternal High
Priest. However, in the subsequent development
of the Christian priesthood, this magnificent
document did not exert obvious and powerful
influence.
prayer groups. Finally, he was convinced that
he needed an in-depth understanding of his
religious tradition and its relationship to the
religious nature in humankind. So he
transferred to St. John’s as a theology major.
Like many undergraduate theology majors I
have met these past two years, he wishes to
become involved in some kind of full-time
parish ministry.
Today’s young people are developing a keen
sense of their possibilities for ministry. Some
years ago, they would have gone to religious
novitiates or seminaries.
On the M.A. graduate level, students are
selecting for their research theses subjects such
as the ministry of the catechist, problems facing
team ministry, the place of women in team
ministries, the complementarity of ministries in
the Church. And all but one of my graduate
students seeking a masters degree are lay
people.
What is happening? One priest with whom I
discussed this said he thought most of them
were “frustrated priests.” I do not agree. I feel
they have a deep commitment to the Church
and consequently, they are taking the effort to
prepare themselves to serve the Church. They
have recognized certain gifts they have for
ministry and want to exercise them. In most
cases they are searching for a lifetime service to
the Church.
Many young people are discovering that
ministry is the correct category for determining
the relationship among the various roles in the
community. It is not a matter of having a
vocation for the priesthood or religious life in a
community. Rather there are a variety of most
important gifts for building up the Body of
Christ. And patristic literature reveals that
Development Of Christian Priesthood
BY FATHER JOHN J. CASTELOT
many Church Fathers prized the catechetical
ministry they were called upon to exercise.
The future catechetical leaders in my classes
are ready to convince volunteer catechists in
parishes they will serve of the beauty and
importance of their time-honored, privileged
role as lay catechists.
Priesthood is being put in the frame of
reference that unites all those who offer service
within the beloved community. This allows
priests to understand anew their key role as
affirmers of the gifts of the community. It
helps priests and all others in ministry
leadership roles to see that they are to be
ministers to the ministers.
The young undergraduate I talked about
earlier plans, after graduation, to marry an,d
have a family, but he is not expecting wealth or
even a very comfortable economic status
through Church ministry. “Is there a place for
me? Is it worthwhile to pursue a career in
ministry?” he asked.
I told him the difficulties: about some of my
friends who dropped out of catechetical
ministry because they could not find a parish
that would pay a living wage; about
discouraging statistics on the job stability of
parish catechetical coordinators.
And I told him of the joys: About those I
know who have found immense satisfaction in
their ministries; about dioceses where bishops,
diocesan leaders, and many local pastors have
created an excellent climate for lay people
seeking full-time ministry.
I encouraged him to write to the National
Conference of Diocesan CCD Directors in
Washington for their fine booklet on parish
catechetical coordinators. Finally, I offered to
review his resume and suggested some dioceses
he might wish to contact.
This young man represents some of the
frustration and hope of the present situation of
lay ministers in the Church. The fact that he
may not find a parish to pay him a living wage
or other pastoral people willing to work with
him as a peer and full colleague in ministry are
sources of frustration.
The fact that this student wishes to bring his
considerable talents to the services of the
Church is a most hopeful sign. And the fact
that he is theologically trained and has a
maturing spirituality behind that training is also
a source of hope.
But something wonderful is happening in the
Church. It is coming from the grassroots levels.
It is coming from a new sense of ministry
among lay people. It is of the Spirit, and it is a
sign of great hope.
Know
Your
Faith
(All Articles On This Page
Copyrighted 1977 by N.C. News Service)
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