Who Is the Priest?
A PRIEST IS...
A Man of Prayer
The priest is first and foremost a man of prayer. The priest lives in persona Christi, so his most important prayer is to re-present the sacrifice of Jesus during Holy Mass. His parish relies on him to offer a sacrifice "holy and acceptable to God." Throughout the week, too, at parish meetings and community functions, he is often asked: "Father, will you lead us in prayer?" He is seen as a man who knows how to speak with God.
A priest spends each day in personal prayer through the Liturgy of the Hours and time in private meditation before the Blessed Sacrament. His private prayer is essential, for he must know Him of Whom he speaks, teaches and preaches; he must come to have an intimate relationship with Christ. The priest becomes "another Christ" for his people.
A Preacher of the Word
Since the beginning of Christianity, people have come to Jesus through the preaching of the Word. Today, this remains a primary ministry of a priest. Because the majority of Catholics encounter the faith and receive their inspiration to practice it from the preaching of their parish priest, men who can articulate their knowledge and excitement about their Faith are a great treasure to the Church. A priest's duty, then, is to teach his people how Christ's life is relevant to their own. He answers the question, "How can I live out my faith today?"
"The Church faces a particularly difficult task in her efforts to preach the word of God in all cultures in which the faithful are constantly challenged by consumerism and a pleasure-seeking mentality." (St. John Paul II)
A Servant
A priest is not a priest for himself. The ordained priest shares in the mission of Jesus as Priest, Prophet, and Shepherd. As priest, he prays and celebrates the Eucharist. As prophet, he preaches and teaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and as shepherd, he serves others.
At the Last Supper, Jesus gave the Eucharistic mandate to His apostles, "Do this in memory of Me," but not before the Lord had knelt down and washed their feet. Jesus said, "What I have done for you, you must do for one another."
A priest must be a servant to God's people. He brings the love and strength of Christ into the parish, the school, the hospital room, the prison, the inner city…wherever God's people are and especially wherever they suffer, the priest is there.
Diocesan Priesthood
Some men are called to lay down their lives for the Church in the ordained ministry by the Sacrament of Holy Orders. These men stand in the person of Christ and serve their bride, the Church, through their preaching and teaching and by celebrating the Sacraments. Diocesan priests primarily serve the geographical area of their diocese, typically as parish priests but also in other capacities, such as chaplains in schools, hospitals, and prisons. Most importantly, however, the priest provides for the administration of the sacraments and spiritual guidance, promoting the spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being of the people.
A Man of Prayer
The priest is first and foremost a man of prayer. The priest lives in persona Christi, so his most important prayer is to re-present the sacrifice of Jesus during Holy Mass. His parish relies on him to offer a sacrifice "holy and acceptable to God." Throughout the week, too, at parish meetings and community functions, he is often asked: "Father, will you lead us in prayer?" He is seen as a man who knows how to speak with God.
A priest spends each day in personal prayer through the Liturgy of the Hours and time in private meditation before the Blessed Sacrament. His private prayer is essential, for he must know Him of Whom he speaks, teaches and preaches; he must come to have an intimate relationship with Christ. The priest becomes "another Christ" for his people.
A Preacher of the Word
Since the beginning of Christianity, people have come to Jesus through the preaching of the Word. Today, this remains a primary ministry of a priest. Because the majority of Catholics encounter the faith and receive their inspiration to practice it from the preaching of their parish priest, men who can articulate their knowledge and excitement about their Faith are a great treasure to the Church. A priest's duty, then, is to teach his people how Christ's life is relevant to their own. He answers the question, "How can I live out my faith today?"
"The Church faces a particularly difficult task in her efforts to preach the word of God in all cultures in which the faithful are constantly challenged by consumerism and a pleasure-seeking mentality." (St. John Paul II)
A Servant
A priest is not a priest for himself. The ordained priest shares in the mission of Jesus as Priest, Prophet, and Shepherd. As priest, he prays and celebrates the Eucharist. As prophet, he preaches and teaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and as shepherd, he serves others.
At the Last Supper, Jesus gave the Eucharistic mandate to His apostles, "Do this in memory of Me," but not before the Lord had knelt down and washed their feet. Jesus said, "What I have done for you, you must do for one another."
A priest must be a servant to God's people. He brings the love and strength of Christ into the parish, the school, the hospital room, the prison, the inner city…wherever God's people are and especially wherever they suffer, the priest is there.
Diocesan Priesthood
Some men are called to lay down their lives for the Church in the ordained ministry by the Sacrament of Holy Orders. These men stand in the person of Christ and serve their bride, the Church, through their preaching and teaching and by celebrating the Sacraments. Diocesan priests primarily serve the geographical area of their diocese, typically as parish priests but also in other capacities, such as chaplains in schools, hospitals, and prisons. Most importantly, however, the priest provides for the administration of the sacraments and spiritual guidance, promoting the spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being of the people.
What kind of work do priests do?
Most diocesan priests are parish priests. They celebrate Mass on Sundays and during the week with their people, hear their confessions, anoint them when they are sick, baptize and marry them, and pray for the dead. Priests preach the Word of God from the pulpit and teach it in classrooms and discussion groups. They listen to their people’s joys and sorrows and promote works of charity. They may work with groups of the elderly, with teen or young adult groups, and with parents.
A diocesan priest may also work full-time with the patients and staff of a hospital or with students in a high school or college as chaplain or teacher. He may be asked to work with inmates and staff in a jail or prison. Some priests are released from service in the Archdiocese in order to be chaplains to our men and women in the armed forces.
Basic to the ministry of any priest is preaching the Word of God, celebrating the sacraments and being available to God’s people. It's a busy, rewarding life that demands stamina and spiritual maturity.
What is the difference between a diocesan priest and a religious order priest?
A religious order priest belongs to a community of men bound together by faith and the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Poverty means that they do not own things individually but rather as a group; chastity means that they refrain from sexual activity and do not marry; obedience means that, after appropriate consultation, they do what their superiors ask them to do. It is not necessary to be a priest to be a member of a religious order; those who are not priests are called brothers. The priests and brothers of a religious community may engage in any kind of work for the Church and the good of humanity; they often specialize in certain kinds of work such as education, work with the sick or poor, and service in the foreign missions.
A diocesan priest does not make the solemn vows that religious priests (and religious brothers and sisters) make but he does make promises that are discussed in subsequent questions. Perhaps the most striking difference between him and a religious order priest is that the diocesan priest lives a life more like that of his people: he buys his own clothes and car, he pays taxes, he may own personal property. That is why a diocesan priest is sometimes called a secular priest (from the Latin saeculum, a word that means roughly “this world of time and space in which we live”).
A diocesan priest belongs to the body of priests (called the presbyterate) of a local diocese, which is a particular territory within a state or country. A diocesan priest normally serves within the boundaries of his diocese under the authority of his bishop.
Most diocesan priests are parish priests. They celebrate Mass on Sundays and during the week with their people, hear their confessions, anoint them when they are sick, baptize and marry them, and pray for the dead. Priests preach the Word of God from the pulpit and teach it in classrooms and discussion groups. They listen to their people’s joys and sorrows and promote works of charity. They may work with groups of the elderly, with teen or young adult groups, and with parents.
A diocesan priest may also work full-time with the patients and staff of a hospital or with students in a high school or college as chaplain or teacher. He may be asked to work with inmates and staff in a jail or prison. Some priests are released from service in the Archdiocese in order to be chaplains to our men and women in the armed forces.
Basic to the ministry of any priest is preaching the Word of God, celebrating the sacraments and being available to God’s people. It's a busy, rewarding life that demands stamina and spiritual maturity.
What is the difference between a diocesan priest and a religious order priest?
A religious order priest belongs to a community of men bound together by faith and the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Poverty means that they do not own things individually but rather as a group; chastity means that they refrain from sexual activity and do not marry; obedience means that, after appropriate consultation, they do what their superiors ask them to do. It is not necessary to be a priest to be a member of a religious order; those who are not priests are called brothers. The priests and brothers of a religious community may engage in any kind of work for the Church and the good of humanity; they often specialize in certain kinds of work such as education, work with the sick or poor, and service in the foreign missions.
A diocesan priest does not make the solemn vows that religious priests (and religious brothers and sisters) make but he does make promises that are discussed in subsequent questions. Perhaps the most striking difference between him and a religious order priest is that the diocesan priest lives a life more like that of his people: he buys his own clothes and car, he pays taxes, he may own personal property. That is why a diocesan priest is sometimes called a secular priest (from the Latin saeculum, a word that means roughly “this world of time and space in which we live”).
A diocesan priest belongs to the body of priests (called the presbyterate) of a local diocese, which is a particular territory within a state or country. A diocesan priest normally serves within the boundaries of his diocese under the authority of his bishop.