|
| What does it mean to be a priest? |
| According to St. Paul, it means above all to be a steward of the mysteries of God: |
| 'This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy' | |
| 1 Cor. 4: 1-2. |
| The word 'steward' cannot be replaced by any other. It is deeply rooted in the Gospel: it brings to mind the parable of the faithful steward and the unfaithful one (Luke 12: 41-48). The steward is not the owner, but the one whom the owner entrusts his goods so that he will manage them justly and responsibly. In exactly the same way the priest receives from Christ the treasures of salvation, in order duly to distribute them among the people to whom he is sent....The priest is thus a man of the word of God, a man of sacrament, a man of the 'mystery of faith." |
| Pope John Paul II, Gift and Mystery, p. 72 |
As a steward of the mysteries of God, the priest receives a threefold mission and unique grace of state to fulfill them: namely, to teach, to govern, and to sanctify. He receives these from the bishop who, as the successor to the Apostles, holds these three in their fullness. The priest shares in the ministry of the bishop and dispenses the divine mysteries by episcopal authority. |
|
| Very often the role of a priest is described as a life of service, but only on a horizontal dimension. A priest is one who first serves Christ as the steward of His priestly mission. This is exemplified by the daily offering of Holy Mass, the central act of a priest's mission, for it is a continuation of Christ's redemptive act on Calvary performed by the priest in the person of Christ. |
| '"We carry out this office, through which Christ Himself unceasingly 'serves' the Father in the work of our salvation. Our whole priestly existence is and must be deeply imbued with this service, if we wish to effect in an adequate way the Eucharistic Sacrifice in persona Christi." | |
| Pope John Paul II, Holy Thursday Message, 1979, #4 |
The priest is first called to teach the faith to the people of God and to the larger community on non-believers. He actively engages in the work of evangelization when he preaches at the divine liturgy, when he teaches through catechetical instruction, and when he is a witness to the world by his life of self-sacrifice. As a steward of the divine mysteries, the priest is given the grace to govern the flock of Christ entrusted to his care. The manner of this governance is not as the world governs, where power is lorded over others, for all the baptized faithful are called to a life of holiness according to their state in life. Nevertheless, by his priestly office, the priest is called to govern the flock through the office of the bishop as a father watches over and cares for his children. |
| "The ministerial priest, by the sacred power that he has, forms and rules the priestly people; in the person of Christ he effects the Eucharistic Sacrifice and offers it to God in the name of all the people." | |
| Lumen Gentium, # 10 |
| The final role of the priest is to sanctify the faithful through the administration of the sacraments. He receives the power to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to absolve sins, and to bless in the Name of Christ. As a steward of the sacred mysteries, the priest is the instrument through whom Christ communicates sanctifying grace to the faithful in the sacraments. He is our sacramental link to Christ and to the Apostles, through whom he receives the power to effect the sacraments by the power of the bishop. |
| "The ordained ministry or ministerial priesthood is at the service of the baptismal priesthood. The ordained priesthood guarantees that it really is Christ who acts in the sacraments through the Holy Spirit for the Church. The saving mission entrusted by the Father to his incarnate Son was committed to the Apostles and through them to their successors: they receive the Spirit of Jesus to act in his name and in his person. The ordained minister is the sacramental bond that ties the liturgical action to what the Apostles said and did and, through them, to the words and actions of Christ, the source and foundation of the sacraments." | |
| Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1120 |
| The priest, in these roles of teaching, governing and sanctifying,
embrace the mission of the different persons of the Blessed Trinity: the providential
governance of the Father over the whole created order, the teaching mission of Christ on
earth, and the sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. To effectively live the demanding life of the priesthood, a man pledges to be another Christ in imitation of Our Lord's life on earth. The priest pledges to be chaste, poor, and obedient as Our Lord had been on earth to give His priests an example of how to live the redemptive life of the priesthood. Though not all priests take vows of poverty, nevertheless every priest is asked by the bishop at ordination to live a life of simple poverty in example to Christ the Eternal High Priest. Priestly formation is first and foremost spiritual, as one seeks to imitate the life of Christ and to live the evangelical counsels. It is also intellectual through the study of philosophy and theology. Such a formation does not end at ordination, as a priest is encouraged to study ever more and to pray without ceasing so that he is prepared for the apostolate to which he is assigned. |
| "The only priest who will always prove necessary to people is the priest who is conscious of the full meaning of his priesthood: the priest who believes profoundly, who professes his faith with courage, who prays fervently, who teaches with deep conviction, who serves, who puts into practice in his own life the program of the Beatitudes, who knows how to love disinterestedly, who is close to everyone, and especially to those who are most in need." | |
| Pope John Paul II, Holy Thursday Message, 1979, #7 |
| Our Lady Of Guadalupe Seminary |
| The Fraternity of St. Peter operates Our Lady Of Guadalupe Seminary for the formation of English-speaking candidates for the priesthood. Young men who believe that they may have a vocation are strongly encouraged to make a vocational retreat at the seminary. These retreats are offered two or three times a year. |
 |
Qualifications for admission |
|
| The seminary program is seven years long and consists of an initial
"year of spirituality," two years of philosophy, and four years of theology. The
goal of the seminary program is the total formation of the whole man into a God-centered
priest. It is not solely an intellectual formation but an integral one, aimed at producing
men of God who are priests in the Catholic and Roman tradition. The first year, the year of spirituality, introduces the candidate to the Fraternity, to its community life, and to the diciplined life of prayer and penance. During this year the seminarian, in close union with his superiors and spiritual director, seeks to discern whether he is truly being called to be a priest of the Fraternity. In the year of spirituality and throughout the seminary program, we work to strengthen the seminarian against the many distractions of the apostolate by forming him in a spirit of prayer and constant presence before God. We are convinced that souls can only be led to holiness by priests who are themselves striving for perfection. Throughout his formation, the seminarian's character, sanctity of life, and intellectual progress will be scrutinized. With docility, humility, and supernatural perseverance he may advance from the minor to the major orders, and finally to the priesthood, formed with a proper sense of his own insufficiency and a clear understanding that God, not his own efforts, has made him a priest. |
|
For further information, please contact: |
| Director of Vocations Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter P.O. Box 196 Elmhurst, PA 18416 phone: (570) 842-4000 fax: (570) 842-4001 |
|
e-mail: vocations@fssp.com |
Return to top of page