“Priests have received a power which God has given neither to angels nor to archangels. It was said to them: ‘Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven...’” (Saint John Chrysostom).
I have been reflecting on the role of the Priest.
In recent times (and even historically) priests of the Catholic Church have been criticised. While many priests are good and honourable men who live holy lives there are some few who are not. Historically those few have done terrible things and caused terrible pain.
And I have been thinking about that today. Why? Why priests? Why are priests not doing better (as a whole and overall)?
Well, I thought back to the earliest of the priests… The apostles. Of the apostles – who literally lived with Christ and worked with Him and observed his miracles and wonders – eleven of them were wonderful, and one was not. Eleven of those first priests sacrificed their lives for God (ten as martyrs and the eleventh, Saint John the Beloved, as His most Beloved Disciple) But there was one – Judas Iscariot – who was not a good priest. There was one among them who betrayed God. And he did that – that betrayal – for thirty pieces of silver. In other words, Judas sold his salvation for a chunk of change in a little bag.
And I have been reflecting on that today. Because I have heard it said that if one priest goes to Heaven, he takes a thousand souls with him, and if instead he goes to hell, he takes a thousand souls there instead…
Saint John Mary Vianney said, “Go to confession to the Blessed Virgin, or to an angel; will they absolve you? No. Will they give you the Body and Blood of Our Lord? No. The Holy Virgin cannot make her Divine Son descend into the Host. You might have two hundred angels there, but they could not absolve you. A priest, however simple he may be, can do it; he can say to you, ‘Go in peace; I pardon you.’ Oh, how great is a priest!” And this Saint meant this not as a form of flattery – for flattery is empty. He meant this as an indication of the importance of prayers for a priest. For a priest endures more temptation than any other soul because a priest’s failure leads to the failure of his flock…
Saint John Chrysostom said, “Priests have received a power which God has given neither to angels nor to archangels. It was said to them: ‘Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose, shall be loosed.’”
And I have been thinking about that today. Because it occurs to me that I must pray more for my priests. For the weight that they carry is greater than any weight my poor little soul could bear. And the failure of the one is remembered for far longer than the success of the others. And I realise today that that means that they need my prayers, even more than I could ever know…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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