The Priesthood

The priesthood is the function of the priest. The priest stands between God and men: he carries to God, in the name of men, the offering and the prayer, and he passes on to men what God gives, his pardon and his blessing. The word comes from the Latin sacerdos, bound to the sacred: the one who performs holy things.

The priest, a mediator

Scripture defines the priest in a single sentence: “Every high priest, taken from among men, is appointed on behalf of men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” Hebrews 5:1 Every word enlightens. The priest is taken from among men: he is one of them. He is appointed on their behalf: at their service. His domain is their relations with God, worship. And his proper task is to offer sacrifice, the offering presented to God, the gift of something precious, often a victim, to adore him and obtain pardon. The priest is thus a mediator: the one who joins two shores, God and his people.

From the temple to the Cross

In the Old Covenant, God appointed priests, chosen from the people of Israel, to offer in the temple, in the name of all, animal sacrifices endlessly repeated. These offerings prepared and foretold, without being able to take away sin: “It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.” Hebrews 10:4 Christ came to fulfil the priesthood. He made himself at once priest and victim: on the Cross, he offers to his Father, once for all, the one sacrifice that saves, the gift of his own life: “We are sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all.” Hebrews 10:10

According to the order of Melchizedek

This priesthood of Christ does not end, foretold from afar by a figure of Genesis. Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High, came to meet Abraham, offered him bread and wine, and blessed him: “Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram.” Genesis 14:18-19 The account says nothing of his parents, his birth, or his death: he appears without origin and vanishes without end. This very absence makes him the image of the eternal Priest, whose priesthood has neither beginning nor term; and the bread and wine he presents foretell the offering of the Eucharist. This is why Scripture salutes Christ with this title: “You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:6

The priesthood shared

From this one priesthood of Christ flows all Christian priesthood. Through baptism, all the faithful receive a priesthood: they can offer to God their whole life, their work, their joys and their sorrows, as a spiritual offering. This is the common priesthood of all the baptised: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood.” 1 Peter 2:9 Within this people, Christ calls some to a particular priesthood: through ordination, the priest receives the power to act in the name of Christ himself and to make present, in the Eucharist, his one sacrifice. This is the ministerial priesthood, given to serve the common priesthood.

One single reality

The word “priesthood” thus covers one single reality, shared in several degrees: Christ, the one Priest who offered himself; the baptised, who offer their lives; the ordained, who make present his sacrifice. All goes back to Christ, the one mediator: “There is one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5