Last weekend, I had the great privilege of traveling with many of our parishioners to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC where two young men from our parish were ordained as priests for the Archdiocese. On Sunday morning, even more of our parishioners had the opportunity to participate in their first Masses! Fr. Alex Wyvill, who studied at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Saint John Paul II Seminary in Washington, and the Pontifical North American College in Rome, has been temporarily assigned to assist Fr. John Dakes at Jesus the Divine Word in Huntingtown. Fr. Ryan Braam, who studied at Catholic University of America, Saint John Paul II Seminary, and Theological College in Washington, has been assigned as parochial vicar at St. John Francis Regis Parish in Hollywood. Thanks be to God!

As we thank God for the gift of these two new priests for our community and for the Church of Washington, it's an appropriate time for us to reflect upon what the “priesthood” really is, based on Scripture and Tradition.

The first point that deserves to be made is that a "priest" is someone who offers sacrifice to God. In the Old Covenant, Aaron and his descendants were set apart to offer sacrifices to God, day after day, for the forgiveness of the sins of Israel. The people of Israel would bring to them a variety of prescribed offerings - like sheep, goats, doves, grains, and wine - which the priests would in turn offer to God. The Lord had demanded such sacrifices in the Law of Moses, but Scripture also makes it clear that he really wanted something more: The Lord asked, “Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of he-goats? Offer praise as your sacrifice to God; fulfill your vows to the Most High” (Psalms 50:13-14). God didn't simply want them to go through the motions of sacrifice - He wanted them to offer themselves to Him, just as He offers himself to us.

What the Lord longed for in the Old Testament sacrifices, Jesus offered to his Father on the Cross: Instead of merely offering livestock or other possessions, Jesus offered his very life on Calvary. The Letter to the Hebrews puts these words of Psalm 40 on the lips of Jesus: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in. Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll, Behold, I come to do your will, O God’” (Hebrews 10:5-7). The New Testament is very clear that all of the sacrifices of the Old Testament have been replaced by the one sacrifice of the Cross, and all of the priests of the Old Testament have been replaced by Jesus himself. The Catechism thus quotes St. Thomas Aquinas, who said, “Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his ministers.” (CCC 1545).

If Jesus is the one priest of the New Covenant, why do Catholics ordain “priests” like Fr. Alex Wyvill and Fr. Ryan Braam? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that there are two participations in the one priesthood of Christ - the baptismal priesthood that all of the laity share, and the ministerial priesthood that ordained priests share.

The ministerial or hierarchical priesthood of bishops and priests, and the common priesthood of all the faithful participate, "each in its own proper way, in the one priesthood of Christ." While being "ordered one to another," they differ essentially. In what sense? While the common priesthood of the faithful is exercised by the unfolding of baptismal grace - a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the Spirit -, the ministerial priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood. It is directed at the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all Christians. The ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church. For this reason it is transmitted by its own sacrament, the sacrament of Holy Orders (CCC 1547).

First, all of the baptized are called to be “priestly" by offering our entire lives in union with Jesus Christ. As members of the Church, the body of Christ, all of us are called to unite our daily prayers, works, joys, and sufferings to the Lord, in communion with Jesus. The whole Church, perfecting the Temple of the Old Testament, is meant to be a place where worthy sacrifice is offered. The First Letter of St. Peter urges all the faithful, “Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (2:4-5).

We, the laity, could not do this without being truly, substantially united with Jesus and his one sacrifice. The Cross is the pattern to which we are called to conform our very lives, and we need an opportunity to embrace it. We enter into to the sacrifice of the Cross above all through the Eucharist, when Jesus feeds us with his own body, which was given up for us, and his blood, which was poured out for us. As the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “The Eucharist is the very sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus which he instituted to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until his return in glory. Thus he entrusted to his Church this memorial of his death and Resurrection” (271).

To ensure that all believers would be able to participate in this sacrifice, Jesus gave his Apostles a unique share in his priestly ministry, empowering them to act as his representatives (“In persona Christi") at the celebration of the Eucharist. When he told them at the Last Supper, “Do this in memory of me,” he gave them the authority to act in his name, especially in the Eucharist. This authority is handed down through the laying on of hands in the sacrament of Holy Orders, so that each ordained ministerial priest is able to offer the sacrifice of Mass to God.

Catholic priests imitate Jesus in so many ways, as they live sacrificially for our sanctification. Through their promise of celibacy, they offer their very selves to the Church, just as Jesus did. Through their own efforts of holiness, they strive to do God's will in the details of their lives, just as Jesus did. Through their preaching, their parish governance, and their celebration of the sacraments, they do their best to make our lives more pleasing to God, just as Jesus did. Let us continue to lift up Fr. Wyvill and Fr. Braam in prayer, as they begin this sacrificial ministry in union with the one high priest, Jesus Christ.