Catholic Faith Refresher Course

"And when they had ordained to them priests in every church. ..they commended them to the Lord." (Acts 14:22)

DIRECTIONS TO THE STUDENT   Jesus Christ established the Catholic priesthood Himself. Christ gives us His teachings and His grace through the priests. Therefore the priest and the priesthood are an essential part of the Catholic Church. Bishops and priests have accomplished the spreadofChristianity throughout the world by fonowing the command ofChrist: "Going 1herefore, teach ye all nations : baptizing them in the name of1he Father and of1he Son and of1he Holy GhoSt. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. " ( M a11hew 28: 19-20 ) You notice also the great reverence that Catholic people have for priests; we hope that you will gain some of that reverence from the study of this lesson.

A. THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS

The Sacrament of Holy Orders makes a man a priest of God and gives him the grace to perform his priestly duties. This Sacrament, like all the Sacraments, was made by Jesus Christ Himself.

B.  PRIESTS 

  A priest is a man who primarily offers sacrifice to God for the sins of the people. There have always been priests both in the true religion and in false religions even in pagan religions. Why? Because people have always felt the need of having someone to offer sacrifice to Almighty God for their sins. Priests also have other duties; we shall learn of all the priestly duties as we go on with the lesson.

C. THERE WERE PRIESTS IN THE JEWISH RELIGION

The entire book of Leviticus in the Bible deals with Jewish priests and the offering of sacrifice to Almighty God. The priesthood was an essential part of the Jewish religion. Moses was a priest; Almighty God appointed Aaron and his sons to be priests.

D. JESUS CHRIST WAS A PRIEST    A priest is one who offers sacrifice to God. On the cross Jesus Christ offered to God the most perfect sacrifice, His very life. Therefore, Jesus Christ is a priest. St Paul in his Epistles to the Hebrews tens us Christ is a priest: "11 behoved him in all things to be made like unto his bre1hren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest before God, that he might be a propi1ia1ionfor the sins of1he people." (Hebrew 2:17) The whole purpose of Christ's Incarnation was to offer sacrifice for our sins; this showed that Christ was a priest.

E. PRIESTS IN THE CHRISTIAN PART OF THE BIBLE For the benefit of any reader who might be under the erroneous opinion that priests sprang up in the course of time long after Christ went back to heaven, we will just quote a few parts of the New Testament so that you win be convinced that Christ Himself established the priesthood and Christian priests. "Andwhen they hadordained1o1hempries1s in every church ...1heycommended them to the Lord." (ActS 14:22) St Paul, a bishop, writing to Timothy whom he had made a bishop, tells Timothy to be careful about ordaining priests: " Impose not hands lightly upon any man." (I Timothy 5 :22 )

St Paul also writing to Timothy tens him to be a good bishop and a good priest because he has the grace from the Sacrament ofHoly Orders: "Neglec1 not the grace that is in 1hee: which was given thee ...with imposition of1he hands of1he pries1hood.'. (ITimo1hy4:14) The New Testament also tells us what to do when somebody is sick: "Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of1he church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." (James 5: 14 )

If you read the Acts of the Apostles you win find that one of the principal duties of the Apostles was to go to towns and ordain priests for every church. In the Acts of the Apostles and in other books of the Bible you will fmd that the Apostles gave other men the power to be bishops and priests.

F.  CHRIST ESTABLISHED THE CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD A priest is one who offers sacrifice to God. Our Lord gave the Apostles the power to offer sacrifice at the Last Supper when He told them: "Do this in commemoration of Me." By these words Our Lord told them to offer the Sacrifice of the Mass. The twelve Apostles were the fIrst Catholic priests and bishops; they were ordained to the priesthood by Christ Himself. In the Acts of the Apostles and in other parts of the scripture you win find that the Apostles gave other men the power to be bishops and priests, through the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

G. YOUR PARISH PRIEST HAS POWER WHICH CHRIST GAVE TO THE APOSTLES

Catholic bishops and priests alone have the powers that Christ gave the twelve Apostles. Your parish priest has the power to offer Christ in Holy Mass: "Do this fora comemoration o fme." (Luke 22:19) He has the power to forgive your sins: .'Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." (John 20:23)

The priest has the power to preach the gospel: "Going therefore, teach ye all nations.'. (Matthew 28:19)

Only the priest can give you the Body and Blood of Christ: "Do this for a commemoration ofme." (Luke 22:19)

Only the priest can give you the grace that comes with the Sacrament of Extreme Unction: " Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church." (James 5:14)

If the priest is not present at the marriage of a Catholic, the marriage is null and void. The priest also has the power to bless people and things. Besides the powers named above, the bishop has the power to give the Sacrament of Confmnation and to give the Sacrament of Holy Orders; a priest cannot give these two Sacraments.

H. THE DIGNITY OF PRIESTS Not only Catholics, but most people show reverence for a priest. They realize that he is dedicated to Almighty God in a very special way. The dignity of the priest is higher than any earthly dignity; he has powers that not even the President of the United States has. He can forgive your sins just as Christ forgave them. He can give you the Body and Blood of Jesus Christjust as Christ Himself gave His Body and B lood to the Apostles on the night of the Last Supper. He can give Christ's teachings to you because he knows them thoroughly and has the authority of Christ's Church behind him. Not even the Blessed Virgin Mary possessed the powers your parish priests possess. All the rights, duties and powers of the priests were given by Christ to the twelve Apostoles; from them they were handed down to the bishops and priests of the Church.

You should respect the priest for the powers he has. You should help him in his work in your parish by cooperating with him in the organization and formation of parish societies, by obtaining people for the instruction class in religion, by helping about the church building, and by doing anything else your pastor wants you to do in the parish. The priests of your parish have the tremendous responsibility of caring for all the souls in their district. To do their important job right, they need your help.

I. RELIGIOUS AND DIOCESAN PRIESTS

Most parish priests are diocesan or secular priests. They do not belong to a religious order in the Catholic Church. Otherpriests belong to religious orders- Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, Redemptorists, Carmelites and many others. Priests ofreligious orders are bound to the rule of their order and are usually trained for special work in the Church. Some are devoted to preaching; others to teaching; others to prayer and penance for us sinners. All of these are true priests of the Roman Catholic Church.

J. VOWS OF THE PRIESTHOOD  All priests have a vow (or solemn promise) of chastity.  In imitation of Our Lord they give themselves entirely to the work of Christ and His Church, sacrificing even marriage for this work.

" I write not these things to confound you: but I admonish you as my dearest children. F or if you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus by the gospel, I have begotten you." (I Cor. 4:14-15) Besides the vow of chastity , priests in religious orders have two other vows: namely the vow of poverty by which they cannot own any of this world's goods, and the vow of obedience by which they are obliged to obey their superiors under pain of sin. Priests give their lives for you; and as a partial return for what they are doing for you, you should pray for them every day.

K. WHY THE PRIEST IS CALLED FATHER

A father is one who gives life to a son. A priest gives the life of grace to his sons, the members of his parish. "Father" is a word of respect and love given to the Catholic priest by the people. The very word itself shows the trust and reverence they have for their parish priest. The Bible forbids us to give any man the reverence and respect which we give to God the Father; but it does not forbid us to call anyone father, otherwise it would be a sin for a son to call his male parent "father".

L. WHY PRIESTS DO NOT MARRY

A priest follows the example of Christ closely because he has the powers of Jesus Christ Himself. Christ did not marry. A single life is a very holy life and it is recommended by the Bible. "But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is goodfor them i/they so continue, even as I." (I Cor. 7-8)

The priest belongs to all the families of his parish but he is a member of none. The priest is your friend and counselor. There is no man who is more interested in you and your troubles and the very salvation of your soul than your parish priest.

M. CHRIST NEEDS MORE PRIESTS       The priest must be a man who is outstanding in holiness of life and in Christian learning. Therefore, every man who aspires to the priesthood must spend a life of holiness and study for six years or more in a seminary. While the man is in the seminary, the bishop learns whether the man has excellent character and holiness and sufficient learning to be a priest. If the candidate is approved, the bishop calls him to the priesthood and ordains him, giving him the wonderful powers of Christ. If your son thinks that he wants to be a priest, encourage him and speak to your parish priest about it. Priests are needed in the world. Only about one-third of the world is Christian -largely because there are notenough priests. Brothers and nuns also give their lives to Christ, although they do not receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders. However, it is a very important vocation as well.