PRIESTHOOD OF THE FAITHFUL
First Friday Gathering
Akron, Ohio
Michael H. Crosby, OFMCap.
September 7, 2012
TWO POLES ON THE CONTINUUM OF
OUR UNDERSTANDING OF CHURCH
• Matthew 10:1-4; 28:16-20; 16:
17-19
• Church as Organization
established by Jesus Christ
• “Church” as What / Us-Them
• “Church” as the Pope, the
Vatican and Bishops: “The
Church invites her children”
• Ordination as key element;
separation from laity
• Hierarchy that is only male
• Obedience to leaders representing “Mt. 16” magisterium as
sign of fidelity to “the church”
• Eucharist as action of the
ordained priests
• Luke 4:18-19; Acts 2:1-4, 17-21;
Rom. 12: 3-8
• Church as Organism of the
living members of Christ
• “Church” as a Who / We
• “Church” as the Community of
Disciples: The Church gathered
with its leaders
• Baptism as the key identifier of
“belonging”
• Holarchy: The Gifts of the Spirit
• The body dependent on mutual
cooperation of all (Mt. 16 & 18)
• Eucharist as the full participation of everyone—priests and
people
THE UNIVERSAL PRIESTHOOD OF
ALL THOSE WHO ARE BAPTIZED
“Christ the Lord, High Priest taken from among the
people (cf. Heb. 5:1-5), ‘made a kingdom and priests to God
his Father “ (Rev. 1:6; cf. 5:9-10) out of this new people. The
baptized, by regeneration and anointing of the Holy
Spirit, are consecrated into a spiritual house an a holy
priesthood.” They:
1. Offer spiritual sacrifices and proclaim with power
2. Should present themselves as spiritual sacrifices
3. Must give evidence of the faith in them (cf. 1 Pet 3:15).
Lumen Gentium, 10
THE UNIVERSAL PRIESTHOOD OF
ALL THOSE WHO ARE BAPTIZED
“Though they differ from one another in essence and not
only in degree, the common priesthood of the faithful
and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are
nonetheless interrelated. Each of them in its own special
way is a participation in the one priesthood of Christ.
1. The ministerial priest, by the sacred power he enjoys,
molds and rules the priestly people.
2. Acting in the person of Christ, he brings about the
Eucharistic Sacrifice . . .
3. For their part, the faithful join in the offering of the
Eucharist by virtue of their royal priesthood.”
Lumen Gentium, 10
POPE BENEDICT ON RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL IN THE CHURCH
www.vatican.va/.../benedict_xvi/.../hf_ben-xvi_spe_20090526_conv...
“It is necessary to improve pastoral structures in such a way
that the co-responsibility of all the members of the People
of God in their entirety is gradually promoted, with respect
for vocations and for the respective roles of the consecrated
and of lay people. This demands a change in mindset,
particularly concerning lay people. They must no longer be
viewed as "collaborators" of the clergy but truly recognized
as "co-responsible", for the Church's being and action,
thereby fostering the consolidation of a mature and
committed laity. This common awareness of being Church of
all the baptized in no way diminishes the responsibility of
parish priests. It is precisely your task, dear parish priests, to
nurture the spiritual and apostolic growth of those who are
already committed to working hard in the parishes.” 05.26.09
THREEFOLD MISSION of JESUS CHRIST
PRIESTLY
PROPHETIC
POLITICAL
CULTIC
WORD/GOSPEL
SOCIETAL
THE ORDAINED
PRIESTS TO
BE A SIGN TO
ALL OF THEIR
PRIESTLY
IDENTITY
RELIGIOUS LIFE TO
SERVE AS
“CRITIQUE” OF
ABERRATIONS IN
OTHER ROLES
LAY PEOPLES’
WITNESS TO BE IN
THE ECONOMIC
AND POLITICAL
SPHERES OF
SOCIETY
ALL THOSE BAPTIZED IN CHRIST
SHARE IN ALL THREE MISSIONS
Considering the fact that the prophetic,
priestly and royal condition is common to
all the People of God (cf. LG 9, 10, 34, 35, 36), it seems
useful to outline the competency of
religious authority, paralleling it by
analogy to the three-fold function of
pastoral ministry, namely, of teaching,
sanctifying and governing without,
however, confusing one authority with the
other or equating them.
Directives for the Mutual Relations Between Bishops and Religious in the Church, 1978, 13
Christ was a true and effective priest because
he was full of the power of the Holy Spirit, he
was the culmination of all the fullness of the
love of God "on the night he was betrayed,"
precisely in the "hour of darkness" (cf. Luke 22:53) . . .
This is the work of the priesthood of Christ,
which the Church has inherited and continues
to perpetuate, in the twofold form of ordinary
priesthood of the baptized and that of the
ordained ministers, to transform the world with
the love of God. All, priests and faithful, are
nourished by the same Eucharist . . . Pope Benedict XVI,
Corpus Christ Homily, 2010
POPE BENEDICT TO BISHOPS
www.vatican.va/...father/benedict_xvi/.../hf_ben-xvi_spe_20110915...
“Episcopal consecration has conferred upon you the fullness of the
sacrament of Orders which, in the
ecclesial community, is placed at
the service of the common priesthood of the faithful, of their spiritual growth and of their holiness.”
September 15, 2011
The purpose and mission of ministerial priesthood, in fact, is
to enliven the priesthood of the faithful, who, by virtue of
Baptism, share in their own way in the one priesthood of
Christ, as the Conciliar Constitution Lumen Gentium says:
"The common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or
hierarchical priesthood are none the less ordered one to
another; each in its own proper way shares in the one
priesthood of Christ" (n. 10). For this reason it is the task of
bishops to watch over the baptized and work to enable them
to develop in grace and in accordance with the charisms that
the Holy Spirit awakens in their hearts and in their
communities. The Second Vatican Council recalled that while
the Holy Spirit unifies "the Church in communion and in the
works of ministry, he bestows upon her varied hierarchic and
charismatic gifts... and adorns her with his fruits" (cf. ibid., n. 4).
Pope Benedict XVI to Recently Appointed Prelates, 09.15.11
The Bishops’ Role: Nurture Priesthood
The fundamental gift that you are called to nurture in the faithful
entrusted to your pastoral care is first and foremost that of divine
filiation, which is the participation of each person in Trinitarian
communion. The essential is that we truly become sons and
daughters in the Son. Baptism which makes human beings "sons in
the Son" and members of the Church, is the root and source of all
the other charismatic gifts. With your ministry of sanctification
you teach the faithful to participate ever more intensely in the
prophetic and royal office of Christ, helping them to build the
Church in accordance with the gifts received from God, in an
active and co-responsible way. In fact, we must always bear in
mind that the gifts of the Spirit, whether they are extraordinary or
simple and humble, are always given freely for the edification of
all. The Bishop, as a visible sign of the unity of his particular
Church (cf. ibid., n. 23), has the task of unifying and harmonizing
charismatic diversity in the unity of the Church, encouraging
reciprocity between the hierarchical priesthood and the baptismal
priesthood.
09.15.11
NEW MENTALITY NEEDED FOR ALL
“Co-responsibility requires a change in mentality,
particularly with regard to the role of the laity in the
Church, who should be considered not as “collaborators” with the clergy, but as persons truly “co-responsible” for the being and activity of the Church. It is
important, therefore, that a mature and committed
laity be united, who are able to make their own
specific contribution to the Church’s mission, in
accordance with the ministries and tasks each one
has in the life of the Church, and always in cordial
communion with the bishops.”
Pope Benedict XVI, August 24, 2012
CHURCH AS
COMMUNITY
CHURCH AS
SERVANT
CHURCH AS
FAMILY
ECCLESIOLOGY
E
CHRISTOLOGY
CHURCH AS
SACRAMENT
CHURCH AS
INSTITUTION
CHURCH AS
CHURCH AS
ECCLESIOLOGY
WORD-PROCLAIMER
BELIEVERS IN EXILE
CHURCH AS
COMMUNITY
OF DISCIPLES
CHURCH AS SACRAMENT: THE
THEOLOGY OF EUCHARIST IN JOHN
“There is a boy
here, who has
five loaves of
barley bread and
fish. But what
good are they for
all these people?”
In John’s Gospel, Jesus did not
“do what he did” without the boy
providing him the means to
“DO THIS.”
WHAT DO WE BRING TO THE EUCHARIST
FOR NEEDY PEOPLE AROUND US
THAT JESUS WILL USE SO THAT HE CAN
TAKE, BLESS, BREAK AND GIVE IT
TO MEET THE NEEDS OF “THE CROWD”?
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JESUS FEEDS THE FIVE THOUSAND
TODAY
WITH
WHAT
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UNLESS WE BECOME LIKE THE CHILD
AND SHARE WHAT
WE HAVE WITH
THE CROWD WE
WILL NOT BE
OFFERING THE
BREAD OF OUR
PRIESTLY LIVES IN
THE MODEL OF
JESUS
“
FOUR FORMS OF THE
REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRIST
IN THE EUCHARIST
“In the celebration of Mass, in which the
Sacrifice of the Cross is perpetuated,
CHRIST IS REALLY PRESENT
•
•
•
•
in the very assembly gathered in his name;
in the person of the minister,
in his word,
and indeed substantially and permanently
under the Eucharistic species.
GIRM II, I, 27
THE ONLY WAY
JESUS CHRIST IS REALLY PRESENT TODAY,
INCLUDING HIS EUCHARISTIC PRESENCE,
IS BY BEING IN COMMUNION WITH US AS THE
HEAD OF HIS MYSTICAL BODY, THE CHURCH.
CHURCH THE BODY OF CHRIST EUCHARIST
We Belong We are members of
We are in it
WHEN WE ASSEMBLE
AS AN OBSERVABLE BODY OF BELIEVERS
WE ARE THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST:
THE EUCHARIST CAN BEGIN
WOMEN’S SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
GROUP 08.07.12
Our Savior has made us to offer acceptable sacrifice to the
Father. Let us call upon him in gratitude:
Preserve us in your ministry, Lord.
Christ, eternal priest, you conferred the holy priesthood on your
people,
grant that we may offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to the Father
In your goodness pour out on us the fruits of your Spirit,
patience, kindness and gentleness.
May we love you and possess you, for you are love,
and may every action of our lives praise you.
May we seek those things which are beneficial to our brothers
and sisters, without counting the cost,
to help them on the way to salvation.
NEW MENTALITY NEEDED FOR ALL
“Co-responsibility requires a change in mentality,
particularly with regard to the role of the laity in the
Church, who should be considered not as “collaborators” with the clergy, but as persons truly “co-responsible” for the being and activity of the Church. It is
important, therefore, that a mature and committed
laity be united, who are able to make their own
specific contribution to the Church’s mission, in
accordance with the ministries and tasks each one
has in the life of the Church, and always in cordial
communion with the bishops.”
Pope Benedict XVI, August 24, 2012