The priest as man of the Eucharist

On Maundy Thursday, the Church lovingly commemorates the institution of two great sacraments by Christ: the Eucharist and Holy Orders.

The intimate connection between the two is easily detectible in the gospels, particularly in Luke’s account of the last supper. “And He took bread, and when He had given thanks He broke it and gave it to them, saying: ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And, likewise, the cup after supper, saying: ‘This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in my blood’” (Luke 22, 19-20).

As Blessed John Paul II explained in his traditional letter to priests for Holy Thursday 2002, “to the gift of this singular presence, which brings Him to us in his supreme sacrifice and makes Him our bread, Jesus, in the Upper Room, associated a specific duty of the Apostles and their successors. From that time on, to be an apostle of Christ, as are the bishops and the priests sharing in their mission, has involved being able to act in persona Christi Capitis. This happens, above all, whenever the sacrificial meal of the Body and the Blood of the Lord is celebrated. For, then, the priest, as it were, lends Christ his own face and voice: ‘Do this in memory of me’” (Lk 22:19) (§ 1).

This lending to Christ of His entire existence puts a heavy responsibility on the priest’s shoulders. Due to his priestly consecration, he is no longer his own. Like Christ, who “came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10, 45), the ordained minister’s life becomes a self-giving gift to the Father for the propagation of His kingdom on earth.

The ordination rite unravels the priest’s humble innate disposition as the fulcrum of his sacerdotal identity. In his book marking the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination, entitled Gift And Mystery, the Polish Pope beautifully observes: “In lying prostrate on the floor in the form of a cross before one’s ordination, in accepting in one’s life – like Peter – the cross of Christ and becoming with the Apostle a ‘floor’ for our brothers and sisters, one finds the ultimate meaning of all priestly spirituality.”

Hence, the cultic aspect of the Eucharist powerfully motivates the priest to model his priestly life on what he daily celebrates on the altar! Christ’s love is fundamentally sacrificial. It goes the extra mile for those in need.

In his last letter to priests in 2005, the Holy Father harped on this thought and left it as his much treasured legacy to every priest:

“Christ’s self-giving, which has its origin in the Trinitarian life of the God who is love, reaches its culmination in the sacrifice of the Cross, sacramentally anticipated in the Last Supper. It is impossible to repeat the words of consecration without feeling oneself caught up in this spiritual movement. In a certain sense, when he says the words ‘take and eat’, the priest must learn to apply them also to himself and to speak them with truth and generosity. If he is able to offer himself as a gift, placing himself at the disposal of the community and at the service of anyone in need, his life takes on its true meaning” (§ 3). Since the priest is the sacramental living image of the Eucharistic Christ, wherever he goes he carries within his consecrated being “the aroma of Christ to God” (2 Cor 2, 15). Deeply embedded in himself, the priest constantly hears Christ’s personal call: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4, 18-19).

The ambo, the confessional, the parish office, the super-market, the internet, the plane, the streets and so forth areideal places where the priest can let Christ love through him eucharistically!