| The picture shows St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, founder of Opus Dei , celebrating the Roman Catholic Mass, in the Tridentine (traditional Latin) rite, in Rome, 1972. From Wikipedia, Public Domain. By "Anne," a Lay Apostle | Saturday, 06 October 2007 |
A priest makes a decision to enter into the relationship of knowing God, of seeking Him. Through this decision, Jesus is able to possess the priest as an outpost, a dwelling place for the Godhead on earth.
With God's grace, I can see Christ in the priest on his ordination day and I can see Christ in the priest on the day of his death. I have also seen Christ in priests in heaven. They all look the same to me in that Christ is Christ on the ordination day, the day of death, and into and for eternity. So while the priest moves through his life in humanity, with doubts and imperfections, Jesus has no doubts and imperfections. Jesus serves humanity through the priest in His perfect divinity. I am as delighted by Christ in the priesthood as I am by Christ in the words He sends or Christ in the Eucharist or Christ in the heavenly experiences of Him that I have been allowed to have. It is for this reason, I believe, I feel such love for priests, regardless of their condition.
Given this, the Lord's mystical presence in the soul of the priest, it is clear that we must honor Christ's presence in every priest. It is easier to do so when a priest is willingly connected to that divine presence. It is more difficult, but more compelling I believe, to love the priests who are struggling.
Perhaps a priest is working against the kingdom. This is a dishonor to the covenant entered into by both God and the man at ordination. This is serious for the priest personally, of course, but also there is the gap in service and subsequent lag in the coming of God's Kingdom that results. The priest's non-service affects many. We must target these priests for rescue through love, intercessory prayer, and honest appeal.
For further information regarding the Lay Apostolate of Jesus Christ the Returning King, or to purchase Heaven Speaks booklets, please contact Direction for Our Times on the Web at www.directionforourtimes.com , or mail inquiries to the following address: 9000 West 81st St., Justice, IL 60458, U.S.A.
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