In his encyclical of 23 September 1950, Menti Nostrae, Pius XII, in speaking about the need of the time, says "We deem it the chief duty of Our supreme ministry to do Our utmost to help to make the work of pastors and priests daily more efficacious in encouraging the faithful to avoid evil, to overcome dangers and to acquire perfection. This is all the more necessary in our days when people and nations, as a result of the recent war, are not only harassed by serious material difficulties but are suffering in the depths of their souls while the enemies of Catholicism, becoming bolder, owing to the state of civil society, are striving with deadly hate and subtle snares to separate men from God and Jesus Christ."

In our time the enemies of Catholicism are no longer merely subtle in their snares and hatred but wage war openly. Nowhere is the attack greater than that waged upon the priesthood. The enemy knows that if the shepherd can be struck the sheep will be scattered and become easy prey.

Nor is this a new tactic. In the Middle Ages, certain heretics attacked the priesthood by teaching that its powers originated with the faithful rather than with God. More recently, the Church has witnessed a different trend among those who have extended the notion of the priesthood of the laity beyond legitimate bounds, with a consequent diminution of the significance of, and respect for, holy orders.

We must not forget that Jesus Christ is pre-eminently a priest. He became the perfect mediator between God and man by the fact of his Incarnation. Thus He would and has offered the perfect sacrifice for our redemption. But this perfect sacrifice was confined in time and place to the first Good Friday on Calvary. So in order for this divine plan of salvation to become a reality and be extended to many down through the ages and across the world, Christ instituted holy orders as a means for the continuation of His priestly work.

Thus the priest is raised to the high honor of announcing the eternal truths that came from the lips of Jesus Christ, and of dispensing the sacraments, those infallible means of divine grace, to the faithful. It is his duty to go before his flock in virtue and holiness of life and make respectable and worthy of reverence the office which he exercises. Saint Pius X once wrote:

"To bring about the reign of Jesus Christ in the world, nothing is more essential than a saintly clergy who, by their example, their preaching and their learning will be the guides of the faithful."

It is his duty, and woe to him if he fall short of it, for a terrible judgment will await him.

The enemies of Christ know too well the importance of His priesthood and they lay in wait to pounce upon it and try to diminish its dignity at every opportunity. If one priest is guilty of a fault, possibly grave, what happens? What is said? At once a cry goes up: "See what sort of people these priests and Religious are!" One priest sins, therefore all sin. And why is the same rule not applied to the laity and every other class of persons? Or why is this rule not also applied in the opposite case? If one priest does a good and generous deed why is it not said: "See what sort of people those priests and Religious are!"

The priest’s dignity is sublime and godlike, but he is not an angel and therefore is still subject to the same weaknesses and passions as other men. If, unfortunately, his behavior should not correspond to the high office he holds, we should not forget that he is still the minister of Jesus Christ and the dispenser of the mysteries of God. A diamond is still a diamond whether set in fine gold or in a base metal. Once a priest, neither his defects nor his sins can take away or lessen his dignity, simply because it is not his but Jesus Christ’s.

Often, forgetting his true dignity, we are tempted to put the priest in the place of the Church, and attach ourselves to him rather than to the Church; we follow the man rather than Jesus Christ, the minister rather than Him whose minister he is. Some proclaim themselves followers of this priest, who is nice and makes them feel good, while others of that priest who is eloquent, talented and very handsome. Saint Paul tells us of a similar problem among the Corinthians.

"You Corinthians are divided on account of us ministers of Christ. But in the name of Heaven, how are you to judge of us? You can judge of us only as to our office. You should consider, not our talents, our learning, our eloquence, or other natural gifts, but only the office and the power which we possess as ministers of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God."

On the other hand, many others consider the priest as merely a glorified social worker. It is true that the priest is for the people; but it is also true that he is for God. No one is ever a priest solely for himself. They forget that Christ’s saving work is continued through His priesthood inseparably united to Christ Himself in the Holy Eucharist. As mediators between God and man they must dispense the divine gifts. Nowhere is this mediation seen more clearly than in their Eucharistic ministry, wherein the priest offers mankind through and with Christ to God, and where he brings God to men in return.

Humanly speaking the priest sets out upon a lonely journey. He must remain in the world to avail those for whom he has been ordained yet not become of the world, else his life will obscure the brightness of the divine image he is called to reflect, not only by what he does but also by what he is. His ordination makes him a servant of the Eucharistic Christ, and his heart must accept this destiny, for no other fulfillment shall ever be given him.

The priesthood is a great sign of contradiction, for it is a living declaration of the dependence of man upon Christ, and especially of the priest himself upon Christ. To acknowledge this is to go against the pride of fallen human nature and to do so as a way of life is very difficult as seen by the lack of vocations. Grace is a gift, not a compulsion, and many reject it. Others have the seed of the divine vocation smothered by the weeds of worldly cares, weeds perhaps cultivated in their very homes and by the very parents who should be solicitous for the true happiness of those whom they impede.

The priesthood truly is a great gift to all of us. By showing it the proper respect we will not only show God our gratitude but also help to make its work more efficacious in saving souls. To this I remind you of the ordinations to take place in Winona on June 21st, where two deacons will be raised to the sacred priesthood and four subdeacons to the diaconate. Any who have gone have not regretted making the effort and many continue to do so year after year. I look forward to seeing you there.