The People Offer

The people offer in their own names, “not only through the hands of the priest but also together with him. But because only the priest acts in the very person of Christ in confecting the sacrament and in offering the sacred Gift to the Father, the offering of the people depends upon that of the priest or, rather, on that of Christ acting through the priest.

Pius XII, in his encyclical: Mediator Dei writes: “It is important for all the faithful to understand that it is their duty and highest privilege to take part in the Eucharistic sacrifice…in the closest union with the High Priest…and to offer it together with Him, and with Him to surrender themselves. But the fact that the faithful take part in the Eucharistic sacrifice does not mean that they also possess the power of the ministerial priesthood…The people…because they in no way represent the person of the divine Redeemer and are not mediator between themselves and God, can in no way possess the ministerial priestly right. All this is certain with the certainty of faith…The oblation is shared by the faithful in their own way, on a twofold ground: for they do not only offer the sacrifice through the hands of the priest, but also, in a certain sense, together with him…This does not mean that all the members, like the priest himself, perform the visible liturgical rite; this is done only by the minister divinely appointed for that purpose. Rather they are said to offer with him inasmuch as they unite their offerings of praise, entreaty, expiation, and thanksgiving with the offering or mental intentions of the priest, indeed with those of the High Priest Himself.”

Some argue that since the Eucharist is so important to the Church, if no ordained priest will be available, the laity can select one of their members to preside at the Eucharist. Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict gives the best theological response. He points out that the church is not a mere sociological community whose members may choose a functionary to do whatever they will. It is rather a sacramental, hierarchical community whose pastoral leaders have been chosen and empowered by Christ to shepherd His flock and dispense the heavenly gifts He has entrusted to His Church. Only those called by Christ and rightly ordained by the Church can validly celebrate the Eucharist and other sacraments.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching