The Catholic Church Continued

In Christ, our humanity has already entered into glory. Yet He remains with the Church. “He is continually active in the world, leading men to the Church, and through her, joining them more closely to Himself, and making them partakers of His glorious life.” He does this through the Holy Ghost and by giving us His own Body and Blood as nourishment. The Church must be deeply conscious of the continued presence of the risen Lord in her midst, especially when she gathers to pray:

Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, “the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered Himself on the cross,” but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the Holy Scriptures are read in the church. He is present, finally, when the Church prays and sings, for He promised, “Where two or three are gathered together for my sake, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18.20).

Sacraments are encounters with Christ!! We should also be conscious of the continued presence and activity of the risen Lord in and through the ministers He has raised up to be the representatives and instruments through whom He cares for His people. “Although guided by human shepherds, the Church’s sheep are nevertheless ceaselessly led and nourished by Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd.” This is especially true of bishops, because they “in an eminent and visible way undertake Christ’s own role as Teacher, Shepherd, and High Priest and…act in His presence.”

Priests also must be seen as “living instruments of Christ the eternal priest…; every priest in his own way represents the person of Christ Himself…” In fact, all the baptized faithful are instruments through whom Christ and the Holy Ghost continue to act for the sanctification of the world, because all are members of one mystical body in which Christ lives, and one living temple in which the Holy Ghost remains present in the world.

The Church of God on earth remains in intimate communion with those who have gone before, whether they be the suffering souls in Purgatory or the saints reigning with Christ in glory. The loving union which Christ establishes among His disciples is not broken by death, but is rather increased. Knowing that nothing unclean can appear before God (Rev 21.27); knowing also that those who are united with Christ can help one another by prayer and good works, from early times members of the Church have prayed for the faithful departed, confident that they are able to bring them help in their need “because it is “a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed form sins” 2 Mach 12.46).

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Final Point on the Male Priesthood

Third, since only priests have access to positions of full authority in the Church, to deny women priestly ordination is to reduce women to a state of second-class membership in the Church. Unless the Church changes this policy and gives women equal status, large masses of women will turn away from the Church as surely as the working class in Europe did in the nineteenth century when the Church failed to defend the rights of workers against the moneyed bourgeoisie with whom the Church allied itself. It is pointless to say that women are treated as equals of men when obviously they are not.

Response: Women are equal to men in dignity, but do not have the same roles in the Church. Women do not need presbyteral or episcopal orders to exercise great influence in the Church. It must be admitted that priests and bishops exercise the greatest authority in the Church and that women are excluded from these ranks. Ministry, however, should not be sought for the sake of power, but for service. It is not the most powerful who will be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, but the most humble and the holiest.

Some argue that it is inappropriate for a man to put forth such an argument since men hold power in the Church. The answer is that this is by Christ’s arrangement, not man’s. The Bible points out the special relationship between God and Israel expressed under the imagery of marriage. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel are described as the daughter of Zion, the bride whom Yahweh takes to Himself by a sacred covenant. In the New Testament, Christ is presented as bridegroom and the Church as His bride. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Christ the bridegroom unites Himself to His bride, the Church. To preserve the truth of the sacramental sign, the priest who acts in Christ’s person, must be male. The sacramental significance would be lost if a woman presided at the Eucharist. This problem is not a problem of an historical nature. It is not a matter of discussing a certain custom in the hope that it might change in the future. The very structure of Christian revelation and of the Church would be tampered with.

It is often said that if there were no women priests in the early centuries of Christianity, it was because of cultural factors. It depended on women’s subordinate role in the society of that time. But we should not forget that women had major roles in pagan religions, from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia. This was never the case with the Judeo-Christian people. And yet they were surrounded by peoples whose women were active participants in cult celebrations. All this surely prompts us to reflect that this choice had profound bonds with revelation itself. So it was not a factor determined by historical and cultural conditions. It was quite the opposite.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

More of the Male Priesthood

The following are the principal arguments put forward by those who hold that women should not be excluded from ministerial priesthood because of their sex. First, women should have equal rights and dignity in the Church and should not suffer discrimination because of their sex. Vatican II recognized this principle, and so does Saint Paul: “All of you who have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Him. There does not exist among you Jew or Greek, slave or freeman, male or female. All are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3.27). Granted that no one has a right to ordination, nevertheless one does have a right not to be discriminated against simply because of one’s sex.

Response: To recognize the differences between men and women is not to show discrimination, but to invite reflection on the proper way to promote the dignity and role of each sex. If a priest is to be a visible symbol of Christ, who stands in relation to the Church as groom and bride, it is not discriminatory to choose those to be priests who can represent Christ in this way.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Male Priesthood

Finally, the Holy See and the vast majority of bishops throughout the world teach that a male priesthood is divinely willed for the Church and that the Church does not have the authority to change this. The faithful are to give obsequium religiosum (religious submission, allegiance) to the Roman Pontiff and to the college of bishops when they teach as successors of Peter and the apostles.

Response: Granted that one should show respect for the magisterium of the Church, critics feel compelled to stand up for what they regard as a matter of truth and justice.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Women Priests? II

The following are the principal reasons that are usually offered for admitting only men to the priesthood. I will also give you critiques that are frequently given in response. First, Christ chose only men as apostles. This was not simply because Jewish culture at that time excluded women from positions of authority and leadership in religious society, for Jesus showed that He was able to rise above conventional norms, yet He did not do so in this case. His exclusive choice of men as apostles must have been a deliberate decision which remains binding on the later Church. Moreover, Jesus invited only the Twelve to attend the Last Supper at which He instituted the Eucharist, although it was customary for all members of a family, male and female, to take part in the Passover supper.

Response: Jesus chose twelve men as His inner circle of disciples in order to symbolize the renewal of Israel descended from the twelve patriarchs. This has nothing to do with deciding whether women can be ordained presbyters. Presbyters are not the same as Apostles.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Eucharistic Sacrifice

Who offers the Eucharistic sacrifice? Christ or the Church, the priest or the people? If all of these how do their roles differ and how are they related?

The Church Offers:

The whole family of God, the Church, offers the Eucharistic sacrifice, especially the faithful who are present. This is clearly indicated in the very words of the liturgy. Christ instituted the Eucharist precisely in order that the Church, His beloved spouse, might have a visible sacrifice to offer to God, as the nature of the human creature requires.

But who in the Church offers? Obviously the priest does. But in what capacity? Simply as leader of the congregation? Or does the priest have a special role as representative of Christ or as representative of the Church? If both, how are these roles related? How about the people? How is their offering related to that of the priest? Is their mode of offering the same or different from that of the priest?

The Priest Offers:

The priest offers in the person of Christ, in the name of the Church, and in his own name. The Protestants see the presiding minister of the Lord’s Supper acting simply as the leader of the congregation, certainly with a special responsibility and authority, but without any unique sacramental empowerment through the sacrament of Holy Orders.

But according to Catholic teaching, the priest, through the sacrament of Holy Orders, is so configured to Christ the High Priest that in the celebration of the Eucharist he acts in the very person of Christ. Only the priest, in virtue of the special character of priestly ordination, can speak the words of consecration in the very person of Christ. In doing so, he acts not merely as Christ’s representative, but in His person, as His sacramental representation. It is for this reason that the priest alone is able to confect the Eucharist. If there is no priest, there can be no Mass.

Pius XII, in his encyclical: Mystici Corporis writes: “The sacred ministers represent not only our Savior, but also the whole mystical Body and each one of its members. In that sacrifice the faithful are associated in the common prayer and supplication and, through the hands of the priest, whose voice alone renders the Immaculate Lamb present on the altar, they themselves offer to the eternal Father this most pleasing victim of praise and propitiation for the needs of the whole Church.”

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Priest as Victim

Christ came into the world to be the Victim for humanity, to take upon Himself our sins and to bear the chastisement due to them, to procure for humanity eternal life by His Passion and Sacrifice. We, as priests, have voluntarily agreed to continue here below Christ’s life as a Victim, to save mankind. Christ has made Himself the food for souls. Priests should likewise allow the faithful to consume as food their time, their strength, and their talents. The faithful must be allowed to try and to take advantage of a priest’s patience, to tax his health, and to use his goods, without expecting anything in return here below.

The grape is destined for the wine-press. Unless it is pressed, it will not give up its precious juice. The priest, following the example of Christ, is destined to be wasted for souls, giving up for them his time, his convenience, his life itself. Christ had no place to lay His head. He was born and brought up in poverty. He died abandoned on the Cross and had as a sepulcher a borrowed tomb.

How then can a priest allow himself to become engrossed in this world’s goods? Our kingdom is not of this world. We have here no fixed abode. Why should he attach himself to things that pass away? Priests, above all, must seek first to extend Christ’s kingdom on earth. If a priest is a priest with Christ, all other things will be given him in due time by God the Father in heaven.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Pray for your Priests

Pray that your priests will not endanger their fervor under the pretext of zeal. If they are not watchful, that may be preaching to others and losing their own souls at the same time! Pray that your priests will not expose themselves to dangers without necessity or without proper precautions. Pray that they will always guard their hearts and their eyes. Pray that your priests will learn patience and await the success of their labors. We may cast the seed, but it is Christ Who will give, in His own time, the increase. Priests cannot become discouraged when they meet with lack of success. They must humble themselves before God. This humility will have more value in God’s eyes than any success.

A priest is a soldier of Christ. The good soldier does not allow himself to become absorbed in the things of this world. He seeks to please the leader under whose banner he fights. The weapon which God places in the priest’s hands is prayer. With it he is invincible. Sadly, many priests do not use this weapon. You have seen the results firsthand. Pray for souls consecrated to God’s service, but above all pray for Christ’s priests, that at the last judgment they may not be a reproach before the whole universe.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Eucharistic Adoration II

Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament exposed is one of the greatest treasures that Jesus Christ offers us through His Holy Catholic Church, second only to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass itself. We should be diligent in taking every advantage of this type of prayer as often as possible. When we are fortunate enough to pray before the Blessed Sacrament exposed on a regular basis our lives will inevitalbly be changed.

As a Catholic priest, this is the first thing I do when I rise in the morning. It is the most important part of my day. As confirmed Catholic Christians, we must do our very best to encounter Christ through formal prayer on a regular basis. Our confirmation obliges us to spend our lives bearing witness to Jesus Christ. We cannot effectively bring Christ to the world unless we ourselves are rooted in Him.

Let us pray for one another. Let us pray we always answer the call to proclaim the Gospel.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Holy Thursday

Before Christ willingly underwent His passion and death, He ate His last meal with His disciples. Christ instituted the Eucharist and the Priesthood. Christ did so out of His infinite love for those He came to save. He continues to come to us sacramentally, especially in the Eucharist. Here Christ gives Himself completely; Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. He delights in remaining with the sons of men.

We should never underestimate the power of Christ's love for each one of us. Our God is a God who cannot conceivably be any closer to us. We receive Him into our very being when we receive the Eucharist. How can we imagine a greater gift? How can we want for more when we have everything we need in the Eucharist?

Christ has showed that there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. We too must lay down our lives for our brothers out of love for Christ.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeff A. Fasching

Mass of Chrism

Today is the day that your priests publicly renew the vows they made on their day of ordination in front of the Bishop of the Diocese. Your prayers are asked for me and for all the priests in this Diocese. As we enter into Holy Week you are invited to renew your own fidelity to Christ and His Church. Meditate often on how Christ has chosen to redeem you. Meditate upon his Sorrowful Passion. Thank Him for His unbounded love for you.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeff Fasching

Prayer in Spirit and in Truth

God wants prayer offered in spirit and in truth. We can never underestimate the power of Christian prayer. Prayer is the one thing that can conquer God Himself. As Tertullian the priest writes: ...prayer gives strength to the weak, heals the sick, exorcises the possessed...Prayer cleanses from sin, drives away temptations, stamps out persecutions, comforts the fainthearted, gives new strength to the courageous, brings travelers safely home, calms the waves, confounds robbers, feeds the poor, overrules the rich, lifts up the fallen, supports those who are falling, sustains those who stand firm. All the angels pray. Every creature prays.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Pray for Priests

We live in a world where God’s Church and its Commandments are despised. The preaching of His Word and the observance of His precepts are hindered. Religion is driven from the school, justice from the workplace, morality from the home and from society. The banishment of religion means the banishment of both peace and prosperity. In the wake of this disaster come only revolution and war. We must pray that God's Church be restored to its proper place. Pray that your priests will be faithful to the Holy Father and all that the Holy Catholic Church teaches. Pray that they will lead the effort in restoring peace and prosperity to our nation and world.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Priest and the Church

It is still not too late to restore the Church to its proper place, and the role of the priest is to prepare for her in the hearts and minds of men the way of return. Your role is to pray for your priests! The salvation of souls is the exclusive work of Christ! He entrusts it to whom He wishes. He calls to His vineyard laborers chosen by the Father. Pray that your priests will learn obedience to the Church and to her laws. Pray that your priests will foster a greater love for the Eucharist! Pray that your priests will learn to offer sacrifice as if it is the last thing they do on this earth!

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Vocations to the Priesthood

God is ultimately in charge of His Church. He chooses whom He wills to invite to active ministry in the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. Many in fact are called, but few are chosen because of their unwillingness to submit to God wholeheartedly. God will always provide for His Church. However, we also have a responsibility to do our part to foster vocations. We must teach our children to pray through our own example. We must teach them the value and great dignity associated with ordained ministry in God's Church. Vocations to the priesthood begin in the family. We must foster docile spirits toward God and His plan for each one of us.

Today let us pray for vocations.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Sacrifice and Priest for God

In the words of Saint Peter Chrysologus, bishop:

"How marvelous is the priesthood of the Christian, for he is both the victim that is offered on his own behalf, and the priest who makes the offering. He does not need to go beyond himself to seek what he is to immolate to God: with himself and in himself he brings the sacrifice he is to offer God for himself. The victim remains and the priest remains, always one and the same. Immolated, the victim still lives: the priest who immolates cannot kill. Truly it is an amazing sacrifice in which a body is offered without being slain and blood is offered without being shed."

Saint Paul says: "I appeal to you by the mercy of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, living and holy." We are all called to be both sacrifice to God and his priest. Embrace holiness and chastity. Put on the armor of Christ with his cross acting as your protection from evil. Pray always and live in the Holy Ghost. Make your heart an altar to God. Present your body to God for sacrifice with full confidence. God wants us to live by faith. He wants our self-surrender. He wants our offering of free will.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Priestly Vocation to Perfection

From the decree on the ministry and life of priests of the Second Vatican Council (Presbyterorum ordiniis)

By the sacrament of Orders priests are formed in the image of Christ the Priest, to be ministers of Christ the Head in constructing and building up His whole Body, the Church, as fellow-workers with the order of bishops. In the consecration of baptism they have already received, in common with all Christians, the sign and gift of so great a vocation and grace that, even in their human weakness, they have the power, and the duty, to seek perfection, in accordance with our Lord's words: "Be perfect, then, as your Father in heaven is also perfect."

Priests are obliged in a special way to acquire this perfection. By receiving holy Orders they have been consecrated in a new way, and made living instruments of Christ the eternal Priest, so as to be able to continue through the years Christ's wonderful work which, by divine power, has restored to wholeness the entire family of man.

Since each priest acts, as far as he may, in the person of Christ Himself, he is given special grace to help him grow toward the perfection of the one whose role he plays, as he ministers to his flock and the whole people of God. He receives grace for healing of human weakness from the holiness of Christ, who became for us high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners.

Christ, whom the Father sanctified, that is, consecrated, and sent into the world, gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all sin, and to purify for Himself an acceptable people, zealous for good works. So, through His passion He entered into His glory. In the same way, priests, consecrated as they are by the anointing of the Holy Spirit and sent by Christ, put an end in their lives to the sins of our selfish nature, and give themselves wholly to the service of mankind, and so are enabled to grow to perfect manhood in the holiness with which they are enriched in Christ.

As they exercise the ministry of the Spirit and of holiness, they are strengthened in the spiritual life, provided that they are docile to Christ's spirit, who gives them life and is their guide. By the sacred actions they perform daily, and by their entire ministry in communion with their bishop and fellow-priests, they are set on the way that leads to perfection.

The holiness of priests is itself an important contribution to the fruitfulness of their ministry. It is true that God's grace can effect the work of salvation even through unworthy ministers, but God ordinarily prefers to show His wonders by means of those who are more submissive to the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and, who through close union with Christ and holiness of life, are able to say with Saint Paul: "I live, but no longer is it I who live, it is Christ who lives within me."

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Christian and the World

Saint John says: "Never give your love to the world, or to anything in it. A man cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. All that the world offers is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and earthly ambition. The world and its allurements will pass away, but the man who has done the will of God shall live for ever."

We have a responsibility to discern and carry out the will of God at all times. It is not for us to do our own will. I reluctantly accepted the office of priesthood because it was not my own will for my life, but the will of the Father. Once we have accepted God's will in our lives, we must, according to the words of Saint Cyprian, "be single-minded, firm in faith, and steadfast in courage, ready for God's will, whatever it may be."

We must constantly remind ourselves as baptized Christians how we have renounced the world. As Christians we live in it, but are not of it. We are aliens in this world. We should never fear death because death in this life means an end to our exile. We will then become free from this world and be able to welcome the paradise that awaits us. If we want to show the world that we sincerely live our faith, we must always focus on the eternal life that awaits us after this our exile!

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

More on the Priest

A holy priest takes the place of Christ on earth. He represents Christ. He acts with Christ's authority. He acts in Christ's name. The priest is consecrated to exercise the highest functions that Christ Himself ever performed on earth. He should always strive to give himself completely to God; that is his mind, heart, strength, time and affections.

Pray for your priests.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Priest...

Saint Dionysius says: "The most divine of all divine things is to cooperate with God in the salvation of souls...Who speaks of the priesthood, speaks of an order which contains within itself all that is most sacred and most holy."

Saint John Eudes writes: "Such a priest is a man called to the sacerdotal dignity not by men, not by the will of flesh and blood, not by his parents or by the spirit of ambition, not by avarice or human motives, but by vocation from God."

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching