Neon Nettle: Power of Consecrating: The supreme power of the priestly office is the power of consecrating. ‘No act is greater,’ says St. Thomas, ‘than the consecration of the body of Christ.’ In this essential phase of the sacred ministry, the power of the priest is not surpassed by that of the bishop, the archbishop, the cardinal or the pope. Indeed it is equal to that of Jesus Christ. For in this role the priest speaks with the voice and the authority of God Himself. When the priest pronounces the tremendous works of Consecration, he reaches up into heavens, brings Christ down from His throne, and places Him upon our altar to be offered up again as the victim for the sins of man.
“It is a power greater than that of monarchs and emperors: it is greater than that of saints and angels, greater than that of Seraphim and Cherubim. Indeed it is greater even than the power of the Virgin Mary. For, while the Blessed Virgin was the human agency by which Christ became incarnate a single time, the priest brings Christ down from heaven, and renders Him present on our altar as the eternal Victim for the sins of man – not once but a thousand times! The priest speaks and lo! Christ the Eternal and Omnipotent God, bows His head in humble obedience to the priest’s command.” Of what sublime dignity is the office of the Christian priest who is thus privileged to act as the ambassador and the vicegerent of Christ on earth! He continues the essential ministry of Christ; he teaches the faithful with the authority of Christ, he pardons the penitent sinner with the power of Christ, he offers up again the same sacrifice of adoration and atonement which Christ offered on Calvary. No wonder that the name which spiritual writers are especially found of applying to the priest is that of ‘alter Christus.’
For the priest is and should be another Christ” (Faith of Millions, John O’Brien, Ph.D., LL.D., 268-269, “nihil obstat” by Rev. T. E. Dillon-Censor Librorum and “imprimatur” by John Francis Noll, D.D. -Bishop of Fort Wayne). more …
Opinion: First, I want to encourage you to click on the ‘more’ link above because this blasphemous quote by John A. O’Brien is followed by two equally troubling quotes by church leaders.
Second, John A. O’Brien was a highly esteemed Catholic professor who wrote 45 books and hundreds of pamphlets and articles. In 1973, the University of Notre Dame awarded him the Laetare Medal. He died April 18, 1980 in South Bend, Indiana.
Third, we need to pray that the 1.2 billion souls who remain faithful to this church receive the truth of the Gospel and place the name of Jesus above all names:
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
Well I clicked on more and once again I see the RC church talking about purgatory. Did they get this from the book of Enoch or is there another reason that they talk about it?
Other than that question, I agree with Centurion and Author. They should be careful when they make themselves as important if not more important than God. They should try a dose of humility.
Comments are closed.