Summing up
As we come to the end of our historical survey, it is time to do some summing up. The idea of priesthood has gone through many changes in the course of human history, and there are tensions between the different interpretations.
We have seen that it is a basic human instinct to wish to ‘offer’ to God (or gods). Do we make the offering ourselves, or commission others to do it for us? Here is the origin of the idea of the “priesthood of all believers”, the “holy people”, or the “priesthood of the baptised” (a notion very much revived by Vatican II), set alongside the ordained priesthood, as something in some way distinct.
In history, when priesthood has been poorly exercised, it has lapsed into semi-magic or into a display of power. It has clashed with the idea of the ‘prophet’ – in ancient Israel, prophets were often sharp critics of priests. So, is the role of the priest to offer sacrifice, or to challenge, encourage, and speak out (‘prophesy’)? Or both?
Medieval notions of the Mass emphasised the characteristic of ‘sacrifice’ to the exclusion of all else. But there is also the concept of the ‘sacrifice of praise’ [Eucharistic Prayer No. 4], a wider vision based primarily on the Resurrection.
Then there is the ‘apartness’ of the clergy. Celibacy, as we have seen, is not just a blind rule, but emerged from a wish to make the following of Christ a more demanding call, when the end of Roman imperial persecution made things all too easy. Does that mean the particular nature of celibacy is inherent in the priesthood? The debate continues.
Is priesthood a function or a state of being? Does the priest ‘represent’ Christ in a different way from the laity – acting in persona Christi, ‘in the person of Christ’? Does the priest symbolise Christ the head in the midst of his Body, the Church? Or does ordination make him a Christ, indelibly, thus making ordination a kind of consecration parallel to that in the Mass? St. Thomas Aquinas, after all, said that ordination was the “instrumental cause of grace” (i.e. the vehicle for bringing God’s gifts), but no more.
We call Christ the ‘High Priest’, as the Letter to the Hebrews does, but that is unique to him. In what way did Christ ‘ordain’ his apostles? There is so much in the Gospel story that is left unstated and is indeterminate. He commissioned them to go out, certainly.
The question of women and the priesthood has not entered these columns, because it has never existed in our Church. Is it true to say that there is an absolute distinction between men and women’s capacity for ordained ministry, as being determined by God before time began? Such is the implication of the statement “Jesus Christ never ordained women”.
This is a watershed time, in the Church as in society. The priesthood is no longer seen as tightly structured caste offering a life of certainties. That is the probable reason why fewer are offering themselves at present: to dedicate oneself to something which is ‘in flux’ is very demanding, however strong faith may be Vocations are still copious in societies where life’s vision is more ‘certain’ – for the time being.
At some future time, the vision of priesthood will clarify again, and then the numbers will greatly increase. That is my prophecy, and you first read it here.