Priests as Co-Workers of Bishops: Vatican II's Vision

Introduction

Presbyterorum Ordinis (PO) teaches that the primary responsibility of priests as co-workers of bishops is to evangelize the world by preaching the gospel. The biblical basis for this teaching is found in Mark 16:15: "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." This paper discusses the function of the priest as the minister of the Word in accordance with the Second Vatican Council (V2). It analyzes the missionary dimension of this work — that is, what it means to be a missionary today — and concludes with a personal contribution to the argument.

The Priest as Minister of the Word in Vatican II

Presbyterorum Ordinis is essentially a reminder of what the priest has been in the Church since its founding days. As Osborne notes, the early Church was led by individuals who assumed preaching positions: these leaders were presbyters in the Jewish communities and episkopos in the Greek communities.² They derived their authority from the original group of Apostles, who cooperated together, as shown in Acts 1:12–26, when Matthias was chosen to replace Judas. The goal of the early Church was always to bring the Word of God to the people.

As the Church developed and grew, and the communities united under the Word, the hierarchy remained — with the episkopos acting as the main authority in terms of leadership, preaching, and teaching. The episkopos, or bishop in today's language, was responsible for choosing the presbyters who would support his work. The presbyters in those days were like the priests of today. The presbyter was expected to follow and serve under the episkopos, just as the priest follows and serves under the bishop today. The bishop and priests are thus co-workers in the ministry of evangelization.

This mission is re-emphasized in V2, particularly in Lumen Gentium, in which it is noted that it is the duty of the bishops "to preach the Gospel to every creature, so that all men may attain to salvation by faith, baptism and the fulfilment of the commandments."³ Since that is the bishops' duty, and since priests serve the bishops as they have since the early Church, it follows that it is also the priest's role to preach the Gospel — for the bishops are few and cannot be everywhere at once. The bishops may be considered the generals and the priests the soldiers spreading the Word on the front lines. In an army, there is a separation of rank, but all members work together toward a single aim; so too in the Church.

The second-generation writings of the early Church Fathers confirm as much. In the Didache, one sees how the Jewish-Christian community began melding with the Gentile-Christian community; there is reference to local leadership composed of bishops and deacons, and a distinction is made between prophets and false prophets — the latter defined as one who preaches the Word but fails to live according to the Word in his actions.⁴ The Didache is helpful for showing that even from the beginning of the Church, emphasis was placed on what it means to be a servant of God: the preaching of the Word must be reflected in the actions of the preacher. This holds true for priests today as they set out to preach the Word and help grow the Church alongside their bishop. The priest who preaches but does not live according to what he preaches causes scandal. Preaching is thus not simply something one does with one's mouth, but also something one does through one's actions.

That is why Lumen Gentium reiterates the importance of the priest's actions by confirming that priests are "united with the bishops in sacerdotal dignity. By the power of the sacrament of Orders… they are consecrated to preach the Gospel and shepherd the faithful and to celebrate divine worship,… by which acting in the person of Christ and proclaiming His Mystery they unite the prayers of the faithful with the sacrifice of their Head and renew and apply in the sacrifice of the Mass until the coming of the Lord."⁵ The priest is another Christ in this regard, since he brings the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to the people. Christ is the victim as the sacrifice of Calvary is repeated in an unbloody manner, but it is the priest who, through his Holy Orders, brings this sacrifice to the Christian communities. This is an important dimension of the priest's role as co-worker of the bishop, because the priest is literally bringing the Word — Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity — to the Christian people when he celebrates the Mass. This is also what distinguishes the priest from a layperson or a Protestant minister: the priest has the power to bring God to man because he has received the sacramental character of Holy Orders. Laypeople and other ministers do not possess this sacramental character. The priest who neglects this awesome privilege and responsibility fails to act in a manner consistent with his state in life.

It is also important to consider that it is during the celebration of the Mass that the priest preaches a homily. This allows him to communicate the Word orally to the Christian community; the homily supports through words of instruction the miracle of the Word becoming Flesh under the appearance of bread and wine. The celebration of the Mass and the preaching of the homily are like the two principal tools of the priest in spreading the Word of God. The priest has other tools as well: he brings other sacraments to the people and can engage in missionary outreach activity beyond the homily and the Mass. Presbyterorum Ordinis confirms this: "The ministry of the word is carried out in many ways, according to the various needs of those who hear and the special gifts of those who preach. In areas or communities of non-Christians, the proclaiming of the Gospel draws men to faith and to the sacraments of salvation."⁶

Pope Francis reiterates the power of the homily by stating that "the homily has special importance due to its Eucharistic context: it surpasses all forms of catechesis as the supreme moment in the dialogue between God and his people which lead up to sacramental communion. The homily takes up once more the dialogue which the Lord has already established with his people."⁷ With this in mind, the priest emerges as an interlocutor for the Lord, helping people to understand Him and themselves so that they can come to love Him all the more.

The celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is particularly emphasized in Presbyterorum Ordinis because it is the Liturgy of the Word "in which the proclaiming of the death and resurrection of Christ is inseparably joined to the response of the people who hear, and to the very offering whereby Christ ratified the New Testament in his blood. In this offering the faithful are united both by their dispositions and by their discernment of the sacrament."⁸ For Christian communities, the priest is therefore a vital leader who co-operates with the bishop in fortifying the faithful — whether he is preaching the Word or bringing the Word to the faithful in the Holy Sacrament. In all things, priests are there "not to teach their own wisdom but God's word."⁹ They are intermediaries between God and man.

The Missionary Dimension of the Priesthood

As Pope Francis indicates, the Word is not meant only for Christians but for non-Christians as well. The priest therefore has to be a missionary — both to the community overseen by the bishop and to the wider community that has yet to receive the Good News of Christ. This dimension of the priesthood is emphasized by Pope John Paul II when he states that "every priestly ministry shares in the universality of the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles."¹⁰ The Apostles were told to spread the Word of God to all the peoples of the world, with Christ at the center of that mission.

This sense of mission is confirmed in V2 as well. Dei Verbum states that the priest — in order to succeed in the mission entrusted to him — must cling to Sacred Scripture, because it is there that the Word of God is found explicitly: "All the clergy must hold fast to the Sacred Scriptures through diligent sacred reading and careful study… to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ."¹¹ A priest will not know what to preach or how to communicate Christ to others if he has not focused his attention on knowing Christ through the Scriptures. Faith is based on reason, and reason is supported by evidence — and the evidence of Christ is there to be found in the Scriptures. Faith is the end goal, and the priest's missionary dimension is to grow that faith. Pope John Paul II states further that "faith is born of preaching" and that "all missionary activity is directed to the proclamation of his mystery."¹²

Pope John Paul II envisioned a Church that goes out to meet people where they are, rather than waiting for the people to come to her. A missionary is one who goes out into the field to spread the faith. Just as a researcher does fieldwork to gather evidence from the real world, the priest must do fieldwork to bring the evidence of Christ in the Scriptures to the people. The early Apostles did this; the work was continued by the Church throughout the centuries; and today it is re-emphasized as a matter of the utmost importance by the Bishop of Rome. The missionary dimension of the priest is thus vital to his vocation.

At the same time, the priest has to know the people to whom he is giving the Word. As a missionary, the priest must preach the Word and live the Word, because people look to the priest as an example of Christ. But he must also empathize with the people, just as Christ empathized with those to whom He went. In the film To the Wonder, the priest depicted struggles with his mission; he hardens his heart against the people and stops going out into the community to get to know them. He shuts his doors to them when they come knocking. But eventually a penitent comes to him to confess her sins, and he is moved by her faith to reignite his own. By rediscovering his faith and passion for Christ, he prays that Christ will shine through him so that the people of the community see Christ in his actions. He prays the prayer of St. Patrick's Breastplate and goes back out into the community, bringing the Word of God in a new spirit of joy. He no longer winces at refusals to hear; instead, he proceeds with courage, coming to people with charity first of all — answering their needs for friendship, love, support, and a listening ear. He comes to them as a brother, just as Christ came to people as a brother, enjoining them to become sons of God and to inherit His kingdom. This is the essence of the priest's missionary life: to be like Christ, meeting people where they live and bringing them the peace and serenity of Christ through his actions, his understanding, his care, and his solicitude. It is not just a matter of preaching; it is also a matter of listening.

Conclusion

The Church cannot do without its priests who support the bishops in their work of evangelization. It is the priest who brings God to the people, and who meets the people in the real world so that he can bring them to God. If he remains in his church and priory all his days, the world will not know him. Christ gives the example of going out into the world to teach and save. The early Church followed this example, and V2 reaffirms its importance. John Paul II also emphasizes that the priest must go out into the real world to meet the people, to understand them, and to show compassion. It is this compassion that will ultimately convince them that the priest is a man of God.

Bibliography

Dei Verbum. Vatican City, November 18, 1965.

Evangelii Gaudium. Vatican City, November 24, 2013.

Lumen Gentium. Vatican City, November 21, 1964.

Pastores Dabo Vobis. Vatican City, March 25, 1992.

Presbyterorum Ordinis. Vatican City, December 7, 1965.

Osborne, Kenan. A History of the Ordained Ministry in the Roman Catholic Church. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2003.

Redemptoris Missio. Vatican City, December 7, 1990.