Easter is arguably the greatest Christian feast, even more than Christmas. Both these great feasts are inextricably intertwined, because the purpose of Christ taking human form was to conquer sin and it's consequences through His death and Resurrection, to open the door to heaven for humanity. Easter happens once a year, still, it is not meant to get locked in a neat corner of our calendar, but remain alive in each moment of our lives. The Church clearly puts this before us, teaching that every Sunday in the Church's calendar (even the Sunday's in Lent) is a little Easter. Every Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. But what does this mean in our concrete lives?
In the early centuries after Christ, Christianity was an underground religion, banned in the Roman empire, because the Romans took refusal to worship the Roman gods and Caesar (the Roman Emperor), who was also considered a god, a sign of opposition to the state. They equated such worship as patriotism and for these Romans, refusal was taken as a public protest against the emperor and the state. The consequence of this misunderstanding was that many persecutions (state sponsored executions) of Christians were authorized by several emperors. Many Christians were martyred - tortured, burned, fried in oil, crucified, fed to wild animals - subjected to every kind of conceivable torture. Yet, Christian leaders - Bishops exhorted them to remain steadfast, encouraging them with the thought of the Resurrection - being raised to eternal life. So they marched to the lions serenely with a prayer on their lips and joy on their faces, glad to meet their Lord Jesus, to the confounding of bystanders.
For these early Christians faith in the Resurrection of Jesus meant courage to face suffering and death, bringing even peace and joy because of a firm faith of reward greater than anything even the emperor could offer. But what about us, who at least don't have physical danger, though we may face other trials? What difference does Easter make to us? There is a confounding fact of the Church today that is based on the Resurrection - something which many, even within the Church are confounded by - the Priesthood. When a young man leaves his hopes and dreams to embrace a life of celibacy, renouncing marriage and a career following his call to the priesthood, many question, doubt and refuse to accept it. But really if God wants the best for each person, why does he demand such sacrifices of a candidate to the priesthood? This is a very valid question and demands an answer, all the more today when scandal has increased the number of doubters and led to a very negative opinion of this ancient ministry. For the answer, we'll search the history of the priesthood, from its inception to through the centuries. What was it originally intended to mean, and how it has been understood in the centuries past.
The priesthood was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper, when he fulfilled the Old Covenant of the Passover in Egypt, by offering Himself as the Lamb of Sacrifice to take away the sins of the world. We see in the Acts of the Apostles, reference to the "breaking of the bread". So this became part of the worship of the early Church, because their leaders, being Jews, understood that Jesus was really instituting the New Covenant, giving new, richer meaning to the Old Covenant of Ancient Israel. So this was continued after the death and resurrection of Jesus, and has become the present day Mass. The early priests were called presbyters, who received this ministry through the laying on of hands, a practice which has continued to the present day. In the early Church, Apostles laid their hands and ordained presbyters. In the present day, Bishops, who are successors of the Apostles ordain priests by essentially the same rite.
The main function of priests (in any religion) is to offer sacrifice. In the Church, the sacrifice is really of Christ on the Cross. This is what it has been right from the beginning of the Church. At Calvary, Christ, the High Priest offered himself as a Sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. The essential uniqueness of Christ's Sacrifice was that He was the Priest, the Sacrifice and the altar of Sacrifice. Catholic priests, essentially carry on the priestly ministry of Jesus. They act in persona Christi - in the person of Jesus Christ when they celebrate Mass or hear Confession. The sacrifice of young men becoming priests can only be understood in the context of the life to come. Through their ministry, they make God present among people and provide Jesus own forgiveness for people. So their work really cannot be viewed in terms of material benefit, rather it is spiritual in nature. Their work is really directed to the life to come - they bring God and man together in this life so that man can live with God in eternal bliss in the next.
