Through Baptism, the members of the Church are consecrated by the anointing of the Holy Spirit and called to be a holy priesthood

At the General Audience of Wednesday, 18 March, the Holy Father resumed the series of catechetical addresses he has been giving on the mystery of the Church. In the 25^th talk of the series he spoke of the Church as a priestly community. Here is the Holy Father's address, which he gave in Italian.

1. We saw in the preceding catechesis that, according to the Letters of Peter and Paul and the Revelation of John, Christ the Lord, "a high priest taken from among men" (Heb5:l), made [his new people] "a kingdom of priests for his God and Father" (Rv 1:6: cf. 5:9-10). In this way "communion" in God's holiness is achieved according to what he required of the old Israel and which is an even greater demand for the new one: "Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy" (Lv 19:2). The "communion" in God's holiness is achieved as the fruit of Christ's redemptive sacrifice, as a result of which we come to share in that love which "has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Rom 5:5). The gift of the sanctifying Spirit realizes in us "a holy priesthood", which according to Peter makes us able "to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pt 2:5). Therefore, there is a "holy priesthood". We can recognize in the Church, then, a priestly community in the sense that we are now going to explain.

2. We read in Vatican II, which cites the First Letter of Peter: "The baptized, by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated to be a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, that through all the works of Christians they may offer spiritual sacrifices and proclaim the perfection of him who has called them out of darkness into his marvellous light (cf. 1 Pt 2:4-10)" (Lumen gentium, n. 10).

In this text the Council links the prayer by which Christians give glory to God with the sacrifice of themselves, "a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God" (cf. Rom 12:1), and with the witness to be given to Christ. Here we see summarized the vocation of all the baptized as a participation in the messianic mission of Christ, who is priest, prophet and king.

3. The universal participation in the priesthood of Christ, also called the priesthood of the faithful (sacerdotium universale fidelium), is considered by the Council in its special relationship with the ministerial priesthood: "Though they differ essentially and not only in degree, the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are none the less ordered to one another; each in its own proper way shares in the one priesthood of Christ" (Lumen gentium, n. 10). The hierarchical priesthood as an "office" (offlcium) is a particular service, because of which the universal priesthood of the faithful can be realized so that the Church may be the fulness of the "priestly community" according to the measure of Christ's gift. "Those among the faithful who have received Holy Orders are appointed to nourish the Church with the word and grace of God in the name of Christ" (Lumen gentium, n. 11).

4. The Council emphasizes that the universal priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial (or hierarchical) priesthood are ordered to one another. At the same time it states that between them there is an essential difference "and not only in degree" (Lumen gentium, n. 10). The hierarchical-ministerial priesthood is not a "product" of the universal priesthood of the faithful. It does not come from a selection or delegation by the community of believers, but from a special, divine call: "No one takes this honour upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was" (Heb 5:4). A Christian obtains this office on the basis of a special sacrament, that of Orders.

5. "The ministerial priest", according to the Council, "by the sacred power that he has, forms and rules the priestly people; in the person of Christ he effects the Eucharistic sacrifice and offers it to God in the name of all the people" (Lumen gentium, n. 10).

The Council discusses this point more extensively in the Decree on the ministry and life of priests: "The Lord also appointed certain men as ministers, in order that they might be united in one body in which 'all the members have not the same function' (Rom 12:4). These men were to hold in the community of the faithful the sacred power of Orders, that of offering sacrifice and forgiving sins, and were to exercise the priestly office publicly on behalf of men in the name of Christ.... Priests, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are signed with a special character and so are configured to Christ the Priest in such a way that they are able to act in the person of Christ the Head" (Presbyterorum ordinis, n. 2; cf. St Thomas, Summa theologiae, III, q. 63, a. 3). Along with the character they also receive the grace necessary for worthily fulfilling their ministry: "Since they share in the function of the Apostles in their own degree, priests are given the grace by God to be the ministers of Jesus Christ among the nations, fulfilling the sacred task of the Gospel" (Presbyterorum ordinis, n. 2).

6. As we said, the hierarchical-ministerial priesthood was instituted in the Church to put into operation the resources of the universal priesthood of the faithful. The Council states this at various points and, in particular, when it discusses the gathering of the faithful at the celebration of the Eucharist. We read: "Taking part in the Eucharistic sacrifice the source and summit of the Christian life, they offer the Divine Victim to God and themselves along with it. And so it is that, both in the offering and in Holy Communion, each in his own way, though not of course indiscriminately, has his own part to play in the liturgical action. Then, strengthened by the Body of Christ in the Eucharistic communion, they manifest in a concrete way that unity of the People of God which this holy sacrament aptly signifies and admirably realizes" (Lumen gentium, n. 11).

According to this doctrine, which belongs to the most ancient Christian tradition, the Church's "activity" is not confined to the hierarchical ministry of her pastors, as if the laity had to remain in a state of passivity. In fact, all the Christian activity of lay people at any time, and particularly the modern apostolate of the laity, gives evidence of the Council's teaching, according to which the priesthood of the faithful and the priestly ministry of the ecclesiastical hierarchy are "ordered to one another".

7. "The holders of office who are invested with a sacred power', the Council maintains, "are, in fact, dedicated to promoting the interests of their brothers and sisters, so that all who belong to the People of God, and are consequently endowed with true Christian dignity, may through their free and well-ordered efforts towards a common goal, attain salvation" (Lumen gentium, n. 18).

For this reason the priesthood of the hierarchy has a ministerial character. Precisely for this reason the Bishops and priests are pastors in the Church. Their task is to serve the faithful like Jesus Christ, the good Shepherd, the one universal Pastor of the Church and all humanity, who says of himself: "The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mt 20:28). In light of the teaching and example of the good Shepherd the entire Church, which shares in the grace of redemption poured out in the whole Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, is and functions as a priestly community.