Visible and invisible

May 2008

St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars and patron of diocesan priests, is reported to have said that, if the priest really understood what he was doing during the Mass when he consecrates bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, he would die on the spot. I assume that he is referring here to the statement in the Bible that no one can see God and live.

The Catholic priest, as preacher of the Word and minister of the sacraments, acts and speaks in the visible world of time and space but, since his sacramental words are effective, he causes things to happen in the world of the spirit that cannot be seen with human eyes.

When the priest says “This is my body,” and “I absolve you from your sins,” and “I baptize you,” things change in the real world. Bread becomes the Body of Christ, mortal sins are forgiven and grace rushes in, a child of sinful Adam becomes a child of God and heir of heaven.

No other words uttered by human beings have this same power and effectiveness as the sacramental words of the ordained priest. Every day people say many things, but the words themselves are a movement of air and molecules and nothing happens in the real world.

The reason for this is that the properly ordained priest is an instrument of Christ—Christ works in and through him in order to communicate his life of grace to individual men and women. Sometimes priests actually experience the power of Christ flowing through them as they absolve a sinner or confect the Eucharist at Mass.

I believe it was St. Augustine who said that a sacrament is a visible sign of invisible grace. Since the sacraments were established by Jesus Christ, who is both God and man, they cause what they signify by reason of the divine power of Christ operating through them.

Thus the priest is a living instrument of Christ, since it is Jesus Christ himself who, by his divine power operating through the priest, changes wine into his own Blood, and makes a “new creature” out of the person who is baptized. We have here something like a new incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

Divine or sanctifying grace, which is invisible and communicated to us through the Word and the sacraments administered by the priest, is the most important reality in this world. It is the most important reality because it is a participation in the life of God, which means eternal existence with God in a state of blessedness and joy for all eternity for those who die in the state of grace. Everything in this earth changes and passes away, but the grace of God endures forever.

Since the priest has been chosen by God for the lofty role of being his ambassador on earth, and since God works through him in his preaching and in his sacramental ministry, the priest does something no one else can do. Because in some way the salvation of others depends on him, he should treasure the gift of the priesthood, thank God for being chosen, and strive to imitate the meek and humble Christ who works through him.

No other vocation on this earth can compare with that of the priest, who daily acts in a visible way with visible things like bread and wine and water and oil but whose significant effect is spiritual and therefore invisible.

It is a great honor to be called to be a priest, but it also involves a great responsibility. The priest should be aware of his great powers and dignity and at the same time thank God for his gifts and pray constantly to be worthy of his calling to be a minister of both the visible and the invisible.

Kenneth Baker, S.J., Editor