ALTER CHRISTUS! I thank God every day for this amazing mystery! You can totally see Jesus in the priest, not just in his administering of sacraments and sacramentals, but even in his words, his smile, his fatherly and self-giving attitude, his teaching and good example! The saints had the utmost reverence for this sacred vocation, and St. Francis of Assisi died a transitional deacon because he didn’t think himself worthy of the priesthood!
Saints’ Quotes on the Priesthood:
“If I saw an angel and a priest, I would bend my knee; first to the priest and then to the angel.” — Saint Francis of Assisi
“The entire Church cannot give to God as much honor, nor obtain so many graces, as a single priest by celebrating a single Mass; for the greatest honor that the whole Church without priests could give to God would consist in offering to Him in sacrifice the lives of all men.” — St. Alphonsus Liguori (The Dignity and Duties of the Priest)
“As the Word of God created Heaven and earth, so the words of the priest create Jesus Christ.” — Saint Jerome
“They (priests) are My anointed ones, and I call them My Christs, because I have given them the office of administering Me to you, and have placed them like fragrant flowers in the mystical body of the holy Church. The angel himself has no such dignity, for I have given it to those men whom I have chosen for My ministers, and whom I have appointed as earthly angels in this life.” — Jesus to Saint Catherine of Siena (Dialogue)
“Oh, how very great is their power. A word falls from their lips and the body of Christ is there substantially formed from the matter of bread, and the Incarnate Word descended from Heaven, is found really present on the table of the altar! Never did Divine goodness give such power to the Angels. The Angels abide by the order of God, but the priests take Him in their hands, distribute Him to the faithful, and partake of Him as food for themselves.” — Saint Laurence Justinian
“Who is the priest? He is the man of God who brings to souls enlightening truth, conquering love, edifying sanctity. He must show forth in himself the beauty of the God-Man Whom he represents.” — Saint Pius X
“When people wish to destroy religion, they begin by attacking the priest, because when there is no longer any priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no longer any sacrifice, there is no religion” — Saint John Vianney
“Let Christian families consider it one of their most sublime privileges to give priests to the Church; and so let them offer their sons to the sacred ministry with joy and gratitude.”
— Pope St. John XXIII (Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia)
“O wonderful dignity of the priests in their hands, as in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, the Son of God becomes incarnate.” — Saint Augustine
“Without priests there would be no Saints on this earth.” — Saint Ignatius
“After God, the priest is everything. Leave a parish 20 years without priests; they will worship beasts.” — Saint John Vianney
Amo Iesu by Grace Pax 