-Joseph Devarbe's Catechism, p. 279.
Sins can be forgiven only through the Sacraments when duly administered; hence, it follows that both priests and Sacraments are the instruments which Christ makes use of to accomplish in us the pardon of sin and the grace of justification.
-Catechism of Trent, p. 115, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 5: "The Book of Obedience", Chapter 3: "The Sacraments Administered by the Priests Are Necessary for the Salvation of All Mankind").
And God himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of his priest and either not to pardon or to pardon, according as they refuse to give absolution, provided the penitent is capable of it.
-St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in The Dignity of the Priesthood, p. 27.
-Our Priesthood, by Rev.Joseph Bruneau, S.D.D., 149-151 ("nihil obstat" by M.F. Dinneen, S.S.,D.D. -Censor deputatus, "imprimatur" by James Cardinal Gibbons -Archbishop of Baltimore, "Re-Imprimatur" by Michael J. Curley -Archbishop of Baltimore).
...we find in the obediance to the words of his priests -- Hoc est Corpus Meum -- God Himself descends on the altar, that he comes whenever they call him, and as often as they call him, and places himself in their hands, even though they should be his enemies. And after having come, he remains, entirely at their disposal; they move him as they please, from one place to another; they may, if they wish, shut him up in the tabernacle, expose him on the altar, or carry him outside the church; they may, if they choose, eat his flesh, and give him for the food of others. 'Oh, how very great is their power!'
-St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in The Dignity of the Priesthood, p 26-27.
And God himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of his priest and either not to pardon or to pardon, according as they refuse to give absolution, provided the penitent is capable of it.
-St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in Duties and Dignities of the Priest, p 27.
Innocent III has written: 'Indeed, it is not too much to say that in view of the sublimity of their offices the priests are so many gods.'
-St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in The Dignity of the Priesthood, p 3.
A priest is truly another Christ living and walking on earth. He takes Christ's place, represents his person, acts in his name and exercises his authority.
-St. John Eudes, (quoted in "Living With the Heart", Pastoral Letter of Bishop François Thibodeau, Eudist, Bishop of Edmundston for the Feast of Pentecost, June 3, 2001 and the Four Hundredeth Anniversary of the Birth of Saint John Eudes (Nov. 14, 1601).
Let them (those separate from the Catholic Church) not think that the way of life or salvation exists for them, if they have refused to obey the bishops and priests...For they cannot live outside, since there is only one house of God, and there can be no salvation for anyone except in the Church.
-St. Cyprian: "Letters 61:4.
Just as no man can enter any place without the help of him who has the keys, so no one is admitted to Heaven unless its gates be unlocked by the priests to whose custody the Lord gave the keys.
-Catechism of Trent, p. 286, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 5: "The Book of Obedience", Chapter 2: "No One Can Be Saved Who Refuses Obedience to the Pastors of the Church").
You must submit yourself faithfully to those who have charge of divine things, and you must look to them for the means of your salvation.
-Pope St. Gelasius I, RCH, vol. 1, p.147, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 5: "The Book of Obedience", Chapter 3: "The Sacraments Administered by the Priests Are Necessary for the Salvation of All Mankind").
For if any one will consider how great a thing it is for one, being a man, and compassed with flesh and blood, to be enabled to draw nigh to that blessed and pure nature, he will then clearly see what great honor the grace of the Spirit has vouchsafed to priests; since by their agency these rites are celebrated, and others nowise inferior to these both in respect of our dignity and our salvation. For they who inhabit the earth and make their abode there are entrusted with the administration of things which are in Heaven, and have received an authority which God has not given to angels or archangels...and what priests do here below God ratifies above, and the Master confirms the sentence of his servants. For indeed what is it but all manner of heavenly authority which He has given them when He says, 'Whose sins ye remit they are remitted, and whose sins ye retain they are retained?' What authority could be greater than this? 'The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son?' But I see it all put into the hands of these men by the Son. For they have been conducted to this dignity as if they were already translated to Heaven, and had transcended human nature, and were released from the passions to which we are liable....For transparent madness it is to despise so great a dignity, without which it is not possible to obtain either our own salvation, or the good things which have been promised to us. For if no one can enter into the kingdom of Heaven except he be regenerate through water and the Spirit, and he who does not eat the flesh of the Lord and drink His blood is excluded from eternal life, and if all these things are accomplished only by means of those holy hands, I mean the hands of the priest, how will any one, without these, be able to escape the fire of hell, or to win those crowns which are reserved for the victorious?
-St. John Chrysostom, Treatise on the Priesthood, Book III, #5, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I, Vol. IX.
Therefore, follow the bishops and priests. Apart from them, there is nothing that can be called a church. Anyone outside is impure; he is worse than an infidel. In other words, anyone who acts apart from the bishop and the priests and deacons does not have a clean conscience. For, all who belong to God and to Jesus Christ are with the bishop. Make no mistake about it: no one who follows another into schism inherits the kingdom of God.
-St. Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Romans, VII:2, TAF, vol. I, p. 82; FOC, p. 124; Epistle to the Philadelphians, ch. 3, II:3; Epistle to the Trallians, ch's. 2 & 7; PG 5:643 ff, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 5: "The Book of Obedience", Chapter 2: "No One Can Be Saved Who Refuses Obedience to the Pastors of the Church").
...submit yourself to the bishops and seek from them the means of your salvation.
-Pope Gregory XVI, Commissum Divinitus (On Church and State), Encyclical promulgated on May 17, 1835, #8.
Through priests, God communicates His grace to the faithful in the Sacraments. In a word, without priests, we cannot be saved!
-St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 5: "The Book of Obedience", Chapter 3: "The Sacraments Administered by the Priests Are Necessary for the Salvation of All Mankind").
-Catechism of Trent, p. 115, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 5: "The Book of Obedience", Chapter 3: "The Sacraments Administered by the Priests Are Necessary for the Salvation of All Mankind").
And God himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of his priest and either not to pardon or to pardon, according as they refuse to give absolution, provided the penitent is capable of it.
-St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in The Dignity of the Priesthood, p. 27.
Were the Redeemer to descend into a church, and sit in a confessional to administer the sacrament of penance, and a priest to sit in a confessional, Jesus would say over each penitent: 'Ego te absolvo,' the priest would likewise say over each of his penitents, 'Ego te absolvo,' and the penitents of each would be equally absolved.
-St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in The Dignity of the Priesthood, p. 34.
Before dealing with the proofs of revelation afforded by the Bible and tradition, certain preliminary points must first be decided. Of these the most important is that the Church intends the Mass to be regarded as a 'true and proper sacrifice', and will not tolerate the idea that the sacrifice is identical with Holy Communion. That is the sense of a clause from the Council of Trent (Sess. XXII, can. 1): 'If any one saith that in the Mass a true and proper sacrifice is not offered to God; or, that to be offered is nothing else but that Christ is given us to eat; let him be anathema.
-The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Sacrifice of the Mass", Section I, Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
If the Mass is to be something more than an Ober-Ammergau Passion Play, then not only must Christ appear in His real personality on the altar, but He must also be in some manner really sacrificed on that very altar.
-The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Sacrifice of the Mass", Section II, C, i, Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
...Only when the priest is there can we have our altar and our tabernacle and our Jesus. Only the priest can put Jesus there for us...Jesus wants to go there, but we cannot bring him unless you (priests) first give him to us....
...the power of the priest is the power of the divine person; for the transubstantiation of the bread requires as much power as the creation of the world....thus the priest may be called the creator of the Creator...
-St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in The Dignity of the Priesthood, p 33.
Power of Consecrating: The supreme power of the priestly office is the power of consecrating. 'No act is greater,' says St. Thomas, 'than the consecration of the body of Christ.' In this essential phase of the sacred ministry, the power of the priest is not surpassed by that of the bishop, the archbishop, the cardinal or the pope. Indeed it is equal to that of Jesus Christ. For in this role the priest speaks with the voice and the authority of God Himself. When the priest pronounces the tremendous words of Consecration, he reaches up into heavens, brings Christ down from His throne, and places Him upon our altar to be offered up again as the victim for the sins of man.
Our Lord was immolated on Calvary. He offers Himself again every morning at the altar by the hands of His priest. The sacrifice of the Mass is essentially the same as that of the Cross. What share has the priest in that sacrifice ? Where does he find the victim ? Ubi est victima, could he, like Isaac of old, ask when ascending the steps of the altar. Listen : Hoc est corpus meum, says this priest bending over a small piece of bread. What happens? Agnoscite quod agitis: The divine Victim is present: Ave verum corpus! 'Hic est calix sanguinis mei,' continues the priest: We adore the divine Victim sacrificed to God. Agnoscite quod agitis. The priest says: Hoc est corpus meum, he has to say it for the validity of the consecration. Meum! But it is not he who says these words; his voice indeed we hear, but he is only the instrument of the Sovereign Priest: our Lord speaks through His minister. The glory of this minister consists precisely in disappearing, in allowing Jesus to act through his personality: Sacerdos alter Christus.This Christ now offering Himself to God by the hands of the priest is the same Christ who is in heaven. Same happiness, same power, same majesty. He is performing the same acts, offering the same adorations, the same thanksgiving, the same prayers. He, the object of the beatitude of the elect, is now in the hands of the priest: Agnoscite quod agitis. But if really the priest causes our Lord to be present on the altar, if he offers Him, whilst Jesus is now in heaven, have we not to conclude that it is from the very bosom of the Father that the priest draws this divine Victim? Agnoscite quod agitis.-St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in The Dignity of the Priesthood, p. 34.
Before dealing with the proofs of revelation afforded by the Bible and tradition, certain preliminary points must first be decided. Of these the most important is that the Church intends the Mass to be regarded as a 'true and proper sacrifice', and will not tolerate the idea that the sacrifice is identical with Holy Communion. That is the sense of a clause from the Council of Trent (Sess. XXII, can. 1): 'If any one saith that in the Mass a true and proper sacrifice is not offered to God; or, that to be offered is nothing else but that Christ is given us to eat; let him be anathema.
-The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Sacrifice of the Mass", Section I, Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
If the Mass is to be something more than an Ober-Ammergau Passion Play, then not only must Christ appear in His real personality on the altar, but He must also be in some manner really sacrificed on that very altar.
-The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Sacrifice of the Mass", Section II, C, i, Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
...Only when the priest is there can we have our altar and our tabernacle and our Jesus. Only the priest can put Jesus there for us...Jesus wants to go there, but we cannot bring him unless you (priests) first give him to us....
This is one of the reasons you are called 'another Christ'.
-Mother Teresa, addressing attendants at the Worldwide Retreat for Priests in Paul VI Audience Hall, Vatican City, October, 1984.
-Mother Teresa, addressing attendants at the Worldwide Retreat for Priests in Paul VI Audience Hall, Vatican City, October, 1984.
...the power of the priest is the power of the divine person; for the transubstantiation of the bread requires as much power as the creation of the world....thus the priest may be called the creator of the Creator...
-St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in The Dignity of the Priesthood, p 33.
Power of Consecrating: The supreme power of the priestly office is the power of consecrating. 'No act is greater,' says St. Thomas, 'than the consecration of the body of Christ.' In this essential phase of the sacred ministry, the power of the priest is not surpassed by that of the bishop, the archbishop, the cardinal or the pope. Indeed it is equal to that of Jesus Christ. For in this role the priest speaks with the voice and the authority of God Himself. When the priest pronounces the tremendous words of Consecration, he reaches up into heavens, brings Christ down from His throne, and places Him upon our altar to be offered up again as the victim for the sins of man.
It is a power greater than that of monarchs and emperors: it is greater than that of saints and angels, greater than that of Seraphim and Cherubim. Indeed it is greater even than the power of the Virgin Mary. For, while the Blessed Virgin was the human agency by which Christ became incarnate a single time, the priest brings Christ down from heaven, and renders Him present on our altar as the eternal Victim for the sins of man - not once but a thousand times! The priest speaks and lo! Christ the Eternal and Omnipotent God, bows His head in humble obedience to the priest’s command.
Of what sublime dignity is the office of the Christian priest who is thus privileged to act as the ambassador and the vicegerent of Christ on earth! He continues the essential ministry of Christ; he teaches the faithful with the authority of Christ, he pardons the penitent sinner with the power of Christ, he offers up again the same sacrifice of adoration and atonement which Christ offered on Calvary. No wonder that the name which spiritual writers are especially found of applying to the priest is that of 'alter Christus.' For the priest is and should be another Christ.
-Faith of Millions, by John O'Brien, Ph.D., LL.D., p 268-269 ("nihil obstat" by Rev. T. E. Dillon-Censor Librorum and "imprimatur" by John Francis Noll, D.D. -Bishop of Fort Wayne).
-Faith of Millions, by John O'Brien, Ph.D., LL.D., p 268-269 ("nihil obstat" by Rev. T. E. Dillon-Censor Librorum and "imprimatur" by John Francis Noll, D.D. -Bishop of Fort Wayne).
-Our Priesthood, by Rev.Joseph Bruneau, S.D.D., 149-151 ("nihil obstat" by M.F. Dinneen, S.S.,D.D. -Censor deputatus, "imprimatur" by James Cardinal Gibbons -Archbishop of Baltimore, "Re-Imprimatur" by Michael J. Curley -Archbishop of Baltimore).
...we find in the obediance to the words of his priests -- Hoc est Corpus Meum -- God Himself descends on the altar, that he comes whenever they call him, and as often as they call him, and places himself in their hands, even though they should be his enemies. And after having come, he remains, entirely at their disposal; they move him as they please, from one place to another; they may, if they wish, shut him up in the tabernacle, expose him on the altar, or carry him outside the church; they may, if they choose, eat his flesh, and give him for the food of others. 'Oh, how very great is their power!'
-St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in The Dignity of the Priesthood, p 26-27.
And God himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of his priest and either not to pardon or to pardon, according as they refuse to give absolution, provided the penitent is capable of it.
-St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in Duties and Dignities of the Priest, p 27.
Innocent III has written: 'Indeed, it is not too much to say that in view of the sublimity of their offices the priests are so many gods.'
-St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in The Dignity of the Priesthood, p 3.
A priest is truly another Christ living and walking on earth. He takes Christ's place, represents his person, acts in his name and exercises his authority.
-St. John Eudes, (quoted in "Living With the Heart", Pastoral Letter of Bishop François Thibodeau, Eudist, Bishop of Edmundston for the Feast of Pentecost, June 3, 2001 and the Four Hundredeth Anniversary of the Birth of Saint John Eudes (Nov. 14, 1601).
Let them (those separate from the Catholic Church) not think that the way of life or salvation exists for them, if they have refused to obey the bishops and priests...For they cannot live outside, since there is only one house of God, and there can be no salvation for anyone except in the Church.
-St. Cyprian: "Letters 61:4.
Just as no man can enter any place without the help of him who has the keys, so no one is admitted to Heaven unless its gates be unlocked by the priests to whose custody the Lord gave the keys.
-Catechism of Trent, p. 286, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 5: "The Book of Obedience", Chapter 2: "No One Can Be Saved Who Refuses Obedience to the Pastors of the Church").
You must submit yourself faithfully to those who have charge of divine things, and you must look to them for the means of your salvation.
-Pope St. Gelasius I, RCH, vol. 1, p.147, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 5: "The Book of Obedience", Chapter 3: "The Sacraments Administered by the Priests Are Necessary for the Salvation of All Mankind").
For if any one will consider how great a thing it is for one, being a man, and compassed with flesh and blood, to be enabled to draw nigh to that blessed and pure nature, he will then clearly see what great honor the grace of the Spirit has vouchsafed to priests; since by their agency these rites are celebrated, and others nowise inferior to these both in respect of our dignity and our salvation. For they who inhabit the earth and make their abode there are entrusted with the administration of things which are in Heaven, and have received an authority which God has not given to angels or archangels...and what priests do here below God ratifies above, and the Master confirms the sentence of his servants. For indeed what is it but all manner of heavenly authority which He has given them when He says, 'Whose sins ye remit they are remitted, and whose sins ye retain they are retained?' What authority could be greater than this? 'The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son?' But I see it all put into the hands of these men by the Son. For they have been conducted to this dignity as if they were already translated to Heaven, and had transcended human nature, and were released from the passions to which we are liable....For transparent madness it is to despise so great a dignity, without which it is not possible to obtain either our own salvation, or the good things which have been promised to us. For if no one can enter into the kingdom of Heaven except he be regenerate through water and the Spirit, and he who does not eat the flesh of the Lord and drink His blood is excluded from eternal life, and if all these things are accomplished only by means of those holy hands, I mean the hands of the priest, how will any one, without these, be able to escape the fire of hell, or to win those crowns which are reserved for the victorious?
-St. John Chrysostom, Treatise on the Priesthood, Book III, #5, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I, Vol. IX.
Therefore, follow the bishops and priests. Apart from them, there is nothing that can be called a church. Anyone outside is impure; he is worse than an infidel. In other words, anyone who acts apart from the bishop and the priests and deacons does not have a clean conscience. For, all who belong to God and to Jesus Christ are with the bishop. Make no mistake about it: no one who follows another into schism inherits the kingdom of God.
-St. Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Romans, VII:2, TAF, vol. I, p. 82; FOC, p. 124; Epistle to the Philadelphians, ch. 3, II:3; Epistle to the Trallians, ch's. 2 & 7; PG 5:643 ff, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 5: "The Book of Obedience", Chapter 2: "No One Can Be Saved Who Refuses Obedience to the Pastors of the Church").
...submit yourself to the bishops and seek from them the means of your salvation.
-Pope Gregory XVI, Commissum Divinitus (On Church and State), Encyclical promulgated on May 17, 1835, #8.
Through priests, God communicates His grace to the faithful in the Sacraments. In a word, without priests, we cannot be saved!
-St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 5: "The Book of Obedience", Chapter 3: "The Sacraments Administered by the Priests Are Necessary for the Salvation of All Mankind").
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