61. The Priesthood of Christ and Sacrificial Mediation

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Nature and Office of Priesthood #

• The proper office of a priest is to mediate between God and the people
• A priest gives divine things to the people (hence the etymology sacra dens—giving sacred things)
• A priest offers the prayers and satisfactions of the people to God
• This mediation belongs supremely to Christ, who is the source of all grace and reconciliation

Christ’s Priesthood Despite Three Objections #

Objection 1: A priest is lesser than an angel, but Christ is greater than angels

• Response: Christ’s priesthood is more excellent than that of angels
• Angels serve as hierarchical mediators between God and men (per Dionysius)
• Christ possesses hierarchical/priestly power in a more excellent way due to his fullness of grace and glory
• Angels minister to Christ’s priesthood
• According to his capacity to suffer in his body, Christ was temporarily “lessened from the angels” to conform himself to men and be constituted in the priesthood (Psalm 8, quoted in Hebrews)

Objection 2: Christ did not come from the tribe of Levi

• Response (per Damascene): If Christ had been born of the figurative priesthood, he would be the same priesthood, not an exemplar
• Christ deliberately avoided Levitical descent to show the difference between the figurative priesthood and the true priesthood
• Christ arose from Judah (per Hebrews 7)

Objection 3: In the Old Law, priest and lawgiver were distinct, but Christ is a lawgiver

• Response: Other men have these roles separately, but Christ, as head of the Church and fountain of all graces, unites priest, king, and lawgiver in himself
• Isaiah 33: “The Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, our king; he will save us”

The Definition and Nature of Sacrifice #

• Visible sacrifice: A sacramentum (sacred sign) of an invisible sacrifice (per Augustine, City of God, Book 10)
• Invisible sacrifice: The offering of one’s own spirit to God
• Per Psalm 50: “A sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit; a penitent heart, O God, you will not despise”
• Everything offered to God in order that the human spirit might be born into God can be called a sacrifice

The Three Reasons Man Needs Sacrifice #

1. For remission of sin — turning away from God through sin; the priest offers gifts and sacrifices for sins (Hebrews 5)
2. For preservation in grace — remaining adhered to God; the hostia pacifica (peace offering) accomplishes this (Leviticus 3)
3. For perfect union with God — which is most fully realized in glory; the holocaustum (holocaust) accomplishes this, with the whole animal consumed to signify complete offering to God (Leviticus)

Christ as Both Priest and Victim #

• Christ is priest insofar as he offers the sacrifice
• Christ is victim (hostia) insofar as he voluntarily exposed himself to death
• Per Isaiah 53: “He was offered because he willed so”
• Christ offered himself, not as passive victim of his killers’ will, but through his own will to undergo suffering
• This distinguishes Christ’s sacrifice from impious pagan sacrifices of human victims to idols
• The killing by Christ’s enemies was not a sacrifice on their part; they sinned gravely
• The killing of Christ, considered in relation to Christ’s own voluntary submission, has the character of a victim

The Effects of Christ’s Priesthood #

• Christ is the fountain of all priesthood
• As the first agent in any genus, Christ flows out grace without receiving it (like the sun illuminates without being illuminated)
• The effects of his priesthood pertain to others, not to himself
• Through Christ, gifts are given to men (2 Peter 1)
• Through Christ, all things are reconciled to God (Colossians 1)

Key Arguments #

For Christ’s Priesthood #

• Premise 1: The proper office of a priest is to mediate between God and people, transmitting divine things to people and offering their prayers to God
• Premise 2: This office belongs most of all to Christ, through whom gifts are given to men and through whom all things are reconciled to God
• Conclusion: It belongs most of all to Christ to be a priest
• Support: Hebrews 4: “We have a high priest who penetrates the heavens, Jesus, the son of God”

Against Christ Being Both Priest and Victim #

• Objection: It belongs to the priest to kill the victim; Christ did not kill himself; therefore, he was not both priest and victim
• Response: Christ voluntarily exposed himself to death; killing by his enemies was not a sacrifice, but Christ’s willing submission to death constitutes him as victim

Important Definitions #

• Priesthood (Sacerdotium): The office of mediating between God and the people; transmitting divine things to the people and offering the people’s prayers and satisfactions to God
• Sacrifice (Sacrificium): Everything offered to God in order that the human spirit might be born into God; both visible (sacramental sign) and invisible (offering of one’s spirit) forms
• Victim/Host (Hostia): That which is offered to God; in Christ’s case, his humanity voluntarily offered in the Passion
• Sacrament (Sacramentum): A sacred sign; every visible sacrifice is a sacrament of an invisible sacrifice
• Peace offering (Hostia pacifica): A sacrifice for the preservation in grace and salvation of those offering it
• Holocaust (Holocaustum): A sacrifice in which the whole animal is consumed, signifying complete offering to God and union with him

Examples & Illustrations #

The Three Old Testament Sacrifices Corresponding to the Three Reasons for Sacrifice #

• Sin offering (for remission): he-goat, she-goat, or heifer depending on social status
• Peace offering (for preservation): offered for the salvation of those offering it
• Holocaust (for union): the whole animal burned up, signifying complete offering to God

The Lamb as the Consummating Sacrifice #

• The lamb was offered daily (morning and evening) in the Old Law
• This daily sacrifice signifies that Christ’s offering is the consummation of all other sacrifices
• John the Baptist: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world”

The Priest as Angel #

• Malachi 2:7: “The priest is the angel of the Lord of armies”
• Just as angels are hierarchically between God and men, priests mediate between God and people
• Christ, being greater than angels in both divine nature and humanity (fullness of grace and glory), possesses priestly power in a more excellent way

The Invisible Sacrifice #

• Psalm 50 (which Jesus of Avila was fond of): “A sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit; a penitent heart…”
• The invisible sacrifice applies to all the faithful: whatever is offered to God for the spirit to be united to him is a sacrifice

Historical Example #

• The Curé of Ars: Initially very rigorous in penance assignments, he later realized that “God gives us light penance,” so he would “think up for the rest of the penance” and “bear a part of their penance”—exemplifying Christ’s satisfactory offering

Syriac Hymn on the Priesthood #

• Describes the priesthood as higher than men and even seraphim
• The priesthood begins by saying “Exalt me, Lord, exalt me”
• The Lord responds: “Neither Michael nor Gabriel nor his host are higher than this thing that I’m giving”
• The priesthood is higher than seraphim because through it forgiveness of sin comes into the world and it raises people up to answer (i.e., respond to God)

Notable Quotes #

“The proper office of the priest is to be a mediator between God and the people. Insofar as divine things, he passes on to the people… And insofar as he offers the prayers of the people to God and for their sins, he, to some extent, satisfies God.”

“This, most of all, belongs to Christ. For through him, gifts are given to men… And he also reconciled the human race to God… What belongs to the priest belongs, most of all, to Christ.”

“Every visible sacrifice is a sacrament, that is a sacred sign of an invisible sacrifice. There is, however, an invisible sacrifice by which man offers his own spirit to God.”

“Man needs sacrifice in account of three things: for the remission of sin, for preservation in grace, and for union with God.”

“Christ did not kill himself, but he voluntarily exposed himself to death… and therefore he is said to have offered himself.”

“The first agent in any genus is so flowing out that it is not receiving in that genus, as the sun illuminates, but is not enlightened. And the fire heats, but is not made hot. But Christ is the fountain of the whole priesthood.”

Questions Addressed #

Does it belong to Christ to be a priest?

• Yes, most of all. The office of priest—to mediate between God and people—belongs supremely to Christ, the source of all grace and reconciliation.

Was Christ both priest and victim?

• Yes. Christ is priest insofar as he offers the sacrifice and victim insofar as he voluntarily exposed himself to death. This distinguishes his sacrifice from pagan human sacrifices, which lacked voluntary will and were offered to idols.

Why does man need sacrifice for three specific reasons?

• Because man requires (1) remission from sin’s separation from God, (2) preservation in the state of grace and peace, and (3) perfect union with God anticipated in glory. These three needs correspond to three types of Old Testament sacrifices.

Why is the killing of Christ by his enemies not constitutive of a sacrifice on their part?

• Because they killed him out of malice, not out of a will to offer him to God. The sacrifice consists in Christ’s own voluntary offering of himself through his will to undergo suffering.