Previous reflections | The 16 Documents of Vatican II | Resolution |
LUMEN GENTIUM , 1964 |
Priests are consecrated by a bishop to preach
the Good News,
lead the liturgy and guide their people
as good shepherds
Priests try to believe what they have read and meditated upon
in the law of God,
teach what they believe,
and put in practice in their own lives what they teach others
Priests are not the altar boys of the bishop,
but the bishop's loyal sons and friends and co-operators.
Priests are the sacraments/signs/representatives of the bishop in the local
congregation
"The best club in the world" - the priesthood
"Because the human race today is joining more and more into a civic, economic and social unity, it is that much the more necessary that priests, by combined effort and under the leadership of the bishops and the pope, wipe out every kind of separateness, so that the whole human race may be brought into the unity of the family of God."
Jesus, please help all priests be good people,
good shepherds after your own heart