WHY DOES THE CHURCH ORDAIN PRIESTS ?
HOLY PRIESTHOOD In Leviticus, chapter 9, we read that God commands Moses, as part of the old covenant, to ordain a specialized, professional priesthood to offer sacrifices for the people. Late, as part of "the new covenant in (his) blood" (Lk 22:20) , Jesus establishes a newly ordained priesthood for the church and gives its members the authority and power to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (Lk 22:14-20) All Christians share in a common "Holy priesthood" offering "spiritual sacrifices" (1 Pt 2:5) such as prayer, almsgiving (see Heb 13:15-16) , and faith in Jesus (see Phil 2:17) . But the special mission that Christ gave his apostles, their successors, and the priests they were to ordain -which includes, among other functions, presiding at the Eucharist and administering the sacrament of Reconciliation -was not to be shared by all of his followers. "For...all the parts (of Christ's body) do not have the same function" (Rom 12:4) The New...