This is an extract from a homily given by Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim at a votive Mass to Christ the Eternal High Priest on the final day of a retreat to the clergy of the diocese of Copenhagen. Maribo, Denmark, 16 February 2023.
The Priesthood.
We glory in the Cross! The Christ we know and confess is Christ crucified (cf. 1 Corinthians 2.2), who sacrificed himself — fully human, fully divine — to atone for us and, in death, to destroy our death. What depth of meaning in the statement the Epistle to the Hebrews puts on Christ’s lips: ‘I have come to do your will!’
It points towards a total oblation.
In that oblation you and I find our exemplar, challenge, and joy. Our priesthood is not a job we do; it is the life we live, a life in which everything can come to have a priestly character. We are called to offer sacramental gifts. That is not all, though. We are called to offer ourselves, to the end.
We are not only presbyters and pastors; we are priests, whose function and raison d’être is the offering of Christ’s sacrifice for the saving of the world. Into this great sacrifice we are drawn as participants. We offer it as representatives of Christ whose action is present.
Pope John Paul II lamented what he saw as a lack of the sacrificial element in the celebration of the Mass in his time, but I’ve never worked out what he meant, for the words we use are full of sacrificial imagery. Perhaps the problem is rather a lack of awareness, a lack of consciousness of the daily sacrifices asked of us. Even those extracted from us willy-nilly can be seen through the perspective of Calvary and offered up; but it is not the easiest thing, to glory in the Cross, especially if it is one laid on my shoulders by the circumstances of life. But accepting the Cross through gritted teeth is a step towards being drawn into the great sacrifice of Christ. Do read the whole homily at the link above!
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