Christ and the Human Priest

The actual priest and bringer of the sacrifice in the celebration of The Holy Mass is Christ. However, he brings the sacrifice through a visible priest, that is, through an ordained human priest. This man in his priesthood possesses no other priesthood than that of Christ himself. He exercises Christ's invisible priesthood in a visible manner; utterly dependent on The High Priest, whose instrument and representative he is. In this way, Christ is and remains always the actual priest. He is the priest, not simply because he established The Holy Mass or commanded it to be offered, and not simply because The Holy Mass obtains its power and efficacy from Him, and not simply because He inspires and motivates priests and the faithful to celebrate and assist at Holy Mass, but primarily through the unmediated, personal offering of the eucharistic sacrifice. By the power of his godhood and of his humanity, Christ makes the sacrificial offering in every Holy Mass by changing the substance of bread and wine into that of his body and blood through the agency of the ordained priest. The sacrificial act of The Holy Mass actually takes place at this time of consecration. In every Holy Mass, however, it is Christ himself who effectuates the transubstantiation – "This is my body, This is my blood." In every Holy Mass he confirms his priestly disposition towards God and mankind, his complete surrender to The Father for the salvation of men. Although the ordained priest, the man, may be imperfect, although he may be weak or tainted with sin, although he may even stand with unclean hands before the altar, nevertheless the sacrifice that he offers will always remain the pure and undefiled sacrifice of Christ. For this reason the eucharistic sacrifice is always and everywhere a holy and immaculate sacrifice and has, like Christ's sacrifice on the cross, infinite value and infinite perfection.

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