His Holiness Pope Shenouda III speaks about the identity of the priest and his role: that he is a messenger and agent of God, bearer of the sacraments, and a teacher from whose mouth the law and God’s blessings are taken to the people.

The priesthood as agency and responsibility

• The priest is an agent of the divine mysteries; all that he gives of forgiveness, blessing, and teaching comes by God.

• The priesthood is not merely an official authority, but a great responsibility for which one gives account before God.

The intermediary between God and people

• The priest represents God before people: in confession he grants forgiveness in the name of God, and in baptism he makes one a child of the Church and of God.

• Therefore he must be in a living relationship with God to receive from Him what he gives to people.

Teaching and the message

• From the priest’s mouth the law is taken; he must empty himself of himself and ask for God’s word to deliver the message, not to convey his own thought.

• Many heresies and errors arose when priests transmitted their personal ideas instead of God’s word.

The priest as shepherd and light

• The priest is charged to shepherd the people in the name of the true Shepherd, and to be a light to people according to the amount of light within him.

• The comparison to sun and moon: some priests are “full moon” with full light, some are “crescent,” and some may be “new moon” with no light.

The sacraments and sanctification

• The priest works in the sacraments: he participates in giving the Holy Spirit by the anointings and sanctifies people through the mysteries.

• He must respect the limits of his work and not attribute the gifts to himself, for the graces are conveyed from God through him.

Conclusion and exhortation

• The priest must realize the greatness of his responsibility, be humble, ask God for the word, live filled with the Spirit, and faithfully deliver God’s message so that people are not led astray nor heresies born.

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