Remember the Immense Gift of the Priesthood this Week

A Holy Week Message from Thomas McKenna

Dear Friend, 

During this Holy Week I am privileged to have two holy priest friends visiting my family. I have known Fr. John Trigilio and Fr. Kenneth Brighenti for almost thirty years. They both work and teach in seminaries and are on a break. You may know them from their long time airing shows on EWTN or from the many books they have authored.

Their presence has caused me to reflect on something I heard in a sermon once. It’s a simple, striking statement: No Priest, No Mass. That is about as clear as it gets. And of course, it’s not just the Mass. Five of the seven sacraments require the gift of Holy Orders to administer them. But the core of it all is this basic truth:

No Priest, No Mass.

Ponder that for a moment. If we think about the issue at all, we generally take it for granted that Mass will always be available to us. But will it? The Church as a whole will never be lacking priests, but it is not a foregone conclusion that any individual community will be so blessed – as the history of the Church abundantly shows. 

The Lord Jesus, the High Priest Himself, has entrusted the administration of the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to these men, who come from our families, are educated in our schools, and discover their vocations among us.

But the bad news is that, from its high in the 1960s, the number of priests has dropped precipitously in the last several decades. And the trend does not seem to have changed much even with the great vocations-affirming pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Likewise, the decline in the number of priestly vocations has tracked almost exactly with the decline in family life, church attendance, and sacramental practice. In other words, it’s probably time to realize that without a strong and numerous priesthood, the Church suffers immense damage. And when the Church is weak, all of society declines. The numbers don’t lie.

No Priest, No Mass.

Priests to carry on the work of Christ’s Church in a very direct way. And any Catholic who has needed the sacraments in an emergency or looked to the Church to fill their spiritual needs knows that priests are critical to the health of our souls.

On Holy Thursday, the Lord Jesus established the sacred priesthood as a divine gift to the Church. He did so in union with the institution of the Eucharistic sacrifice and the washing of the feet of His disciples. There is something deeply symbolic in the conjunction of these sacred realities. 

St. John Eudes once said, “A priest is truly another Christ living and walking on earth. He takes Christ's place, represents His person, acts in His Name, and exercises His authority.” 

That’s a pretty tall order, to be sure, but we can all look into our past and identify certain men of the cloth who have heroically lived up to that high calling. We must also hope and pray for the future that Christ will send us more consecrated men like them.

On Holy Thursday, let us especially thank the Lord for these consecrated souls who bring us the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ Himself. For without the priest, we are deprived of the sacramental Presence of our Lord. 

No Priest, No Mass. 

Please know that I am praying for you and yours during this Holy Week and asking for your prayers for our team at Catholic Action and our ministry. 

In Christ the High Priest,

Thomas J. McKenna

Founder and President 

Catholic Action for Faith & Family 

PS—if you have a minute take a look at the website for the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, an organization of priests and deacons who are close collaborators in all our campaigns.

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