In the process of writing one of the foundational documents at the Second Vatican Council, the council fathers debated the order of the chapters of the document that was to become “The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church” (Lumen Gentium). One of the suggestions made to the second draft of the document by one of the cardinals was that a chapter on “The People of God” be placed before the chapter on the hierarchy of the church. This suggestion was accepted. This was a significant shift because it signaled that the people of God in some important ways is prior to the structure of the church. In fact, the first two chapters of Lumen Gentium (“The Mystery of the Church” and “The People of God”) speak of the nature of the church, while the third and fourth chapters (“The Hierarchical Structure of the Church” and “The Laity”) treat the structure of the church.
When we speak of a priestly people we speak of the nature of the church. The church is itself priestly, in that it continues the priestly ministry of Jesus Christ. It is in that key second chapter, “The People of God,” that the council fathers make the following declaration: “Though they differ essentially and not only in degree, the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial priesthood or hierarchical priesthood are none the less ordered one to another; each in its own proper way shares in the one priesthood of Christ.” (LG 10) This sentence is crucial in describing the relationship and distinction between the ministerial priesthood (of the ordained) and the common priesthood (of the baptized). The sentence therefore deserves some analysis. We first note that, as others have pointed out, the grammatical structure of the sentence reflects the content. That is, the sentence is composed of a main clause and a subordinate clause. The content of the main clause generally bears a greater weight, and this is the case in this important sentence. Thus, the fact that the ministerial priesthood and the common priesthood are ordered toward each other carries more weight than the fact that they differ not only in degree but in essence. The truth of the dependent clause, though, is not negated.
What does the above theological (and grammatical) exposition mean for us? For one, it means that Jesus Christ is the one high priest, and it is in his priesthood that we share. Secondly — yes, the ordained priests are distinct from the baptized in that priests, by virtue of their ordination, are ordered to Christ the head and shepherd of the church. And thirdly, together priests and laity carry out the mission of Jesus Christ and his church. When a priest is ordained, he remains part of the same Body of Christ, but is placed in a distinct role and capacity. He exercises this distinct role and capacity in service to the rest of the body, the church. By his ministry he helps to build up the church. The common priesthood in turn exercises its own baptismal mission of sanctifying the world. In some ways the priest is to the church what the church is to the world. That is, the church, particularly the laity, exercises its priestly mission in sanctifying the world. Priests and laity cannot work simply parallel to each other, as if on separate missions. Rather, they must do the one work of Jesus Christ and his church to sanctify and transform the world and allow God’s kingdom to be made manifest.
The ministerial priest needs the mission and cooperation of the laity. In the chapter on the laity, Lumen Gentium reads, “they (the laity) are called by God… (to) contribute to the sanctification of the world, as from within like leaven, by fulfilling their own particular duties.” (LG 31) It is the particular mission of the laity to bring the presence of God’s kingdom of truth, justice and peace to the world in which they live and work. The laity build up the world with their own holiness, influencing the secular world with the truth of the Gospel. The council fathers continue, “the laity are called in a special way to make the church present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them can it become the salt of the earth.” (LG 33) Thus, it belongs to the laity not only to do the work of the church within the walls of the church’s classrooms and halls, but to bring the truth of the Gospel to the marketplace and the streets, where people work and live.
For their part priests must “recognize and promote the dignity as well as the responsibility of the laity in the church.” (LG 37) A distorted and limited view of the role of the laity to “pay, pray and obey” is not valid in the view of the church. The dignity and responsibility are ever more evident as priests witness on a regular basis the holy and committed lives of their parishioners. Priests are reminded of the wise and beautiful words of the great St. Augustine: “To you I am the bishop (or priest), with you I am a Christian. The first is an office, the second a grace; the first a danger, the second salvation.” The Vatican II document on the life and ministry of priests states the following: priests “must willingly listen to the laity, consider their wants in a fraternal spirit, recognize their experience and competence in the different areas of human activity, so that together with them they will be able to recognize the signs of the times.” (Presbyterorum Ordinis 9) The laity need priests as their head and shepherds; priests need the laity so that the kingdom of God will truly penetrate and transform the world.
In a letter to priests Pope Benedict explained that the example of the Curé of Ars “naturally leads me to point out that there are sectors of cooperation which need to be opened ever more fully to the lay faithful. Priests and laity together make up the one priestly people and in virtue of their ministry priests live in the midst of the lay faithful, “that they may lead everyone to the unity of charity, ‘loving one another with mutual affection; and outdoing one another in sharing honor.’” (Pope Benedict XVI, Letter proclaiming a year for priests) Let us pray that the Year for Priests may be one of renewal of our ordained ministers, the priests, as well as of all the baptized, who share in the common priesthood of Jesus Christ.