Every Catholic has temptations. We are weak and prone to sin. We are saved because there are Catholic priests: the thin, black line between us and the powers of hell. Every Catholic priest is ordained in living link with the Apostles ordained by Jesus. Jesus ordains Catholic priests with powers no other has.
John 20:21 and Matthew 16: 18-20 tell us that Jesus gave Catholic priests the power to forgive sins. And, they are empowered by their Ordination to preside over the Miracle by which bread and wine are turned into The Body and Blood of Christ for those to whom they provide Absolution.
Catholic priests are living links with the Living God. Without Catholic priests, the world is lost.
They have the hardest job on earth. They must keep themselves unsullied while making their Parish a sheepfold in which the sheep in their flocks may find life and safety.
Each of us has tried to get away with sin. “Father,”, we say, addressing the Spirit of God that gives them powers beyond all others, “is it all right if I give into my desire to ________ ?”
Kindly and patiently, a hundred thousand Catholic priests respond each day, “That is contrary to The Teachings of The Church.”
Faced with that, each Catholic has a choice. Those blessed with obedience will stifle the desire to do wrong and obey The Teachings of The Faith Handed Down From The Apostles.
Weak Catholics worship the desires that a vain self demands: “I want to sin so badly that I will leave The Church.”
In every generation, the powers of hell unleash propagandists and assassins against Catholic priests, the eternal enemies of evil.
Still, Catholic priests, the thin black line, hold firmly. Jesus made them living miracles. We are blessed to have them among us. We thank God for them and for the mothers who gave them to God. And, us.
