At the end of the Easter season, the bishop of Córdoba, Demetrio Fernandez, has addressed a pastoral letter to the faithful in which he highlights the importance of several festivals that prolong the figure of Christ in different aspects. Among them, the festival of Jesus Christ high and eternal priest, which is celebrated on the Thursday after Pentecost. According to the monsignor, this festival allows us to “perceive the greatness and beauty of his priesthood.”
In his letter, the bishop points out that “the priest is the mediator between God and men” and emphasizes the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as perfect priest, who “not only unites men with God and God with men, but he himself is God and is man.” The prelate explains that Christ’s sacrifice was the offering of his own life, made once in a definitive manner.
The bishop reminds the faithful that, united to Jesus Christ, “we all have direct access to God,” and that in this sense, we are all priests through baptism. However, he emphasizes the need for ordained priests, who, through the sacrament of Holy Orders, participate in the sacred mission of Christ. “Without a priest there is no Eucharist, without a priest the presence of Christ remains blurred and evaporated,” says Fernández, highlighting the essentiality of the priesthood for the Church.
The pastoral letter also invites the faithful to celebrate and thank Jesus Christ for making ordained priests participate in his sacred mission. The bishop, who celebrates his golden anniversary as an ordained priest, urges people to give thanks for this great gift from God to him and to the Church, and to pray for all priests so that stay faithful to your vocation. Citing Saint John of Ávila, the bishop highlights that “the reform of the Church will come through the holiness of the priests and the fervor of the Seminaries.”
In closing his letter, Fernández especially asks to pray for the deacons who They will be ordered next June 29 in Córdobaand sends his affection and blessing to all the faithful.
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