Thought for the Day On this glorious celebration of the Three Holy Hierarchs, let us pause and reflect upon our own ministry and take a spiritual inventory of our work as priests before the Lord. My understanding of the ordination and ministry of the priesthood, which also pertains to the episcopal office, is found in the ordination prayer itself: We ask the Lord to ...fill with the gift of Thy Holy Spirit this man whom it hath pleased Thee to advance to the degree of Priest; that he may be worthy to stand in innocency before Thine Altar; to proclaim the Gospel of Thy Kingdom; to minister the Word of Thy Truth; to offer unto Thee spiritual gifts and sacrifices; and to renew Thy people through the laver of regeneration. Ordination does not concern merely the one ordained, but rather, the whole Church. The essence of the priesthood is love. The priest must, in the words of St. Paul, ...become all things to all men (I Cor. 4:22). He must manifest the presence of Christ to everyone, reveal that the end and meaning of all things are in Christ, and help everyone find his own life in Christ. -- His Eminence, Archbishop JOSEPH
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:53:56 +0000
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