What is a Priest?
A priest is inseparably one with Christ and with the Church. By baptism he shares in the priesthood of all believers. By ordination he is given a new relationship to Christ and to the community. He becomes configured to Christ, shepherd, head, and high priest, and represents Christ to the Church and to the world. He also represents the Church in her mission to be the sacrament of salvation to the world. The priest reminds the entire community of the baptized of its call to service in the name of Christ; prophet, priest, and servant of the kingdom of God. A priest is a servant leader in the Catholic Christian community; he is called to minister in the manner of Christ who “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).