Abstract

The Apostles received priestly power directly from Christ at the Last Supper. They passed that power down to their successors, thereby giving the Church the inestimable treasure of Apostolic Succession. Christ became the cornerstone of the Church. In accordance with his will, the Apostles became the pillars of the Church. On Pentecost Day, under the aegis of the Queen of Heaven, the Acts of the Apostles began. In a certain sens, what happens in succeeding centuries is also the Acts of the Apostles, as is indeed the entire history of the Church ... We build the apostolicity of the Church when we are faithful to the teaching of the Apostles, when we try to understand it more deeply and apply it more faithfully. We build the apostolic Church when we live our priesthood as a sacred mission received from Christ, through the Apostles who must always remain models for us. We build the Church of the Apostles when we are animated by the zeal of the Apostles to win souls for Christ, when we regard „everything as rubbish so that Christ may be (our) wealth” (Phil 3:8) and win others for Christ. It is important for us to be truly, profoundly, essentially missionaries striving to „instaurare omnia in Christo”. We must give personal and convinced witness to the marks of the Church. This celebration, promotion and witness san also bring persecution from the world and from Satan who seeks to build his own diabolic mystical body on the ruins of the Church`s unity, holiness, universality and apostolicity. We should always be mindful that when we witness to the  fifth mark of the Church, the Church persecuted, we are assured by Christ himself that we are blessed: „Blessed are those persecuted for holinnes sake, the reign of God is theirs” (Mt 5:10). Our identity is fundamentally constituted by our being chosen by God and the Church to consecrate our lives by contemplative union with Christ, Priest and Intercessor. It is defined by offering the Sacrifice of the Mass, praying the Liturgy of the Hours and by private contemplative prayer. Our identity is defined be serving Christ, the Prophet, in proclaiming and preaching the Word of God and by gathering the ecclesial community in the name of Christ, the Pastor, in the power of the Holy Spirit. The daily celebration of the Eucharist, even (for various reasons) if not attended by anybody, is the principal source of the renewal of our priesthood. To remain imbued with our identity for the benefit of mankind, for whom we were ordained priests, it is extremely important, indeed necessary, that we be attentive also to external things - we are, after all, made up of body and senses. Thus, for example, care should be given to sacred music, hymns, architecture, furnishings etc. Proper forms assist the substance, while a formalism damages it. Space must be given to the Eucharistic mystery; to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; to contemplation and to silence.The priest, by his very nature, is intrinsically a Pastor, and  the pastor is a priest by his dynamism, his ready and intelligent response to every challenge of the age, his capacity to understand social realities so as to evangelize. All these are descending demands which derive from being ontologically configured to Christ, the Eternal High Priest, and from having a true conversatio in coelis.Form us, the Eucharist means everything. We are indissolubly linked to the altar of sacrifice and to the tabernacle of the Lord`s presence. Our identity is defined here and is completed in every respect. Our spirituality must be a Eucharistic spirituality because we are ministers of the Eucharist. Either we are Eucharistic or we are not. The Upper Room is already in our hearst. Our hearts mystically gather together all priestly hearts.The Magisterium of the Church, prompted by the Holy Spirit, again underlines the very special value of the link between the priesthood and celibacy, following the example lived by our divine Master. Celibacy is not only a splendid witness to an undivided heart, but a canticle of canticles which the priest with the entire Church raises up to its divine Spouse during its earthly pilgrimage so as to participate in the heavenly procession of those who follow the Lamb where he goes and sing the New Canticle (cf Rev 14:3-4).