Priest: A Minister of Prayer
As a public minister of religion he [priest] constantly presents to God the prayers of the people, just as in heaven angels sing the new chorus to God. (OOCC, XIII, P. 472)
The priest is a minister of prayer. His vocation calls him to pray for God’s people. A priest is not only a mediator between God and his people who brings people’s offerings to God and God’s blessings to them, but also he is called to pray for the people God has entrusted to his care on a regular basis. By this ministry of prayer, a priest shows his personal concern for the people of God. By the very fact of his ordination as a priest, he is a person for others. Hence, he feels with them and places their needs, problems, concerns and worries of life before God as he is with the Lord in prayer. As a minister of prayer, the priest not only manifests his personal concern for the people of God, but also proclaims through his life God’s love and care for the people of God in their everyday lives. Hence, the prayers of the priest for the people is a sign of God’s care of them. This ministry of prayer, which the priest takes upon himself freely, is externally manifested in a special way by the regular recitation of the Divine Office at different times of each day. Hence, by his faithfulness to the recital of Divine Office, the priest not only tells the people that he cares for them, but also that God cares for them. Besides praying the Divine Office, the priest exercises his ministry of prayer by the various blessings he administers to people, offering the Eucharistic celebration for the intentions of the people and praying with them in every situation of their lives. As a minister of prayer, the priest is truly the sign of the presence of God in people’s lives.
Do I acknowledge the priest’s role as the minister of prayer? Do I accept the priest’s ministry of prayer as a sign of God’ love and care of his people? Am I faithful to praying for God’s people through the faithful recitation of Divine Office? Do I acknowledge the priest as a sign of God’s presence in the life of the people of God?
I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all men. (I Tim. 2: 1).