St. John Mary points to the greatness of the priest with the privileged reference to the power that he exercises in the sacraments in the name of the Person of Christ. Benedict XVI brought this light, citing still other words of the Curé d'Ars, which refer in particular to the office of celebrating the Holy Eucharist. The Pope writes that the saint "was convinced that the fervor of a priest's life depended entirely upon the Mass: 'The reason why a priest is lax is that he does not pay attention to the Mass! My God, how we ought to pity a priest who celebrates as if he were engaged in something routine!'".The Year for Priests proposes for our reflection the figure of the priest and, in a special way, his dignity of ordained minister who celebrates the sacraments, for the benefit of the whole Church, in the Person of Christ, high and eternal priest
Priests "exercise their sacred function especially in the Eucharistic worship or the celebration of the Mass by which acting in the person of Christ ["in persona Christi"] and proclaiming his mystery they unite the prayers of the faithful with the sacrifice of their Head and renew and apply in the sacrifice of the Mass until the coming of the Lord the only sacrifice of the New Testament namely that of Christ offering Himself once for all a spotless Victim to the Father." Vatican Council II, "Lumen Gentium," No. 28: AAS 57 (1965), p. 34. Cf. also "Presbyterorum Ordinis," Nos. 2; 12; 13.
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