Priests: Surgeons of the Soul

Many times, when talking with friends who are not of the Catholic faith, the question of why priests are needed pops up in conversation. I used to have difficulty defending myself of that one but not because I didn't believe it myself. I had difficulty because I could see why many protestants didn't see the necessity of it. I knew that we believe in apostolic succession and I believed it myself so that was not the issue. The defense I often got was that because Jesus came he allowed us to speak directly to God instead of needing a priest to be the  intercessor.

Their answer made sense to me. Jesus became the intercessor. Now if you are a Catholic reading this you may be thinking, "how could you not understand?". I trusted the church in it's entirety. My belief was not what lacked. What lacked was my knowledge of how to defend what I believed.

For a long time I thought that if I read more, studied more, I would have the answer. That I must say is true, but the understanding came when, through reading scripture, I saw the parallel in my own life.

Before I continue I want to say that this is not about my beliefs in the health care system or anything of that sort, this is just the best way I can explain the necessity of priests.

Many argue that healthcare is something that should be free to all. As Americans we have some of the best healthcare in the world but it does come at a price but for good reason. Take a moment to think about what a surgeon does. The job of a surgeon is to cut into your body while you are asleep to do things to your internal organs in order to make you better. That surgeon has the power to kill or save you. Would you trust an average person off the street to cut you open and stick their hands inside your body? Of course not because you want the person who is highly qualified to do that.

Doctors take the time to spend years learning about the human body and how it works. When we pay for things like good health care we should not have an attitude of "here I need to be fixed, how horrible of you to make me pay so that I don't die". Instead what we are really saying is, "I could die, I want the best chance of living, please help me, I'll do whatever it takes".

Doctors in America are so good because they learn the most. First they get an undergraduate degree, then they go to medical school which takes years, then an internship, and then residency, before finally becoming an attending. (I could be wrong on that but the point is that it takes a long time) We don't pay doctors to do a job, we pay them to keep us alive. THAT is a HUGE responsibility. The people that take the time to go through that education and the demands of the job sacrifice a lot. When a doctor gets a call from work to come in at a moments notice they can't say no because it really is life or death. The families are also affected largely by the little time they see them.

So often we see the role of a priests as just a person who is in charge of a church. Though that is true in a lot of ways, the first and foremost job of a priest is to be a healer. We are not trusting a priest with death or life. We are trusting a priest with something so much more than that, Heaven or Hell, eternal happiness or eternal pain.

Now I speak to those who do not believe in the necessity of the priesthood.
Who is the one who administers baptism which frees you from original sin?
Who is the person you share your sins with so that they may be forgiven?

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. James 6:16 

What are their qualifications?

I was reading the daily mass readings for today (Monday May 20th 2013) and there was something that struck me.

When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive it out?” He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.” Mark 9:28-29

Jesus has just driven a demon out of a boy. What struck me is that, when the disciples question how Jesus did it, Jesus says because it took prayer. Jesus does not say, "only I the savior can do it". Jesus in a nutshell says, "you have to pray more". Jesus is basically saying that in order to heal the soul, one must be more in tune with God than doctor is in tune with the human body. When it comes to Heaven or Hell, eternal happiness or eternal pain, you better believe I'd rather have the guy who has given up his entire life to pray.

To every priest, deacon, brother, sister, and lay person: 

THANK YOU for your countless hours of studying, prayer, and service.