I remember a conversation a group of priest had about arriving late for presiding at the celebration of the Mass. While most of us said it was so embarrassing to start the mass 10 or 15 minutes late, one of us said he was never late for mass. And we inquired how come he was able to do that when almost all of us have been late at least once? With a big smile on his face this priests said: “Well, the mass will not begin without me!” And we all laughed.

Trite as it may sound, there is an important truth that story teaches: The Eucharist and the priesthood are inseparable. They were born together. At the Last Supper Jesus instituted the two sacraments we now call Eucharist and priesthood. The link between the two is so deep and essential. Without the priesthood, there would be no Eucharist. And without the Eucharist, there is no priesthood.

This year, the theme we have chosen for our parish fiesta celebration of the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is “The Eucharist and Priesthood: Gifts of God for the Life of the World.” We have chosen to include the priesthood with the Eucharist because Pope Benedict XI has declared 2009-10 as the Year of the Priest. As a parish community, it’s important that we think about and reflect upon something very familiar to us yet at the same very mystifying and perplexing.

Priests have been involved in many activities and varied concerns. Aside from baptizing babies or officiating at weddings, there are priests who also do other things. In Haiti, there is a priest who became the president of that country. Here in the Philippines, there is Fr. Joaquin Bernas considered the foremost expert on our constitution. Another priest on-leave, Ed Panlilio, is the governor of the province of Pampanga. Many other priests are doing many different things. Some are teachers or administrators of schools and universities. Others are artists and musicians. There are those who are scientists and doctors. A good number are writers as well. Whatever they are doing, there is one thing that they will always keep doing because that’s what they are about: to preside at Eucharist. Priests were ordained to offer the holy sacrifice of the mass. Pope John Paul II writes about the priesthood originating during the Last Supper, “At the Last Supper we were born as priests….We were born from the Eucharist. If we can truly say that the whole Church lives from the Eucharist…we can say the same thing about the ministerial priesthood: it is born, lives, works and bears fruit “de Eucharistia.” There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood, just as there can be no priesthood without the Eucharist.” (Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday 2004).

When we speak of priests, the one that comes to mind right away is the ordained priest. He presides at the celebration of the Eucharist every Sunday we go to church. He is the one who baptized us, gave us first communion, absolved our sins at confession, married our children and blessed our godparents during their funeral. Indeed, the ordained priest makes Christ present in a sacramental way whenever the Eucharist is celebrated. But there is also a priesthood which the church calls the priesthood of the faithful, that is, all the baptized believers.

In his homily during the first day of our parish fiesta Triduum masses, Bishop Pablo David spoke of the relationship of the Eucharist and the priesthood. He pointed out that what makes the Eucharist different from any other food is that as food is eaten we chew it, digest it and change it as a substance and nutrient that becomes part of us. With the Eucharist, we do not change it into anything but it changes us into something new and better. We become holy as we take seriously what the Eucharist challenges us to become. We become the body of Christ. And if we become another Christ that means we become the priest that Jesus is who now offers a different sacrifice. Unlike before where the offered lamb or any other animal dies and is burned, this time around the high Priest who is Christ becomes the lamb and offering who sacrifices his own self. A priest is called sacerdos in Latin and it means “a holy giving or sacrifice.” We are made holy by the Eucharist because it is the sacrifice or self-giving of Jesus who made himself both the priest and the offering at the same time.

In a unique and special way, we share in the priesthood of Christ whenever we moved away from our own little world, start seeing the world of others and how we can enter it and bring Jesus there. Whenever we allow sacrifice to be part not only of our vocabulary but the way we live and do things, we become part of Jesus our high priest. It is in this way that we share in the priesthood of Jesus because we as a people offer ourselves as spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.

Let me end with the story of Bishop David at the end of his homily at the first day of our fiesta Triduum mass. A priest placed at the Adoration Chapel a quotation from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. It was a long quotation but he decided to just place the first part which says: “We hold a treasure….” A thief so it and took a peek inside the adoration chapel and saw the monstrance made of gold where the sacred host is placed. In the middle of the night, he had his chance. He broke in, took the golden monstrance but left behind the sacred host. The following morning the sacristan saw what happened and called the priest.  People who came to pray saw the monstrance was gone and they panicked. When the priest got there and checked the adoration chapel he discovered the sacred host was left behind by the thief thinking probably it was worth nothing! So to calm the parishioners the priest told them: “Don’t worry. The thief did not get the treasure. He only got the container.” The Eucharist and the priesthood are our treasures.

At every celebration of the mass, the priest makes Jesus present in a very real and unparalleled way. Those of us who come to celebrate the Eucharist and share in the priesthood of Christ, whether as an ordained or as a lay faithful, bring that presence to those we encounter.  In doing that, we make the Eucharist and the priesthood gifts of God for the life of the world. Happy Parish Fiesta to all of you!