As far as heaven is above earth, as eternity is above time, and the soul is above the body, so far are the prerogatives vested in God's ministers higher than those of any earthly potentate. An earthly prince can cast into prison or release therefrom. But his power is over the body. He cannot penetrate into the sanctuary of the soul; [pg 391] whereas the minister of God can release the soul from the prison of sin, and restore it to the liberty of a child of God.
To sum up in a few brief sentences the titles of a Catholic Priest:
He is a king, reigning not over unwilling subjects, but over the hearts and affections of his people.
His spiritual children pay him not only the tribute of their money, but also the tribute of their love which royalty can neither purchase nor exact.
He is a shepherd, because he leads his flock into the delicious pastures of the Sacraments and shelters them from the wolves that lie in wait for their souls.
He is a father, because he breaks the bread of life to his spiritual children, whom he has begotten in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.[501]
He is a judge, whose office it is to pass sentence of pardon on self-accusing criminals.
He is a physician, because he heals their souls from the loathsome distempers of sin.
St. John, in his Apocalypse, represents the Church under the figure of a city. “I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”[502] Our Savior is the Architect and Founder of this celestial city. The Apostles are its foundation. The faithful are the living stones of the edifice. The anointed ministers of the Lord are the workmen chosen to adjust and polish these stones, that they may reflect the beauty and glory of the sun of justice that perpetually illumines this city. The Priests are engaged in adorning the interior of the heavenly Jerusalem by enriching, with virtue, the precious souls entrusted to their [pg 392] charge. “God gave some, indeed, Apostles, and some Prophets, and others Evangelists, and others Pastors and Doctors, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ,”[503] which is His Church. What an honor is this to the Priest of the New Law! Surely God “hath not done alike to every nation, and His judgments He hath not made manifest to them.”[504]
With how much more force may we apply to the successors of the Apostles the words which God spoke to the Priests of the Old Law: “Hear, ye sons of Levi. Is it a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from all the people and joined you to Himself, that ye should serve Him in the service of the tabernacle, and should stand before the congregation of the people and minister unto Him?”