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Views from the Choir Loft

Fulton Sheen on the Priesthood of the Baptized

Fr. David Friel · November 4, 2018

ECENTLY, I delivered a paper at the annual conference of the Society for Catholic Liturgy. The theme of the conference was Romano Guardini, in honor of the centenary of his classic book, The Spirit of the Liturgy (1918). The title of my presentation was “Romano Guardini and the Priesthood of the Baptized.”

In researching this topic, I have grown more keenly aware of the need for renewal in the common understanding of the baptismal priesthood. The Second Vatican Council speaks very clearly about the subject in Lumen gentium, nos. 10–11. Too often, however, it seems that we are hesitant to speak about the priesthood of the baptized, for fear that it might somehow denigrate or take away from the ministerial priesthood. A healthier view might see the necessity of understanding both forms of the priesthood together.

Disclaimer: I may be the only member of the millennial generation who still regularly uses cassette tapes. Most of the cassettes I own are retreats and catechism talks by Servant of God Fulton J. Sheen. While listening to one of his retreats, given to the presbyterate of Gary, Indiana in 1973, I was struck by a section in which he speaks forcefully, albeit indirectly, about the need for the laity to recover a sense of their share in the baptismal priesthood.

Although the retreat was directed chiefly at priests, there were also religious sisters and members of the laity present for the conferences. Here is my transcription of Sheen’s comments directed toward the laity:

Lay people: you are Christ. You belong to the royal priesthood. The royal priesthood differs from the hierarchical priesthood in two ways. First of all, you make spiritual offerings, we [ministerial priests] make a Eucharistic offering. Secondly, we are directly united with Christ the Head, you are in the Body and then are united to Christ the Head through His priests. But that we need not stress.

What I wish to emphasize is that, simply because you have the faith, you offer something. You are not just coming here and offering Mass, offering something in the collection. You’ve also got to be victims! And this we’ve forgotten. . . . We are all victims. . . . We are tied up to Christ, Who offers Himself. 1

In Sheen’s view, the difference between the baptismal and ministerial priesthoods was not in need of stress. It was, rather, the commonality between them—namely, the ability to unite oneself to the sacrifice of Christ—that required attention.

In Ratzinger’s book, The Spirit of the Liturgy, titled in homage to Guardini’s text, the future pontiff argues that, during the canon, the human action steps back in order to allow the divine action to take priority. Ratzinger goes even so far as to observe: “In this real ‘action,’ in this prayerful approach to participation, there is no difference between priests and laity. . . . Participation in that which no human being does, that which the Lord himself and only he can do—that is equally for everyone.” 2

Renewal of this sense among the faithful, I have found, was a prevailing goal of the Liturgical Movement of the early twentieth century. Even now, in the early twenty-first century, such renewal remains a largely unfulfilled goal.

HILE composing this blog, I discovered that Sheen’s retreat for the Diocese of Gary, IN is now available on CD. I would highly recommend this retreat, as well as his famous Dublin retreat, to priests and seminarians. I have found much spiritual profit—as well as homiletic material—in these retreats.

Details of next year’s conference of the Society for Catholic Liturgy have already been announced. The theme will be The Sacred Liturgy and the Family, and it will be held at the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul in Providence, RI from September 26–28, 2019. The call for papers is posted on the SCL website.




NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Fulton J. Sheen, Bishop Sheen Retreat for Clergy, cassette 1, side 2, “Christ, Priest and Victim” (North Haledon, NJ: Keep the Faith, Inc., 1973).

2   Joseph Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy, trans. John Saward (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000), 174.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Bishop Fulton J Sheen Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.—(Read full biography).

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Alabama Assessment!

We received this evaluation of Symposium 2022 from an Alabama participant:

“Oh, how the Symposium echoed the words of Cardinal Merry Del Val: …choosing only what is most conformed to Thy glory, which is my final aim. In one short and fast paced week, the faculty and attendees showed me the hand of God and our Lady working in our lives. The wide range of education—from Gregorian Chant, jazz modes in organ improvisation, to ‘staying sane’ while leading a choir—were certainly first-class knowledge from the best teachers of the art. However, the most powerful lesson was learning how to pray as a choir. The sacrifice of putting songs together, taking time to learn the sacred text, meditating on the church teaching through the chants, and gaining the virtues required to persevere in these duties were not only qualities of a choir but of a saint. The sanctification of the lives of the attendees was a beautiful outcome of this event … and that in itself is worth more than a beautifully-sung Solesmes style chant!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“So, as in delirium a man talks in a long-forgotten tongue, now—when her heart is rent—the Catholic Church drops twenty centuries without an effort, and speaks as she spoke underground in Rome, and in Paul’s hired house, and in Crete and Alexandria and Jerusalem.”

— A non-Catholic describing the “Hagios O Theos” of Good Friday in 1906

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