Pregledni rad
Cleaners of Spiritual Waste. Contribution to the Theology of the Priesthood
Ivan Bodrožić
; Katolički Bogoslovni Fakultet u Splitu
Tihomila Ćorluka
; Osnovna škola Ruđera Boškovića
Sažetak
In this paper, the authors discuss the role of priest as a cleaner of spiritual “waste “from the souls of the faithful. The paper consists of five parts. The first part shows sin as an impurity, resulting from resistance to God, which is evident from various sources: The Epistle of St. James, the Church Fathers and St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians. In the second part the authors explain in more detail that sinners are cleansed by the power of Christ’s merits. They also show that the practice of cleansing from sin already existed among the Jews, as described in the regulations of the Pentateuch. Further, the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews deals with the Pentateuch and spiritual purity in particular. In the Epistle to the Hebrews he described the figure of Christ the High Priest as the one who had fulfilled all the ancient sacrifices, and thus finally fulfilled the service of purification. Christ left to his Church the sacrament of penance, which may be also called the sacrament of “cleansing”, where the most responsible role is played by the priests as participants in the ministry of the sacrament. And this topic is pointed out by the authors in the third part. Priests who act in the name of Christ, the High Priest, are not themselves without human weaknesses and impurities, and they do not achieve purity only by the strength of their humanity, but through the communion with God in the sacrament of reconciliation. A priest must possess many virtues in order to perform the entrusted service of cleansing souls, which the authors explore in the fourth part, indicating that priests should have the experience of their own inner i.e. spiritual cleansing in order to better cleanse the faithful from sin. Emphasizing that man is impure, even if he has not committed any other sin, because he is not in communion with God, who is the source of purity, priests have the task not only of formal or mechanical purification, but of introducing and inculcating into communion with merciful God. Finally, in the last part, the authors warn of the fact that if priests neglect their own piety, if their role becomes administrative, they cannot carry out the entrusted mission of confession.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
323750
URI
Datum izdavanja:
16.12.2024.
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