Bishop Athanasius Schneider Speaks at Priestly Ordinations, Tanzania, Africa 2025
Today, Heaven also rejoices, because now they have the Holy Church of God, priests for all eternity. In Heaven, there are also among the saints many hierarchies, as among the angels also. And so, in Heaven, there is also a so-called choir of holy priests in Heaven. All priests, since the last day, who will once be in Heaven, will be in Heaven in a special place, a place for the priests.
So, we know: what is a priest? The answer is very simple. A Catholic priest is a second Christ, because through this Holy Sacrament of Ordination, which resulted in and through the imposition of the hands of the bishops and the prayers in this moment, the Holy Spirit descended into their souls and transfigured their souls according to the priesthood of Jesus Christ, made them participants of the priesthood of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit imprinted in their soul an indelible mark, which says: You are a true priest of Jesus Christ, forever.
There is a prayer which has been around since old time, which says:
Oh Lord Jesus, come back to us, return to us today, in your priests.
And so, my dear newly ordained priests, Alexander and Jacob, through you, Jesus today is also again returning to us, to you people.
This is your mission, and no other: to represent Jesus, the High Priest, the Good Shepherd. There is no higher, more noble ambition for a priest than to become every day more similar to Jesus, the Priest, the Good Shepherd.
All the rest is not so important: what you will preach, titles you will have, which offices you will occupy in the Church, this is not important.
It’s important that you, every day, remembering this moment of your ordination, will renew every day your first love for Jesus, the High Priest.
And what is the most important work of a priest? The answer is, again, very simple. It is to celebrate the Holy Mass. This is the most important work. My dear priests, when you, in your life, celebrate Mass, then you can say: I have done the most important work this day and in my life.
And therefore, because of the Mass, when we have no Holy Mass, when we have no priests, we have no holiness. And when there is no Holy Mass, there is no spiritual sun shining in the world. It will all be darkness and cold.
The Holy Mass is the sun shining on the world. Why? Because it is the same sacrifice on the Cross. And every time when the priest celebrates Mass, it is again Golgotha, we stand there and participate in this greatest act of love for our Lord.
And then the other task is, of course, for the priest to teach, to teach the doctrine of Jesus Christ, and no other doctrines. To teach the doctrine of the Church of all times.
And so, what you will be teaching, you have to be careful and aware: I am teaching the doctrine of Jesus, not my doctrine, not the theology, not the meanings and opinions of our times.
Of course, the priest must also be a good theologian, not just a theologian, but a traditional theologian, a theologian filled with the Spirit of Jesus and the Apostles and the Fathers of the Church.
And so, my dear brothers and sisters, we are really full of joy today that the Holy Church today gained two new priests.
And here in Puma, here in Africa, we could give the Church two new priests. What a treasure! And we did it in this very venerable old millennium, old rite of ordination, as well-ordained so many holy priests, in the same gestures, in the same rite, as today we did.
So, my dear brothers and sisters, love your priests. Pray for them especially, so that they become, every day, more similar to Jesus. And pray that God sends more priests, not only more priests, but holy priests.
And so we will pray for these new priests, Alexander and Jacob, so that they will always be faithful until the end of their lives, to their holy priesthood and to the Holy Church. And so, in this solemnity of Our Lady, the Assumption, these two priests, newly ordained, are truly Marian priests, in special ways, sons of Our Lady.
And so, my dear priests, Alexander and Jacob, you can today also say, use the words of Our Lady, which we heard in the Gospel: Great things did God in me, and say: I want only to be a humble servant.
Our soul exalts the Lord, and Our Lady today, and praises His mercy forever!