Archbishop Miller addresses audience at International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin

Communion with Christ founds priestly ministry, says Vancouver shepherd

Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, speaks at the International Eucharistic Conference in Dublin, Ireland, June 13. Photo courtesy of Saltandlighttv.com.

The B.C. Catholic has Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB's speech from the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. The archbishop focused on how the priesthood and the Eucharist are intertwined:

The Eucharist, as we have been hearing throughout these grace-filled days, is a gift that the Lord continues to give to us, so that might have “life, and life in abundance” (Jn 10:10). Without the Eucharist, we would die of hunger, for it is through this saving sacrifice of Christ made present on our altars that we enter into communion with him and with one another in the Church. 

This afternoon’s catechesis focuses on ordained priests, those chosen instruments (cf. Jn 15:16) whom the Lord has delegated to feed his people with the Bread of life (cf. Jn 6:35-59). I begin by affirming that the ministerial priesthood is born from the Eucharist, is directed to the Eucharist and bears fruit because of the Eucharist. In this presentation I will make three major points about the priesthood: first, ministerial priests are at the service of the priesthood of all the faithful; second, priests are men of communion called to foster unity and healing in the ecclesial community; and third, priests, as servants of the Eucharist, provide the laity with the strength to carry out their mission in the Church and in the world.

Read the full comment at The B.C. Catholic website.