If the topic is great basketball players, the name Michael Jordan is bound to come up at some point in the discussion. Why? Simply because Michael Jordan is the standard by which all other basketball players are measured.

If the subject is great golfers, the name Jack Nicklaus will certainly be mentioned sooner or later, since Nicklaus is the standard by which all great golfers—including Tiger Woods—are measured.

If the topic is great people of science, the name Albert Einstein will eventually be brought into the conversation, because Einstein is the recognized standard by which all scientific geniuses are measured.

So I ask you: Why is it that when the priesthood is discussed by people today, the proper priestly standard is rarely if ever mentioned?

For example, when you think of the priesthood, who is the first person who pops into your mind? Is it a priest who was kind to you in a moment of great need in your life? Is it a priest who yelled at you once in the confessional? Is it me? If it is, thank you very much; but I’m really not the first thought you should have, since I am definitely not the standard by which all priests should be measured!—even though I’m a nice guy, most of the time.

For the last year, if you asked your average man on the street the question: "When you think of the priesthood, who is the first person who pops into your mind?" he would be very likely to say, "Paul Shanley," or "John Goeghan," or one of those other priests involved in the sexual abuse of minors.—and that is a horrible tragedy.

Perhaps some of you might say that when you think of the priesthood, your thoughts immediately turn to someone like St. John Vianney (the patron saint of parish priests), or St. Pius X (one of the most dedicated and selfless priests who ever lived). Not bad. Those answers would certainly be better than saying that your first thought is Fr. Ray.

But they’re not good enough either.

Because whenever the priesthood is discussed or considered in any forum, only one name should be at the center of the discussion: Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is THE priest—the Great High Priest—and he is the standard by which every other priest must be measured!

And this will never change—because, with respect to the priesthood, there is no possible better standard!, Michael Jordan is the standard for basketball right now—until someone breaks his records; Jack Nicklaus is the standard for golf right now—until Tiger Woods or someone else breaks his records. But Jesus was (and is) the perfect priest—thus he will always and forever be the priestly standard!

The Letter to the Hebrews says that "every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices." That’s what the priesthood is ultimately about: the offering of a sacrifice. And of course, unlike the priests of the Old Testament who offered bulls, goats and calves, Jesus—the prototype of the New Testament priest—offered himself: he offered his life on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of the world.

Now do you see why no human person could possibly be your priestly standard? It’s because no human person—not even a great saint like John Vianney or Pius X—could offer himself in sacrifice for the salvation of the world. It would be impossible. Of course, by the power of ordination, what we ordained priests can do is offer the sacrifice of the Eucharist, which is the unbloody, re-presentation of the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. It’s HIS sacrifice we’re offering as priests, not our own. That’s essential to understand. And beyond that we priests can also apply the fruit of Jesus’ sacrifice (namely the forgiveness of sins) to individual souls when we absolve them in the confessional.

But since Jesus is the priestly standard, those of us who are blessed to share in his priesthood by the grace of ordination are also obliged to follow his example of self-offering as much as possible in the way we live our lives. From this perspective, by the way, celibacy should make perfect sense to us. If Jesus is the priestly standard, and his priesthood involved a complete offering of himself for others, then celibacy should be the logical norm for those who are configured to him by priestly ordination—since the whole purpose of being celibate is to give yourself more completely in service to God’s people (in imitation of Jesus).

The other day I asked a woman in the hospital to pray for me. She said, "Oh Father, I need prayers, you don’t—you’re a priest." That woman obviously needed to hear this homily. Priests need as many prayers—if not more prayers—than anyone else, because priests are called to make every effort to live up to the standard set by Jesus Christ; and that (in case you haven’t figured it out yet) is a very hard standard to live up to! Jesus was perfectly humble, perfectly selfless, perfectly patient. In today’s Gospel, for example, he shows us all 3 of those virtues. He was perfectly humble and selfless in stooping down and washing the feet of sinful, unworthy men whom he had created; he was perfectly patient with Peter, who once again spoke when he should have kept his big mouth shut. Jesus was perfectly forgiving; he proclaimed the truth perfectly; he obeyed the Father perfectly; he did everything perfectly!

And you think you have a tough act to follow in your vocation? There’s no tougher act to follow than Jesus.

Not even John Vianney and Pius X lived up to the standard flawlessly.

Thankfully, for your sake, our imperfections don’t prevent Christ from touching your life and coming to you in the sacraments. Even if a priest happens to be in the state of mortal sin when he celebrates Mass, for example, you still receive the true Body and Blood of Christ at communion time; if you go to him in the confessional and confess your sins, you still receive absolution; if he baptizes you, you are truly born again of water and the Spirit; if he anoints you on your deathbed, you still receive the grace of the sacrament of the sick.

Why? Because when a priest—any priest (even a very sinful one)—celebrates the sacraments, he acts in the person of Jesus Christ! Jesus is the one who is coming to you and filling you with his grace at those moments—and Jesus is perfect.

Simply put, the sacraments are the actions of THE priest, Jesus Christ, who uses weak, imperfect human beings like yours truly as his chosen, effective instruments.

That’s what makes the priesthood so special; and that’s why I thank God for the grace of ordination every day. And that’s why YOU should thank God for the priesthood every day: because without the priesthood, there would be, among other things, no Eucharist and no absolution for your sins.

So in the future, whenever the priesthood becomes the topic of conversation (or whenever the priesthood comes to your mind), I would ask you to follow this three-step procedure: Think first of Jesus Christ, because he is the standard; he is the perfect priest. (If you do this, by the way, then you will always have a healthy perspective on the priesthood—even if you’ve been treated unfairly or uncharitably by a particular priest at some point in your life. Thinking of Jesus as your perfect priestly standard will help you to cope with the failings of all the imperfect priests you encounter here on earth.)

But don’t stop there. After you think of the perfect priest, then thank him sincerely for giving the world the gift of the ordained priesthood, because ordained priests bring to you Jesus’ saving grace.

And, finally, say a little prayer of petition: for your favorite priest, for your least favorite priest, for every priest. Say, "Lord Jesus, in your providential wisdom you have chosen these men, and given them a unique and essential role in the family of God. Help each and every one of them to be more like you."