Each year, on Holy Thursday, the Catholic Church celebrates the institution of the priesthood. The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus “took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (22:19).
The Catholic Church has taught that Jesus constituted his apostles priests of the New Testament with these words (see Council of Trent, Session 22, Chapter 1). True enough, but these verses do not embody the totality of what happens at ordinations to the priesthood today. At ordinations, the candidates kneel before their bishop as he lays his hands on their heads. The bishop also anoints the candidates’ hands with holy oil, called sacred chrism.
Both the laying on of hands and the anointing with sacred chrism are visible signs of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But did the apostles receive the Holy Spirit at the Last Supper? If it was up to speculation, who knows what we might say? However, Jesus made the answer very clear: he would not send the Holy Spirit until after his resurrection. “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor [that is, the Holy Spirit] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7, see also John 14:26). And so I propose that the apostles were ordained as priests not in one place in the New Testament. Instead, I see their priestly ordination occurring in three different phases: at the Last Supper, soon after Jesus’ resurrection, and finally at Pentecost.
St. John is often depicted with an eagle in part because his Gospel theologically soars above the others. While the other Gospels are doing algebra, the John’s is doing calculus. Here is one example: John’s Gospel is the only one to record the following encounter between Jesus and his apostles soon after the Resurrection.
The disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained (20:20-23).
John was well aware of the gift of the Holy Spirit as he wrote his Gospel. He emphasizes for us that Jesus wouldn’t send the Holy Spirit to the apostles until after the Resurrection. Then he tells us precisely when Jesus breathed out the Holy Spirit upon them.
If my theory is correct, I am inclined to think of Pentecost as the third and final part of the apostles’ priesthood ordination. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured into the apostles so powerfully that the people of Jerusalem heard “the rush of a mighty wind” (Acts 2:2). Because of the powerful preaching of the apostles, and because they spoke in tongues, 3,000 people became Catholics and were baptized that day (v. 41)
Therefore, the apostles experienced three ordination moments. The first occurred at the Last Supper, when they were commanded by Christ to celebrate the Mass. The second occurred soon after the Resurrection, when Christ breathed the Holy Spirit upon them and gave them the authority to forgive sins. The third occurred at Pentecost, when the apostles received the priestly charism of preaching, which resulted in a great number of people entering the Catholic Church through baptism.
Let’s look at three objections. First, what about St. Thomas? He wasn’t with the other apostles when Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon them. But this is not a problem. The Old Testament anticipation of this moment can be found at the time of Moses and the seventy elders. Two were not present when God poured fourth his Spirit temporarily, but these had the spirit of God poured into them anyway (see Num. 11:16-30). The story of Moses shows us that the two elders were the exception that proved the rule. Nor every single Israelite, wherever he might be, receive God’s Spirit; only those two elders did. Therefore, the gathering of the apostles, even without Thomas, was important, but not exclusive of this remaining apostle.
Second, John 20:19-23 says Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon the disciples rather than the apostles. But the first Christians interpret this passage to refer specifically to the apostles, not the disciples in general. For example, the third-century bishop St. Firmilian refers to Jesus breathing “upon the apostles alone.” (See also St. Hippolytus of Rome, St. Cyprian of Carthage, and St. John Chrysostom, all in Jurgens.)
Closer to our day, St. John Henry Newman became a Catholic because he recognized a beautiful consistency between the teachings of the first Christians and the modern Catholic Church. The first Christians interpreted that Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and gave them the authority to forgive sins. Today, through the ordination liturgy, priests receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and the authority to forgive sins as well. They also receive the authority to celebrate the Mass and the charism of preaching.
Finally, we have our third objection: if Scripture wanted us to interpret these three moments as the institution of the priesthood, wouldn’t it make the point in a more obvious and explicit way? Newman thought otherwise. He taught that many important teachings in the Bible are attested to in only one or two places.
If it be a good argument against the truth of the Apostolic Succession and similar doctrines, that so little is said about them in Scripture, this is quite as good an argument against nearly all the doctrines which are held by any one who is called a Christian in any sense of the word; as a few instances will show (496).
Newman provided at least two liturgical customs widely accepted today: communal worship and worshiping on Sunday rather than Saturday. Certainly, these teachings do not contradict the Bible. But though there are hints of these teachings found there, the Bible doesn’t explicitly command that the new covenant worship should be on Sundays, or as a church community.
In conclusion, my theory is that the apostles’ priestly ordination occurred in three phases. Each phase has been incorporated into the modern rite of priestly ordination. Priests receive the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands by their bishop and through the anointing of their hands with sacred chrism. This special anointing confers the authority to celebrate the Mass, the charism of preaching, and the authority to forgive sins.
As we celebrate Holy Thursday, may we remember to pray for our priests, who have been entrusted by God with a lofty mission.