In some countries such as Poland, Philippines, and the UK, the Thursday after Pentecost is the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest.
Jesus is both priest and victim. In his 1947 encyclical Mediator Dei, Pope Pius XII wrote: “Christ is a Priest indeed; however, he is a Priest not for himself but for us, since, in the name of the whole human race, he brings our prayers and religious dispositions to the eternal Father; he is also a victim, but a victim for us, since he substitutes himself for sinners.”
All Christians have been made sharers in the priesthood of Christ through the sacraments of initiation. Like Christ, we should offer up prayer and sacrifice to the eternal Father.
Pius XII pointed out that the faithful “must assume in some way the condition of a victim, that they deny themselves as the Gospel commands, that freely and of their own accord they do penance and that each detests and makes satisfaction for his sins.”
Regarding the baptized faithful, the Spanish Opus Dei priest Father Francis Fernandez wrote: “With a truly priestly soul, they sanctify the world through the perfect exercise of their secular activities, seeking in everything the glory of God: in the case of the housewife, for example, it will be through her domestic duties; or, with the army officer, by demonstrating his patriotism principally through the cultivation of the military virtues; or with the businessman, by improving his company’s situation and promoting social justice. In this way all of them, offering their lives and their work through the Mass, make daily reparation for the sins of the world.”
Ordained priests, in a way that is different in essence and not just in degree, also participate in the priesthood of Christ. The Second Vatican Council states: “The priests of the New Testament are, it is true, by their vocation to ordination, set apart in some way in the midst of the People of God, but this is not in order that they should be separated from that people or from any man, but that they should be completely consecrated to the task for which God chooses them.”
Father Francis Fernandez explained: “The priest has been chosen from among men to be invested with a dignity that astounds even the angels, and then sent back to men to serve them in relation to God with a special and unique salvific mission.”
The Preface for the feast beautifully described the gift of the ordained priesthood: “Christ not only adorns with a royal priesthood the people he has made his own, but with a brother’s kindness he also chooses men to become sharers in his sacred ministry through the laying on of hands. They are to renew in his name the sacrifice of human redemption, to set before your children the paschal banquet, to lead your holy people in charity, to nourish them with the word and strengthen them with the Sacraments. As they give up their lives for you and for the salvation of their brothers and sisters, they strive to be conformed to the image of Christ himself and offer you a constant witness of faith and love.”
On March 25, 1988, Pope St. John Paul II wrote a letter to priests, exhorting them in these words: “As we celebrate the Eucharist at so many altars throughout the world, let us give thanks to the Eternal Priest for the gift which he has bestowed on us in the Sacrament of the Priesthood. And in this thanksgiving may there be heard the words which the Evangelist puts on Mary’s lips on the occasion of her visit to her cousin Elizabeth: ‘the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name’ (Luke 1:49). Let us also give thanks to Mary for the indescribable gift of the Priesthood, whereby we are able to serve in the Church every human being. May gratitude also awaken our zeal! … Let us unceasingly give thanks for this. Let us give thanks with the whole of our lives. Let us give thanks with all our strength. Let us give thanks together with Mary, the Mother of Priests.”
為司祭職而感恩
一些國家，一如波蘭，菲律賓和英國，在五旬節後的星期四是主耶穌基督，永恆大司祭瞻禮。
耶穌是司祭和犧牲品。教宗庇護十二世在一通諭中寫道：『基督真正的司祭；可是祂是為我們作的司祭不是為祂自己，因為以整個人類的名義，祂將我們的禱告和宗教的意向帶到永生天父那裡；祂也是犧牲品，是為我們作的犧牲品，因為祂把自己取代罪人。』藉著人門聖事，所有的基督信徒都分享基督的司祭職。如同基督一樣，我們應奉獻我們的祈禱和犧牲與永生天父。
教宗庇約十二世指出，信友「必須以某種方式承擔犧牲品的狀況，即是依據福音的訓示棄絕自己，自由自主地作補贖，並且每人厭惡和彌補他的罪過。」
有關領洗後的信徒，方濟費南德斯神父寫道：『以一真正司祭的心神，他們藉著完美地履行他們俗世的活動去聖化這世界，在每樣事物中尋找天主的光榮；以家庭主婦為例，這便是她的家務；軍士將領要能顯示他們愛國情操，培育軍隊的德行；營商人事要改善公司環境推廣社會公義。這樣，他們全體藉著彌撒聖祭，奉獻他們的生命，他們的工作，為這世界的罪過每天作補贖。』
晉鐸的神父，本質不同的不單是在程度上，參與基督的司祭職。第二次梵蒂崗會議宣稱：『新約的司鐸，由於其 聖召及聖秩，固然在某種形成下，是在天主子民中被挑選出來，但決不是讓他們與這子 民或任何人隔絕，而是讓他們完全獻身於天主召叫他們去作的事』。
方濟費南德斯神父解釋道：『在人群中被揀選的神父，會被投入一份甚至天使們都驚奇的尊嚴，然後派到世人處，抱一個特別的，獨特的救靈使命，為他們與天主的關係作服務。』
這瞻禮的頌謝詞美麗地形容司鐸恩典：『基督不單以王者的司祭職裝飾祂選的子民，也以兄弟之誼，祂也以覆手去讓祂選取的人作祂神職的分享者。他們以祂的名去重新救贖人類的祭獻，為你們子女擺設逾越宴席，以愛德帶領祢的神聖子民，以聖言滋潤他們，以聖事堅強他們。他們獻出他們的生命，為祢和他們的弟兄姊妹的救恩，他們努力遵從基督的形象，為祢作信和愛的忠實見證。』
在1988年3月25日，教宗約望、保祿二世給司鐸們寫了一封信，以這些字句督促他們：『我們在整個世界，這樣多的祭台上，慶祝聖體聖血，讓我們感謝這位永恆的司祭，感謝祂在神品聖事內賜給我們的禮物。在這感恩中，讓我們聽到聖史們，在聖母瑪利亞探訪聖婦依撒伯爾時所說的話：「因全能者在我身上行了大事，衪的名字是聖的。」（路1:49）讓我們也感謝瑪利亞那份不能言喻的司祭職恩寵，藉著它我們可以在教會為人類服務。願感恩也可以喚醒我們的熱忱！…讓我們不停地，為此而奉上感恩。讓我們以我們整個生命作感恩。讓我們以我們的全部力量作感恩。讓我們與聖母瑪利亞、司鐸之母一起作感恩。』
