One of the things that fascinates me about the Catholic priesthood is that we have something called "apostolic succession." That basically means that every validly ordained priest was consecrated to God by a bishop, who was in turn ordained by a bishop. This unbroken chain links the authority of the priesthood directly to the apostles of Christ who were "appointed . . . to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons" (Mk 3:14-15) and "to cure diseases" (Lk 9:1) and "forgive men's sins" (Jn 20:21-23). [Some of those aspects of the priestly mission are for another post and another day.]
That direct link with Christ gives me confidence in the One Church that was founded by Christ. His apostles knew that this authority was not merely for the Early Church and that it did not have an "expiration date." This authority was a necessary means to guide and unite the people of Christ throughout the ages. On Friday, the Church celebrated the feast of St. Matthias, the man chosen to replace Judas as a leader of the Church. He was blessed, consecrated, and called to service just as the original apostles were. This is our first example of apostolic succession, an example that has been followed ever since.
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