BEHOLD THE GREATEST AND SUPREME GIFT THAT HAS EVER BEEN GIVEN

HOMILY DELIVERED BY HIS LORDSHIP, MOST REV. DR. GABRIEL G. DUNIA AT IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHEDRAL AUCHI, ON THE OCCASION OE THE PRIESTLY ORDINATION OF EIGHT PRIESTS FOR THE DIOCESE OF AUCHI.

Jesus Christ, the perfect heavenly priest is both the priesthood and the plenitude (that is the fullness) of priesthood itself. The very fact that Christ (who of himself) is the union of God with man, makes it easy to understand that the priesthood of Christ which is the union of God with man is the greatest and supreme gift that has ever been given to man. (Cf. Hebrews 7: 26-28). Not even the angels have this honour.
If and when any man is called and he answers the call from God 10 become and be a priest, priesthood is subsequently conferred on him, he is anointed with the spirit of Christ to be another Christ (alter christus) upon whom the spirit of the Lord is to proclaim the good news to the poor, to free the captives, to give sight to the blind, to give joy to those in sorrow and announce the Lord's year of favour (Lk 4: 18-20). The conferment of this Spirit and its authority to do and undo is an unequivocal confirmation that there can be nothing greater on earth, in this world than the gift of priesthood and a priest, nothing but God and only God Himself
The priest is therefore not merely an imitator of Christ; he is alter christus -another Christ.
The proof that the priest is another Christ, to be and do what Christ has done and does is clearly summarized thus:
Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins..... he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And no one takes the honour upon himself but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was. (Heb,5: 1,3-4)
In being what Christ is, the priest is segregatus in Evangelism Del = he is set apart for (proclamation of) the gospel (the good news) of God. (cf Rom: 1: 1). He offers the same sacrifice which Christ offered; he models himself in exactitude in the life and ministry of Christ, he becomes and be a true witness to the totality of the life, works, suffering, crucifixion, death and resurrection of his master. Jesus Christ.
Knowing that priesthood is conferred on the recipient to constitute him a mediator between God and man, acting in persona Christi (in the person of Christ). It is not part of the priest's duties to seek and find self-exaltation, pride, power, dominion, vain glories, infidelity, disobedience, obstinacy and the likes. It is part and parcel of the priestly life and ministry for the priest to seek and find the love of God, obedience, faith, piety, self-effacement and total sacrifice of himself
My dear sons, today you are going to be conferred with the greatest and supreme gift that has ever been given to man, to any created being for that matter Although the priesthood is conferred upon human being, mere earthenware jar, a fragile vessel, ordinary clay pot, as it ware, it's tremendously sublime. It is imaginably amazing, it is supernatural!}1 terrible. For this reason, Mother Trinida. in recounting what she saw and experienced during the celebration of Mass, the Holy Eucharist. she said "if I were a priest, I would have died shortly after the celebration of my first mass", the reason is that what she saw and experienced during Mass was simply referred to as "terrible terribility".
The Catholic priest, should therefore revere most profound that priesthood of Christ which has been conferred upon him. He should not toil with it; he cannot afford to toil with it in any way, for whatever reason. Obviously, the priest should know that if he dares to toil with the priesthood of Christ, he is bound to fail and if he fails, the consequences are grave; he will be rejected both by friends and foes heaven and earth; for failure like poverty, has no friend, no father, no mother, no brother, no sister, no neighbour and "no nothing", at all. Hence, Christ Himself states: it is the one who does the will of my Father in heaven who is my brother and sister and mother (Matt 12:50; cfMk 3: 34).
Therefore, you must be most faithfully committed to celebrating, worshiping and adoring the Most Holy Eucharist as the centre, the summit (or highest point) around which the rest of your priestly duties and obligations point and revolve. As alter christus, you must unreservedly serve like your master who came to serve not to be served. You must be crucified with Christ; you must constitute the true bread, the Body and Blood to be consumed: you must be gift of God to man. to the world and gift from man to God. The God who we cannot see ordinarily must be made visible in the Eucharist, because ''the Eucharist is a glorious ray of heavenly Jerusalem which pierces the clouds of history and lights upon our journey" Ecclesia de Eucharesia number 19. Priesthood, the Eucharist and the Church are intimately united. No priesthood, no Eucharist, no Church, (cf. Archbishop Donald W. Wuer). The priestly spirituality is intrinsically Eucharistic (cf Sacramentum Caristatis - Pope Benedict XXVI, no 80.
And you my beloved faithful of Christ, clergy, consecrated persons and laity, guide and guard the priesthood and priests of Christ in the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church most jealously. Your being proud or ashamed of the priesthood of Christ in the Catholic Church can depend, to a large extent upon whether you produce and provide the bullets and the smooth ground with which and upon which the battle can be fought and won or fought and lost by the priest.