It is an uncomfortable question. We know that priests are called to holiness, but they are also human beings, and like the rest of us, they can sin. They can even commit mortal sin.

So what happens if a priest celebrates Mass while he himself is not in a state of grace?

Is the Mass still valid? Does the bread and wine still become the Body and Blood of Christ? And should we receive Communion from him?

Thankfully, the answer does not depend upon the holiness of the priest.

The power belongs to Christ, not the priest

At Mass, the priest acts in persona Christi Capitis, “in the person of Christ the Head.”

When he speaks the words of consecration, it is not his personal holiness that makes Christ present. It is Christ Himself who acts through the sacramental priesthood.

The Catechism says:

“The ordained priesthood guarantees that it really is Christ who acts in the sacraments through the Holy Spirit for the Church.”

The Church has a term for this: ex opere operato, meaning “from the work performed.” The grace of a valid sacrament comes from Christ and does not depend upon the personal righteousness of the minister.

St. Teresa of Avila was once given an extraordinary and rather unsettling glimpse of what this can actually mean.

St. Teresa saw a priest in mortal sin

St. Teresa recounted that she was approaching Holy Communion when God allowed her to see something ordinarily hidden from us.

She saw two hideous demons surrounding the priest who was about to give her Communion. She understood that the priest was in mortal sin.

And yet, in his hands, she saw Our Lord in the Sacred Host.

St. Teresa wrote:

“It was plain that the hands were those of a sinner, and I felt that the soul of that priest was in mortal sin…The two demons were so frightened and intimidated in Your presence that they seemed as if they would have willingly run away, had You but given them permission.”

Understandably, Teresa was shaken.

But Our Lord explained why He had permitted her to see it. She wrote:

“He said He had allowed this vision so I might understand the power of the words of consecration and how God didn’t fail to be truly present in the Host, no matter how wicked the priest might be who uttered those words.”

What an extraordinary image.

The priest was in mortal sin. The demons were present. And yet neither could prevent Jesus Christ from becoming truly present in the Eucharist.

What does that mean for us?

Certainly, it doesn't mean the spiritual condition of a priest is unimportant. St. Teresa understood from the same vision the tremendous responsibility priests bear and their particular obligation to holiness.

But it should tell us something enormously reassuring about God.

Our access to the Sacraments does not depend upon having a perfect priest. Instead, God gives us the Sacraments as objective gifts of grace. The priest is His instrument, but the power is Christ's.

St. John Chrysostom described the astonishing authority entrusted to priests:

“Priests have received from God a power that he has given neither to angels nor to archangels…God above confirms what priests do here below.”

Perhaps St. Teresa's vision gives us another reason to be grateful for the priesthood, while also reminding us to pray for our priests.

Their vocation carries an extraordinary responsibility. Through their hands we receive absolution. Through their hands the sick are anointed. And through their hands, at every Mass, Christ gives Himself to us.

And even those hands need God's mercy.

At critical times throughout Salvation History, God's people have been invited to consecrate themselves. We are at one of those critical times in history, and consecrating ourselves, our families, our country, and indeed, the whole world to the Eucharist may make all the difference.

33 Days to Eucharistic Glory is the first-ever Eucharistic Consecration. Find your copy today at The Catholic Company!