Mom, “In Persona Christi” means he is acting in Christ’s stead, as his representative, not that he thinks he is Christ, or a Christ.
We had a lovely walk today, with our dog, Rider, and said our Rosary. I asked God to un-harden your heart against his Holy Church.
Peace be with you.
“The priest is indeed another Christ, or in some way he is himself a continuation of Christ.” (Pope Pius XI, Encyclical on the Priesthood).
“The priest on earth (is) another Christ.” (The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism.)
“In this moment, the priest quite literally becomes Christ Himself.” (This is the Mass, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, Page 100)
“The priest is not just the cross, he is Christ Himself.” (The Lone Star Catholic, March 1, 1959)
“To the carnal eye, the priest looks like other men, but to the eye of faith he is exalted above angels.” (Faith of our Fathers, Gibbons, Page 422)
“Another grace of the synod [Synod of Bishops, October, 1990] was a new maturity in the way of looking at priestly service in the Church; and thus also of the personal life of each and every priest, that is to say, of each priest’s participation in the saving mystery of Christ: ‘Sacerdos Alter Christus.’” (Pope John Paul II, Letter to Catholic priests on the occasion of Holy Thursday, 1991).
“The priest is given transcendent power to forgive sins, to administer the sacraments, but most of all to offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in which he becomes an ‘Alter Christus’” (Pastoral Reflections on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass [ Cardinal John J. O’Conner.)
“In the sacrifice of Jesus Christ the priest is a substitute of Christ Himself. As a result of his ordination, he is a true alter Christus.” (The Latin Mass: Chronicle of a Catholic Reform, Summer 1995 Issue
“Thus the priest, as is said with good reason, is indeed another Christ;” (Papal Encyclical ‘Ad Catholici Sacerdotii’ on the priesthood, Pope Pius XI, December 20, 1935)