This meditation on the priesthood speaks of the being of the priest, what he becomes forever, through the indelible character of Holy Orders. It is a thoughtful reflection on the sanctity of the priest, what he is called to become by responding to the specific grace of this sacrament. The truth is faced head on: holy priesthood is given and priestly holiness is attainable, but it requires an heroic struggle.

Fr John Saward is priest in charge of the parish of SS. Gregory and Augustine, Oxford, a Fellow of Blackfriars Hall, the author of eight books, and the translator of several others, including The Spirit of the Liturgy by Joseph Ratzinger.