In this uniquely illuminating account of priestly perfection, Kevin O’Reilly, OP, unpacks various aspects of the understanding of priesthood found in official Church teaching in the light of St. Thomas Aquinas’s theological vision.

It is only in conforming himself to Christ as "the fountain-head of the entire priesthood" ( fons totius sacerdotii), and in Whose High Priesthood ordained priests participate, that a priest can attain the holiness proper to his state. Since the evangelical counsels—poverty, chastity, and obedience—characterized Christ in his earthly life, they are fundamental to the pursuit of priestly holiness and to the transformation in the life of mind that accompanies it. Holiness, along with its attendant transformation of mind, is also promoted by study in the pursuit of sacred knowledge, by cruciform wisdom-inspired contemplation, and by the cultivation of devotion and obedience in the celebration of the liturgy.

In Persona Christi: Priestly Perfection in the Light of St. Thomas’s Theology offers a synthesis of dogmatic, moral, and spiritual theology that also draws upon philosophy and makes appeal to liturgical scholarship. This book will inspire priests to commit themselves ever more to the holiness that is proper to their state of life.