Sacramental Masculinity Rediscovered

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky ( bio - articles - email ) | Jun 15, 2026

[This is an abridged version of a much longer essay that was posted on CatholicCulture.org in April 2023.]

The first priests, the Apostles, were men. In 1994, in response to cultural turmoil promoting the ordination of women, Pope John Paul II reaffirmed that only men may be ordained priests: “The Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.” (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis). The exclusively male priesthood is rooted in the biblical view of man and the Incarnation. The male priesthood is central to understanding Christ's spousal relationship with the Church.

The account of creation emphasizes the inseparable connection of men and women. “God created man—male and female he created them.” Human love fills the earth with children, multiplies families, and reflects God’s design for communion.

God is the source of human love. In Genesis, Eve conceives a child by the love of God, mediated through Adam: “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.’” (Gen 4:1) Eve recognizes her child as a gift from God, with Adam as the loving “go-between.” The marital embrace is sacramental: an outward sign of God’s love. In this way, human generation reflects the divine pattern of love: The creative generosity of the Blessed Trinity as source, man as God’s instrument, and new life as His gift.

Eve rejoices in her child as a blessing from God through Adam. Their children are not possessions, but gifts entrusted to them as stewards rooted in divine generosity.

Masculinity and femininity are distinct yet complementary aspects of human identity. Our bodies express who we are and our capacity for self-giving and receiving love. These differences reflect God’s design that man and woman mirror His love through union, family, and community.

Jesus Christ, the New Adam, reconciles God and man, body and soul, male and female: “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor 15:21–22) He is also the Divine Bridegroom: “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” (Mark 2:19)

As the New Adam, Jesus mediates the Father’s love: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim 2:5) In His masculinity, He sacramentally conveys God’s love to Holy Mother Church. On the Cross, He gives His life for His Bride: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

Jesus’ words on the Cross, “It is consummated” (John 19:30), declare the completion of His redemptive love, uniting God and His people. His masculinity carries a specific theological message: as Bridegroom, He mediates divine love to the Church, His Bride. This spousal mediation is essential to the providential design: because sacraments signify what they effect, the one who represents Christ must be able to manifest this relationship naturally and humanly.

Jesus enlisted male coworkers to continue His mediation. At the Last Supper, He commanded the Apostles: “Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) Acting in persona Christi, priests participate in this mediation, just as fathers share in the Fatherhood of God.

The nuptial character of Holy Thursday finds its fulfillment on Good Friday and Easter. On Pentecost, the Church—the Mystical Body of Christ—is born. “For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready….” (Rev 19:7) Like Eve, the Church delights in her children born in faith through Baptism. The Church is the guardian, not the owner, of the faith of her spiritual children. The baptized are formed to receive the Eucharist.

In the Mass, the priest sacramentally represents Christ the Bridegroom to His Bride, the Church. His masculinity is essential to the sign. The sanctuary becomes the sacred chamber of the Divine Bridegroom, and priests are “friends of the Groom.”

In the Eucharist, Christ’s one sacrifice is made present, inviting the faithful to receive the sacramental gift of His divine love. During the distribution of Holy Communion, the Divine Groom goes out to meet His Bride, the Church. “An angel says, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb….’” (Revelation 21:9)

Through the ministry of priests, Christ gives Himself as the Bread of Life, reconciling God and man and drawing the faithful into communion with Him.

The marriage covenant of Adam and Eve—with its faithful, fruitful love—is fulfilled in the new and eternal Covenant of the Mass. Our “Amen” in Holy Communion is the “I do” of the covenantal union between God and man.

Holding fast to the constant teaching of the Church, upholding the doctrine of the male-only priesthood, helps us maintain the dignity of the human person amidst the cluster of contemporary errors denying the unity of body and soul. Egalitarianism blurs the distinction between men and women. The LGBTQ+ ideologies return to the ancient gnostic heresies, rejecting the goodness of God’s creation and separating the material from the spiritual. Modern feminism denies authentic femininity by redefining it with male criteria.

God creates us in His image. We need “man”: male and female, united in matrimony and open to life. Sacred Tradition affirms that the male priesthood belongs to the Deposit of Faith. This is not simply a discipline influenced by cultural norms—it arises from the sacramental logic of Christ’s spousal mediation, made visible in the priest:

God’s love → Adam (male & father) → Eve (female & mother) → Cain (child)
The Father → Jesus Christ, the New Adam → Holy Mother Church → her spiritual children
God → the male priest acting in persona Christi→ Holy Mother Church → her baptized children nourished by the Eucharist.

The male priesthood is a mysterious expression of the mutual love between man and wife, and between God and His Church. A woman cannot be a father. A man cannot be a mother.