Apostolic Ministry and Apostolic Prayer

APOSTOLIC MINISTRY AND APOSTOLIC PRAYER
Author(s): Jerome D. Quinn

Source: The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 4 (OCTOBER 1971), pp. 479-491
Published by: Catholic Biblical Association
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APOSTOLIC MINISTRY AND
APOSTOLIC PRAYER*
Gunther Bornkamm has recently noted that, "Primarily and

nently the Ecclesia is in fact the church assembled for worship.
the church proves what it is, though worship also reveals and e
disorder and confusion."1 On December 4, 1963, with the adopt
Constitution on the Liturgy ( Sacrosanctum Concilium ),2 the
Council proposed the most thoroughgoing renewal of the worship a
of Western Catholicism in four centuries. The Council first ex
understanding of what the Church is by reforming what the C
eminently does, and that is to pray.3
The ancient Church - like this old planet - delivers a massive s
it shifts its crust and the after-shocks are still inexorably rippling
are smoking ruins of obsolete manuals of ceremonies, old m
breviaries, and most recently, with the new Ordo Lectionum,
books and files of sermons. If a certain shiver of insecurity h
through Catholicism in the West, it is among those who are ex
leaders in the prayer of the Church that the conciliar reform
casioned an ague of confusion and unrest. The renewal of the
primary ministry of prayer has demanded a searching and cr
thinking of the raison d'etre of the ordained ministry whose task
it has been to teach and guide and enrich the prayer of the C
spate of publication on the Catholic priesthood in the past five year
agenda of the forthcoming Roman Synod are impressive witne
theological and practical magnitude of the problems that are co
focus today for the priests of the Roman Catholic Church.4
* Presidential Address, delivered at the opening session of the 34th Gen

of the Catholic Biblical Association of America held at Marquette Univ
waukee, Wisconsin. August 23, 1971.
1 G. Bornkamm, Paul (New York: Harper & Row, 1971) 186.
2 Sacrosanctum Oecumenicum Concilium Vaticanum II: Constitutio
Declarationes (Vatican City: Typis Polyglottis, 1966) 3-70.
8 The Constitution on the Liturgy, precisely as the expression of th
magisterium, illustrates the relationship between the faith of the Churc
prayer. "Lex credendi legem statuat supplicando" The shape of the resp
faith is expressed in "lex orandi, lex credendi " (cf. Pius XII, Mediat
20, 1947, nn.46-48).
4 The most comprehensive compilation and classification of the lite
A. Guitard and R. Litalien, Bibliography on the Priesthood : 1966-1968 an
and M. G. Bulteau, International Bibliography on the Priesthood and t
1969 (Montreal: Centre de Documentation et de Recherche). More re
479
480 The Catholic Biblical Quarterly [Vol. 33
It is, of course, only for the purpose of discussion that one

the prayer of the Church and the central task of the Roman Cath
from the crises of human society at large and the problems f
ministers of other Christian churches. Indeed the contributions of
logical and psychological sciences as well as the ecumenical di
to cut our particular problems down to size. We find we are al
all the wrong things.5 But after all the clarifications from these s
in, the central issues still remain for they are rooted in the myst
Church, her God-given life and power and goal. Precisely becau
of God, as transmitted in the words of Scripture, is indispensable
ing and deepening the self-understanding of the Church and h
priorities for action, the problems and issues of the Church at
in one form or another, to become the problems to which the
this Association direct their interests and their talents. The issues linked
today with the prayer of the Church and the ordained ministry of the Church
call for that kind of clarification which biblical scholarship should provide.6
It has been noted that, "Books on biblical prayer are notoriously lacking,
especially in English."7 The biblical scholars of France and Germany have
produced most of the studies that do exist and happily a substantial number
are available in translation.8 OT scholars, because the documents they study
L. Leloir, "Valeurs permanentes du sacerdoce lévitique," NRT 92 (March, 1970)

246-266, and J. Coppens, "Le sacerdoce chrétien," ibid., 225-245 and (April, 1970)
337-364.
5 The survey of almost 5000 Protestant ministers by the Reverend Edgar Mills,
director of ministry studies for the National Council of Churches (reported in the
New York Times , June 13, 1971, p. 28) promises to be very instructive in com-
parison with the NORC studies prepared for the Catholic bishops of the U.S.
6 What C. Spicq says of agapê applies, as we shall show below, to prayer. "As
we see it, the studies on biblical charity have come to a dead end because they
speculate on this 'gift,' in function of a certain psychology or dogmatic, and they
do not take sufficient nourishment from the sources of textual and historical analysis"
( Agapē dans le NT [Paris: Gabalda, 1958] I, 6, fn. 1).
7 C. W. F. Smith, "Prayer" IDB , III (K-Q), 867. Smith's article and bibliography
can now be supplemented from J. Bauer and H. Zimmermann, "Prayer," Sacramentum
Verbi (New York: Herder & Herder, 1970) 679-686, and especially A. Gonzales,
"Prière," DBSup (1969) 555-606.
8 In this connection one must note the articles on NT terminology for worship
that have been appearing since 1933 in TWNT (E.T., TDNT ). It may be con-
venient to note here the principal entries in alphabetical order, not only for the
convenience of those beginning such a study but also because they illustrate the
trajectory of development in German scholarship in this area. "Agõri' (E. Stauffer,
for synagõnÍ2omai) , Aineõ (H. Schlier), Aiteõ (G. Stählin), Boaõ (E. Stauffer)'
Deomai (H. Greeven), Euchomai (H. Greeven and J. Herrmann), Eulogeö (H.
W. Beyer), Erõtaõ (H. Greeven). Hieros (G. Schrenk, including hierourgeõ ),
1971] Apostolic Ministry and Prayer 481
turn upon the worship of Israel time and again,9 have published far
on this subject than their NT colleagues.
Yet I would argue that the concern of Israel for her prayer, the f
priority given to worship, is nothing less than the concern of the Lo
Israel and the first priority of the Lord of the Church. What this means
apostleship and the sacramental sharing in apostolic ministry provides
than a little for us to learn today.
Centuries before the birth of Jesus, Rabbi Simeon the Righteous is
to have declared that the world (that is, all of human society) was b
upon three things, the torah, worship, and the "imparting of kindnesses.
The torah, of course, is the word that discloses God and his good wil
plan for his people. Everything stands in function of that revelation, wh
begins the Shema, "Hear, O Israel: the lord our God is one lord"
6:4). The prayer of Israel takes its origin from and is defined by the fait
Israel in the one God who has intervened by word and act in her his
The response to that intervention is absolute loyalty and exclusive adhere
to Yah weh, a recognition in the very core of one's being of total depende
upon him. This is the response that Rabbi Simeon designated as "wor
(' ãbõdâ ) and what Deuteronomist meant by joining to the confe
of faith the command, "And you shall love the lord your God with al
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" (Dt 6:5). "To
(' ãhab ) is "to worship" ( (ãbad ), according to the Deuteronomist him
for, when he paraphrases the Shema in 10:12, he writes, "And now,
what does the lord, your God require of you . . . but to love him, to
the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul."11 This
viction that the worship-service of God is a manifestation of the tota
of God found expression in the LXX translation of these passages in
Kaleö (K. L. Schmidt for epikaleõ), Kra2õ (W. Grundmann), Latreuõ (H. Str
mann), Leitourgeõ (H. Strathmann), Homologeõ (O. Michel), Proskuneõ
Greeven), Tug chanõ (O. Bauernfeind, for entugchanõ and enteuxis : only in TW
0 Thus studies and commentaries on Pss appear in abundance. H. H. Row
Worship in Ancient Israel (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1967), with its abundant ci
of the literature to that date and remarkably sensitive handling of the OT
represents the very best scholarship of the English tradition.
10 Pirkë Aboth 1.2. Cf. T. W. Manson, Ethics and the Gospel (London: SC
1960) 34-42, for a memorable treatment of this saying.
11 Dt 11:13 employs the same parallelism between 'ãhab and 'ūbad. Is 56:
particularly striking as it describes "the foreigners who join themselves to the
to minister ( lesãretô ) to him, to love ( leahãbâ ) the name of the lord, and
his servants ( la'âbâdîtn )" and whose offerings will be acceptable in the temple
my house shall be called a house of prayer ( tepilla : LXX proseuchēs) for all pe
(56:7).
latreuein is parallel to agapãn.12 On the verge of the Chri

Qumrân hymnist seems to have had the same conviction w
I will hold fast to the truth of Thy Covenant, that [I may serv
and wholeness of heart and that I may love [Thy name].13
We are, I submit, at the very nerve of OT prayer when

as Israel's expression in her words and acts of a total and ex
Yahweh that was controlled and defined by his ongoing interve
and act in her life. It was not for lack of something better
rabbis spoke of the Shema as sacrifice.14 The vital heart of pra
public or private, whether in words or acts or both togeth
ritual, cult, or sacrificial worship, was the absolutely unq
Yahweh.15 This positive conviction undergirded the scorchi
Amos (cf. 5:15 with 6:21-24) or an Isaiah (1:10-17) again
and cult of Israel and Judah. If people and priest alike wer
critique of a Hosea (4:1-5:7; 6:1-6), there is no evidence tha
them ever affirmed, in the name of the God of Israel, that eit
or acts of worship had any value before Yahweh apart from
love" and "knowledge of God" (Hos 6:6) which motivated t
priestly ministry in the people of God and the worship whi
singled out for the prophetic wrath, it is precisely because tha
that worship had been drained of faithfulness and kindness an
edge of God" (Hos 4:1,6). Without the total love of Yahwe
people alike were without worship, and without worship th
to collapse, as Simeon the Righteous perceived.
12 Cf. Strathmann, TDNT IV, 61, and C. Spicq, Théologie Morale

Gabalda, 1965) II, 522, fn. 4, as well as his Agapë (ut cit., fn. 6) 30
13 IQH 16.7 as translated by G. Vermes, The Dead Scrolls in Eng
Penguin, 1962) 196. A. Dupont-Sommer, The Essene Writings from
land: World Publishing, 1961) 248, considers the restoration of '
certain. T. Gaster, The Dead Sea Scriptures (New York: Doubleda
presupposes a different restoration (cf. A. M. Habermann, Megillo
[Israel: Machbaroth, 1959] 131). IQH 14.26 and 15.10 may well pr
'hb=bd in the sense of adoration. IQH 16.13 parallels "them that l
"and keep Thy commandments," with its obvious allusion to the f
Decalogue (cf. Ex 20:6 and Dt 7:9) on the exclusive worship of Y
14 Cf. Michel, TDNT V, 205.
15 Cf. J. B. Bauer's remarks in Sacramentum Verbi ( ut cit. f
and H. H. Rowley (ut cit. fn. 9) 2-3 with his citations.
16 It is striking in the light of Dt 6:5, that Hosea 7:6 (cf. 4:11)
as "without a heart," a people who are without any inner sense of d
men," "without orientation" (H. W. Wolff, "Guilt and Salvation," I
The good will ( eudokia )17 and hidden plan ( mysterion )18 o
of Israel for his people and for all the nations was disclose
acts and words of Jesus and, if ever there was a question a
that revealed uncompromisingly where he stood in relati
religion of Israel, it was that of the scribe who asked, "Which
is the first of all?" (Mk 12:28). Jesus replied with the Sh
30). The whole life of Israel must stand in function of the
one and only Lord, and that life-response is a total and exc
faithful adoration and worship - of God.19
The second commandment (Mk 12:31) is from the very h
manual of ceremonies, Lev 19:18, "But you shall love you
yourself."20 According to Jesus, the privileged expression and
of the love of God alone,21 a parable22 of it for those who
and ears to hear, is kindness and faithfulness, care and co
man whom God loves and that is every man. The love of n
a sign of love of God, an expression of the worship of an u
Perhaps no saying of Jesus illustrates this more dramatical
includes enemies as the objects of this love. "But I say to
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless t
you, pray for those who abuse you" (Luke 6:27-28 = Mt 5
to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecu
17 It is no accident that it is in the prayer of Jesus (Mt ll:26=

of Paul (Rom 10:1; Eph 1:5,9; cf. 2 Thes 1:11) that the thelēma
disclosed as good- will (cf. the angelic hymn of Lk 2:14).
18 Cf. R. E. Brown, The Semitic Background of the Term " Mys
(Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968) with literature cited there, and th
the terminology of Eph 1:9 on p. 61.
19 C. Spicq, Agapë (ut cit., fn. 6) I, 38-41, 86-87.
20 D. Flusser, "A New Sensitivity in Judaism and the Christian
61 (April, 1968) 111-118, proposes to read the kāmokū with th
sentence which then becomes "Love your neighbor who is like your
same frail flesh and blood.
21 The love of neighbor cannot be simply identified with the love of God. To do
so, as does L. Evely, La Prière d'un homme moderne (Paris: Seuil, 1969), is to
value signs more than the reality which they signify, to say that words are more
important than meaning, to hear the story of a parable and not to learn of the
Kingdom of God. Cf. the searching review article by J. M. Hennaux, NRT 92
(March, 1970) 293-301.
22 Cf. Spicq, Agapē ( ut cit., fn. 6) 41-46 on Mt 22:39 with its peculiar qualifica-
tion of the second command as "like" ( homoia ) the first.
23 According to R. Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition (Oxford:
Blackwell, 1963) 79, the Lucan form "is more likely to be original" (but cf. pp. 88,
393). Cf. Spicq, Agapē ( ut cit., fn. 6) 20-21, 98-102 on these passages.
If love of neighbor is the primary manifestation of the love of G

the love of enemies is in turn the highest expression of love of
this saying affirms that the supreme sign of love for enemies is pra
them. With that we have come full circle and love of neighbor, i
intense form, has become part of a believer's total and exclusive
of and prayer to the God of Israel at whose disposal ultimately
goods and blessings that we should bestow on all our fellowme
5:45, 48 and Lk 6:35-36).
The prayer of the historical Jesus, the object of a lifetime of mag
research by Joachim Jeremias,24 did not destroy the prayer of
more than it destroyed the Law and the Prophets.25 His exhor
constant prayer, his own acts and words and life of worship th
consummate expression in his death "for our sins" (1 Cor 15: 3), 26 d
on the Deuteronomic commandments to love as surely as did "a
and the prophets" (cf. Mt 22:40 with 5:17).
To have said that the prayer of Jesus was a response to the Wo
24 See now his N. T. Theology : the Proclamation of Jesus (New York:

1971) 36, 56-68, 178-203, with abundant citations of previous studies.
25 pace Delling, Worship in the NT (Philadelphia: Westminster, 196
whose treatment is still confined within the categories of a dialectic that
opposed prayer and the spirit to cultic and ritual worship. S. Mowinck
in Israel's Worship (Oxford: Blackwell, 1962) 21, noted, "On the whole,
of a 'deliverance from culť and of a 'cult-free religion' rests on a mis judg
nature of religion as well as of cult." G. von Rad, OT Theology (New Yo
and Row, 1965) II, 4, admits readily that ". . . the prophets were never
or as individualistic, or in such direct communion with God and no one el
a previous generation had presumed. Thus he can say, "We have also aba
the whole idea of a 'religion of the prophets' as a religion of the spirit di
opposed to the 'cultic religion of the priests.' "A NT scholarship that is em
by the relation of Jesus to the synagogue, to the Temple, to the OT
well to rethink the presuppositions with which it works. The Evangel
rate, considered the word attributed to Jesus, "I will destroy this tem
made with hands . . ." (Mk 15:58) as false witness.
26 The ancient kerygmatic phrase not only anchors the meaning of th
Jesus in the sacrificial worship of Israel and thus in Israel's expression
and undivided love of Yahweh but also defines the eucharistie proclama
Lord's death ( to sõma to hyper hymõn, 1 Cor 11:24) as sacrificial. Cf.
"Propitiation," Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue : III, The Eucharist
(Washington: USCC, 1967) 37-44. The centrality of the Eucharist in t
the Church is no more and no less than the centrality of the cross in t
Jesus, and the cross is nothing less than the supreme expression of
agape toward his Father who had "so loved the world that he gave his
(Jn 3:16). In a word, as WCC at Uppsala said, worship needs no more ju
than charity.
God of Israel poses the further question of the relation of Jesus' pr

the Spirit. Vexed as that problem is from the point of view of the
Leben Jesu,21 it was certainly a concern of the evangelists, and in part
of the author of Lk - Acts.28 For this writer, the Spirit through whom
Word of God had come to Israel29 was also the source of the resp
Israel (cf. Lk 1:41-42,67 ; 2:26-27) which consistently found its expr
in prayers of blessing, praise, and thanksgiving (cf. Lk 2:36-3
within this context of the prayer of Israel that "the Holy Spirit .
the power of the Most High" (Lk 1:35) initiated the human life of
empowered him for the mission of the Isaian Servant (cf. Lk 3:21-2
4:14, 16-19), 30 inspired his prayer (Lk 10:21), and became, in the u
analysis, the gift that his Father was to bestow upon his brethre
11:13; Acts 2:33). For Lk-Acts the ephapax of Jesus' historical min
can be shared and is "transmittible" precisely because the same Spir
originated and empowered the life and acts and teaching of the his
Jesus continued to originate and empower the lives and acts and te
of his brethren. If the contents and concerns of the prayer of Jesus81
the disclosure of his total and exclusive agape for the Father, that
its turn was the fruit of the same Spirit who was poured out upon the
generation of believers to empower them to the same love, to enable th
pray for what Jesus prayed.82
27 See G. R. Beasley-Murray, "Jesus and the Spirit," Mélanges Bêda Rig

(Gembloux: Duculot, 1970) 463-478, with references to previous studies. T
logical importance of the question is not settled by the relatively few refere
the Spirit that the Gospel tradition placed on the lips of Jesus; for, as B. s
notes (pp. 466-467), scarcely two logia on agape (Mt. 5:44 and Mk 12:30-3
cited above) can survive the refining fires of historical criticism.
28 It is also a major concern of Jn and it goes without saying that R E.
The Gospel according to Jn XIII-XXI (New York: Doubleday, 1970) m
consulted for the way in which the Johannine traditions present the teaching
on agapē and the Spirit-Paraclete, which reaches its climax, significantly eno
the "high priestly prayer" of Jn 17.
29 On the link between the Holy Spirit and S.S. in the thinking of rabbinic
and its probable correspondence with Palestinian thought in the first centur
christian era, cf. C. K. Barrett, The Holy Spirit and the Gospel Tradition (
S.P.C.K., 1966) 108-109, 112. Cf. Acts 4:25.
80 The link between the Servant Çebed) as worshipper (cf. the remarks
supra) and the Spirit (Is 42:1; 61:1) is notable in this connection, as is th
phasis upon Jesus' full participation in the worship of his people (sabbath, syn
81 Cf. C. Spicq, Théol . Morale ( ut cit., fn. 12) I, 367.
82 I. de la Potterie and S. Lyonnet, The Christian Lives by the Spirit (
Island: Alba, 1971) furnish extensive materials that illustrate and apply this o
tion.
With this I must broach the question of that ministry of the

diakonia tou Pneumatos (2 Cor 3: 8), 33 that the risen Jesus shared w
Twelve and with others whom the first generation called " apostolou
It is significant, I submit, that, when the author of Heb looked ba
the first Christian generation to reflect theologically upon wha
pened in the life and work of Jesus of Nazareth, he summoned h
tion to "consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest ( ton apost
archierea ) of our confession" (Heb 3:1). The two titles are close
with a single definite article so that they practically mean "apostolic
and "priestly apostle." The author of this letter never applied either
any member of the christian community, though he explicitly s
leaders, past and current (cf. 13:7,17,23-24). He obviously has n
that there was an apostolic ministry, that there were christians
titled "apostoloi" He is saying that theologically - from the vant
faith - there is one apost olos just as there is one high priest35 whos
and work are the prime analogue and source for understanding the m
of those whom the previous generation had called "apostles" an
Paul, at any rate, compared with the priestly ministry of the J
Temple (Rom 15:16, cf. 1 Cor 9:13-14). If the apostoloi were "th
by the risen Jesus, that mission is to be defined, measured, and
33 Note that Paul's exposition contrasts the written Tor ah with the Spi
and Israel are servants of "the letter" in contrast to those who are diakonoi of a
"new testament ... in the Spirit." The "letter" of the OT is obviously not being
contrasted with the "letter" of the books that came to be called the NT; for, as
Aquinas once remarked ". . . etiam liti er a Evangelii occident, nisi adesset interius
gratia fidei sanans" ( S.T. , I-II, 106, 2: cf. Lyonnet [ut cit., fn. 32] 162-164). The
"new testament" here (as in the only other use of the phrase in Paul, 1 Cor 11:25)
is the new covenant relationship established in the death of Christ "for our sins"
(cf. fn. 26).
84 For a survey of the question, see R. E. Brown, Priest and Bishop: Biblical
Reflections (New York: Paulist Press, 1970). For further literature, the citations
in J. D. Quinn, "Ministry in the NT," Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue IV:
Eucharist and Ministry (Washington: USCC, 1970) 69-100 will at least furnish a
path into the flourishing thicket of studies around this subject. A survey of the question
from the point of view of Acts has been produced by Jean Daniélou, L'Église des
Apôtres (Paris: Seuil, 1970).
35 To the mind of the author of Heb, there is as little (or as great) a problem
in applying the title "apostle" to a man like Paul as later christian generations have
found in designating its ministers as hiereis. The real problem is precisely how can
Jesus be apostolos (not the multiplication of apostoloi) , how can he be ( arch -)
hiereus (not the multiplication of hiereis ). The existence of a unique high priest
among christians is in fact no more opposed to the existence of other hiereis than the
existence of one high priest in Israel excluded the existence of other hiereis .
by the fact that Jesus was sent by the Father, that he is the proto
paradigm of apostleship.36 And according to Heb he was sent to
life in sacrificial worship of the Father (cf. 10: 5-8). 87 The only
historical Jesus apart from his death that this author mentions
the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and supplications ( dees
hiketērias), with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save h
death, and he was heard for his godly fear" (5:7). After his
exaltation his priesthood continues precisely because "he alway
make intercession for those ( eis to entugchanein hyper autõnss
salvation (7:25). Thus for Heb, Jesus is apostolos because he is ar
and he is high priest because of the worship that he gave and co
give to the Father alone. That this understanding of the priesthood
is in perfect continuity with the Deuteronomic command to lo
exclusively and totally is not surprising. That he was sent, that
tolos for the same reason that he is archiereus, to give a uniqu
worship, to offer his life in prayer, to the God of Israel, deserves
tice.
Moreover, I would defend this as central to the understanding that the
author of Lk-Acts brought to the notion of apostleship. It is commonplace
to note that the third gospel ends with the Eleven "continually in the temple
blessing God" (Lk 24:53) and that Acts time and again depicts them and
the Jerusalem church as persevering in prayer, both with Israel and as a
separate community (1:14; 2:42,46-47 ; 3:1; 4:24-31, etc.). It is note-
worthy that when another man is to be chosen to fill the place of the traitor
and to "become with us a witness to his resurrection" (1:22), that the
candidate for "this ministry and apostleship" (1:25) is sought by prayer
(1:24). Later, when the Twelve describe their duties as they prepare to
share them, they declare, "But we will devote ourselves to prayer (he
proseuchē )89 and to the ministry of the word" (6:4). The first work of the
apostolic witness to the resurrection, his first service to the Gospel, is his
86 The teaching of Heb in this respect, as in others, resembles that of Jn 20:21

(cf. the unique use of apostolos in Jn 13:16) and R. E. Brown {ut cit., fn. 28) in loc.
87 Citing Ps 40:6-8 (LXX). It is striking in this connection to note how frequently
in this author the Pss, the prayerbook of Israel, furnish the ground and the vocabulary
for exploring and explaining the unique worship offered by Jesus.
88 Cf. fn. 26 on this last phrase.
89 Cf. J. D. Quinn (ut cit., fn. 34) 82-84. Note that 6:2 reads literally, "It is not
fitting that we give up the word of God ( ton logon tou Theou) to serve ( diakonein )
tables." For Lk-Acts "the word of God" is the gospel of the rule of God that has
come in the life and work of Jesus. Prayer was, to this author's mind, the first task
imposed by the Gospel and consequently the primary work of the Twelve.
leadership in the prayer, in the worship, of his fellow believer

author of Acts, the proclamation of the Word of God to those who
yet believed ( kerygma ) and the further formation ( didachê ) of t
have, both stand in function of the prayer of the apostles and of t
whom they shared their ministry.
Is this understanding of the centrality of prayer in apostleship s
result of theological reflection of the authors of Heb and Lk-Acts
propose that we have not really addressed this question to th
Paul, that we have not heard clearly what those first generatio
say about apostleship as Paul lived it, reflected upon it, and exp
self about it.41 Paul's letters are themselves a work of his apos
"the apostle's task and his responsibility and passionate conce
gospel and the churches entrusted to him give them their hallmar
any personal friendship with particular individuals."42 The let
over, are a witness to the ongoing apostolic formation of thos
believed and been baptized. They were not written to unbelie
churches,43 and in a profound sense they all have baptism as their
and the life of agape - of worship - which that sacrament initi
the letters were "intended to be read aloud at the meeting for
Thes 5: 27), 45 to continue to nourish "the word of faith" amon
40 In Acts 9:11 Saul is to be found praying after the risen Jesus ha

him.
41 We say this remembering that "Paul, with his own 'apostolic' self-consciousness,
. . . after his call and preparation and with his theological and missionary insights,
sets his own style" (R. Schnackenburg, "Apostolicity: the Present Position of Studies,"
One in Christ 6 (1970) 250; cf. 246-247). The encounter with the risen Jesus (1
Cor 9:1) and the duty of witnessing to him, Paul certainly had in common with
those who were apostles before him (cf. Rom 16:7 and 1 Cor 15:8,11). On the other
hand, because apostleship also involved a charis (cf. e.g., Rom 1:5; 15:5; 1 Cor
15:10; 2 Cor 12:9; Gal 1:15; 2:8-9) and perhaps is to be reckoned with the charis-
mata (cf. 1 Cor 12:4-7 with 28-31), it is at the disposition of the Spirit with all
that that involves in terms of adaptation and development. The " apostolos " is both
a minister of Christ and a minister of the Spirit (cf. 2 Cor 11:23 with 3:6.8).
42 G. Bornkamm (ut cit., fn. 1), p. xxiv: even the language of Paul is "In every
case . . . dictated by the apostle's work and gospel. It is a tool used by a man who
is himself a tool in the hand of his master." The apostle's "person and work are an
indissoluble unity" (p. xxv, cf. 168).
43 This, of course, is not to say that we do not hear of the apostolic kerygma to
those who had not yet believed. It is obviously presumed and explicitly referred to
(1 Cor 15:3-5 [-7] ; 2 Cor 1:19; etc.) in the letters.
44 Cf. J. Jeremias, The Central Message of the NT (New York: Scribner's, 1965)
58-64, with its reference to R. Schnackenburg.
45 Ģ, Bornkamm (ut cit., fn. 1), p. xxii.
not only believe in their heart in the resurrection of Jesus but

with their lips that he is Lord (cf. Rom 10:8-10) .
If the Pauline letters were an expression of the task of an apo
and build up a praying church, their text also at every tur
apostle at prayer, engaged in that total and exclusive servi
which was the heartbeat of the apostleship bestowed on him.
Christi, the saying has it, and that was a heart at prayer.
Again, it is the texts of the Pauline letters, in their literary f
as content, that witness to this primacy of prayer and wo
apostolic task. One need only recall that the formula of the open
of the letters "uses the two notions of charis (covenant fav
(peace) that are rooted in the old priestly blessing of Nm 6:2
follows, normally, a more or less extended prayer of thanksg
ing.47 The exposition in the body of the letter is time and ag
by, illustrated with, or summarized through prayers and hy
sion, thanksgiving, and praise produced from the OT, from
the first generation churches, and from the personal prayer of
Finally, the letters always conclude with a prayer of bless
apostle for those who have listened to his words.
The content of Paul's correspondence illustrates even more
than the form his profound convictions on the place and pur
in his apostolic task and the life of the churches he served. Fro
rassment of riches in the documents (e.g. the relation of fai
the christian life in faith as "worship" [Rom 12: Iff.] ; sacram
and ecstatic prayer), I shall single out only a few areas tha
particularly persuasive.
First, I call attention to all of those passages in which th
phatically notes the constancy and persistence of his prayer
1:10; 1 Cor 1:4; Phil 1:3-4; Col 1:3; 1 Thes 1:2; 3:10) a
same persevering and continual prayer upon the churches (e
Phil 4:6; Col 4:2; 1 Thes 5: 17). 49 The language is, of cours
46 J- A Fitzmyer, "N.T. Epistles," JBC , p. 223 (NT), q.v. for t

remarks as well. Cf. B. Rigaux, Letters of St . Paul (Chicago: Fra
1968) 117-122, 131-143.
47 G. Bornkamm (ut cit., fn. 1), pp. 63, 164, notes that the thanksg
1 Thes occupies almost half the letter. He offers no explanation o
because his otherwise exceptionally perceptive treatment of the life
the apostle only rarely touches on the worship of the Pauline chu
upon the prayer of Paul (pp. 113, 181, 186-188).
48 A generous selection of the still more numerous passages tha
observation can be found in articles cited in fn. 7.
40 Ci C. Spicq, Théologie Morale (ut cit., fn. 12) I, 355, where he
but only in the sense that to believe always, to hope always, to love
hyperbolic. The exegesis of these passages (not to mention our
their imperatives) has tended to be "hypobolic" (if I may coin
and to that extent we have not really seen the heart of Paul th
totally concerned with "the Lord's affairs" (1 Cor 7:32) and
for all the churches (2 Cor 11 :28) .ß0
Secondly, I find instructive all those passages in which the apo
moned the churches to pray with him as well as to intercede for
Rom 15:30-32; Phil 1:19; Col 4:3; 2 Thes 3:1-2). The whol
shares in the central task of the apostle, and his concerns and goals
give definition and direction to the prayer of the Church. The word
the Gospel, which came to believers through the apostle, must also c
to form them through the apostle, to join them to that apostolic pr
what ultimately only God can give, his rule and kingdom.
If, as we noted, apostleship is a gift and grace of the Holy Sp
must also be remarked that the prayer of the apostle, as of all chris
empowered and sustained by the Spirit (Rom 8:26-27) . It is, in th
analysis, the Spirit who confers holiness on that offering of th
which Paul as the worshipping minister ( leitourgon ) of Christ Jesu
performing a priestly task of worship, brings to the Father (Rom 1
The apostolic minister of Jesus is simultaneously the apostolic m
the Spirit who leads the Church in its principal work of total s
total love of, the Word of God.
The Western Catholic Church today has had its worship enri
rejuvenated with an abundance of public reading of the Scriptur
I venture to say, the historian will rank second only to the intro
the vernacular languages for its profound, long-term effects up
newal of the whole people of God. The response to that word, th
exclusive love of God which it demands, the primacy of prayer and
which it implies, are as drastic a challenge to our generation as they
the apostolic churches and that apostolic ministry which formed and
them.
It is the belief of the Church that the ordained ministry has
vast majority of the NT occurrences of proseuchomai are in the presen

indication that prayer is, so to speak, the permanent activity of the ch
of the whole church, which, like its Lord, is always engaged in interc
whole passage (335-364) should be consulted.
50 For a proposal explaining the link between ta tou Kurtou and the m
the apostle, see J. D. Quinn, "Celibacy and the Ministry in Scripture
(February, 1970) 3163-3175.
61 Cf. fn. 41 supra .
sacramental ordination been designated for and made to share

and power of apostleship. The center of that work is the r
prayer and worship which that ministry must lead and guide.
not lead if it has not first followed. "A servant is not greater
Master ; nor is he who is sent (apost olos) greater than he who
(Jn 13:16). A ministry at prayer must lead the Church in pra
the Church at prayer is doing her most important work. It wa
eloquently a generation ago:
. . does the Church as a whole shine forth primarily as the Eccles
The American public knows the Church somewhat, and misunde
somewhat, as the Ecclesia Docens, if not using that precise term. Th
public knows her also, and misunderstands her still more, as the Ecc
Let her appear primarily as the Ecclesia Orans and she will be truly
and surely loved. For that is her truest and noblest self. ... In t
Orans the Church and all her children fulfill the highest function o
mankind in the offering of ourselves, individually and corporately
sacrifice to our heavenly Father through Christ, Our Lord. If the C
our country is weak by any lack of union, is it not above all by
that strongest and holiest union in the prayer of Christ?"52
Jerome D. Quinn
The Saint Paul Seminary
St. Paul, Minnesota
52 From an address of Msgr. William Busch, the patriarch of the litur

ment in this country, reprinted in The Catholic Educational Association
(November, 1925) 679.

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APOSTOLIC MINISTRY AND APOSTOLIC PRAYER

Author(s): Jerome D. Quinn

Gunther Bornkamm has recently noted that, "Primarily and

* Presidential Address, delivered at the opening session of the 34th Gen

It is, of course, only for the purpose of discussion that one

L. Leloir, "Valeurs permanentes du sacerdoce lévitique," NRT 92 (March, 1970)

latreuein is parallel to agapãn.12 On the verge of the Chri

We are, I submit, at the very nerve of OT prayer when

12 Cf. Strathmann, TDNT IV, 61, and C. Spicq, Théologie Morale

17 It is no accident that it is in the prayer of Jesus (Mt ll:26=

If love of neighbor is the primary manifestation of the love of G

24 See now his N. T. Theology : the Proclamation of Jesus (New York:

God of Israel poses the further question of the relation of Jesus' pr

27 See G. R. Beasley-Murray, "Jesus and the Spirit," Mélanges Bêda Rig

With this I must broach the question of that ministry of the

86 The teaching of Heb in this respect, as in others, resembles that of Jn 20:21

leadership in the prayer, in the worship, of his fellow believer

40 In Acts 9:11 Saul is to be found praying after the risen Jesus ha

not only believe in their heart in the resurrection of Jesus but

46 J- A Fitzmyer, "N.T. Epistles," JBC , p. 223 (NT), q.v. for t

It is the belief of the Church that the ordained ministry has

vast majority of the NT occurrences of proseuchomai are in the presen

sacramental ordination been designated for and made to share

52 From an address of Msgr. William Busch, the patriarch of the litur

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