The problem of the priesthood is one of the most serious confronting the Church today. But it is also one which the progress of .scriptural exegesis can help resolve in a much more satisfactory way than hitherto. My intention has been to go back to the biblical source and draw from it a solution of the problem that will have more than passing interest. Chiefly on the basis of the priestly prayer of Jesus ( John 17 ), I have shown in a new way that Jesus was truly a gre4t priest and that he intended to bestow upon his apostles and their successors a priesthood that is quite distinct from the priesthood common to all the baptized. . . . I hope that many priests and many Christians generally will be helped by this book to rediscover the magnificent meaning of the consecrated priestly life. They can .come to this new insight only if they do not tire of contemplating the person and work of Jesus Christ who is the sole Priest of the new covenant. The sacrificial and priestly dimension of the life of Christ must be clearly seen if we are to grasp the unique greatness of that life, for that dimension is the dimension of Christ's love fol us. On this account, it is not only priests but Christians generally who will find profit in reading and meditating on these pages.