This should be kept in mind, in particular: whatever a priest may plan, resolve, or do to become holy, he will have to draw, for example and for heavenly strength, upon the Eucharistic Sacrifice which he offers, just as the Roman Pontifical urges: “Be aware of what you are doing; imitate what you hold in your hands.” (#56 Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia Pope St. John XXIII)
The quote above is one of my favorite as a reminder how I, as a Catholic priest and follower of Jesus Christ, am called to conform my life. Many of you know that this past week on June 4th I celebrated the 14th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. And I would like to take some time to reflect on my journey and how we are called to seek God in our vocation that is proper to our lives. When I entered the seminary in the fall of 2000 I had know idea of the blessings, the thorns, the joys, the sorrows and yes, the cross that God would ask me to share. I was heading off to my pastoral year at St. Catherine of Alexandria parish when the priest abuse scandal became widely known and I remember living in shock, anger and frustration during those months as the list of names and those removed from ministry continued to grow. But it was also a time of great spiritual growth and understanding how when we, as Catholics; priests, religious and laity, choose to conform ourselves to the Eucharistic sacrifice, we begin to see how the mercy, love and healing grace of God converts hearts and helps us overcome sin and continue to participate and work in the vineyard of our Lord.
Configuration to Christ in sacramental ordination places the priest at the heart of God’s people. It allows him to participate in a way proper to him, an in conformity with the whole structure of the ecclesial community, in the triple munus Christi. The priest, acting in person Chirsti Capitis, feeds the flock, the people of God, and leads them to sanctity. hence the need for credible witness to the faith in all aspects of priestly life and in his respect for the celebration of the sacraments. (p 22 “The Priest and the Third Christian Millennium”)
God placed me into the heart of his Church. It began at St. Martin of Tours, then Holy Spirit, then St. Catherine and now at St. Lucy. He placed me in the heart of his Church in my work with Worldwide Marriage Encounter and the Engaged Encounter community. He placed me in the heart of his Church in guiding parish schools, helping families to grow and nurture their faith. He has place me in the heart of his Church in my work with the young adults of our valley with the Young Catholic professionals and most recently in helping a faithful Catholic woman to found a ministry reaching out to young single mothers to help them heal and be re-united to the Body of Christ. In doing these ministries (and a few more) God has placed me into the heart of his Holy Catholic Church to witness to his love, his mercy and his forgiveness by seeking the face of his son Jesus Christ in all whom I am called to serve.
“The first service to render to the community is prayer. And therefore, time for prayer must be given a true priority in our life. I know that there are many urgent things: as regards myself, an audience, a document to study, a meeting or something else. But if we are not interiorly in communion with God we cannot even give anything to others. Therefore, God is the first priority. We must always reserve the time necessary to be in communion of prayer with our Lord.” (p 50 “The Priest: A Bridge to God” Pope Benedict XVI)
It is during those dark times that the Eucharist and prayer became real and my conversations with God became deeper and life-giving. It is where, in God’s classroom of silence, I discovered a beloved Father who waited for me with patience and my priority became His will and not my own. Yes, I still have my times of ego but they become less and less as I live with in the heart of his Church and see the example of the many holy people, who are the Catholic Church, seeking to do the ministry of God’s grace and life in the world. I have discovered my prayer with God, centered on the Eucharist, has become his voice whispering in my soul.
““Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” St. Peter expressed this well when he held up the example of a reverent and chaste life that wins over even without a word those who refuse to obey the word. It is therefore primarily by her conduct and by her life that the Church will evangelize the world, in other words, by her living witness of fidelity to the Lord Jesus the witness of poverty and detachment, of freedom in the face of the powers of this world, in short, the witness of sanctity.”(#41 Evangelii nuntiandi Pope St. Paul VI)
When Pope St. Paul VI wrote the above quote I am sure that he had know idea of the scope and damage the scandals of the last 20 years would do to the priests ability to witness to the faith. But here is the great part…St. Paul VI didn’t write this above quote to just priests…he wrote it to every faithful Catholic…he called us all to be witnesses to the faith and in doing so inspire priests, bishops, cardinals and even Popes to live their vows with joyfulness and hope…to truly be the holy people God calls us to be. As I end this short letter, I ask you to do three simple things: first celebrate the Eucharist as often as you can…it is life giving and our strength against evil, second pray daily for the sanctification of our Church and the holiness of your priests…it does work and it is powerful and lastly, as Pope Francis reminds us again and again, be joyful…bless those we meet and know with a joyful heart even as we carry our cross.
ps…as an anniversary gift to me…you may consider donating to our Clean Shave for a Clean Start Campaign…there is a link attached to the email
God bless
Fr. Mark.
Come and join us next Friday June 14th for this time of prayer and blessing for Sri Lanka
