This weekend we commemorate the 47th World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Because we are also celebrating “Good Shepherd Sunday” as well as.......................
PASTOR’S NOTES
This weekend we commemorate the 47th World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Because we are also celebrating “Good Shepherd Sunday” as well as the “Year of the Priest” we will focus our attention on the sacerdotal calling. Our Holy Father begins his reflection with the understanding: “The fruitfulness of our efforts to promote vocations depends primarily on God’s free action, yet as pastoral experience confirms, it is also helped by the quality and depth of the personal and communal witness of those who have already answered the Lord’s call to the ministerial priesthood and to the consecrated life, for their witness is then able to awaken in others a desire to respond generously to Christ’s call…I wish to invite all those whom the Lord has called to work in his vineyard to renew their faithful response.” Confirming the Pope’s sentiments, most of us can point to one or more priests who inspired not only our Catholic faith but our future calling as well. In my case, I can think of those priests who served in the parish: Msgr. John Stewart who devoted to Mary prayed her rosary every afternoon walking up and down the side aisle of the church; Fr. Tom McEnroe who devoted himself to the sick; Fr. Charlie McHale who spent so much time with the young and preparing the people for the new liturgy. But there were others as well: Fr. Paul Bernier S.S..S. would gather over 600 teenagers each month for a holy hour. When we went to high school and college we met true other Christs. Msgr. Michael Fleming who guided our spirituality; Fr. David Rea who gave us an appreciation of the intellectual life; and Fr. Browne and Msgr. Cohalan who gave us unique insights in the public square. Of course, in the seminary we met models of what we wanted to be holy priests who served the community of faith: Msgr. Daniel Flynn who encouraged us by a strong emphasis on the pastoral mission; Msgr. Austin Vaughn who witnessed to the values of life and who was prophetic in his vision; and Fr. Donald Panella who gave us a love of Scripture, particularly the Old Testament.
The thoughts of Benedict XVI lead us back to those early times which are still foundational. “In the Old Testament the prophets knew that they were called to witness by their own lives to the message they proclaimed, and were prepared to face misunderstanding, rejection and persecution. The task which God entrusted to them engaged them fully…As a result, they were prepared to hand over to the Lord not only their voice, but their whole existence. In the fullness of time, Jesus, sent by the Father…would bear witness to the love of God for all human beings, without distinction, with particular attention to the least ones, sinners, the outcast, and the poor. Jesus is the Supreme Witness to God and to his concern for the salvation of all.” His disciples who he called are ones who accepted God’s gracious initiative and challenge to take full human responsibility.
The priests of today, their successors must, according to our Supreme Pontiff exhibit certain characteristics. He states: “A fundamental element, one which can be seen in every vocation to the priesthood…is friendship with Christ. Jesus lived in constant union with the Father and this is what made the disciples eager to have the same experience; from him they learned to live in communion and unceasing dialogue with God. If the priest is a ‘man of God’, one who belongs to God and helps others to know and love him, he cannot fail to cultivate a deep intimacy with God, abiding in his love and making space to hear his word. Prayer is the first form of witness which awakens vocations.” I am reminded in this regard of the Latin maxim: “Nemo dat quo non habet” (no one can give what he does not have). To be a priest today one must have a burning desire for the Lord’s presence in his life. The modern phrase is “fire in the belly”. One cannot approach the ministry without an acknowledgement of divine grace. Of course, this spirit is not achieved overnight but comes as a result of seminary formation and continual spiritual direction for another.
Benedict XVI advises: “Another aspect…belonging to the priesthood…is the complete gift of one’s self to God…The figure of Jesus…at the Last Supper…expresses the sense of service and gift manifested in his entire existence, in obedience to the will of the Father…The story of every vocation is almost always intertwined with the testimony of a priest who joyfully lives the gift of himself to his brothers and sisters for the sake of the kingdom of God. This is because the presence and the words of a priest have the ability to raise questions and to lead even to definitive decisions.” In times of great personal crises of illness, loss of employment, and family disruption, it is the priest who must minister without regard to cost. Taking his own human experiences he must be empathic and revelatory of the Lord’s concern.
Our chief shepherd reminds each Christian, particularly priests, that they must live in communion. He “must be a man of communion open to all, capable of gathering into one the pilgrim flock which the goodness of the Lord has entrusted to him, helping to overcome divisions, to heal rifts, to settle conflicts and misunderstandings, and to forgive offences”. The leader of the faith community must be willing to interact with all his parishioners as well as those outside the security of the Church. Sometimes this means a cup of coffee with a homebound person, or attending the annual play in the high school, or giving the invocation at a public meeting. We must joyfully approach every opportunity to engage the people of God and reveal the wonder of a committed life to Christ and his Church.
Though at times difficult, the priesthood is for me a tremendous gift to which I invite the young men of our parish to partake. I join our Holy Father in the wish: “May this World Day once again offer many young people to reflect on their vocation…May the Virgin Mary…watch over each tiny seed or a vocation in the hearts of those whom the Lord calls to follow him more closely, may she help it grow into a mature tree, bearing much good fruit for the Church and for all humanity.
Vivat Jesus
Fr. Brian