In St Luke’s account of the Last Supper, a dispute arises among the disciples as to where each of them stands in the pecking order. Jesus takes the opportunity to declare forcefully: “The greatest among you must behave as if he were the youngest, the leader as if he were the one who serves”. He then goes on to define the ministerial priesthood of his Catholic Church: “Here I am among you as one who serves”. The incarnate Son of God, the Second person of the Blessed Trinity takes on the role of a servant – he ministers to those around him – the needs of others are always to be paramount.
“Here I am among you as one who serves”. Perhaps it is a failure to accept the full consequences of our Lord’s words which has led the priesthood into its crisis of the present generation. A lack of fresh vocations, at least here in Europe, moral relativisms, flagging zeal, the compromise of holiness. It is fitting that Pope Benedict has used the 150th anniversary of the death of John Vianney, the saintly cure d’Ars, the universal patron of the clergy, to declare this a Year for Priests.
There is the famous story of John Vianney, just appointed to the backwater of Ars, making his way on foot to his new parish, his few belongings in a bundle on his back. Tired and dispirited – for Ars had a reputation as a Godless place, and he could not find the right road. He came across a peasant who was, fortuitously, a native of the new Cure’s village and able to lead him to the door of the church and presbytery. As he thanked his helper, John Vianney said words that echo down through the years: “You have shown me the way to Ars, now I will show you the way to heaven”.
That really is what it is all about. A priest’s role today is varied: he has to be expert in what is now called “multi-tasking” and it is all too easy for him to fill his time with the many demands that crowd in day after day, in a busy parish. But he must never, never, forget that his primary vocation, the raison d’etre of his priesthood is the salvation of souls. “I am here among you as one who serves”. The fundamental service that the priest has to offer is to speak of the things of God, to open a gate into heaven for those in his care, to offer a vision of holiness. As St John Vianney delighted to say: “the priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus”.
And yet, as another of the saints, Pope Gregory the Great, acknowledges: “It grieves me to have to say that the labourers in this great harvest are few, because there are not enough people to preach the good news, although there are people waiting to hear it. We see around us a world full of priests, but it is very rare to find a labourer in God’s harvest, because we are not doing the work demanded by our priesthood”.
As I begin my ministry here at St James’, I commend myself to your prayers. The Scriptures that are set before us today are a challenge and an encouragement. True wisdom, we are reminded by the Book of that name, will never be lacking to those who seek it – not wisdom of this world, but a perception of things as yet unrevealed which is the language of the Holy Spirit. The Letter to the Hebrews contains a reminder of the power of the Word of God, that double-edged sword which judges our secret emotions and thoughts. May that cutting edge of the Gospel never be lacking from this pulpit. And then the question put to Jesus: “Good Master what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Pray God that those who come into this building seeking an answer to that fundamental human question will never go away unsatisfied, unnurtured.
We hear a lot today about “collaborative ministry”. What that phrase means is that all the Baptised have a responsibility to put their personal gifts and resources at the service of Christ and his Church. A politician said it this week: “we are all in this together”. I hope that in the years ahead each of you will know that your perceptions and experience are valued. We are indeed all in this together. But as Catholic Christians we also recognise that the priesthood is “the love of the heart of Jesus”, and that the priest must always be at the core of the Christian community. It is his role, it is my role, to teach and to preach, to celebrate the sacraments, to pastor, in other words to provide leadership – to form, to guide, to try to show each of you the way to heaven. That I will try to do.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to tell her Sisters of Charity that, together, they could do “something beautiful for God.” My prayer is that in this lovely place, with all its resources in terms of you its people, and the beauty of holiness which surrounds us (and which also delights our ears), we may, in these coming months and years do something beautiful for God, and bring many souls to an understanding of God’s love, and thereby to their salvation.
No comments:
Post a Comment