Homily of Bishop Leonard P. Blair for the celebration of Chrism Mass, March 30, 2010 |
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Written by BISHOP LEONARD P. BLAIR
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Saturday, 10 April 2010 00:00 |
The “Ceremonial of Bishops” says that at the Chrism Mass priests are brought together and concelebrate as witnesses and cooperators with their bishop in the consecration of the chrism because they share in the sacred office of the bishop in building up, sanctifying and shepherding the people of God. The Chrism Mass is therefore “a clear expression of the unity of the priesthood and sacrifice of Christ,” which continue to be present among you, God’s holy people. In just a few moments I will ask all our priests to renew their commitment to priestly service, with the support and prayers of everyone present from the various parishes and institutions of the Diocese of Toledo.
The focus of the Chrism Mass on the ministerial priesthood is heightened this year on two counts: first because we are celebrating the “Year for Priests” proclaimed for the universal Church; and secondly because it is the Centenary of the Diocese of Toledo.
In the Gospel for this liturgy Jesus presents Himself in a Trinitarian light: sent by the Father to preach good news to the poor, He is filled with the Holy Spirit, consecrated with an anointing. And as such He is the Messiah-priest, Messiah-prophet, Messiah-king.
By baptism all of us are made to partake in this Trinitarian communion and in this mission. But in singling out the Twelve Apostles to be with Him and to act in His name with authority, Jesus instituted the ministerial priesthood as part of the church’s very constitution for teaching, sanctifying and shepherding his flock.
In a Year for Priests, there is much that can be said about this vocation and ministry. After a certain identity crisis following the Second Vatican Council, there has been a tremendous flowering of theological and spiritual reflection on the gift and mystery of the priesthood. This includes both a re-appreciation of the authentic tradition of the church, as well as new insights that are especially helpful in today’s culture and in the face of today’s challenges.
Of all the many aspects, I would like to focus on this: the spiritual fatherhood of priests. Rightly are priests called “Father,” and it troubles me how often today that familial term is dropped when people speak to or about their priests, perhaps for the sake of a misguided leveling of all relationships.
This is not surprising in a world in which Bart Simpson regularly addresses his father as “Homer,” but to use a scriptural phrase, “It must not be so among you.”
In reality, all adults, whatever their state in life, are biologically, psychologically and spiritually meant to be either fathers or mothers according to their sex. Although fatherhood and motherhood are exercised differently from culture to culture, they are not reducible to generic “parenting.” Even if many of the distinctive qualities of each are not mutually exclusive, the differences between men and women are real and they are complementary. That is why it is good and important for children to have a father and a mother as God meant us to.
In human life the transition from adolescence to adulthood is marked precisely by being ready and able to take on the responsibilities of being a father or mother. One of the great wounds in society today is the foreignness and diminishment of the concept of father and husband to the self-image of so many young men. Increasingly they are left to their own devices to learn what these things mean when their time comes, if it ever comes, in a culture where marriage and family are in question and are in the process, as it is said, of being “redefined.”
None of this is foreign to a celibate priesthood because Christianity strongly affirms the close bond between the spiritual and physical aspects of fatherhood and motherhood. In our recently published pastoral letter on marriage, the U.S. bishops point out that “for the vast majority of men and women …. God places [the] universal vocation to holiness within the specific vocation of marriage. Those whose circumstances in life do not include marriage … are nonetheless also called to discern and make a personal gift of self in how they live a Christian life.”
If you are Christian and you are unmarried, then “single” is not really the right word to describe your state in life. Each of us has to make “a personal gift of self,” as the bishops say, and we might add, a gift of self that is in some way paternal or maternal, as the case may be, by the very fact of being a man or a woman.
That’s part of the reason why we address priests as “Father,” and not just Mister, Reverend, friend, associate, colleague, co-worker or anything else. Another reason is the one St. Paul mentions when he tells the Corinthians: “Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your Father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.” (1 Cor 4:15)
In the family of the church what did Father Paul of Tarsus give to his spiritual children? His letters show us the fatherly things he did: Putting food on the family table of word and sacrament; exercising authority for reconciling divisions; providing sound teaching and moral direction; giving courageous leadership amid daunting challenges; and protecting his spiritual children from danger.
Do women share these labors too? Yes, but from who they are as women, just as men act from who they are as men, all in a complementarity of the two modes of being human created by God.
When we who are priests reflect on our ministry today, hopefully we see ourselves in St. Paul. We cannot claim his greatness, but like him we are meant to be spiritual fathers to whom people can look with trust, respect and affection. The scandals of recent times have made it harder for some people to see us this way, so we have to work all the harder to be men of integrity, uprightness and purity of life.
I mentioned earlier that our Chrism Mass today is celebrated in the light of the Diocesan Centenary. It is not only to St. Paul that we priests can turn for a model of spiritual fatherhood. We can also look back at all the faithful and dedicated priests who have gone before us in northwest and north central Ohio. Our own priesthood was inspired and nurtured either directly or indirectly by these men.
I can think of no more appropriate place than this Chrism Mass to offer publicly — on behalf of everyone here representing our whole diocese — a centenary acknowledgement of the life and work of the priests who have gone before us in this local church. In renewing our own priestly commitment now in 2010, we ask them to watch over us and pray for us. May we be good spiritual fathers in the family that is God’s house, “bringing glad tidings to the lowly, healing the brokenhearted, proclaiming liberty to the captives, and announcing a year of favor from the Lord.”
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Last Updated on Saturday, 10 April 2010 00:00 |
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Middle School Rally
Click the image above to watch a video about the first Diocese of Toledo Middle School Rally March 24.
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