Normally on Holy Thursday, I Focus on the Miracle of the Eucharist Christ S Greatest Gift

Holy Thursday 2016

Normally on Holy Thursday, I focus on the miracle of the Eucharist – Christ’s greatest gift to the Church – his real presence with us in Holy Communion. Jesus promised he would remain with us always until the end of the world and this promise is fulfilled right here in Holy Communion. Jesus is with us, body, blood, soul and divinity.

But Holy Thursday is not only the birthday of the first Mass, it the birthday of the first priests. So, tonight I would like to offer some reflections on the priesthood. First a story:

Sir Alec Guiness was one of the great actors of the 20th century. He starred in such movies as The Bridge over the River Kwai. But to the younger generation he was probably most familiar as the Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi of Star Wars fame. Guiness was a convert to Catholicism later in his life and in his autobiography, “Blessings in Disguise,” he recounted a small incident that contributed to his conversion.

Years ago Guiness was in France shooting a movie in which he played a priest. One day he was walking back to the movie set in the small French town dressed in his costume – the long, black cassock of a Catholic priest. As he started walking up a hill a small boy of seven or eight called out, “Mon pere! (My Father!),” and grabbed hold of Guiness’ hand and walked along with him to the top of the hill. As Guiness related, “The boy was full of excitement, hops, skips, and jumps, but he never let go of me. Although I was a total stranger he obviously took me for a priest and so to be trusted. Suddenly with a “Bonsoir, mon pere,”(Good evening, Father) and a hurried sideways sort of bow, he disappeared through a hole in a hedge. He had had a happy, reassuring walk home, and I was left with an odd, calm sense of elation.”

Guiness figured that there must be something to Catholicism if even the outward costume of its priests could inspire such reactions. In the aftermath of the sexual abuse scandals that incident puts into even sharper relief the depth and value of what is at stake in the priesthood -- and what the sins of some have cost us. In this Year of Mercy, I want to share that the Archbishop is offering three healing services throughout the Archdiocese for anyone who has been hurt in anyway by a priest or employee of the church. The healing service for JOCO will be on Tuesday April 12th at 7 pm at Good Shepherd Church in Shawnee.

One of the things Guiness experienced when he put on that cassock was that a priest represents something more than just himself. He represents the Church and in Catholic theology we believe that despite a priest’s woundedness and sin, he represents Christ to us. When a man is ordained a priest he undergoes an ontological change – this means a change in his very being. The soul of the priest is marked with a sacramental character and he is configured to Christ the priest. He becomes an alter Christus – another Christ.

The priesthood then is not a career. It’s not something you do from 9 to 5pm. It’s like marriage. You’re not a wife and mother or husband and father from 9 to 5. Priesthood, like marriage, is a vocation, a calling from God. It’s a way of life, a state of being; a permanent and life-long commitment.

If a priest is called to represent Christ, then to determine the role of the priest we simply look at the life of Christ. First, why did Jesus come . . . He came to save us.

This is the first role of the priest – to save souls. When I was a kid, Fr. Brink was assigned to our parish – Holy Rosary in Wea. When he first arrived, he told the people, “I’m here as your pastor and shepherd and my first role is to get you to heaven – even if it means driving you there!” He was kind of gruff but his basic message was on target.

This is the first role of the priest – to get souls to heaven. How does a priest save souls? God’s saving grace comes through the sacraments. This is at the heart of the priesthood – to sanctify the people through the celebration of the sacraments - through baptism, hearing confessions, offering the Eucharist, anointing the sick.

Perhaps the greatest thing a married couple can do is co-create a new life with God. And one of the greatest privileges of the priesthood is to give that child the gift of eternal life through the waters of baptism.

Most priests say they feel most like priests when they hear confessions and offer Mass -reconciling people to God – offering the one saving sacrifice of Jesus on the altar for the salvation of the world - making Jesus present in the Eucharist – these are the climactic moments of a priest’s week.

Jesus also came proclaiming the kingdom of God, and so too the priest has a prophetic role. A priest is called to preach the gospel in season and out of season. Prophets aren’t always liked because it’s their role to preach not what we want to hear but what we need to hear. The gospel should challenge us. It should rattle us out of our complacency and lead us to conversion – to conform our lives to Christ. And so a priest is called to preach about simplicity in a materialistic world, about the beauty and sanctity of life in a culture of death, about obedience in a world that values – do your own thing, about chastity in a sexualized world, about forgiveness in a world that so often turns to hatred and war.

Finally, Jesus is the Good Shepherd. And so too, the priest is called to be a shepherd and leader of God’s flock. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus was willing to lay down his life for his sheep. A tied the towel and around his waist and washed his disciples feet. He said, “I’ve come to serve and not to be served.” He was a servant leader. This is the role of the priest – to serve God’s people – to be a Father to them – to be willing to sacrifice his life for the good of his people. This means responding to an emergency in the middle of the night, bending a listening ear to a troubled soul or providing a word of encouragement and hope, or simply being present to God’s people.

As we celebrate tonight the institution of the priesthood, I ask for two things. First, pray for me and Fr. Matt and Fr. Nathan, and pray for all priests. Growing up, I always thought, “Why do we pray for priests – their not the one’s that need the prayers – we do!” Now that I’m a priest, I know why we pray for priests. Priests are human beings, wounded healers and we need the spiritual support of the people of God to help us.

Finally, I ask all the young people here to consider a vocation to priesthood or religious life. God calls ordinary, sinful people. Be not afraid if God is calling you to be a priest or sister. Archbishop Naumann says, “The most important question we all have to ask is not what do I want to do with my life – but what does God want me to do with my life.” Our happiness and fulfillment will come from saying Yes, like Mary, to God’s will. I love being a priest – I can’t imagine anything I would rather do with my life. Thank you Jesus tonight for giving us the Eucharist and the priesthood! Thank you all for your prayers and thank you young people for being open and saying yes to your vocation.