Quiet! Be Still!

The disciples get into a boat and cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. In the middle of the trip, they encounter what this translation of the scriptures calls, “a violent squall”, something we might call a storm. What are the storms of your life?

This past week, I had the great fortune to attend the Frank J. Lewis Institute for Campus Ministers. It was a conference for people who have been in campus ministry for a year or two in order to help us hew our skills. I’ve never been on the campus of Notre Dame University until this conference and, I must admit, I’m very impressed at the quality of the buildings and the care they take with their lawn. It’s one of the only places I’ve ever stayed where a lawn sprinkler was running in the midst of a beautiful spring rain. At one point in the conference, our group was going to take a picture with the dome of the basilica in the background while the setting sun was making just enough light for us to have an awesome. I felt my phone vibrate on the way to the staging area and looked down to see that it was an unknown number from Minnesota. I wasn’t going to answer but, fortunately, I did. It was a friend from College named Jenny who married one of my college roommates named Dave. Jenny asked if I was busy and I told her where I was and stuff and, when she said she understood, I heard the unmistakable sound of someone trying to pretend that they aren’t crying. So, I ducked behind a pine tree and asked what was wrong. She said that her husband was having trouble breathing so she brought him to the hospital and they found Lymphoma, cancer. She didn’t know anything more but I couldn’t help but think that she knows what it’s like to be in the midst of a storm.

I imagine some of you can sympathize with my friends Dave and Jenny. You know what it’s like for health situations to be the storms in your life or the life of family friends. The storms of life are those things in life in which we feel like we are helplessly being picked on by God; they are the times when we ask why bad things happen to God. They are also the basis of the story of Job from the first reading.

If you’ve never read the story of Job, it’s one of those biblical stories that deserves to be read in its entirety. I think it represents true development in the understanding of evil. Before this, it was common for people to believe that bad things happened to bad people; in other words that people were punished by God for their sins or the sins of their parents. Job, on the other hand, tells quite a different story. It begins in heaven where God is gathering with all the heavenly hosts. God and the devil are chatting about earth, which probably sounds a little strange to our ears. This was at a time, theologically, when we thought of the devil as opposing council in a trial. He’s supposed to stand up for the law against the law breaker. It was later when we figured out that, not only does the devil try to prove to God that we are sinners but he also tries to lead us down the path to sin. So it makes perfect sense for God and the devil to be hanging out in heaven talking about the situation on earth and for God to say, “Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?" Isn’t he cool? The devil, basically, responds by saying: well it’s easy to be good when you have everything that you need. But, if you take all that away, Job will curse you. It’s on.

The devil, in the matter of an hour, destroys all of Jobs oxen, sheep, and camels, as well as the servants and shepherds that we working for Job caring for these animals. And, to top it all off, while his children were eating, the house collapsed and killed them all. Job lost everything in the course of an hour. Job’s stands, tears his garments and shaves his head in sadness. But, he refuses to doubt the goodness of God but, instead, says, “"Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I go back again. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!" So, the devil sends four friends, Bildad, Zophar, Elphaz, and Elihu to be with him. Do you wonder if these four guys ever visited Job when he was healthy. Isn’t it strange that we give some relationships low priority until someone gets ill, then we feel like we have to run to be with the person. Have you ever noticed that? I wonder if these guys, who haven’t seen Job in years, all of a sudden come when he’s covered in boils sitting in his own filth so that he would have to care for their needs and be hospitable when all he wants to do is be alone. Nonetheless, Bildad, Zophar, and Elphaz each take turns trying to get Job to curse God but Job remains firm for 28 chapters, he laments what is happening to him but never curses God until he finally gives into this intense peer pressure and asks a series of questions that can be summed up in these four statements: I never violated my marital contract, I was charitable to those in need, I have not worshipped false Gods…I deserve to plead my case before God. If I, who have followed the rules and done acts of service to the poor, can’t talk directly to God, who the heck can? Job is angry and he has a firmer foot to stand on than Bruce Almighty did. He doesn’t take the Lord’s name and is even cautious to avoid using the biblical name of God revealed on Mount Sinai but he makes it clear that he’s angry. Six chapters later, God gives him his hearing, part of which we hear in the first reading today. God responds to Jobs series of questions with a series of his own; do you know how I made the earth? Do you know what is supposed to happen next? Do you want to be in charge? God’s response to Job is strikingly similar to the response of Jesus to the disciples in the gospel: “Quiet! Be still!”

This probably seems harsh to our ears and probably seems rather un-Christ-like. But, the truth is that if there is a religion who should not be surprised when the storms of life happen, it’s Christianity. We are a religion with a core believe that something bad happened to a Good person. That Jesus Christ, the one who came to take away our sins and came to make us daughters and sons of our creator, came to make our creator into our father, was betrayed by his friends and died on a tree because of the group think of the crowds. We are not surprised when bad things happen. This doesn’t mean that we don’t get angry and frustrated and even ask why this is happening but we also listen to the response of Jesus today: Quiet! Be Still! You’ve gone through bad things before and I will be with you to get you through this. Quiet! Be Still! I brought my son through suffering and death to the glory of the resurrection to give you hope that even the worst evil in this world can be overcome through me. Quiet! Be Still! Let me be in charge and comfort you. Quiet! Be Still!

A great day of rejoicing

It's nice to go to conferences and talk to peers but it's even better to go away for a while and realize just how nice it is to sleep in your own bed and pray in your own prayer area, even if that means driving through the night and arriving home at 3:30 am. Yikes!

I was surprised at the Frank J. Lewis Institute for training Campus Ministers. I'd never before spend this much time at the University of Notre Dame or the INCREDIBLE Basillica there! I tried to bring it back to Ames but they caught me attaching the log chains. Nonethless, the first thing that surprised me about the conference was the number of young people who are a part of campus ministry. There were at least 10 people age 25 who were not ordained that were doing campus ministry. I was inspired to think that young lay people are willing to do this. And they had social skills to boot! I was also surprised at the number of people who were faithful to church teaching on controversial issues like abortion, contraception, and homosexuality. Even though we struggled with providing pastoral care for all people, I didn't hear anyone say that they just didn't talk about those issues or compromised church teaching. They sought pastoral ways to be honest. That was awesome.

What was frustrating for me was when we talked about spending time with students. The questions was asked if it was ever appropriate to spend more time with one student than another. I said yes and most of the other people said no. Actually, only one other person said yes and he was a young guy who may have just been obstinent. When I explained that there are some people that you connect with more than others and, in particular, if that person is a young man who may have a vocation to priesthood, I'm going to spend a lot more time with him than with others. This caused, in my opinion, the most unfair remark of the conference as someone accused me of, basically, selling snake tonic while looking like I'm counseling. The remark came from a middle-aged sister. I wasn't able to defend my remarks because of the nature of the debate but her remark, in my own opinion, goes to a deeper undercurrent that vocation directors face constantly. Part of the vocation crisis comes down to selfishness on the part of society, which is a pervasive problem in (so-called) first world/wealthy socities. The more we get, the more we want. But, the larger problem is that I believe there is an active element within religious leadership that actively discourage young men from considering priesthood because it doesn't forward their agenda. If the contention is that young men don't want to become priests because they can't get married or if the priesthood shortage if caused by "half the population being excluded", then a man who is willing to at least consider forfeiting wife and child in order to be a priest is a threat. I used to notice it more but I've come to expect it by now. It's tragic that I know most sisters between the ages of 40 and 60 not only don't like me simply because of my age and vocation but hate my promotion of vocations. I'm not saying all sisters are like this and I find an occasional incredible sister who loves and supports her priests but, as a friend of mine says, you can only hit a dog so many times before he starts to recoil every time he sees you. I pray for these people because the church isn't going to change. You can hang on to the hopes of a new Vatican II spirit of openness to "new ideas" (that we've been proposing since before Vatican II) or you can realize that it's not going to happen and find value in what is happening right now. Let's live in the now.

from Notre Dame

I realized last night that I haven't posted in quite some time. I've been busy preparing and going to a conference at Notre Dame for campus ministers. I can't wait for Saturday when I will finally get to sleep in my own bed. Nonetheless, it's been good in many ways and a very rewarding experience to get to know so many people.

BUT, today is my four year anniversary. Four years as a priest...only 50 more until retirement. Just kidding. It's actually been an incredible four years. It's true that the worst day as a priest is better than the best day as a seminarian. It's even more true that each day I seem to feel more like a priest than the day before. At first, I couldn't believe I had actually made it. Then, a few months later, I would still catch myself thinking, "Gosh, you're actually a priest!" and feeling so unworthy. Lately, I've had times when I wish I could just take a little break, like not be a priest for this party or this conversation. That's strange, I know, but I usually realize that I'm really wishing I could go backwards in my relationship to God at the same time that I wish I didn't have to be a priest. Only in prayer do I sort out the feelings of temptation for sin from the ones that draw me deeper to God.

I pray for the priests that have left. I hope it's God's will in their lives and not their own wills getting in the way of God. I can't imagine ever being happy not as a priest...I can't imagine me being holy not as a priest. I understand what the theologians say when they say that ordination affects a person's being, not just what they do. I am a priest. I'm not perfect but it's who I am and the challenge that I must live up to every day for the rest of my life.

The trinitarian God who is love

My Dear sisters and brothers: Grace and Peace in God, our Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ whose Spirit enlivens our hearts and makes us sons and daughters of the one true God.

We heard in the first reading, this series of Questions,

“Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of? Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live? Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the LORD, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?”

The writer’s answer to his rhetorical question is,

“This is why you must now know…that the LORD is God…and that there is no other.”

In many ways, the core of this celebration is different than most other times that we gather together for Eucharist. In some ways, it seems to have more in common with the people of that first reading than the other two, the people we refer to as the Jewish people. I say this not because the Jews have come to believe in the trinity but because we are here to come to a greater understanding of the very nature of God, a question that is so close to the heart of the unique revelation given to our elder brothers and sisters in the faith.

If you will indulge me, I’d like to read an excerpt from a book that seems to sum up the nature of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. In this book, the author is telling a story from an author named Harvey Cox in his book The Secular City.

“According to this story, a traveling circus in Denmark caught fire. The man­ager thereupon sent the clown, who was already dressed and made up for the performance, into the neighboring village to fetch help, especially as there was a danger that the fire would spread across the fields of dry stubble and engulf the village itself. The clown hurried into the village and requested the inhabitants to come as quickly as possible to the blazing circus and help to put the fire out. But the villagers took the clown's shouts simply for an excellent piece of advertising, meant to attract as many people as possible to the perfor­mance; they applauded the clown and laughed till they cried. The clown felt more like weeping than laughing; he tried in vain to get people to be serious, to make it clear to them that this was no stunt, that he was not pretending but was in bitter earnest, that there really was a fire. His supplications only increased the laughter; people thought he was playing his part splendidly—until finally the fire did engulf the vil­lage; it was too late for help, and both circus and village were burned to the ground.[1]

According to Cox, this story shows the importance of an updating faith. He says that, far too often, we bring old-fashioned ideas and cliché answers to difficult questions of believers. If we strip away the outmoded ideas of the middle ages and offer new explanations, we will be effective ministers of the gospel. Of course, a part of that is true, but the author offers a critique of this attitude as well. He says,

“Perhaps we should admit that this disturbing analogy, for all the thought-provoking truth contained is still a simplification. .For after all it makes it seem as if the clown or in other words the (believer), is (in possession) of full knowledge who arrives with a perfectly clear message. The villagers to whom he hastens, in other words, those outside the faith, are conversely the completely ignorant, who only have to be told something of which they are completely unaware; the clown, then need only take off his costume and his makeup, and everything will be all right. But is it really quite such a simple matter as that?”[2]

Of course not. The author is using this story to show that both doubt and belief plague both believer and unbeliever alike. This leads the author to the interesting conclusion,

“Per­haps in precisely this way doubt, which saves both sides from being shut up in their own worlds, could become the avenue of communication. It prevents both from enjoying complete self-satisfaction; it opens up the believer to the doubter and the doubter to the believer; for one, it is his share in the fate of the unbeliever; for the other, the form in which belief remains nevertheless a challenge to him.”[3]

On this Trinity Sunday, we are forced to face the fundamental question, “Existiert Gott?” Does God exist? Despite our best efforts to focus on other questions, this will not easily go away. It perdures. We are invited to probe the depths of the mystery of this difficulty and, in the process, come to a greater understanding of God.

We begin in the first reading by firmly establishing the unity of God. We believe in ONE GOD (period!). We do not believe in three gods; father, son, and spirit. We believe in the God of the Old Testament who is one. This is why the gospel mandated baptism in the Name, singular, not in the Names of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Yet, it has been divinely revealed that God, who is one, has three divine persons, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” One God in three persons. We try to use images like a triangle or a three leaf clover to explain the meaning of this theological concept but both of these can be misunderstood. So, where do we turn for guidance?

As a kid, I never understood all that my Father and Mother did. I never knew of all the sacrificed they made to ensure that I had a rood over head, food on my plate, a good education and even a few of the things that were simple pleasures. And, to be honest, I still don’t know everything they did to make my life better. That’s sort-of what Paul is trying to convey to us in the second reading by using the analogy of adoption. As God’s daughters and sons by adoption, we will learn about the relationship between Father, Son and Spirit by being in relationship to them, in prayer and in acts of justice. When we share in the sufferings of Christ and, so, share in his glory, we are living in the spirit who reveals to us the Father through Jesus Christ. We shouldn’t be too surprised when we get to the heart of the mystery and we find the God who is live and once again find ourselves to show the God who is love to one another.

[1] Ratzinger, Joseph Introduction to Christianity, c 1969 Ignatius Press.pp.39-40
[2] ibid pp. 40-41
[3] ibid p. 46

A new bishop for Washington

How would you speak to a new diocese to which you have been assigned? How about like Archbishop Donald Wuerl did here? I think there is great wisdom in this statement.

"Of the faithful of the Church of Washington I would like to ask your support and most particularly your prayers. Undertaking an assignment of this magnitude can be daunting. Yet I recognize the power of prayer and what faith and God’s grace can accomplish in each of us."

CNN - Commentary?

I try to read CNN.com on a fairly regular basis because it keeps me in touch with what is going on in the world. I feel a little betrayed, though, today. I've never seen them have an opinion piece on the website. The first one that I saw was called Commentary: Kay Warren: Christianity and AIDS. The content is blythe and pointed but more suited for a blog posting than a news source. So, why is CNN starting a commentary piece as part of its news reporting? And, why is the first commentary one that, basically, is an internal christian statement on our need to care for the poor? Is Fox News more correct than we want to admit that CNN is biased? Does this happen more often than I'm aware and, for some reason, I've just missed them all?

Pentecost

This morning at Sts. Peter and Paul church in Gilbert, I celebrated what could be the best liturgy that I have celebrated as a priest. It wasn't because of a great homily...it actually was kind of pathetic. It wasn't because of the extraordinary holiness of the priest (or the people). It was just a solemn mass celebrated the way the church wants us to do so. Incense...altar bells...chanted prayers...all the good stuff was there for this celebration. And, to top it all off, it was an extraordinarilly beautiful day! The windows were open letting in the incredible breeze so that the smoke of the incense went wafting out the windows while the scent traveled througout the church. The sun was so bright that we could have turned off the lights and had the same effect. And, after mass, we had breakfast and conversation. These are the days that make me so grateful to God for letting me be a priest.

Being excited when you have no reason to do so

I get excited by getting things through the mail. It's like my birthday or Christmas, though it's totally a surprise.

Yesterday I got the DVD of the miniseries "God or the Girl", and today I got my weekly newspaper from the Vatican, L'Osservatore Romano. I fully espected both but, in both cases, I was really excited when I received them. I'm so excited, in fact, that I'm going to sit and read instead of organizing my email inbox.

Spiritual Direction

There are those who say that the greatest disservice the church has ever done for christian society was diminishing the importance of reconciliation. I think that's a bit of a overstatement, in the end. But, the point they offer is that there was a sense of humility when reconciliation was more the norm than it is today. There was less counseling, fewer divorces, and a whole host of other societal problems that weren't as chronic. And, even though I hesitate to make a strict causal connection, I am just as hesitant to deny it totally. I don't know how to change the problem, though historically, things have a way of fixing themselves.

One of the things that may help us to realize the importance of confession is spiritual direction. I spend one full hour talking to one of my brother priests about my spiritual life and it is so incredibly helpful when I approach the sacrament of reconciliation. I've usually worked through my difficulties and problems with my spiritual director and am prepared to be reconciled with God and "Go and sin no more". If I were to offer an analogy, I'd say sin is like an injury, spiritual direction is the physical therapy and confession the orders to leave. Now, if only I could get to the point in life where I wouldn't walk right out and do the same darn things all over again.

In Defense of JC Superstar

I checked out the movie "Jesus Christ Superstar" from the library the other day. I had heard constant comparisions between it and Duh Vinci Code recenly so I had to remind myself of its content. And, while I can understand the relationship with Mary Magdalene being highlighted to the detriment of other, more important, relationships (ex. Peter's only role in the movie is to deny Jesus), I disagree in a strict one-for-one citique.

First of all, there is no evidence in JC Superstar that Jesus struggles with his feelings for Mary Magdalene. She does in her feelings for him, which, I imagine, would be true of any prostitute turned disciple. I'll leave aside the fact that Mary is not a prostitute in the Bible and that later tradition conflagrated her with a nameless anointing woman. If Mary was a prostitute, her understanding of love would be warped. A man who had no intention of using her for a sexual object would be very unusual.

Plus, she is just as confused as everyone else about his trial and conviction. This is not a woman who knows full well that this is a ruse in order for him to exit the spotlight and marry her.

Lastly, she is the one who is singing "could we start again, please" with the disciples. She misunderstands his ministry and is just as lost at the crucifixion as the others are.

So, even though I'm not advising people to watch it, I don't think it's fair to equate these two movies. At very least, I think it's safe to say that JC Superstar is not as evil as Duh Vinci Code.

Update

I'm sure you all think that I've had a minor meltdown because of the "success" of the Duh Vinci Code and that's why I haven't posted. No, I've actually had a reasonably atypical week. I've been driving all over the place and haven't had a chance to post. Sorry. I have to admit that I've been out of the loop on a lot of stuff because I haven't been able to read stuff. I'll work to catch up tonight and have more of a profound post tomorrow. But, for now, I feel really relaxed because of the last few days. These are the times when I'm convinced I should have been a semi-truck driver.

Evangelization as experiencing the love of God

If you’ve ever spent in a foreign country, you know that one of the more interesting experiences deal with cultural differences. When I was in Israel, I remember seeing two older gentlemen walking down the street holding hands and talking very close, so close in fact that my German sensibilities wanted to move them apart. I thought to myself, “Gosh, you don’t see that very often in the US.” I thought that maybe they were just old Palestinians that had difficulties keeping balance. Then, a few moments later, I saw two young boys in the same posture and proximity and I realized this is a cultural phenomenon. This is the way that middle easterners show love for one another. Do you think we would call that expressing love for one another?

I ask that questions because, as some of you may remember, a similar situation played out in this country with different consequences. A few months ago, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia visited President Bush on his ranch in Crawford. Reporters caught them strolling around the ranch holding hands with one another in the way that I described above. What I found fascinating was the reaction the media had to this scene. The most juvenile was one news commentator who put inappropriate music behind the scene and seemed to indicate that there was a romantic relationship going on. What makes us automatically assume that, in that situation, there must be an erotic component?

Part of the problem deals with our language. As some of you know, the English language has one word that many other languages had several for. If we look to ancient Greek, we hear of something called filios, or the love of siblings for one another. That’s the love that families strive to offer each other. This is the love that soldiers have for one another in battle. This is the love the roommates have for one another. Filial love is a moment of trust that is, usually, built over years.

A different love and one that, in many ways, our culture is obsessed with, is called eros, or erotic love. Now, it deserves to be said that there is nothing wrong with eros between husband and wife. In fact, it is a noble love in that context. In the old Testament, this type of love is used to describe God’s love for his people Israel. This shows the dignity that we, as church, should have for the love of husband and wife: that it is an image of the love that God has for us. Yet, my fear is that, in our contemporary American culture, we are fixated on eros and don’t put it in it’s appropriate context. This is, I believe, what is driving movies like Da Vinci Code. Our culture needs to believe that Jesus experienced eros in order to believe that he’s human. This is why I think there is an unhealthy understanding of love that permeates American culture.

The New Testament abandons the image of eros for a more inclusive form of love called agape. This is the love that John was talking about in the second reading when he said, “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.” We have been loved by God and we are called, in turn, to love one another. This is the type of love the philosopher will spent countless hours writing tracts about. This is the love that popes write encyclicals on. This is the love that a parent has for a newborn child. That child can, in no way, give thanks to her or his mother or father. You don’t expect a two day old to take out the garbage, wash the floor, and clean the sink by the time that you get home from work. You expect that you are going to have to give up a lot of things that you used to hold dear in order to love for this child. This is agape love.

In the gospel, we are reminded that, when we show this love to one another, we are not merely being kind, nor are we fulfilling our Christian duty. We are showing to this world the love that is God. When we love one another with that selfless love, we are offering more proof for the existence of God than any piece of writing ever could. So, this is what God wants of us: to love and not count the cost, to be his love in this world and, in the process, to show the world how much God loves it.

The lie is winning...

I just learned on CNN.com that the worst movie made in our lifetime has made $29 million dollars. Here's all that I'm going to say; if you support them when they hate us, don't be suprised when they keep hating us. This movie is nothing but lies masquerading as truth and now Catholics have proved that we will not only financially support a book that, in the worst tradition or plagarism and prejudice, condemns our historical foundations but now we are going to financially support a movie that does the exact same thing.

If there is a market, Hollywood will whore itself out to make money. In the next few years, it will find new and more explosive ways to "reveal" the truth of Christianity and we will probably all be surprised what they do. But, if you are holding a ticket stub for Ron Howard's house of lies, you have no right to be angered!

God is love

I was/am struck by an amazing coincidence. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column about the pope's encyclical called "Deus Caritas Est" or God is love. It appeared in the bulletin this weekend. In the meantime, since the readings for this weekend are saturated with love language, I wrote my homily on the same topic.

Here's what I emphasize in my homilty. God's love is a full understanding of love...a self-less love. We love God because God loved us and sent us his son. We, in turn, love each other with that same kind of love that God first loved us with. I highlight that our culture is fixated on erotic love, or eros, but that God's love is more than just eros and moves in the direction of what is called agape.

I was going to make my point even more explicit by stating, "That's why we shouldn't need to believe that Jesus had sex and fathered children in order to believe that he is human. Any animal can have sex and breed. Jesus' accomplishment was that he taught us the meaning of selfless love and, in the process, gave us a goal of what it means to be fully human." But I didn't. I'm still struggling with how to respond to DaVinci evil.

Meet Bishop Martino

A good bishop of the diocese of Scranton teacing gospel teachings.

Fast for DaVinci

The first showing the of DaVinci code in Ames, Iowa will be at 11:30 this Friday. I will fast for one full day and pray that people just avoid evil. Anyone want to join me?

My students love me

On the last student-planned Thursday Night mass of the semester, a group of students with whom I routinely worked presented me with a gift of a year's subscription to L'Osservator Romano, the Official Vatican Newspaper. The first issue came today and I couldn't be any happier!!!

The Pope with arms in "orans" (prayer) position next to the headline "The Resurrection and rediscovering Mary in our lives".

I started shaking because I was so happy.

Bishop Paul S. Loverde's wisdom

I kind-of wish more bishops would communicate like this. I especially enjoyed hearing about "A chance to share the vision" in which the bishop met with parish leaders to build a common vision. My archbiship did this five years and is discussing ways that we may do this again.

Jubilarians of the world...unite!!!

We had our yearly priests' Holy Hour and celebration of those celebrating anniversaries. Usually, these celebrations are just awful. The speakers talk for too long and turn the evening into a rousing celebration of lament. This year was different, however. The speakers got to the point and sat down. They let us know what it means to be a priest and didn't tell all kinds of stories about the priests that weren't in that room - those that left priesthood. I left Dubuque feeling inspired and honored to be a priest.

All are Priests. Some are Priests. None are Priests

A few years ago, pastoral leaders in this diocese; priests, deacons, and lay pastoral staff, were invited to come together to reflect upon the relationship of priestly leadership to lay pastoral leadership. We heard a very complex theological explanation by a professor from St. John’s University in Minnesota named Susan Wood which I found fascinating and thought provoking but almost everyone else found to be boring and wordy. Then we heard from another speaker named Zeni Fox who everyone else seemed to find enlightening but I felt like she reduced ministry to a hug, used lots of meaningless jargon, and generally oversimplified a complex issue. I had hoped the conversation at my table would help us understand the complexities at hand and come to some common ground but, instead, I found myself assigned to a table with a group of embittered priests and laity who complained about the declining number or priests and admitted to me that they didn’t try to work with the young men in their parish to nourish vocations to the priesthood because they want to “solve” all the church’s problems by forcing the Pope to allow women and married men to be priests. I walked away from the whole day feeling frustrated, angry, and concerned for the future of the church – and no closer to understanding the relationship of lay leaders to the ordained.

So you can imagine my surprise as I was reading over a commentary on today’s scriptures and heard the phrase that seemed to answer this very question. It said, “All are priests, some are priests, none are priests.” Let me repeat that in case you think that I left out a note or two. I said, “All are priests, some are priests, none are priests.” Now, let me explain. The Second Vatican Council rightly emphasized that, through the imposition of the Holy Spirit at baptism, we have all come to share in the priesthood of all believers. By being initiated into the Church of Christ, we are called upon by Christ to lay down our lives to lead a life of holiness. This vocation to holiness was described well in our second reading today. It said we are children of God just like Jesus was a child of God. This childhood is a sharing in the priesthood of Christ in the faith, hope, and love that was given to us in Christ’s triumph over sin and death on the cross. We, in turn, must live lives of faith hope and love in the way we steward our lives. Parents play a special role in this by training their children in the faith. Next week we will remember our mothers who, oftentimes, laid down their lives to raise their children. It’s only appropriate that we thank them for that sacrifice, so don’t forget!

Yet, amidst this general priesthood to which all people are called, there are a group of people that are called to a special priesthood. These priests, to which I have been called, model Christ for the community in a radical way – in their gender and in their undivided devotion to God. This is the priesthood in which Peter was participating in the first reading. He has been filled with the Spirit and is called forth by Jesus himself to be a leader in the Christian community. He was to put a holy order to things so that it was possible for the gospel to spread. His ordering of the holy community tells us that priests are not meant to do everything in a parish, nor are they confined to doing only the sacraments. They are to model Christ by laying down their lives so that they can be the shepherds of a community. That’s why we can’t be like the people at my table at that meeting hoping to coerce a change in the church. We need to pray that God continue to call forth good, holy leaders from among his people and always encourage our young men to be priests.

So, all are called to the priesthood of the faithful in baptism and some are called to priesthood by ordination. But what was I talking about by saying none are priests? The truth of the matter is that Jesus Christ is the only shepherd of his Church, the only priest. It said so in our Gospel today when Jesus said that there will be one flock and one shepherd. If any of us, lay or ordained, begin to believe that we have the authority to make decisions about faith or morals outside of the teaching of the Church of Christ then we have in effect strayed from the fold in an attempt to make ourselves the shepherd. The only true everlasting priesthood is that of Jesus Christ, the good Shepherd. He is the one who appoints certain men to be priests and he is the one who calls us all to the priesthood of all believers. Truly all are priests, some are priests, none are priests.