26th of July, 2009 Sunday.
ON PRIESTHOOD

After the Order of Melchizedek!

The misfortune of the ordained ministers, more often than not, is that they forget that the sacrament conferred on them is to imitate Christ. Instead they employ the sacrament to accomplish their agenda, and enter into their personal glory.

My life is not about me; it is about Jesus Christ. The vocation of priesthood is to emulate our Master Jesus, who had all the glory one could ever imagine, but relinquished it completely, for our sake to give life, and life in abundance. Priests are given sufficient grace to follow the Lord, but they become vulnerable when they try to gain earthly glory. St. Paul writing to the Corinthians reminds us that he was given a thorn in the flesh to keep from being too elated. He says, "I will all the more gladly boast of my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

In the midst of the sex scandal of the priests, and the growing fear of another serious scandal of priests embezzling parish funds, the call to holiness during this year of the priest is more earnest than ever before. The cardinal invites priests to engage in personal prayers to celebrate the sacraments more worthily and to make Eucharist the center of priestly spirituality. In the same token, the laity is called upon to pray for their priests. Priests are reminded to make sacrifices to grow in their personal holiness, and in a very special way to give part of their salary for charity and missionary work. The call for renewal is a challenge in this secular world, but priests must remember that "My life is not about me, it's about Jesus Christ." Jesus, being the Lord and Master, condescended to washing the feet of his disciple; we are called to do the same. Undoubtedly, priesthood models Christ.

This year is also a year to rejoice, and to give thanks to God the Father, for blessing humanity with so many good priests, who selflessly give their lives for the sake of the gospel and his Kingdom. The most significant aspect of the year that celebrates the Catholic priesthood is the fact that it is intertwined with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Priests bring Jesus Christ to the world. They wholeheartedly celebrate the Sacraments to nourish the lives of the pilgrim people of God. Priests transformed by the Eucharist sincerely reach out. When humanity suffers, priests suffer with them; when injustice prevails priests fight for justice, when the moral fabric of society is in danger priests are the voice of conscience, they feel the hungry, cloth the naked, and they visit the sick and those in prison. Truly, the priesthood is a gift from above, after the order of Melchizedek to be a mediator between God and his people. (To be continued )

-Fr. Peter Fernandes, sfx., St. Timothy Church.