Community V
oices
being “taken from among men, is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins (Heb. 5:1-2). By his ordination the priest is consecrated in soul and body. The call to the priesthood is an enormous gift from God despite the sacrifice it would entail. Worthy priests give to every church its stability and fruitfulness. Let us hold the priest in veneration and be grateful to him because he brings us Our Lord. Above all let us pray for the fulfillment of his lofty mission, which is the mission of Jesus “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). It is a divine mission which makes the head spin and drives one mad with love when one reflects upon it deeply.
But this sublime grandeur brings an enormous responsibility which weighs upon the weak human nature of the priest, a human nature fully identical with that of every other man. Hence susceptible to temptation and sin like the rest of us. St. Bernard said:, “The priest, by nature is like all other men; by dignity he surpasses every other man on earth; by his conduct he ought to imitate the angels.” We are all aware that only a few priests are endowed with genius. One man can seldom be “good” in all the aspects of Christ’s ministry. Try to take your priest as he is, a limited human being like the rest of us. See in him the man with a message from God, and pray for him. Whether a priest’s sermon be good or bad, we should receive the message not as the word of humans, but as the word of God. As a devout Catholic, an altar boy (Mass server) during my teen and adult years, I have observed that not all priests are gentle, great, saintly, and dedicated.
The good priests have been living their lives, reflecting all we have learned and heard about priesthood. A divine calling, a sublime mission, an angelic life, a very high dignity — what immense burdens — all on poor human flesh. They have the best sense of reality and we love them. They do magnified out of proportion an element that was present in Jesus’ teaching — love, peace and forgiveness in communities. This shows their human factor at work. Priests are Rev Fathers only in relation to God (Jesus does not dictate a vocabulary; he demands the right spirit!). Yes, they care for others deeply and lift them up in prayer. They have given fervor to the lukewarm and stimulate the good to become ever better and to encourage the saintly to walk on the heights of perfection.
Education is one of the most powerful means of human progress. A community is great only in proportion to its advancement in education. They never forgot their duties to others less fortunate than themselves. They always devote a part of their energy to the uplift of those sunk in wretchedness. Hence they become a center of wholesome influence, in a community and an honor to priesthood. A Hero in the unlikeliest of habitats: a priest serving his people through love. Thank you for being such a great example of living a life of faith. This post is an ODE to all of you, who do the simple (but difficult and perhaps unpopular) priestly things well, as dispensers of holy help for this journey, as truth-tellers to their flock. We need to be reassured by the truth, even when we already know it and to pray for those families affected by the abuse. —Osmond Ekwueme, Medford
