Sirach 50:22-24
Psalm 145:2-11
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Luke 17:11-19
It is Good to Give Thanks
Indeed, when we consider all that the Lord has done for us , the very least we can do is to thank him, and give our lives in full worship of him everyday, full surrender to him and service to him and his people! We must always proclaim with confidence and boldness with the psalmist today: "Every day I will praise you (God) and extol your name for ever and ever." This is why we are gathered here today, to give thanks together with Father (N) to give thanks to God not only for what God has done for us in our lives but most especially for the gift of priesthood which God has given to our brother Father (N). Yesterday, Father (N) was Ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, he did not choose himself to be a priest but it is God who chose him. On Father (N's) part, he fully accepted the call of God and chose to live the life of priesthood. It is indeed a beautiful life to be a priest, because it is the Lord’s own life that you have chosen to live. Thanks Father for accepting the call of God to live as his Son lived here on earth. And this impels not only him but also all of us, even as today's readings invite us, to give thanks to God almighty; this is truly a day the Lord has made, which is why we rejoice and are glad in it.
When we look closely at the altar we see that something has changed according to the sitting arrangement. Before and during the aspirancy to priesthood, Father was sitting in the congregation during mass. As he became a seminarian, he started sitting in the sanctuary but far from the main celebrant seat. When he became a deacon, he came next to the seat of the main celebrant (even sitting besides the Bishop) and now he is the main celebrant. He has never sat in that seat before but today it is his great day to feel how comfortable or how demanding that seat is. Indeed God has made it, and it is right and just that today we join him to give thanks to God for allowing him to sit in this seat, as a newly ordained priest. From yesterday, after ordination, people will be calling you Father, even your father, your mother, your siblings, people older than you, your relatives and even those who do not know you will call you Father when they see you. But father, this is not raising in status. Do not get used to that seat and become comfortable there. If you find that seat comfortable, then you will not be fulfilling your responsibility well as required. Sitting in the presiding seat carries with it responsibilities and roles. Those people who mistake role with status have got it wrong. Father, priesthood is a responsibility, a role not a status. To be a Priest is to live up to that responsibility to live the Gospel and be part of the community. You must identify yourself with Jesus. It is the duty of any priest to support people’s faith. To nurture it, to develop it and to share it. Because as a priest, Father, you will touch people’s lives in a very special and unique way, sometimes in ways you first don’t realize.
Today's reading brethren have been specifically chosen to instill in us always the heart of returning thanks to God for all he has done in our lives, to create in us the spirit of gratitude. Sirach in the first reading invites us to give thanks to God of all who always do great things for us but more specifically for raising us right from birth and making us who we are today. Sometimes we may take it for granted that it is our right to be born, to live and become who we are. This is not right, it is the mercy of God that has enabled us to reach this day. Being born is not a right but by the mercy of God, the only sure right we have here on earth is to die. And for our new priest, it is God and God alone who has made you to make it this far, not by your own efforts. I know he has been dealing with you mercifully through your parents, all those you have met and your formators for perhaps sometimes you have not been perfect. But as St Paul tells today, "God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." Always give thanks to him.
St Paul in the second reading mostly speaks to us gathered here as regards our role to a priest and to Father (N). He invites all of us gathered here to give thanks to God for the graces he has bestowed on our brother and for enriching him with all the gifts and talents he has. We thank Father for also making us proud. We thank God for making our son a servant to serve his people as a priest. Saint John Mary Vianney in his, The Little Catechism, Sermon on Priesthood, invites us to thank God always for gift of priesthood because with a priest we are exposed to golden treasure of the kingdom of God: "What would be the use of a house full of gold, if you had nobody to open [you] the door! The priest has the key of heavenly treasures; it is he who opens the door; he is the steward of the good God, the distributor of His wealth. Without the priest, the Death and Passion of our Lord would be of no avail." Look at the gift that God has given to us today, one who will open for us all we long for from God. Indeed, let's thank God. Father was not ordained for himself but for us: "a priest is not a priest for himself; he does not give himself absolution; he does not administer the sacraments to himself. He is not for himself, he is for you…what joy did the Apostles feel after the Resurrection of our Lord, at seeing the master whom they had loved so much! The priest must feel the same joy, at seeing our Lord whom he holds in his hands…the priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus. When you see the priest, think of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (St John Vianney, Little Catechism).
We the people of God demand and expect our priest, as we expect you Father, to be holy. However, holiness is not only expected of a priest, but all the people of God. Their (your - gathered here today) great love for God and holiness will then challenge and encourage the priest to continue fighting the spiritual battle everyday with great fervor and zeal. In this we truly help one another. St Paul continues to encourage us to pray for our brother today so that God will keep him firm to the end, so that he will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray for your priests, and pray for Father (N). The first year of priesthood can be severely trying and tiring at times, so he needs all the help he can get. Support him as you have supported him while in the seminary. Priests don't just appear out of thin air but are formed and nourished by loving and supportive people. You are the ones that have formed Father (N) into the man and the priest that he is today, continue to support him in every way possible.
Some of us are fond of blaming priests when they fall; but I invite you today, that instead of blaming, let us kneel down in prayer and pray for our priests to always be committed to the life they have chosen as well as their commitments. Remember a priest is for us, his weaknesses are ours too, he strengths are our too and as St John Vianney says: "After God, the priest is everything. Leave a parish twenty years without priests; they will worship beasts. If Father was to go away, you would say, "What can we do in this church? there is no Mass; Our Lord is no longer there: we may as well pray at home. When people wish to destroy religion, they begin by attacking the priest, because where there is no longer any priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no longer any sacrifice there is no religion." Love and Pray for your priests my brethren for they make us Christians as they stand in persona Christi, apart from the first Christians, we would not be Catholic Christians without a priest.
My dear brethren, in the gospel today, we are presented with the parable of the ten lepers whom Jesus cleansed. Seeing what Jesus had done for him, one leper, a Samaritan, came back to Jesus to give thanks to him. Jesus' question should probe in us a deep reflection on our gratefulness: “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”
The Gospel records an unusual encounter between two peoples who had been divided for centuries. The Jews and Samaritans had no dealings with one another even though Samaria was located in the central part of Judaea. Both peoples were openly hostile whenever their paths crossed. But we see one rare exception - a Samaritan leper in company with nine Jewish lepers. What brings them together? Sometimes adversity forces people to drop their barriers or to forget their prejudices. Deprivation and distress made them forget their ethnic differences and live rightfully in fraternity. When this band of Jewish and Samaritan lepers saw Jesus they made a bold request. They didn't ask for healing, but instead asked for mercy. Mercy in the Bible is not only the act of forgiving but the restoration of life, of the whole human being to his or her original state, Here, ‘mercy’ (eleos) also refers to a request for kindness to someone who is in need. When Jesus sees them and listens to their cry for mercy, he commands that they go and show themselves to the priests. And as they went, they all healed, and only one leper came to give thanks.
We can learn a lot from this grateful leper. The leper returns to the source of mercy to give thanks to him but also to recognise him. We too must always return to the one who is merciful to us. This is what also Father is doing today. I am sure, in all his formation and even before formation, he has been praying to God to have mercy on and fulfill his dreams. And since God has had mercy on him, today he thanks God in a special way. Gratefulness to God is an act of humility, that everything I have and I am, I don't deserve them, but is by the mercy of God. The nine, after getting their certification of acceptance to the community by the priests, went their own ways; may be to share their excitement with their family and community; while ignoring the one who cured them. Father would have chosen to celebrate his priesthood in another way, if he had felt like the nine lepers who might have felt that they deserved such a favor from Jesus because they were Jews. But he decided to first come to the one who has been merciful to him and thank him because I know Father is feeling like the one leper who might have believed that he did not deserve such an outstanding favor from Jesus, a Jewish Rabbi. Today, Father is glorifying the Lord just as the one leper was glorifying God in a loud voice because he was convinced that God healed him through His son Jesus.
Father (N), it not by your own making which has made you this far, it is the Holy Spirit, though with your cooperation, who guided your vocational discernment which began and came to fruition here in this parish and in the Diocese of (N) after years of study and continued discernment in the seminary. It is the Holy Spirit who gave you strength in the midst of suffering and confusion at times. It was by the power of the Holy Spirit and the laying on of hands that you became of a priest of Jesus Christ. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of institution that you will say during the Eucharistic Prayer that the bread and wine will become the body and blood of Christ, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and it is by the Holy Spirit that you will live and commit yourself to priesthood forever. It is indeed right and just to give thanks to God just as the one leper did.
Does our ‘thanks’ really matter to God? Despite people returning to give thanks to God or not, his limitless mercy shines through even amidst human ungratefulness and unfaithfulness. God does not condition his healing that if only the beneficiaries were to return to give thanks to him that he would heal them. God, who is merciful, does his part; and he does it in the best way possible. From the human point of view, those who ‘acknowledge’ God’s blessings are undoubtedly ‘thankful’ people, because they see the gifts of this world, the people around them, the events and experiences of this world as gifts that are given and not earned by their own merit. Indeed, the Samaritan saw his ‘new existence’ purely a gift of God, an overflow of God’s abundant mercy.
In short, Gratitude is a word which expresses gratitude of heart and a thankful disposition, is related to grace - which means the release of loveliness. Gratitude is the homage of the heart which responds with graciousness in expressing an act of thanksgiving. Gratitude is the beatitude of the heart. Having a grateful heart goes beyond saying merely “Thank You”. Grateful people truly acknowledge how richly they have been blessed and everything that they have and that they are comes from God. Such people pass on grateful memories of life, inspiring others to think of their source of blessings. Ingratitude leads to lack of love and kindness, and intolerance towards others. If we do not recognize and appreciate the mercy and help shown to us, we will be ungrateful and unkind towards others. Ingratitude is forgetfulness or a poor return for kindness received. Ingratitude easily leads to lack of charity and intolerance towards others, as well as to other vices, such as complaining, grumbling, discontentment, pride, and presumption.
Now Father (N), some few words as you start your priestly journey:
I know father through your formation you have been reflecting and preparing for the priest you would be, but I want to pose this question again to you on this first mass: what kind of priest will you be? In his well-known sermon on the Church’s Pastors, Saint Augustine of Hippo distinguishes between those pastors who seek their own good and those who seek Christ’s, those shepherds who shepherd themselves and those who shepherd Christ’s flock, or, as the prophet Ezekiel puts it, those shepherds who feed themselves and those who feed the sheep (cf. Ezekiel 34:2, 8). Preaching on the Gospels, Pope Saint Gregory the Great laments in a similar vein: “Look about you and see how full the world is of priests, yet in God’s harvest a laborer is rarely to be found; for although we have accepted the priestly office, we do not fulfill its demands” (Hom. 17.3). Which kind of priest will you be?
Be aware of these Three Enemies.
Devil: The devil always wants you to forget the majesty and the grandeur to which you are called – to incarnate the presence of Jesus Christ to the world from the moment of your ordination to the instant when you see him face to face. Even after you are ordained, he will tempt you, he will urge you to work less. He will urge you to give up, enjoy life more, while people are going to Hell. Pray a lot that you won't be taken away by the devil which is roaring like a lion looking for the ruin of souls (1 Peter 5:8). Remember it tempted Jesus, it will also tempt you in the same way: Food, self satisfaction and easy life (turn these stones into bread), Power, Authority and Idolatry (I will give you all these nations if you bow down and worship me), finally, testing god and misuse of your position (If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down). The devil is always looking to take advantage of your position but all in all remember he is a liar.
World. The world will come with all enticing things, with fake and infinite happiness, to take you away from God and his kingdom. You are in the world, but remember you are not of this world. You have been chosen by God, do not let the world separate you from God.
Your body. The only thing you have on this earth is your body, keep healthy and safe, eat well and take care of it because without your body, you cannot serve God's people (Philippians 1:24). But this body can become your enemy if not tamed. The body does not know who you are. You know what I mean.
Also remember these four things to guide and lead people:
Scripture: Your first duty will always be to be true to the scriptures and the teaching of the Church. Your first call is to follow what the Lord has given and to give that to others. To be an example to people as they come with their joys and their sorrows, so let scripture be the bedrock of all that you do, let the word of God permeate what you say. In all things you should be true to yourself, true to the scriptures and true to your ministry and God will be with you. You can't give what you do not have, only the fully evangelized by scripture can be a true evangelizer. Make people always say: "I need too always listen to the preaching of Father (N)."
Prayer: Fr, the priesthood is a total gift, but there will be many crosses. There will be many who don’t understand what happened yesterday. There will be those that hate you because of the collar around your neck. Turn to the Lord in those moments of darkness and need. You will always need to come back to that who has been merciful to you. A priest without prayer is no more less like a social worker. As you laid flat yesterday while we invoke all saints and all heavenly help and glory on you, the best place you will ever and can ever be as a priest of Jesus Christ, is flat on your face in adoration of the Majesty of God. As you go on, people will ask things of you, expect you to give them your full attention and will be seeking advice from you. There will be times when you are expected to know all the answers. The expectations will always be there and you will need to find time for yourself and find time to pray.
Words: Be careful of what you say. Your words can build or break, can promote life or make things worse to the people listening to you, know when to say and when to listen and respond appropriately, remember you are not all in all. One woman came to the priest and asked him, “ Father, Why do you hate me so much?” The priest did not know who this woman was but it turned out the homily that he had given the previous Sunday had touched her so much she thought he was speaking directly at her. Father (N), you may not realize how much you can reach out to people just by your words. Let your words give hope and also challenge where necessary with prudence.
Deeds: Follow the advice of Saint Francis who says, "Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." and Saint Francis says that the best translation of the Gospel today is your life. People will see more, will be touched more by your actions more than your words.
Be with your people and be empathetic with them, just as St Paul tells us to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15). You will find that you are with people for the whole of their journey. You will be there from the beginning to the end, the baptism to the funeral and all the journey and all the days in between, and for me that is the supreme privilege. The supreme privilege of being a priest is to walk the journey of faith with those that you come into contact with, the privilege of seeing them develop, seeing them change, seeing them enriched, seeing them supported. It is a wonderful journey, a wonderful privilege, which is also exhausting, or can be so you will have to make sure you pace yourself. Indeed father (N), how can you repay the Lord for his goodness to you?’ And, while you can never repay him enough for the great gift of the priesthood, resolve to serve him faithfully as a priest of Jesus Christ, and as he did, also do so.
There will be days when you stand at that place when you will feel like it’s Palm Sunday. People waving branches and singing Hosannas, because everybody loves a new priest. A new priest is a sign of hope that God has not abandoned his people, that their rebellion can be cast aside by the oblation of peace, the offering of forgiveness. But there will also be days in which you will, like Jesus in the garden, feel terribly alone, surrounded by people who are asleep, by friends who will betray you and your God and despair, by the masses of the indifferent for whom who you are makes no difference. That is also part of priesthood, be ready for it and remember that God who has begun this great work in you will never leave you alone, never be desperate, trust in God. People will look to you for those refreshing waters and they will find them, but do not be disturbed by those who hate you because you are a faithful priest. You will experience the deep joy that the sacraments bring to people: whether it is the joy that people experience in coming to Mass, the quiet joy in a married couple asking you to bless them on their wedding anniversary, or the deep relief, expressed in tears of joy as you walk into a hospital room where a dying woman and her family have been praying that a priest arrive. The tears of joy and relief as you absolve sinners. The comfort in being with a family who has lost a loved one. The simple joys in a lighthearted joke as people see you during the day. Why this deep joy? It is because in the priest, the people of God find Jesus Christ, who is the true desire of all souls.
Stay close to our Blessed Mother, as she will keep you safe wherever our Lord sends you. Let her fiat always be a model for you. With her help you will be able to renew your consecration each and everyday. She is often referred to as the spouse of the Holy Spirit and the mother of priests. We should not forget Saint Joseph, either. What a great witness to manly spirituality. He can provide a good example to priests to work hard, trust in God, to always pray, and to live that discretion of silence that is often demanded of us and which he lived exceptionally well.
As I finish, today in a most special way, we thank God for giving a new priest. (N), I repeat this, for the rest of your life you will be called Father. It is among the greatest joys of the priesthood. As a father looks forward to coming home at the end of each work day to see his children, so too do we priests look forward to each Sunday, to see our families, the parish, our spiritual children. We laugh with our families and we cry with them, we enjoy their successes and we mourn their losses. We have no family so that we might be family to all. It’s always weird hearing an elderly person call us father. Or to have friends or even some distant relatives insist on calling us father. Who are we to be worthy of that gift? But priesthood is never something we can be worthy of. Truly, it is a pure gift. Father (N), it was the love you have for the Church and for Jesus Christ that has brought you to today. May that same love of Christ keep your priesthood holy and filled with many blessings. Amen
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