Today is “Priesthood Sunday!” I could not help, but laugh when I saw the readings for today! Oddly enough, what we have in our readings, especially two of them, is a message about pettiness and jealousy in ministry that has been around from the beginning. In my experience, you have tended to put us on pedestals, while we have tended to push each other off pedestals! I believe our “competitiveness” just might basically be one of those famous “male” traits! So, if you are expecting a “canonization of the clergy” homily today, don’t blame me, blame the church for picking these readings about pettiness and jealousy in ministry. As you already know, we are famous for naming your sins from the pulpit! Maybe you can take some comfort in the fact that this year, I am happy to have the chance to name one of our sins from the pulpit on this “Priesthood Sunday” 2024. I say all this, not because I am an unhappy priest with an axe to grind, but because I am a happy priest who is among those who are trying hard to become even more effective at what we do! I say this because I lectured Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Auxiliary Bishops, priests, and even some deacons, on unity among the clergy with their bishops in over 150 dioceses in 10 countries before I retired. I taught classes on it to future priests in several seminaries while I was working at St. Meinrad Seminary. I even published three or four text books on the subject.
Jealousy and competitiveness have
been the dark side of clerical culture for a very long time. When the apostles,
James and John, were caught making a move to grab the best seats in Jesus’ new
kingdom as they understood it, they had to face the jealous indignation of the other ten apostles as
well as a stern reprimand from Jesus. Today we have the story about John trying
to put a stop to someone who was driving out demons in the name of Jesus
because he was not “a member of the inner circle.” Then there is the story
about Joshua in our first readings doing pretty much the same when he
complained to Moses that Medad and Eldad were prophesying even though they had
not been “in the tent” with the others when the spirit came to rest on the
other prophets. Snubbed by some
Samaritans while on their way to Jerusalem, James and John asked Jesus if it
would be OK to call down fire from heaven and burn them up! Is that any way for an apostles to act?
The United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops’ Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests
dedicates quite a bit of space to the subject of clerical envy and competition.
They wouldn’t have addressed it, if it were not a problem! Whether you like his
work or not, the late Father Andrew Greeley made a similar point in one of his
books. He talks about his experience of the leveling that goes on in presbyterates, whereby
priests are reluctant to applaud the work of other priests for fear that it
will take away something from themselves. Deacons probably have a similar
problem.
He says that, in the clerical
culture, “to be a member of good standing, a priest must try not to be too good
at anything or to express unusual views or criticize accepted practices or even
to read too much. Some ideas are all right, but too many ideas are dangerous.”
“When a layman mentions that Father X is a good preacher, the leveler priest’s
response might likely be, ‘Yes, he preaches well, but he doesn’t get
along with kids.’” Or, “He’s really good, but all he does during the
week is prepare his sermon.” Or, “everyone says that, and it’s probably true, but
he’s not an easy man to live with.”
One famous Protestant minister once said, “The meanest, most
contemptible form of praise is to first speak well of a man and then end it
with a “but.”
When I was teaching in the seminary,
in my August transition class with the deacons, I always ended with a class on
the spiritual practice of blessing people. Blessing people is not about waving
crosses over them. It’s about looking for goodness in them to affirm. For some
reason, this does not seem to come naturally to ordained ministers. It is a
spiritual discipline that must be intentionally cultivated.
A couple of years ago, I came across
my notes for former student, Jorge Gomez, of the class of 2011. As you may know
Fr. Jorge (from Mexico) and his diocesan brother, Stanley (from Kenya), were
killed in a car wreck a few weeks after his ordination. Here are the last words
I said to Deacon Jorge to bless him on his way out of the seminary. “You have
not forgotten that you do not have a vocation to the seminary, but to serve the
People of God. You have a deep love and respect for your country, your family,
your people and your community. You are very dedicated to “the people.” You
seem to know instinctively that, as priests, we are “called from the people, to
live among the people, to serve the people.” I also told them which saint they
reminded me of. For him I selected St. Luke, whose heroes are always the
underdog, the foreigner, the disaffected and the left out. I am very happy that I took the time to bless him
with these words while he was still alive! Jorge would have loved Pope Francis’
homily a couple of years ago. “A priest who is not in service of his community
does no good. He is wrong!”
Brothers and sisters, our biggest sin may not
be so much about “what we have done,” the mean and nasty things we say about
each other, but “what we have failed to do,” our withholding of clear and
unconditional compliments from one another!
St. Cyprian, in the Office of Readings for the Feast of Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian, which we celebrated on September 16, put it this way. His words could be applied to deacons, religious Sisters/Brothers and lay ministers as well. Sometimes, we even hear the laity says, “Well, I don’t want to volunteer to do it, but I also don’t want to see her or him doing it!” What St. Cyprian said about priests could also be said about deacons and lay ministers as well. “Why should a priest not take pride in the praise given to a fellow priest as though it were given to him? What brotherhood fails to rejoice in the happenings of its brothers wherever they are?”
In today’s gospel, the apostle John says to Jesus: “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he does not follow us.” Jesus was right in his response to John. "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”
Finally, on this “Priesthood Sunday,” I want to thank you for your generous encouragement and support for over 54 years! You continue to inspire me with your fidelity, generosity and basic goodness! I am privileged just to be here praying together with you on Sundays that we will all do better, and be better, next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment