A priest is not to build walls but bridges

By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami

Homily by Archbishop Wenski on the ordination of four new priests for the Archdiocese of Miami. May 11, 2013 at St. Mary Cathedral.

My friends, today we give God thanks for having four men to the priesthood; and we thank them for freely accepting this call � and all that it entails � with great generosity and love. Also, I offer a special word of gratitude for their parents and their families who have supported them.

Una palabra a los padres y a las familias de estos hombres: La Iglesia est� muy agradecida a ustedes por su generosidad, por haberlos animado para que pudieran responder a esta vocaci�n sacerdotal en la cual servir�n a Cristo, maestro, sacerdote y pastor. Y no se preocupen por sus hijos: las oraciones y la amistad de sus nuevos hermanos sacerdotes les van a servir de amparo.

The ordination of these men should inspire great joy among all the people of this archdiocese � even as we pray for God to send us more laborers for this vineyard. I wish to thank sincerely those who were involved in their formation. 

In an increasingly secularized world where many have lost the sense of the transcendent, the priest is an enigma, a sign of great contradiction. In a world in which people live, in the words of Pope Benedict, �etsi Deus non daretur� � as if God does not matter � the Church will always seem �out of step� and irrelevant. Such a Church will often be regarded if not with scorn and ridicule then with utter incomprehension. But as St. John writes:  �The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him� (1 John 3: 1).  Again to quote the Pope emeritus ��we priests experience this: the �world� does not understand the Christian, does not understand the ministers of the Gospel. Somewhat because it does not know God, and somewhat because it does not want to know him. The world does not want to know God so as not to be disturbed by his will, and therefore it does not want to listen to his ministers�.� Yet, by Christ�s design, we are "in" the world "for the life of the world."

This call of the Church to be �in the world� and to be �for the world� has been strongly emphasized in these days and weeks since Pope Francis has ascended to the Chair of Peter. He has criticized a �self-referential Church,� a Church closed in on itself. A priest, Pope Francis tells us, is not to build walls but bridges. And he has challenged all of us to �go out of the sacristies and go out to the �outskirts� �where people of faith are most exposed to the onslaught of those who want to tear down their faith.� In his address to the priests of Rome during this year�s Chrism Mass, Pope Francis reminds us that the priestly anointing we receive is not meant to just make us fragrant; rather, it is meant �for the poor, the prisoners, the sick, for those sorrowing and alone.�

The world desperately needs the priest�s witness that God in fact does matter. This witness is made more compelling by his detachment from material comforts and signs of status, by his readiness to obediently be available wherever his bishop may send him, and by his chaste celibacy which is the source of spiritual fecundity. This is what Pope Francis would call being a priest who goes out of himself and lives like a shepherd with the �odor of the sheep.�

The celibacy which is freely embraced by the priest or the consecrated religious affirms and proclaims that all human intimacy finds its deepest meaning and fulfillment when experienced as a participation in intimacy with God himself. Understood in this way, celibacy in no way contradicts the dignity of marriage but presupposes and confirms it. (cf. Familaris Consortio, 16). Celibacy, to be sure, is not easy; but then again neither is Christian marriage easy, for both require the gift of oneself in imitation of Christ�s own gift of himself on the Cross.

Los sacerdotes, por supuesto, perdonan pecados en el nombre de Cristo y su Iglesia. Les pido que sean generosos con su tiempo estando siempre disponibles para escuchar las confesiones de la gente. Aun si nadie llegara, su presencia en el confesionario es un testimonio silente de la presencia de Dios y de su paciencia en la espera del regreso a casa de sus hijos pr�digos Las exigencias de este ministerio con sus inevitables tribulaciones y desilusiones y el hecho de que cargamos el �tesoro� del Evangelio en �vasos de barro� pueden a veces tentar a los sacerdotes a caer en el desanimo � y quiz�s, algunas veces hasta a ser impacientes con nuestra gente. Por lo tanto, que ustedes no falten en aprovecharse de  las consolaciones del Sacramento del Perd�n.

St. Paul reminds us: �But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.� (2 Cor 4: 7)  The demands of the ministry with its inevitable trials and disappointments and the fact that we carry the �treasure� of the Gospel in �earthen vessels� can sometimes tempt us to give into discouragement. We are always at risk of becoming �of� the world, adopting its mentality, its way of thinking and living �that can pollute even the Church, that in fact does pollute her, thereby requiring constant vigilance and purification.� As a priest, you will forgive sins in the name of Christ and the Church in the sacrament of Penance. Be generous of your time, in making this sacrament available to your people. And do not neglect to avail yourself of its consolations. For frequent confession will not only keep you humbly aware of your own unworthiness but will also constantly remind you of the primacy of grace:  God uses imperfect instruments to work his will so that we will know that it is He who saves and not we. And the Mercy of God will always be greater than yours or our own weakness and unworthiness.

Since the priest offers the Holy Sacrifice every day, sacrifice must also be the condition of your lives. In giving Christ�s Body and Blood, we priests must also give our body and blood for the life of our people. So, therefore, as you celebrate the Sacraments, strive to understand what you do and imitate what you celebrate, attending not to your own concerns but to those of Jesus Christ.

And in welcoming these new brothers into our priestly fraternity, we � your bishop and your priests � grow in an even greater appreciation of all that God has done through us � despite our admitted shortcomings. Inspired by the generosity of these four men, we also renew our commitment to our vocation to follow Christ, the source of our hope, the hope that does not disappoint (Rom. 5: 5).