Homily for Chrism Mass: March 24, 2010

Given by the Most Reverend Stephen E. Blaire at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Stockton.

In this year of the priest I would like to direct the remarks of my homily to my brother priests. What I say, of course, I also direct to myself since the bishop enjoys the fullness of the priesthood. Furthermore, these words extend themselves to all the faithful in the Church. For it is through baptism that all God’s people find a place in the royal priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Christ alone, THE anointed one of God, is the great high priest. He is the unique savior of the world. In his passion, death and resurrection, He offered Himself to the Father for our redemption to eternal life. All of us exercise our baptismal priesthood when we live for God, when we offer all that we are and all that we do as a gift to God in union with Christ. We offer God the gift of ourselves and Christ prays along with us. The Holy Spirit through the grace of Confirmation strengthens us to be faithful and gives us the courage to persevere as a priestly people. The Eucharist as our sacramental food nourishes us in our common priesthood.

The same Holy Spirit who anoints us as a holy people anoints the ordained priest to be sacramentally configured to Christ the High Priest, Head of the Church and Good shepherd. This particular configuration to Christ demands an alignment of the priest’s interior life to that of the visible, external sacramental reality. This means that when the priest celebrates the Eucharist he gives his own body (his very self) to God for service to the people; it means that he is willing to shed his blood (dedicate his life) in union with Christ for the salvation of all. In the dedicated priest there is a conformity between his generosity of soul and the words he speaks. Through the words of the priest and by the power of the Holy Spirit, the whole Church through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, gives glory, praise and thanksgiving to God.

The Eucharist is the high point of the Church’s priestly worship of God. For the priest, celebrating the Eucharist is the heart of his priestly ministry.

The Eucharist, in turn, is the source of the priestly activity of our lives. We go forth to offer all our thoughts, words and actions to God in union with Christ the High Priest. A priestly way of life is a work of love. Although the ministry of the ordained priest is to be characterized by pastoral charity, I would like to suggest that the particular virtue that is needed today by the priest is courage. Courage is a gift of strength from the Holy Spirit.

The priest needs to be courageous in pastoral leadership.

Msgr. Harmon Skillin and I just returned from a workshop on critical issues faced by Bishops and Religious Superiors. At the closing session, the vicar for priests from a large Archdiocese said that up to this time he saw himself as working for his Archbishop, doing a job. This day, for the first time, he was beginning to see himself as a leader.

A leader sees himself as chosen by God with a mission in life and in the church, sent by God with a work to do.

A priest is assigned by the bishop, but he is called by God and ordained by the Church through the imposition of hands by the bishop. He is sent by the bishop to be a spiritual leader for the people. His presence makes a difference. His homilies are some of the most important minutes of his week, to say nothing of its importance to the people. He has gifts to develop, which God has given him. In his pastoral role he is to empower others to use their gifts for the work of the Church. If he is to be an authentic priest, he must be a man of prayer, deeply imbued with the Word of God. He cannot stop learning and studying. He has important work to do for God.

Pastoral leadership requires courage, especially when we realize our own limitations and inadequacies. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus says to us.

There was a time when priests were put on pedestals, with high expectations of them. Those days are gone. But the diminishment of unrealistic expectations cannot be an excuse for mediocrity or residing in a maintenance mode. “Let your light shine before all,” Jesus says.

Priests need courage to find new ways of bringing the gospel into the dramatically changing times in which we live. There are some who wish to hold on to traditional rocks of stability in these uncertain and tempestuous times. I understand that. Indeed our faith in Christ is a rock. Jesus, who is forever our High Priest, is a firm anchor. But I am convinced that the Church must be ever new, ever up to date. Vatican II brought us back to the apostolic sources of our faith in Scripture and in the Living Tradition of the Church. We must present this ancient faith in new dress and in new words that speak to the people of today’s world. The Word of God which became incarnate in Jesus Christ, must become incarnate in today’s cultures. It is not enough to be counter cultural. We must transform culture in light of the gospel.

I ask you, my brother priests, to be fresh, vibrant and ever new in preaching the Word of God, always faithful to the Magisterium, which is the servant of the Word. If we are a stuffy and boring church, will we attract our young adults and their families? If we are irrelevant or filled with moralistic platitudes in what we say, will we help people find meaning in their lives? Will we help them find the ultimate meaning of life in God?

How do we accomplish this seemingly impossible task? Humanly speaking we cannot. But God can through his priests and priestly people. What we must do is keep our eyes fixed on the anointed one of God, Jesus Christ, our great High Priest.

Last Update March 24, 2010