June 11, 2003
Cathedral of Christ the King
Dear Friends in Christ,
The Gospel just proclaimed reminds us of how much our Lord respected the law, and how necessary He considered the law for salvation. And He also declares, so that no one might misunderstand, that He, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has come to fulfill the law. He did this, so that none of us might be destroyed by the law. For the law, if kept without love, is itself a means to destruction.
We all desire to do the right thing - we all desire to keep the commandments of God and of His Church - but we are also not without guile. The devil tricked Adam and Eve into thinking that by taking command of the fundamental law - the law of good and evil - they could make themselves better - they could make themselves into God. It is thus a part of our nature, that we can also take advantage of the law, to obtain our own ends, to coerce people to do our will - to become, in certain situations, god-like in our ability to command and persuade. When we do this, we forget that Jesus Christ, by the power of His Father and the Holy Spirit, is the only fulfillment of the law, and that we are here, not to command the law, but to serve the law - to use the law, not for our own ends, but to communicate and to put into effective action, the love of Jesus Christ, which must be present, if we are to truly be, His good servants.
This is especially true of those whom God has called in Christ to be the priests of His Church. Most priests understand the humility of living their lives in service to the laws of God and His Church - of administering the Sacraments as open channels, letting the grace of Divine love flow freely from the heart of the Father into the souls of men and women - of conducting the liturgy, the public worship of the Trinity in such a fashion as to respect and represent the oneness and majesty of the Church's universal prayer - and of offering, according to the wisdom of the saints, moral guidance and spiritual healing to those who have been damaged by sin, and who seek the restorative healing only a priest can give.
Thank God that most priests understand these ministries, and are faithful to them, generation after generation. Because the few who do not -the few who succumb to the temptation of Adam and Eve, to use the law in a vain attempt to get what they want, and to subvert the will of God to their own will - they are also with us, generation after generation. And though few in number, the damage they do is great - to the heart of the priesthood, and to the heart of the Faithful. And as we all know, when the trust of just a few is betrayed, then the confidence of the many is fractured, and becomes suspicious, and fearful.
I paint this picture of the truth of human nature, and of the contrast between those who serve the law by serving Christ, and those who betray the law, by serving themselves, to accentuate the meaning of this occasion - this Mass to offer as a gift to God, the jubilee years of those brethren we honor today: Fathers Gerard and Philip, Trappists of the Monastery of our Lady of the Holy Spirit - the Franciscan Father Mario DiLella - and Father Jorge Christancho of our diocesan clergy. We are confident in offering to God, the combined 150 years of their service, because we know, by personal witness, and by observation of results, the good fruit of their labors - something which can only come about, when a priest loves Christ and does His and His Church's will.
And what a representative sharing of the love of Jesus Christ they encompass by their careers: - in the great spiritual caldron of the monastic life, where prayer for God's glory and for grace upon His Church is an endless yet welcome labor - on the campuses of local educational institutions, where the fragile spirit of our young people needs such vigilant and understanding care - and in the vital arena of diocesan parish life, where most of the Faithful gather, to find salvation, and to find the means to make holy, their own lives, and the lives of all they love.
To these different, yet closely kin parts of the Church, the priests we honor today, have brought, for many years, their good and sincere service in the areas that make the Church's life: the Sacraments, the Liturgy, and the instruction and guidance of Christ's faithful people. And for this gift of their service, different according to personalities, but one in humility before Christ - for this gift, we are deeply thankful to them.
There is one last thing to say about our jubilarians before we go on with this Mass. They have known the reality of serving fully in their own lives - they know that the laws of God and His Church cannot be kept, unless tied to the all-giving love of Jesus Christ - they know that meaning, fulfillment, spiritual attainment and the knowledge of redemption - all these graces must be shared in order to be real and true.
But there is yet another level to their service, and it is unique to each man, and is shared with One only. This is the mystery of vocation, received so many long years ago, yet alive like an undying spark in their hearts, making the fire of their work to never be extinguished, and to burn continuously, from the moment it began, till the moment when it will end, when they will see their Lord face to face.
The mystery of vocation, though it spills over into the waiting lives of the Faithful, is still an intimate and veiled bond, between each priest and Jesus Christ - it produces much good among many, but it remains a singular gift that the priest can only truly share with His Lord and God. With the gift of the Church's gratitude fort heir service, it is this singular, particular gift of vocation, that we also bring before God today, and we offer the two - joined, yet distinct - as signs of our love - our, the community, and our, the individual man and priest.
Dear friends, as we continue our Mass, let us pray - for the priests who celebrate their jubilees, and for all priests, that we may persist in serving Jesus Christ and His Church, and remain, as St. Luke describes Barnabas,
...good [men] faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart (and) filled with the holy Spirit and faith.
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