"Homily to Priests"
Delivered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.
July 13, 2000

This week the Church has been reflecting upon the Gospel of Matthew in the Liturgy, in particular a division of the Gospel referred to as "the proclamation of the kingdom of God." For those of us who are ordained priests making this retreat, it is a marvelous coincidence that Matthew’s texts have been considering the needs of God’s people, especially the need for "laborers to gather the harvest," because from Jesus’ perspective, our mission is to "go after the lost sheep of Israel" for they are "like sheep without a shepherd." Today we hear that richly powerful exhortation, "the gift you have received, give as a gift."

That directive speaks to all of us in the Church. It speaks in a unique and special way to those of us who are priests.

What exactly is this "gift?" We should immediately respond, "gift?" We have been the recipients of "many gifts" as priests, some of which we share with the entire priestly People of God and some others which are uniquely given to us through Holy Orders. I propose that we consider only one.

In the Rite of Ordination to Priesthood prior to the Second Vatican Council, the instruction given by the Bishop to those about to be ordained included this phrase: "Understand what you do, imitate what you administer inasmuch as you celebrate the mystery of the death of the Lord." I gave a presentation once, attended by Father Benedict Groeschel, in which I compared the rites of ordination prior to and after the Council. When I asked the priests gathered for their reactions, Father Benedict said that it was the first time he had heard the previous "instruction" in English!

The new Rite has the Bishop instruct those to be ordained this way: "Know what you are doing and imitate the mystery you celebrate: model your life on the mystery of the Lord’s cross." The "gift" we have received in Holy Orders is, indeed, "the mystery" we celebrate. And it is precisely this "gift and mystery" that we give away. This "gift and mystery" received and given away requires us to "know" what we are doing and to "imitate" what we handle, what we administer, what we celebrate. This "gift and mystery" is the Lord’s Cross and we as priests are ordained to model our lives upon it.

In his 1992 apostolic exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, "I Will Give You Shepherds," Pope John Paul II takes this same idea and speaks of it this way, "Live the mystery that is placed in your hands" (PDV, 24). The "gift," the "mystery" is the Lord’s death. This is what is placed in our hands. This is what we make the pattern of our lives. This is what we give away.

"On the night before he died, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his disciples saying ‘take this, all of you and eat it: this is my body which is given up for you . . . this is the cup of my blood, poured out for you. Do this in memory of me." He gave his life and we, as priests, do this "in memory" of him.

"Know what you are doing and imitate the mystery you celebrate: model your life on the mystery of the Lord’s Cross." "Live the mystery that is placed in your hands."

As Christians we are all called to receive the Eucharist. "If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you" (John 6: 53).

As priests, our very lives are to proclaim this "mystery of faith." Lives taken, "every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifice for sin" (Hebrews 5: 1). Lives blessed, "It is not you who chose me it is I who chose you to go forth and bear fruit and your fruit must endure" (John 15: 16). Lives broken, "If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and begin to follow in my footsteps" (Matthew 16: 24). Lives given away, "Anyone who aspires to greatness must serve the rest . . . the Son of Man has NOT come to be served but to serve – to give his life in ransom for the many " (Mark 10: 43-45).

How the Word became Flesh is a mystery that our minds cannot fully grasp. "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (John 3: 16). Gift and mystery! But, as our Holy Father has reminded us, the priesthood is a consequence and continuation of that incarnation (To the Congregation for the Clergy, October 15, 1998). How the bread and wine become flesh and blood is a mystery that our minds cannot fully grasp. "This is my body" (Luke 22: 19). Gift and mystery! But, as the Church has told us in Presbyterorum Ordinis (article 4) "the Eucharist contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth, that is Christ himself, Our Passover and our living bread . . . the source and apex of the whole work of preaching the Gospel." How the Eucharist remains Christ’s eternal presence among us when the Mass has ended is a mystery that our minds cannot fully grasp. "Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world" (Matthew 28: 20). Gift and mystery! And the Church has affirmed that "in his Eucharistic presence, Christ remains mysteriously in our midst as the one who loved us and gave himself up for us and remains under signs that express and communicate this love" (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1380).

When we were called to Holy Orders, we responded "adsum," "I am present and ready and willing." For what? "To live the mystery that is placed in our hands" (PDV, 24). How we do that each day as priests, however, is not a mystery. It is the pastoral love that flows from the Cross through us to God’s people. It is the gift that we have received and that we must give as a gift.

The Very Reverend David M. O’Connell, C.M.

President

Revised: February 9, 1999