20190124
DEALING
WITH THE SCANDALS IN THE PRIESTHOOD
24 JANUARY,
2019, Thursday, 2nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Hebrews 7:25-8:6 ©
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He has offered sacrifice once and for
all by offering himself
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The power of Jesus to save is utterly
certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God
through him.
To
suit us, the ideal high priest would have to be holy, innocent and
uncontaminated, beyond the influence of sinners, and raised up above the
heavens; one who would not need to offer sacrifices every day, as the other
high priests do for their own sins and then for those of the people, because he
has done this once and for all by offering himself. The Law appoints high
priests who are men subject to weakness; but the promise on oath, which came
after the Law, appointed the Son who is made perfect for ever.
The
great point of all that we have said is that we have a high priest of exactly
this kind. He has his place at the right of the throne of divine Majesty in the
heavens, and he is the minister of the sanctuary and of the true Tent of
Meeting which the Lord, and not any man, set up. It is the duty of every high
priest to offer gifts and sacrifices, and so this one too must have something
to offer. In fact, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since
there are others who make the offerings laid down by the Law and these only
maintain the service of a model or a reflection of the heavenly realities. For
Moses, when he had the Tent to build, was warned by God who said: See
that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
We
have seen that he has been given a ministry of a far higher order, and to the
same degree it is a better covenant of which he is the mediator, founded on
better promises.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 39(40):7-10,17 ©
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Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
You do not ask for sacrifice and
offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I.
Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
In the scroll of the book it stands
written
that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
in the depth of my heart.
Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.
Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
O let there be rejoicing and gladness
for all who seek you.
Let them ever say: ‘The Lord is great’,
who love your saving help.
Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are
life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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cf.2Tim1:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the
Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 3:7-12 ©
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He warned them not to make him known as
the Son of God
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Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the
lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem,
Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had
heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a
boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he
had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward
to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before
him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to
make him known.
DEALING WITH THE
SCANDALS IN THE PRIESTHOOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ HEB 7:25-8:6; PS 40:7-10, 17; MK 3:7-12 ]
Who is a priest? When we
think of a priest, what is the ideal image we would want of our priests? A priest is a bridge between God
and man. That is why people go and see a priest, expecting him to
bring their prayers and petitions to God. Priests are seen as intercessors,
just as Moses and the prophets were. In times of tragedy and suffering,
people would turn to a priest who is supposedly in communion with God to
intercede on their behalf. They have confidence that God would hear their
prayers because they are worthier than the people; since they are God’s chosen
and have dedicated their entire life for the service of Him.
Secondly, priests are
called to be the face of God’s mercy and forgiveness. They are called to be healers for
those who are sick and in distress. Many who are desperate seek to find
hope and healing. Priests, therefore, are always called upon to pray for
them, including those who are dying, and for the dead. At times, people
need to be assured of God’s forgiveness for their sins and their past.
That is why one of the functions of a priest is to offer atonement and
sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins. Sinners need to feel
forgiven, loved and accepted. They need to hear from a priest that their
sins are forgiven. This explains why people feel angry and deeply hurt
when priests lack compassion, understanding and sensitivity to their struggles
or when they are brushed off. To be told off or rejected by a priest is
tantamount to being rejected by God.
Thirdly, priests are
recognized as teachers of faith in doctrines, spiritual life and
morality. In
religious matters, the laity expects priests to offer them guidance in their
spiritual and moral life. Priests are expected to be in touch with God
and know their faith well enough to offer guidance to the people who are
looking for truth and wanting to walk the life of the gospel. Indeed, the
laity is hungry for good homilies and enlightened teaching on the faith.
Otherwise, they will seek knowledge from other non-Catholic sources, and
therein lies the confusion and division among Catholics because our members are
learning from non-Catholic sources and imbibing in their views. This is
particularly true when it comes to inspiring and edifying homilies.
Fourthly, priests are
seen to be witnesses of truth and love. People are very critical of how priests conduct
themselves. When they live lives contrary to what they preach and teach,
they lose their credibility. Indeed, often our lay people cannot
reconcile in their minds how some priests can teach certain things but live
contradictory lives. That is why priests are expected to live an
exemplary life of faith, love, simplicity and detachment. There is
no better way to witness to Christ than through one’s own life and being.
In the final analysis,
priests are signs of God’s presence.
In the face of the priest, the laity wants to see the face of God. It is
for this reason that our priests are called “Father” and not “Pastor” because
every priest is to reveal the face of our heavenly Father by taking the place
of Jesus. Priests, by virtue of their ordination, are configured in
Christ. That is why they are to take the place of Christ in the sacrifice
of the mass.
Unfortunately, priests
as human beings often fall short of what people expect of them. Is this
something negative? Is
it considered a setback? Today, when we hear of the scandals committed by
priests, we are shocked and shaken in our faith. We begin to lose
confidence in God and doubt whether what our priests are teaching is
true. But should we expect all our priests to be perfect? If
they are, then our priests can end up becoming self-righteous, proud,
judgmental and arrogant, like the scribes and Pharisees.
After all, as Hebrews says, “Every
high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to
God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He
is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is
subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his
own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to
take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron
was.” (Heb 5:1-4) Indeed,
priests do not become pure angels after their ordination. They are mere
mortals like everyone else and subject to the same temptations as we all are,
and as Jesus was. His weaknesses and his failures should remind us that
he too is a sinner and the priest should be conscious of this fact as well so
that he could become more merciful and compassionate with those who have failed
in Christian life.
Indeed, the scandals of
priests in the Church today are God’s grace to purify His Church. It is His way to remind priests of
their calling and their responsibilities to the people of God. It is also
God’s way to remind us all that without dependence on His grace and love, we
cannot be good priests. So through these scandals, the Church will become
holier through purging and purification. We must see these so-called
“persecutions” as means by which the world is helping the Church and her
priests to become holier and more authentic. Instead of denying the
sinfulness of the Church, including the sins of her clergy, we should be
sincere in acknowledging the decadence of the Church, especially the
clergy. Perhaps, the Church needs another Reformation as she had 500
years ago. It appears that the aggiornamento of Vatican II, on one
hand, helped the Church to be connected with the world; on the other hand, it
has weakened the zeal and holiness of our priests as they too are secularized
by the values of the world.
Consequently, both our
faithful and our priests must turn to the perfect priest, which is Jesus
Christ. Only He can
withstand the expectations of what a true priest is. This is what the
first reading wants to affirm. “To suit us, the ideal high priest would
have to be holy, innocent and uncontaminated, beyond the influence of sinners.
The law appoints high priests who are men subject to weakness; but the promise
on oath, which came after the Law, appointed the Son who is made perfect for
ever. The great point of all that we have said is that we have a high
priest of exactly this kind.”
Only Jesus who is the
sinless priest, the one who offers Himself as a victim once and for all at His
death on the cross can save us from our sins. Now seated at the right hand of the
Father, He lives on forever to intercede for us. He is the perfect High
priest who can show us the face of God, His mercy, love and forgiveness.
Jesus Himself declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my
Father also.” (Jn 14:6f) In Jesus, we
see the face of the Father’s love and mercy. In Him, our great
intercessor, we find healing and our petitions answered. In Jesus, we have a
true teacher who teaches authoritatively both by His preaching and His
life. Jesus is indeed the only worthy High Priest.
So instead of feeling
disillusioned that our priests have failed in their office and
responsibilities, should we be surprised knowing that we are only human? Whilst praying for the conversion
of these fallen priests and healing of the victims hurt so deeply by them. We
must all the more pray, intercede and ask God to send us good and holy
priests. Only He can provide the labourers in His vineyard for that is
what He asks of us. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are
few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into
his harvest.” (Mt 9:37f) But more
than just labourers, we need to have faith-filled priests who are deeply in
love with the Lord, so that they can enter into this ministry with a heart for
the people and not thinking about themselves. But there cannot be good
and holy priests unless the People of God are holy themselves, since the future
candidates for the priesthood will come from their midst. Conversion and
holiness is something for the entire Church if we want to recover the holiness
of our priests.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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