Today is a\npacked day. Not only is it the Fourth Sunday of Easter, but it is also the\nFeast of Saints Philip and James. And on top of these two, it is Good Shepherd\nSunday, the day when we pray for vocations. And so I want to focus on the theme\nof vocations and priests today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nreadings today are the basis of the Church\u2019s reflection and understanding that\nshe is the flock of Christ and, therefore, that Christ Himself is the Good\nShepherd and the gate through which we must pass through to have eternal life.\nIn fact, the Lord says that the sheep do not listen to the voice of the\nstranger, of the thief. \u201cThey will not follow the stranger, they will run away\nfrom him.\u201d St John Chrysostom says that the thief is the Antichrist and the\nfalse prophets, those who falsely claim to be from God and steal souls from God\u2019s\nflock, the Church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, one\ndoesn\u2019t have to look far to realize that not all clergy speak the truth. Some\nclergy preach erroneous moral theology or do not understand the liturgy as\nworship and sacrifice, instead seeing the Mass as a social gathering. Some even\nsay that this time of pandemic with televised masses is the \u201cnew norm\u201d, saying\nit is a good thing because the people can attend mass in their pajamas. Now, by\nvirtue of their ordination, the priest and bishop is objectively configured to\nChrist the High Priest. Nothing can take that away, not even sin or error. So\nwhat do we do when faced with such clergy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answer\nis to pray for them. We should always pray for our priests and bishops, asking\nthe Lord to give them the wisdom and courage to lead us through the gate who is\nthe Lord Jesus. We have to keep in mind that passing through the gate means\npassing through the cross. St Augustine says one enters through Christ by\nimitating Christ\u2019s suffering and humility \u201cso as to feel and know, that if God\nbecame man for us, man should not think himself God, but man.\u201d Thus, in order\nto save us, the priest Himself must go through the cross; for how can he lead\nhis flock unless he goes with them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore,\nPeter\u2019s response to the crowds on Pentecost is the \u201cmission statement\u201d of the\nChurch: \u201cRepent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ\nfor the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.\u201d\nWhat the priest offers, what Philip and James offered to the world in union\nwith Peter, was the gift of the Holy Spirit Who allows us to be sons and\ndaughters of God in the Son of God. Through sin we are orphans; through grace\nwe are adopted children of God in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So pray for\nour priests and bishops. Yes, they are our shepherds charged with leading us to\nGod. Yes, they have the responsibility to proclaim the authentic Gospel of\nChrist. And yes, some of them stray from their mission. But we shouldn\u2019t become\nbitter and spiteful of these priests. Rather, we should pray for them because\nthey are shepherds who will have to render an account to the Good Shepherd. Beg\nthe Lord to send us shepherds with the zeal of Saints Philip and James who\npreached the Gospel to the point of martyrdom, and who understood that it was not\nthey themselves who save souls, but Christ, who calls men to share in His\nmission, united with the apostles, of bearing \u201cour sins in his body upon the\ncross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joseph Yuson <\/strong>\u2013 St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fot. Jaka Skrlep \/Unsplash.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 4th Sunday of Easter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-strona-glowna-najnowsze","category-strona-glowna-slider"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n