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Chrism Mass Homily

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Maundy Thursday – Faith of the Priest

Once again we gather to celebrate the birthday of our priesthood. We celebrate it jointly with the people to whom we have been called to serve. On behalf of the Archdiocese, on my own behalf, I sincerely thank the priests for their selfless dedication. I thank the religious for their life of witness, for their presence in the Archdiocese. We are grateful to the People of God for their generous support to priests.

It is a singular privilege to remind ourselves that the entire priesthood is based on faith, that the priesthood is the outward sign of that faith. The Faithful who know us as priests, know us to be so because of their faith. Strange as it may sound, God himself confided in priests to be the agents, the instruments of his work, the messenger of Good News.

The heart of the mission of priests is to communicate Jesus Christ to men and women of our time. Priests are entrusted with the riches of salvation. In spite of our unworthiness, by the grace of God, we have been made custodians of the mysteries of God, above-all, guardians of the Eucharist, of Christ hidden away in the consecrated species. It is not unreasonable to remind ourselves that an account will be demanded of us – not just at the end of time – but in the here and now by those whom we are called to serve. Standing aloof, is not an option.

By faith, says St. Paul, “I am of Christ” (1 Cor.1). Faith is the basis of the priest’s contact with God. Through faith, the priest gives divine life to the Faithful. Through faith, communication with God is made possible. Anointing with Chrism at Baptism symbolises a life of faith, a belonging to Christ and to His Church. Receiving the Eucharist is receiving Christ in faith. Anointing with the Oil of the Sick pledges a life of hope, a promise of recovery, a healing of the spirit and an acceptance of human frailty.

The deepening of the faith of the priest means a growing renewal of the priest’s spiritual life. It strengthens the bonds of love between the priest and God. Its fruits are seen in the increasing virtues of availability, of generosity, of patience and of self-discipline.

When our faith wanes, diminishes, weakens, we become tardy, lukewarm, ill-disciplined and careless, our faith can wane and diminish. And those around us cannot fail to see this. Our confidence in God slackens. Confidence in ourselves diminishes. Our will power weakens. Discipline and faithfulness gives way. We become wayward, less prayerful and more isolated. Those we serve are the first to feel the impact of this loss of faith by the priest. We should never underestimate the value and importance of visiting the sick, of burying the dead, of knowing the parishioners, of offering daily Masses, Confessions and facilitating devotions, especially the devotion to the Eucharist. To the Faithful, these spiritual exercises are extremely important for their well-being. Priests may take solace from St. Paul who boasted in his feebleness:

“We see no answer to our problems,
but never despair
We have been persecuted but never deserted
knocked down, but never killed
always, wherever we may be, we carry
with us in our body the death of Jesus
so that the life of Jesus too,
may always be seen in our body”. (2 Cor. 4-8)

We must remember we are more than simply pots of earthenware to contain the mystery of the life of Jesus in our bodies.
This day is a salient reminder that we priests, ought to become what we claim to be: the other Christ. We act in His name. Counterfeit priests are costly to the community they serve; to the church they serve. Our faith ought to help us make Christ our mainstay, our source of spiritual strength. Like Peter at Lake Gennesareth, we walk on water. As soon as we feel the force of the wind, we begin to sink. Jesus continues to ask: “Men of little faith, why do you begin to doubt?” (Mt. 14.13). Why do we doubt His grace? Why do we doubt that those who follow Christ have indeed been drawn by the Father to Christ (Jn. 6.44). We ought to put our weakness to good use by getting closer to Christ.

The priest, through his faith, matures sustains, and strengthens the faith of the Faithful. The faith of the priest is inextricably intertwined with the faith of the Faithful. When we lose our faith as priests and behave in an erratic manner, we weaken and visibly destroy the faith of the community.

The church asks of her priests to have a much more perfect faith than the Faithful. They are to lead God’s people to the mysteries of faith. We are enjoined by Peter to be “always ready with your defence whenever you are called to account for the hope that is in you (1Pe 3.15). Even when we are in serious doubt or feel at a loss, we may ask: “Lord, to whom shall we go?” (Jn.6.69). We are specialists of prayer, but many have not seen us pray on our own. “Lord I believe, help my unbelief” (Mk.9.24).

+Buti Tlhagale
21/04/2011

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