Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Deacon's Bench

Home
Catholic
Religion News
Homily for October 27, 2013: World Priest Day

Homily for October 27, 2013: World Priest Day

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:37 pm by Deacon Greg Kandra

Homily for October 27, 2013: World Priest Day 2015-03-13T16:37:04-04:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

From the vault: this is my homily for World Priest Day from 2008.

It happens more often than you may think. Someone will ask me after mass, “Deacon Greg, if priests could be married, wouldn’t you like to be a priest?”

Well, the answer for me is no. I’m happy being a deacon.

But this Sunday is a moment to consider those men who were called to that other vocation – and to thank them for answering the call. This is World Priest Day. I’d like to reflect for a few minutes on the priesthood and why it matters – now, more than ever.

As a deacon I’m able to do many of the things that priests do. I share with them in the sacrament of Holy Orders, and have been given faculties to baptize, to marry, to proclaim the gospel and to preach. It’s not unusual for people to confuse deacons with priests – we look a lot alike – and very often someone will corner me after mass and say, “Father, can you hear my confession?”

And I usually say: “I’m happy to hear it, but I can’t give you absolution.”

Which just confuses people more.

But it points up something significant. It goes to the heart of the priesthood and what it’s about. The fact is, sacramentally, there are three key things that only priests can do.

They hear confessions and give absolution.

They anoint the sick.

Most importantly: they consecrate the Eucharist.

When you consider those three sacraments, they offer a powerful testament to the meaning of the priesthood. Because those sacraments – confession, anointing, the Eucharist – are ones that bring us most profoundly into the presence of God.

When we need it most, they touch our lives with grace.

At moments when we are broken, we are made whole.

At times when we are separated from God, we are reconciled with Him.

At the high point of the mass, the greatest sacrifice is offered again and again and again, and
Christ is made present, and he becomes, once again, a part of us.

At these moments in our lives, we encounter the perfect God through the imperfect hands of a man. The created brings to us our Creator.

And it happens only through the hands of the priest.

It’s astonishing to consider. I think that God has given us the priesthood so He can continue to give us Himself. It is another sign of His boundless love.

Before I was ordained, I was talking with a classmate of mine, who said his pastor had some very simple advice about preaching. “Just remember,” he told him, “to tell the people that God loves them.”

I try to remember that myself every time I climb into this pulpit. But when you think of what priests do, what they bring to us, I think they do it even more powerfully and more profoundly.

And they don’t do it with words.

Every absolution says: “God loves you.”

Every anointing says: “God loves you.”

Every elevation of the consecrated host at that altar says: “God loves you.”

It is a message we are hungry to hear. Especially now, with so much that is uncertain, when it is easy to lose sight of what matters.

One of the arguments that is frequently made against a married priesthood is that the priest would find it impossible to devote time to both the Church and his family. As someone who struggles with that now, I can say: it ain’t easy. One of my colleagues at CBS, Lesley Stahl, once used a wonderful analogy to describe the difficulties of being a working mother. “When you’re juggling all those balls,” she said, “you need to remember which ones are rubber…and which ones are glass.”

But very often, in the life of a priest, they are all glass.

Because the great work of his life is caring for the most fragile thing of all: the human soul.

The priest is the only one who is there at all the critical moments of life…from the very beginning, to the very end, and so many of the mileposts in between. He isn’t there just to bless rosaries or pose for pictures. He is there to make God present, and make that presence real. He is there to walk with us on the journey. It is a journey he himself makes, for the most part, alone.

I don’t know what compels a man to want to do that – it is a calling, just as some of us are called to be husbands or fathers or deacons. But it is also a journey. One of faith and, I think, courage.

There’s a beautiful book on the priesthood by Fr. Michael Heher, from the Diocese of Orange, in California. It’s called “The Lost Art of Walking on Water.” And near the end, he compares the mission of the Church to that moment when St. Peter stepped out of the boat and for one miraculous moment walked on water.

We all need to follow Peter’s example, Fr. Heher says – and we can only do it by keeping our eyes fixed on Christ. The message is clear: the waters may be turbulent. The wind may howl.

But get out of the boat. With Jesus as your lifeguard, you can do the impossible.

Peter did it. Priests, in their way, do it, too. They have summoned the courage to leave what is safe and secure and give their lives over to a miracle. A miracle that says again and again, “God loves you.”

Priests spend so much of their lives reminding us of that. This day, we pause to remind THEM of that, too — and to express our gratitude, our appreciation, and our love.

To all those priests who have walked with us on the journey…to those who have prayed with us, celebrated with us, wept with us, forgiven us, uplifted us, hoped with us…to those who have told us again and again, “God loves you,” we can only whisper those words back, along with two more:

“Thank you.”

Homilies

Priests

Previous Post

October 26, 2013

UPDATE: "So help me God" now optional in Air Force oath

Next Post

October 27, 2013 The Francis Effect in Nebraska

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "Mad Men" 9/11 advent All Things New Amazing video amazing videos amazon america Anglicans Anti-Catholicism art ascension thursday ash wednesday Atheists baltimore Bible Bishops Blogging bonnie engstrom Books bridgeport Brooklyn Chaplains children christian art christmas Church Churches CNEWA Converts criticism Deacons Death Penalty easter eastern christian Eastern Christians Ecumenism education Education Eucharist Europe euthanasia Evangelization Exorcism Family Feasts Gay rights Good Friday Great links Great Moments in Journalism Hanging with the saints heather renshaw Hispanic Catholics Hispanics History homelies Homilies Humor Hymn of the Week Immigration indianapolis Inspiration Interfaith news ireland Jesus Jews Journalism Judaism lent Liturgy logos Marriage Mary Media Medical news Mental health Middle East Monks Movies Music Muslims My world and welcome to it New Evangelization new york News Nuns Parenting Parish life peoria Persecution Politics politics Pope pope francis pope john paul Prayer Preaching Priests Pro-life Quote of the day radio rebecca frech ripp Ripped from the headlines rippred from the headlines Sacraments saints Scripture sex abuse Sex abuse crisis SEX ABUSE CRISIS TAGGED WITH: SEX ABUSE CRISIS The people in the pews the visitation project theatre This & that Thomas Merton Trappists TV Uncategorized uncategorized VATICAN Vatican vocation Vocations Voices & Views Women Worth a thousand words Writing Year of Faith year of mercy young people

Select a Month December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What day did God rest during creation?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The seventh day The third day The sixth day The first day

Books by This Author Books by Deacon Greg Kandra

See All Titles »