As we celebrate our parish feast of Corpus Christi this weekend, we celebrate our common priesthood.
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart, to sing the praises of God.” 1 Peter 2:9
In the words of Leonard Doohan, “Lay persons do not belong to the church, nor do they have a role in the church. Rather, through baptism, they are the church.”
During a Catholic baptism, when Chrism is used to anoint the newly baptized, the ordained minister prays: "God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin and given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of His body, sharing everlasting life. Amen."
This anointing signifies the newly baptized person's entry into the royal priesthood of Christ, sharing in his roles as priest, prophet, and king. It is a significant part of the baptismal rite, following the pouring of water and the invocation of the Trinity.
As I celebrate 33 years of the ordained priesthood this weekend, I remember and celebrate the tens of thousands who have borne witness to me the priesthood of the laity – those who have taken seriously their role to be active members of the various ministries and communities that I have been blessed to be called to serve. We serve one another, each in our own way, and according to our own calling.
I’ve often reflected on and associated with the words of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, who ordained me to the Diaconate in December of 1991. “A priest must be a man of personal faith, conformed to Christ, a man who loves the scriptures, draws sustenance from the Sacramental life of the Church, and truly knows the community with and for whom he offers sacrifice. A priest is a man with a clear sense of his own self, and one who strives to develop all his natural talents to the limit for the good of the Church. He is a man of unreasonable hopes and expectations, who take seriously, for himself and others, the injunction to be perfect as the heavenly father is.”
Every ordained priest is called to minister the Sacraments first and foremost to the people of God. To a certain extent that is an easy task: learn the words and actions and perform the rite as prescribed. Of course, there is much more than just performing the functions itself, as it is a recognition that it is the Spirit of God who is working through me – the man – the priest. If that is the case for the ordained priest, should it not be the same for the priesthood of the laity?
Should not every baptized Christian recognize that the Spirit is within them and calling them to have unreasonable hopes and expectation and take seriously for themselves and others the call to be active members of the Body of Christ?
When we recognize the goodness of the individual gifts that God has given to us and strive to develop those talents to the limit for the good of the Church, we see the rewards. We know peace within ourselves, we have hope for our fallen world, and we see a Church and a community that will thrive and not just survive.
I am blessed to be the pastor of Corpus Christi.
We are all blessed to be Corpus Christi to one another.
God Bless,
