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“Follow me!”
(The picture is from Catholic Standard)
Each in today’s gospel story seems to have legitimate reasons to take care of a thing or two before following the Lord: I need to say goodbye to my family; I need to bury my father. Jesus responds: “But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Obviously proclaiming the Kingdom of God is that important and urgent.
On June 18th ten new priests were ordained for the Church of Washington. Each came from a very different background and reasons, but all are ordained to share the one priesthood of Jesus Christ. They responded to the Lord’s call and realized that proclaiming God’s kingdom is more important than anything else in life. No excuses, no buts or ifs! These young man have all sorts of potentials and possibilities. But they chose to respond to the Lord’s call to the priesthood. I am awed and humbled by the unreserved generosity and heroic courage of these young people who dedicate their lives to the Lord and His kingdom.
Cardinal Gregory said: “The entire Archdiocese of Washington rejoices that we can welcome 10 new priests. The clergy of this local Church in a particular way see in you a bright promise for our tomorrow as their new young brothers… Moreover, I too am excited to ordain 10 new fellow workers – because to tell you the truth, I can really use the help!”
Some may wonder why anyone would consider being a priest or religious in the midst of the recent challenges and scandal. Some people think about leaving the Church. No doubt we have to deal with sins and failures of the corrupt priests and bishops. But what we have in and through the Church is too important to ignore or leave. To whom or to what shall we go? In this Body of Christ, the Church, we receive the words of eternal life and we celebrate the heavenly banquet. Jesus’ promise to be with us most clearly realized in the celebration of the Eucharist. The Church is not primarily about the clergy. At the same time, it is hard to imagine the Church without priests. Who can celebrate the Eucharist for the people of God? Who can proclaim and witness the urgency of the kingdom of God with apostolic authenticity and authority? The Church is all of us united with the Lord and with one another. Through baptism we have become the Body of Christ, the people of God, and the temples of the Holy Spirit. Together we are a priestly people of God. The spiritual treasures of the Church are preserved by holy men and women who recommit themselves to fighting evil and proclaim the victory of grace over sin.
We need tangible, confident, and joyful witnesses of God’s kingdom and His mercy. Precisely for this reason we need to pray for the priests and sisters that they may continue to bear effective witness to the presence of God’s kingdom. Please pray for the Church’s renewal. Please pray for those who have taken a break from the faith. The Lord’s call is ever before us: “Follow me… go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
Fr. Paul D. Lee