PRIESTS’ RETREAT, October 2006

 

Homily by Bishop John T. Steinbock

 

My brothers in Christ,

 

We are those laborers sent forth by Christ ahead of Him to every town and place He intends to visit.  We are sent to prepare the way for the Lord, to proclaim Christ and to bring Christ to all those people entrusted to our care.

 

As you know, you bring not only the presence of Christ to the people, but also the presence of the Bishop.  Your ministry brings the ministry of Christ and of the Church by your unity with the Bishop.  I cannot explain it as a theologian, but as you know, at least theoretically, your ministry as a priest has its full meaning only in union with the fullness of priesthood that the Bishop possesses.  No priest can authentically exercise his ministry as a priest apart from his collegial unity with the Bishop.  You are all collaborators together in the ministry of the Church through your union and collaboration with the Bishop and with one another.  We form a bond of brotherhood, friendship, and love, in unity with Christ our one high priest.  You are sent forth in the name of Christ by the Bishop, and I, as the Bishop, can do little in proclaiming the message of Christ apart from all of you.  We are all interdependent on one another in proclaiming God’s love to the people, and the more we live as brothers in the Lord, with love and forgiveness for one another, the greater our message of God’s mercy and compassion is heard and believed by God’s people.

 

In my relationship to all of you, I want to state clearly that I have a deep love for each and every one of you.  I have a love for you as a brother in the Lord, and as your Bishop, I have a love for you as a father for his sons.  I give thanks to God for each and every one of you and I am proud of each and every one of you.  You, the priests of this Diocese and all the priests serving in this Diocese, are my greatest joy in my life.

 

Once in a great while, some are cause for sadness in my life, but never anger, and that sadness never takes away from the love I have for any of you.

 

I have often questioned God why He ever called me to be a Bishop, knowing my own weaknesses, failings and sinfulness in my own life, even as a priest.  I don’t have a great intellect; I am not a great preacher or speaker, I so often am not sure of myself in so many things.  Yet he has called me to this role.  As I reflect on my life as a Bishop, I do believe one of the main reasons he has called me to be a Bishop is that I am able to have compassion for my fellow priests, knowing so well my own failings in trying to live out my own priesthood.   I would do anything for my priests, in helping them to struggle with their problems and weaknesses, to keep them faithful in their priesthood, if it is at all possible.  I have always made an effort to confront and reprimand when it was necessary, with compassion and love, because I know well that God loves each one of us right where we are at any particular moment in life.

 

Even in our sinfulness, he loves us, and is still using us for his ministry, but Our Lord is constantly calling us ever closer to Himself, calling us to ongoing repentance, calling us to be constantly renewed in his love and mercy, so that He can use us all the more to proclaim His love and mercy to His people.

 

We all know that all people are called to holiness, we even more so than others, because of our priesthood.  We all know well that holiness is a gift of God, and that we are dependent totally on the Lord for this.  We also know that because of our brokenness and humanness we must constantly strive for holiness, and it is this striving that is most important in our lives.

 

We must constantly catch ourselves.  We get caught up so easily in the hecticness and the frustrations that are part, not only of our lives, but also of the lives of the people we serve.  We must constantly call ourselves back to spend time alone with the Lord, in prayer of solitude, if we ever find ourselves getting away from spending time alone with the Lord, contemplating his love, his mercy, and his goodness.  Our lives as priests above all must be lives of love.  First, contemplating and rejoicing in the deep bond of love that Jesus has for each one of us personally, and then celebrating that love in the Eucharist, which must be at the center of our lives as priests, and then witnessing and manifesting that love to all the people we serve.  It is only the love of Jesus in our lives that can lead us to be happy and holy priests, confident in his presence with us no matter the trials, hurts, and disappointments that may come our way.

 

I end this homily praying that all of you reach out in care and concern for one another.  Encourage one another in your first responsibility to have prayer in your lives.  We, above all, must be men of prayer.  Pray together when given the opportunities.  Call one another to task in a loving way, if you are aware of some wrong in one of your brother’s lives.  Commend one another in your lives as priests, learn from one another, share with one another what you are doing for the Lord amongst your people.  You need one another.  I need you, you need me.  But most important, may we always have the love of Christ, our High Priest as the bond of our brotherhood.  Full of confidence in God’s great love, may we give our lives in love over to the Lord, seeking always his will and his glory.  This is what brings us total freedom, and an inner joy that nothing can take away from us.  And this seeking God’s will in all things mainly proclaims his love in us and through us, no matter what form the cross may take in our lives.

 

Thank you for saying yes to the Lord in your priesthood.  Thank you for your ministry.  Thank you for your love, support, prayers and friendship.  You truly are the joy of my life.