Priest as a Man of Communion

Following is the prepared text for Bishop Olmsted’s homily for the Annual Chrism Mass.

April 11, 2022

“The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts.”

These first words of the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes describe well the hearts of faithful disciples of Jesus. After some years of the COVID Pandemic and in the shadow of  a horrific war of aggression in Ukraine, may it be said of us that “nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts.”

My brothers and sisters in Christ, it is good for us – clergy, Religious, and laity – to be united in prayer at this Chrism Mass. In particular, it is good for us priests and bishops to praise God for His unfailing mercy as we recall the day when we were ordained to serve Him in as priests. In the wake of the tumultuous times in which we live, times that could discourage and divide us, our people have a right and a need to hear from us priests and bishops a public renewal of the commitment each one made to Jesus on the day of Ordination. The Church asks us priests to renew our priestly promises every year at the Chrism Mass. So, dear brother priests, let us do so with even greater resolve to grow in our love of Christ and faithful service of God’s people.

Doy gracias a Dios por cada uno de ustedes, mis hermanos sacerdotes de la Diócesis de Phoenix, hombres de fe viva y siervos generosos de Cristo.  Como nosotros sabemos muy bien, la habilidad para ser siervos de la misericordia de Dios esta’ basada en la llamada de Jesus y la gracia de ordenación sacerdotal. No esta’ basada en que seamos mejores que otros miembros de la Iglesia. Por la gracia de Dios, somos lo que somos. Jesucristo escoge el débil, no el fuerte; al mismo tiempo, nos da la gracia para ser siervos fieles de su Reino.

When all the priests of the diocese renew their commitment to priestly service, together as a body gathered in Jesus’ holy Name, they constitute a symbol of the decisive role that priestly fraternity plays in the life of every priest. You and I truly are our brother’s keeper. In this regard, I give thanks to God for Bishop Nevares, his fraternal love, and his delightful way of serving the Lord with gladness.

There is great wisdom in Jesus’ plan to send His Apostles out two by two. When we love one another, when we support and encourage each other, when we live priestly fraternity, the light of Christ shines forth; and individualism is overcome. We help one another to make a total gift of self to the Lord, following the example of Jesus on the Cross. The fraternity created by the sacramental grace of Holy Orders provides fertile ground for ongoing growth in holiness. Recall the words of St. Peter in his Second Letter (1:10f), “…brothers, be all the more eager to make your call and election firm, for, in doing so, you will never stumble. For, in this way, entry into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.”

It is instructive to recall how Jesus, not long after He initiated His Public Ministry, began to withdraw from the crowds and to call the Apostles aside in order to spend more time with them, explaining to them the meaning of the parables, correcting their false understandings, rebuking them for their selfish ambitions, and inviting them to become ever more closely united with Him and one another.  Priestly fraternity, we can see, is not just a sociological concept; it is a sacramental reality intended by Jesus from the beginning. A priest learns to be a man of communion by living in a communion of truth and love with Jesus and with his brother priests. This is both gift and responsibility, something we do not deserve, but something to be protected and deepened with the help of God’s grace.

In a world that languishes under the anguish of isolation and division, fraternal bonds that priests enjoy with one another become an ever more precious gift and a light that shines ever more brightly in the darkness of unbelief, beckoning to faith those who have not yet accepted this great gift.

In the Synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus “unrolled the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah” and “found the passage where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor’.” Then, Jesus added: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” Is this not what we seek in our parish communities?  The living Jesus Christ never ceases to bring glad tidings to the poor. These Scriptures also are fulfilled when any priest, no matter how seemingly ordinary his life and ministry, lives as a man of communion.

As we call down God’s blessing on all His people today, we pray with filial respect for Pope Francis and with fraternal love for our brother priests. In this Mass, too, let us pray for our seminarians and for an increase in vocations to the priesthood, that the Lord will raise up many more priests to bear witness to His Kingdom. May the words of Gaudium et Spes be proven true among us who are disciples of Jesus today: “Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts.”