The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. . . .It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness.  No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary.  --Pope John Paul II

 

Gods Gift of Shepherds for His Flock

The Sacrament of Holy Orders:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is with deep joy and personal satisfaction that I continue my pastoral letters on the sacraments with a reflection on Holy Orders, a wonderful gift from God shared with me by my brother clergy, a marvelous gift of Christ given to all so that all can grow together in holiness on the Eucharistic journey of carrying out Christ's mission.

In previous reflections, I have shared how in the sacraments of initiation--Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist--we become "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart so that we may announce the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His own wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9).

God became human to lead the Christian community on a journey towards the Father. He came to call a sinful humanity to repentance, to announce the Good News of salvation, and to offer Himself as a Eucharistic sacrifice, the source and summit of the Christian life. He dwelt among us to shepherd His beloved people on a mission of sanctification for the whole world. Christ came as the kingly shepherd, the holy prophet, and the one high priest for all.

Through our initiation to His Church, we too are called to share in the ministry of Christ by becoming a community of shepherds, prophets, and priests. We are summoned as a diverse community of faith, worship, and service to offer our whole lives to God, by whose grace our lives find fullness in the sacramental life of the Church.

Ordering for Salvation

Not everyone in the Church, however, has the same function. As the Father sent his only Son, so too Christ sent His apostles and their successors, the Bishops, as sharers in His continuing journey through consecration and mission. Within the great priestly community of the baptized, some have been called in a special way to participate in the one Priesthood of Christ to work with and offer sacrifice on behalf of the whole people of God.

The ministerial priesthood of Bishops and priests, together with their brothers in Holy Orders, the deacons, nourish the faithful with the word and grace of God, shepherding a great community of faith, hope, and charity in accordance with the Spirit. The ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads His Church. For this reason it is transmitted by its own sacrament, the sacrament of Holy Orders (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1547).

The unique sacrament by which Christ appoints Good Shepherds to carry out His mission is a sacrament of apostolic ministry. Ordained ministers exercise their service for the People of God by teaching, divine worship, and pastoral governance (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1592). In establishing His Church, Christ has brought together the teaching function of the rabbi (1 Cor. 12:28), the worshiping function of the Levite (1 Chr. 6:48), and the servant-leader function of "the seven" (Acts 6:1-6) in the one sacrament of Holy Orders, which integrates a man into the order of Bishops, priests, or deacons (Eph. 4:11). Christ provides His Church with leaders as the proper ordering for salvation.

Three distinct degrees are found with Holy Orders: the priestly orders of the episcopacy (Bishops), presbyterate (priests), and the ministerial order of the diaconate (deacons). Early in the life of the Church, Saint Ignatius of Antioch wrote about the importance of all three orders for the life of the whole Church :

Let everyone revere the deacons as Jesus Christ, the Bishop as the image of the Father, and the presbyters as the senate of God and the assembly of the apostles. For without them one cannot speak of the Church.
(Epistle to the Trallians)

Each of these three, in its own way, is essential to the life of the whole Church and an integral part of the Christian community’s ability to achieve its mission:  The establishment of the Kingdom of God. There is also a legitimate distinction among the three:

The Bishop possesses the fullness of the priesthood and acts as Chief Shepherd of the Diocesan Church;

The priest acts as co-worker of the Bishop, configured to Christ's sacrifice as ""the High Priest,"" during the celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy;

The deacon is ordained to a ministry of service in charity, like Christ who made Himself the deacon and "servant of all."

Christ Himself gave the image by which those called to apostolic ministry model their lives:

I am the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. I will lay down my life for my sheep. They will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. (John 10: 14-16)

On returning to His Father, Christ did not want His flock, the Church, to be without the care of shepherds to "tend his flock" and "pasture them." In doing so, the clergy continues the pastoral and ministerial priesthood of Christ. For, all good shepherds are one in the one Good Shepherd; they form a unity. If only they feed the sheep, Christ is feeding the sheep. Christ himself is the Shepherd when they act as shepherds. "I feed them," he says, because his voice is their voice, his love is their love (Saint Augustine, On Pastors).

In a special way, I want to speak about my brothers in the order of presbyterate, the priests who share with me the priesthood, shepherding the flock of Jesus Christ in Wheeling-Charleston, offering sacrifice to the Lord from His chosen people, and who, together with the deacons, fulfill the ministry of charity and service. The parish priest, as pastor of the local flock gathered into a single community under his care, is often the first and the principle image the faithful have of Christ the Good Shepherd.
The parish priest, as a true pastor to his people, shepherds by effectively preaching the Gospel, by joyfully celebrating the sacraments, by earnestly praying that Christ the Good Shepherd might be intimately known, by passionately calling the faithful to live out their royal priesthood in their family, at home, and at work so that the world might know of one Lord and Shepherd of all.

In a special way, the priest offers the Eucharistic sacrifice for faithful.  It is in the Eucharistic Assembly of the faithful that they exercise in a supreme degree their sacred office; there, acting in the person of Christ and proclaiming his mystery, they unite the votive offerings of the faithful to the sacrifice of Christ their head, and in the sacrifice of the Mass they make present again and apply, until the coming of the Lord, the unique sacrifice of the New Testament, that namely of Christ offering himself once for all a spotless victim to the Father.
(Lumen Gentium, 28)

The priest devotes his life to the Church so that the sacrifice of Christ is real and present to all. He continually builds the bond of unity through teaching, administration, and pastoral labor so that all might see themselves as a part of the great flock of Christ, which is the whole Church. It is the duty of the priest to "seek to bring the faithful together in a unified family and to lead them effectively, through Christ and in the Holy Spirit to God the Father. Always remember the example of the Good Shepherd who came not to be served but to serve, and to seek out and rescue those who were lost." (Homily, Rite of Ordination of a Priest).

He leads the faithful in the universal call to holiness, through witness to God’s word, through leadership in worship, through the challenge to seek peace by doing justice, through sympathetically and mercifully seeking the lost sheep. The priest establishes Christ's abiding presence by encouraging the flock on the Eucharistic journey to live out the mission of the Church.

Vocation

By virtue of Baptism, we each have a specific vocation in our earthly life. We are all configured to Christ in God's plan for salvation in a unique and special way. The Church now, as always, needs committed disciples to serve in all ministries. Therefore, I urge each and every person in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to remain open to God's plans, to listen for the holy voice calling for a life of devotion to His holy will, to discern the trail God has blazed for us on our Eucharistic journey fulfilling His mission.

As we entered the third millennium of Christianity, our Ninth Diocesan Synod identified "recruitment of priestly vocations and retention of our Diocesan priests" as an important goal for our local Church. There is an abiding need for men to listen for, discern, and respond to God's call to serve as worthy ministers for the altars, as ardent but gentle servants of the Gospel.

The harvest is abundant but he laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. (Luke 10:2)

I urge men throughout the Diocese to prayerfully consider if God is calling them to serve as shepherds of His flock. So too individuals and parish communities have a real responsibility to the entire Diocesan Church to call forth vocations to the priesthood and diaconate, and to present the priesthood and the diaconate as a concrete possibility for our youth, a calling from God and His gift to the Church. Families should encourage children to continue the mission of Jesus by sharing in the gift of His priesthood. School communities should present ordination to Holy Orders as a real and satisfying alternative to the hollow careers prevalent today. Parish communities should call forth good shepherds, developing sustained and ongoing efforts designed to encourage and support vocations. And all should root in prayer their desire for priests to shepherd the Church.

I earnestly and fervently pray that more men come to know the joy of sharing in Christ's priesthood, of shepherding Christ's Flock closer to God by sharing in a priceless gift, of working with the faithful in their journey of faith, of establishing communities of consolation and understanding, forgiveness and healing, meaning and hope, guidance and faith.

Those called to Holy Orders share in the joy and peace of Christ in a special way. I personally have found the strength to carry out the daunting work of a Bishop through the joy and satisfaction of priestly ministry, which I share with Christ Himself. As a deacon, as a priest, and as your Bishop, I have found deep solace knowing that my life has been meaningful to others.

Priests, together with Bishops and deacons, are God’s gift to His holy and priestly people. As I seek ways to thank God and to recognize and celebrate the work of our ordained ministers, the shepherds of our Diocese and my co-workers in Christ, I ask you to do the same. And I invite you to join with me in praying for all those ordained to pastoral ministry in our Diocese and in the whole Church:

These men, our brothers, have been raised to the order of deacons, the order of priests, the order of Bishops. Consider carefully the ministry to which they are to be promoted in the Church. They are to serve Christ the Teacher, Priest, and Shepherd in His ministry which is to make His own body, the Church, grow incessantly into the people of God and the temple of the Holy Spirit. They have been called to share in Christ’s ministry among His people. By consecration Bishops and priests and deacons will preach the Gospel, sustain God’s people, celebrate the liturgy, above all, the Lord’s sacrifice, serve their needs in charity, and gather Christ’s people into one flock. From the way they go about these duties, may all recognize them as disciples of Jesus who came to serve and not to be served. And by their pastoral ministry, may all be feed on the Word of God sustained by the body of Christ, filled by the grace of charity and mercy, bound together into one body, and sent on mission to build the Kingdom of God.

Most Reverend Bernard W. Schmitt

Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston

 

There is no storm that can shipwreck the most sweet heart of Mary.  When you see the squall coming, if you seek safety in the firm refuge that is Mary, there will be no danger of your being hurled off course or going down.  --St. Josemaria Escriva

 

St. Joseph Catholic Church
1304 Sixth Avenue
Huntington, West Virginia  25701
304-525-5202
Rev. Msgr. Lawrence Luciana, Pastor
Rev. Fr. Julian Marneni, Associate Pastor