The Miracle of the Priesthood
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
2008-06-15
Matthew 9:36-10:8“It’s a miracle,” I thought to myself.
I stood gazing at one of my sons in his bedroom…and he was levitating. In fact, he moved from one side of the room to the other, and his feet never touched the floor! I immediately thought of the many saints in church history who were known to levitate in times of ecstasy.
St. Joseph of Cupertino, St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. In fact, there are over 200 Catholic saints who are known for their ability to defy gravity.
And now, my son, would certainly be added to their number. St. Nicholas of Memphis. But, then, I looked down. The reason his feet never touched the floor was that there was so much junk on it that you couldn’t see the carpet. So much for the miracle.
Like the good dad that I was, I told him that he needed to clean up before his mother got home. I was trying to keep him alive just a little longer, and keep our name out of the papers. He asked if he could call in his brothers, so they could help him clean up the toys, games and dirty clothes that littered the floor.
I said, “Sorry, son…they’re with mom.” Then I quoted him a little Scripture to help soothe and comfort him. I said, “‘the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.’ Now, get cleaning.”
With the exception of the ‘get cleaning’ part, these are, of course, the same words we hear Jesus say in today’s Gospel. The harvest was indeed abundant. The world desperately needed to be cleansed – to be saved from the ravages of sin that have plagued us since the time of Adam.
Jesus, as part of His Father’s plan of Salvation, selected 12 men from among His disciples, to be the leaders over all the disciples. We hear their names called out…from the first among the 12 – St. Peter – to the last among them – Judas Iscariot. They were given special authority to drive out demons, to cure every disease and illness, to raise the dead – to work true miracles.
In fact, these ‘few laborers’ would eventually be given the authority to perform one of the greatest miracles of all, that holy transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus, and to pass that authority on to others through the laying on of hands, so that the saving work of the Church could be continued.
In the first few hundred years of Christianity, the Church grew and grew as more and more laborers – more and more priests – were added to the fold.
Now, some argue that the only thing that is really going on in this passage of Scripture, was Jesus telling us we’re all called to be laborers, we’re all to spread the Gospel throughout the land – that we don’t even need priests.
The way a Baptist once put it to me was that “we’re all priests. Exodus tells us that we are ‘kingdom of priests.’ So why do you Catholics have ‘special’ guys that stand at your altars every Sunday?”
Well, my answer to him was, “Yes. That is true. We are all called to spread the Good News, because we’re all baptized into the Priesthood of Christ. But, we can’t deny that it was Jesus Himself who selected twelve from among the disciples – twelve men to whom He gave a special and unique authority to use His powers; twelve men who were called to be the shepherds of His flock – these were the ‘special guys’ Christ chose. And through Apostolic Succession, these were the first among many, many priests to come forth to act in the person of Christ for us.”
My Baptist friend had no answer for that.
You see, what my friend didn’t realize is that Jesus knew that the Eucharist was always going to be an integral – and essential – part of His Church, and that He knew He would need these priest’s – these ‘special guys’ – to confect that very Eucharist.
And, not only are they called to be in persona Christi on the altar, but, they are also called to be in the person of Christ in the confessional, in the anointing of the sick and dying, and in the gathering of all the flock to the one Good Shepherd, Jesus Himself. They are Christ’s miracle-workers.
And today, more than ever before, we need our priests…we need miracles.
We live in troubled times. Sin abounds. People are confused.
We need miracles.
The poor are marginalized. Millions are hungry…or homeless…or helpless.
We need miracles.
The Church is under attack by a Godless, secular world.
We need miracles.
Even many Catholics – way too many Catholics – have turned their backs on the One Church, jettisoned her teachings and have opted for the light, fluffy and politically correct spirituality of a lost culture. We desperately need miracles…because the harvest is most definitely abundant.
But Jesus has the answer. In fact, He had the answer all along – our priests…His laborers and miracle-workers. Without our priests, we would have no Christ in the confessional, no Christ in the anointing, no Christ in the Eucharist. No miracles.
The Church document Sacrosanctum Concilium tells us that the Eucharist is “the source and summit of our faith.” This Eucharist offers us the grace and strength to be the Christians we were called to be through our own baptism into the Priesthood of Christ – to be ambassadors for Christ and His Church; to heal the broken-hearted; to share the Gospel message; to love the un-loved. But, with no Catholic priests, there would be no Eucharist. And our world would be sadly lacking in miracles.
So pray for your priests. Encourage vocations in your children and grand-children. Lovingly welcome all children into your family by living the Church’s teaching against contraception and abortion. And be open to the possibility that God may be calling one or more of your boys to the priesthood. Pray for an increase in faith for the world, the conversion of sinners and the growth of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
And, pray – always pray – for the miracle of more priests.
Then, God-willing, we can say that “the harvest is abundant, but, thanks be to God, the laborers, are many.”
And, who knows, maybe one day, maybe God will grant me the privilege of addressing my son as Father Nicholas.