Dear St. Rita Families,

The priesthood of Jesus Christ is an incredible gift, both to the men who receive it and to the Church and the world. In order for that statement not to sound like self-referential garbage, however, we must not forget the immense responsibility that clergy have for the good of the faithful, especially that portion of the faithful for which they have been given charge.

Anyone familiar with Church history has seen countless examples of priests who have misused and abused their authority in terrible ways. Such travesties make it hard for some people to see the gift that the priesthood was created by God to be. It is why the most sinister attack of the devil is to hide his evil behind the one thing that was meant to be an instrument of God’s mercy and His victory. If a person has been traumatized by the sins, neglect, and failure of a priest, it is that much harder for them to approach another priest to receive God’s mercy and forgiveness. That is how the devil works – he causes division between mankind and God.

The priest, on the other hand, is to be an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor 5:20). He has given us “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18), to be an instrument of union and re-union with God. To make the priest an instrument of division is indeed diabolical. And yet, God has chosen men – humans with faults like the rest of humanity – to be His witnesses, the means through whom others are reconciled to God. This is part of the gift of the priesthood, namely that men so undeserving of God’s mercy would be allowed to distribute that same mercy with a lavishness that is almost scandalous.

To be able to do this well demands that a man first bring his whole self to the foot of the Cross. The human strengths and abilities that God has permitted for him and enabled him to acquire are all given over to the service of the Lord, so that He can use them as He sees fit, for the salvation of souls. The human weaknesses that are a part of all human life, the faults, failings, and sins, are likewise surrendered to Our Lord at the Cross. The redemption of a man’s faults become a magnifying glass for the Lord’s mercy and love. Precisely because he surrendered his faults to the Lord, the Lord is able to transform those wounds into beacons of light that pierce the darkness in the hearts of others, blazing a trail of healing, forgiveness, and mercy. He is meant to be a witness that forgiveness, healing, union with God are all possible in this life as we journey towards perfect union with Him in the next.

And yet, Church politics, into which a priest must necessarily wade, is nothing new. The complexity of life and the world demand some sort of structure so that processes can be streamlined. Then, like with the Apostles themselves, disagreements and arguments show up, and even divisions and rivalries – the sad effects of sin and pride. In the worst cases, the flock of Christ is not tended, but rather eaten (see Ezekiel 34), and the shepherds become fat, ripe for destruction.

This is not to suggest that we rid ourselves of all structure in the Church – the hierarchy of Bishop, Priest, and Deacon is established by Christ, infallible and unchangeable. Rather, we must have shepherds who love God and the Church more than themselves. We must have shepherds who are willing to thread the needle of humble docility to their superiors on the one hand and firm, courageous fidelity to the Gospel and Charity on the other. All in the Church must unswervingly hold to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because the Church isn’t just about having a nice social club on earth that does good things for people. The Church is about bringing God’s salvation through faith in Jesus to the world. Her means are fidelity to Jesus Christ and charity to our neighbor.

I ask you, then, to pray intensely for the Church of God, and especially for Her shepherds! Pray that they (we) will be faithful to the task that God has given. Pray that they will recognize the greatness of the vocation to which they have been called. Pray that they will have humble docility and firm, courageous fidelity. Most of all, pray that they will be instruments of union and re-union with God, instruments of mercy and not division, instruments of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ!

In Christ,

Fr. Christensen