Homily for the Chrism Mass
"The Priesthood of Christ, the Priesthood of the Faithful, the Priesthood of the Ordained"

by The Most Reverend John C. Nienstedt

March 21, 2002
Bird Island, Minnesota
 

  Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.

  “Ubi caritas et amor, ubi caritas Deus ibi est.”

   Today is surely one of the most meaningful ecclesial celebrations for us who make up the local Church of New Ulm . As I celebrate this Chrism Mass for the first time as your Bishop, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude – not only for God’s Providence in sending me here, but for all of you who have so warmly and generously accepted me and made me feel at home with you.

  I am aware that a year ago Bishop Lucker presided over this rite for what turned out to be his last time. He was your bishop for twenty-five years and during that time, he deservedly won your allegiance, your trust and your love. I pray in a special way for him and to him tonight. I ask Almighty God to grant him eternal peace and at the same time, I ask God to use the Bishop to bring about an ever-deeper communion and an ever-stronger unitedness among all of us who make up the Diocese of New Ulm.

  I also wish to acknowledge you who serve as pastoral leaders, who, day in and day out, cover the front lines of the faith: defending, encouraging, exhorting, consoling. You spend yourself in countless hours of listening, being present and responding in faith to life’s ultimate mysteries. It is an exhausting ministry for which you are underpaid and underthanked.

  Well, as meager as it may seem, I want to thank you – first my brother priests – and then in equal turn my sisters and brothers serving as Pastoral Administrators, Diocesan Personnel, Parish Staff and lay leaders.

  Like the firefighters and police officers in New York on September 11, you are daily at the front, ready to respond to whatever crisis arises. Yet, unlike them, the attention of the world has failed to focus its television cameras on you and so you proceed unheeded.

  Please know that you are much appreciated and loved in the heart of Jesus, our great High Priest. He knows the motivation that belies your best efforts and he blesses you for it.   

  There are three themes that penetrate our liturgy today and they weave themselves like golden threads throughout the tapestry of this Eucharistic celebration.

  The predominant theme is that of the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. His priesthood is categorically asserted in our Gospel passage from St. Luke in which Jesus himself proclaims that he is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s vision of the one who

      brings glad tidings to the lowly,

      heals the brokenhearted,

      proclaims liberty to captives,

      announces a year of favor from the Lord.

  The apocalyptic writer, St. John , testifies that Jesus is

      the faithful witness,

      the firstborn from the dead,

      the ruler of all the kings of the earth, and

      to him belongs glory and power forever!

  Jesus, then, is our great high priest who officially mediates our relationship and every relationship between God and human beings.

  Not only does he fulfill in an exemplary way the covental priesthood of the Hebrew Scriptures, but he goes beyond that in the New Testament by identifying the priest who offers sacrifice with the very sacrifice that is offered. Thus in his death on Calvary , Jesus is both priest and victim, according to the plan of his Father. By willingly sacrificing his very self, Jesus is emptied of himself so that he could be raised up with the life-giving Spirit on Easter morn. In the moment of the Resurrection, Jesus’ priesthood becomes full and efficacious.

  Flowing from this principle theme is that of the priesthood of the faithful. Isaiah’s prophetic vision refers to this in our first reading when he tells the Jews:

      “You yourselves shall be named priests of the Lord,

      ministers of our God you shall be called.” (v. 6)

   St. John , too, in the passage from Revelation, asserts that Jesus Christ

“has made us a royal nation of priests in the service of his God and Father . . . “ (v. 6)

  Baptized into the life of Christ, we as his faithful are empowered to continue in time the saving mission of Jesus in the world, bringing to the world the good news of the Father’s love and mercy. Confirmed in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we become evangelizers with a missionary zeal, speaking to the world its true meaning and its real destiny. Every baptized Christian, then, shares in the prophetic mission of Christ, mediating his or her life to others through worship, witness and works of service.

  The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council remind us that the laity

“. . . are by baptism made one body with Christ and are established among the People of God. They are in their own way made sharers in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly function of Christ. They carry out their own part in the mission of the whole Christian people with respect to the Church and the world.” (L.G., 31)

  Moreover, the Council teaches that the priesthood of the faithful is exercised by engaging the temporal affairs of secular professions and occupations and ordering them to God’s purpose, thereby bringing about the Kingdom of God . ( Ibid .) Thus, like leaven in dough, they bring about the world’s sanctification from within .

  Thirdly, flowing from the Priesthood of Christ and ordered to assist the “priesthood of the faithful” nurture their growth in holiness as the People of God, is the hierarchical or ministerial priesthood of the ordained. The Second Vatican Council, as well, teaches that this priesthood differs not only in degree but also in essence from the priesthood of the faithful. At the same time, both are “ordered to one another.” (L.G., 10)

“. . . each in its own proper way shares in the one Priesthood of Christ. The ministerial priest, by the sacred power that he has, forms and rules the priestly people; in the person of Christ he affects the Eucharistic Sacrifice and offers it to God in the name of all the people. The faithful indeed, by virtue of their royal priesthood, participate in the offering of the Eucharist. They exercise that priesthood, too, by the reception of the Sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, abnegation and active charity.” ( Ibid .)

  This sacramental priesthood provides a special service or ministerium to the community of believers. The origin of its call is not , however, from the community, but from Christ himself. By ordination, the priest receives a “priestly character” by which he shares in a pastoral charism that joins him to the likeness of Christ, the Good Shepherd. Like the Apostles, who were Jesus’ first priests, today’s priest is called to “leave everything to follow Christ,” even persevering with Christ to the embrace of the Cross. (Matt 19:27 )

  It stands to reason, then, that priests must manifest a particular integrity of life and service that befits their sacramental identity.

  We are all too painfully aware these days of the great harm that is done to individuals and the Church itself when priests take advantage of their life and service to participate in the evil of abusing another’s personal dignity.

  Yet, there are other contemporary dangers that confront the priesthood today. The first is an egalitarianism which would suggest that there is nothing intrinsically distinctive about the priest. This notion overreacts to a certain clericalism of the past by rejecting any sign or symbol that points to or identifies one’s priestly character or personality. In so doing, however, the sacramental indication that so clearly offers support and guidance for the priesthood of the faithful in its quest for greater sanctification in the world is lost. It is as if the sign is hidden under a “bushel basket”, because of a refusal to be different from anyone else.

  The second danger I see undermining the priesthood today is the notion of limiting it essentially to a functional point of view; that is to say, defining the priest merely by what he does . On the contrary, a priest can never be classified merely as someone who does certain things. Much more than a mere functionaire, he becomes in his being an icon of Christ the High Priest, offering the whole of his life to the Church.

  Christ not only established a Church, he gave himself to her as her loving spouse. This nuptial metaphor, so powerfully developed by St. Paul , speaks of that perfect communion of giving and receiving that constitutes the tremendous gift of Christ to his Bride, to us, his beloved. The priest, by ordination, becomes a visible icon of Jesus the Bridegroom calling his spouse to her full potential in and by means of his love.

  Thus, the ministerial priesthood can never be about mere function, career, right or power. It must be viewed, above all, in terms of service – the service of Christ emptying himself out of love for his Bride.

  We see the power of Christ’s service in the oils that will be blessed in just a few minutes. These oils will be used to prepare catechumens for Baptism and to prepare baptized disciples for both suffering and death. These oils will be destined to seal neophytes with the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and to consecrate new altars for the Eucharistic Sacrifice. With regret, the sacred Chrism consecrated today will not be used this year to anoint the hands of a newly ordained. This is a sobering fact that should cause us, each of us, to reflect on what we are doing to encourage priestly and religious vocations. Yet, these oils, once blessed and consecrated, become more than functional liquids, they become, in fact, life-giving signs of Christ’s presence and power in the midst of the Church.

  It would be easy to go on in developing these three themes that run like golden threads through our liturgical feast, for here we are pondering the central truths that our faith offers.

  At the same time, I realize that reviewing these fundamental theological themes in and of itself will not renew and strengthen our respective vocations. Only the Lord Jesus, himself, can do that and yet . . . this is precisely what I believe he hopes to do in us.

            Esta misa del Santo Crisma es una celebración litúrgica muy importante para nuestra Diócesis. Esta misa da énfasis al Sacerdocio de Jesús que no sólo ofrece un sacrificio agradable a su Padre, pero que se convierte en el mismo sacrificio. A través del sacramento del Bautismo, nosotros compartimos el sacerdocio de Cristo, a tráves de su amor, su palabra y su ejemplo. Vivimos nuestra fe católica, ayudados por el sacerdocio, que es un regalo único a la iglesia y debe ser valorado y respetado.

            Hoy quiero ofrecerles un agradecimiento muy especial a todos los presentes ya que ustedes constituyen la Iglesia en New Ulm. Trabajemos juntos por la gracia de Dios para que sea unida en fe, esperanza y sobretodo amor.

   In this Eucharist today, my dear brothers and sisters, allow Jesus, our great High Priest, to reaffirm his love in you. Allow him to confirm the noble vocation in the Church to which he has called you. Allow him to celebrate the diversity that he has designed for his Mystical Body. Let us not quibble over the respective roles we have been given. But, let us rejoice rather that the Mission of our High Priest has been entrusted to the Church – to teach, to sanctify, to witness and to serve. And, may our rejoicing give Him, our great High Priest, all glory and power, forever and forever. Amen.

“Ubi caritas et amor, ubi caritas Deus ibi est.”