Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Homily)
July 18, 2021 11:00 am · Sergio Muñoz Fita
We continue with our series of homilies entitled "Sign of Contradiction" in which we are considering together, in light of the Word of God, the world's rejection of Christ and his disciples. I believe that today it is necessary to dwell in a special way on pastors, on their responsibility before God and on the havoc we wreak on the people of God when we renounce the honor of being rejected by the world because of our fidelity to the Church.
Fr. Mendizabal once said that the priest, who is called to act in persona Christi, must also live in Corde Christi, in a union of love with the Heart of Jesus. We act in the person of Christ when we celebrate the sacraments, independently of our personal holiness. However, acting in union with the Heart of Christ is the fruit of a transformation that requires our collaboration with the grace of God. The most important thing during the period of formation in the seminary is not so much the acquisition of knowledge or the development of our human qualities, but to assume the sentiments of the Heart of Jesus. In today's Gospel, we heard that Jesus’ “heart was moved" when he saw the crowd like sheep without a shepherd. The good priest must feel that compassion for souls with and like Jesus, letting the Lord be the one who loves people in him and for him. This is the fruit of many hours before the Eucharist, the practice of self-denial, and the surrender of oneself to God in prayer and in one's daily life.
In reality, there is only one Shepherd, and so we can all truly use the words of the psalm we have proclaime d together and say, "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.” Now, in order to feed his flock, God uses men, whom he calls to this mission. Last week and two Sundays ago, we heard of the vocations of Amos and Ezekiel, whom the Lord chose to lead Israel. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God promised to shepherd his people through "shepherds after his own heart". (Jer 3:15) In today's first reading the Lord also spoke of them when he said, "I will appoint shepherds to feed them".
However, as we also heard in the first reading of this Holy Mass, there are shepherds who have mislead and scattered the flock of his pasture, who do not care for them. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, the Lord describes them as wolves in sheep's clothing. (Mt 7:15) You, who are lay people need to know how to recognize them because a bad priest can do a lot of harm. We have seen it in so many places, where so many innocent people, especially children, have suffered at the hands of priests. It makes you want to cry just thinking about it. We also contemplate it in the history of the Church, where the great divisions and heresies that have fractured the unity of the people of God have arisen from priests who with their doctrines moved away from the Catholic faith. Arius was a priest of Alexandria and Luther was an Augustinian priest to give just two examples.
Only God sees the hearts of men and, therefore, we cannot judge anyone. However, we do have the responsibility on many occasions to make judgments about their works. This is what the Lord taught us when he told us that “a tree is known by its fruit”. (Mt 12:33)
I think that many of us priests are very cowardly, and I believe that the Lord portrayed us perfectly when he said: "A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.” (Jn 10:12-13).
We priests should count it an honor to be attacked by the wolf, who is the devil, and who is in this world that is under his power. (1 Jn 5:19) It would be a sign that we are on the right side. However, many of us flee because we do not love the sheep in Corde Christi, in union with the Heart of Christ, who gave his life for them. (Jn 10:11) We thus renounce being a sign of contradiction out of weariness, cowardice, selfishness and, besides, we priests are very good at dressing up as love what in reality is sin.
In his commentary on the Gospel of St. John, St. Thomas wrote that the mission of the shepherd is love, officium pastoris caritas est. The primary mission of the priest is to continue the mission of Christ, to love with the Heart of Jesus the Good Shepherd, to shepherd the sheep as he did, guarding them from danger and leading them to the green pastures of the Word of God authentically interpreted by the Church and the sacraments.
The priest who does not proclaim the Gospel and who is ashamed of the teaching of the Church is a wolf. Even if he sells many books, speaks very well, smiles sweetly, and has the applause of the world. In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul has left us a way of recognizing a bad shepherd. He says: “ I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel, not that there is another. But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed!As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one that you received, let that one be accursed! Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ. (Gal 1:6-10)
A priest cannot seek to please people because that would be a betrayal of the Gospel. If a priest disobeys the faith of the Church, which he promised to communicate faithfully, he is a wolf. In today's world they exist. They are priests and bishops who confuse, and who if they do not repent, will be punished by God as we heard in the first reading. A priest who preaches, for example, in favor of abortion or contraception, or sexual acts between persons of the same sex, or who disregards the Most Holy Eucharist, or who believing and preaching all this according to the doctrine of the Church, does not love with the Heart of Christ, and takes advantage of the weakest, is a wolf.
We do not have to judge anyone, but if one day I come here and affirm something contrary to the Catholic faith and morals, do not listen to me, expel me from here. I do not want to speak only about others, as if I considered myself a good shepherd. In fact, I was also a bad shepherd and I also gave up the honor of being a sign of contradiction when, a year ago, I did not let you receive the Holy Eucharist.
St. Paul told us in the second reading that Christ is our peace. This peace, of which the priest is the messenger, does not consist in hiding the truth, or worse, in adulterating it. The peace that the priest must proclaim is to preach Jesus and to invite all men to conversion and union with him.
Let us ask God, to grant us priests who are signs of contradiction as was Christ, the Good Shepherd who died to give life to his sheep. May those who act in the person of Christ also live in the Heart of Jesus, and through humility, love, and holiness, help their brothers and sisters to attain eternal salvation.
