Retreat for Deacons Of Bangladesh

 

Retreat for Deacons

Of Bangladesh

Mathbari

1 – 9 January 2016

Theme: Priesthood

Grace:  Be still and know that I am God – supreme among the nations; supreme on the earth (Ps.46:11)

1 January 2016

Beginning the journey with the Lord

Readings:Ps.46:11; Ps. 33: 13 – 14; Mt. 6:5 – 6; Lk. 11:1

2 January 2016

1.1 Understanding of Priesthood 

Readings: Lev.8:1-10; Lev. Chapter 16; Lk.10: 1- 9

1.2 Look Back in Faith

3 January 2016

2.1 Priesthood of Jesus

Readings: Eph.5: 1 - 4; Phil. 2: 4 – 8; Lk.4: 1-13

2.2 The Temptations of Jesus

4 January 2016

3.1 Priests are taken out of the people

Readings: Is. 42: 1- 4, 6 -7; Eph.4: 20 – 32; Heb.4: 14 – 5: 4; Mt.1:1 – 16

3.2 Sin and sinfulness

5 January 2016

4.1 Priesthood is for service

Readings: Rom.12:1 - 2; 1Tim.4:11 – 16;  Mk.3: 31 – 35

4.2 Prayer and Action

6 January 2016

5.1 Priesthood, discernment and prayer

Readings: Gen. 32: 24 – 30; 1Thes. 5: 14 – 22; Mt. 17: 1 – 8

5.2 Jacob wrestles with God

7 January 2016

6.1 Priesthood and human relationship

Readings:1Kgs.19: 18 - 22; Tit. 2: 1 – 8; Jn. 11: 28 – 36

6.2 Radicality of the response

8 January 2016

7.1 Priesthood and Responsibility

Readings:2Tim.1:6 – 10; Lk.3:7 – 14; Mt.14: 22 – 33 

7.2 The washing of the Feet 

9 January 2016

8. 1 Challenges to Priesthood

Readings: 1Jn.1:1 – 4; Col.4: 2 – 6; Mt. 5: 13 – 16.

8.2 You are the salt of the earth

All are requested to meet the Retreat Director at least twice during the retreat. 

You may visit him more often for spiritual guidance.

The Night before the retreat: Preparing to Meet the Lord

Be still and know that I am God, supreme among the nations; supreme on the earth (Ps.46: 10 - 11)

The purpose of retreat:  Retreat is not a time to solve problems; it is not a time to “recharge” your spiritual battery. It is not a time to achieve anything; not even to make some good resolutions. Retreat is a process of entering into a love relationship with Jesus, with God. You do not achieve anything in a love relationship; you will only grow in it – painfully often, over a period of time. But remember that if you are serious and honest about it something will happen (Is.55:10ff; Eph.3:16 -19) in your love relationship with Jesus, with God.

Remember:  In prayer what YOU do is not very important but what GOD does is. If you are honest about it, God will move you – he can break through any heart, yours also and he would like to stay with you. (1Kg. 9: 3; 1Cor.3:16). Therefore in this retreat there is no special time for prayer – the whole day is prayer time. God can touch you anytime anywhere. So be sensitive to that touch. Of course there will be community prayer activities, such as Mass, adoration etc. but that is not all; all the time you are requested to be in the presence of God. For this you are requested to keep not only exterior silence but also an interior silence.

Do: Give God time; your willingness and desire to be with Him. Wait for him. (Ex.24: 11 – 13; Is.25:9). Wait on Him. The rest is his work; let him do it. Waiting on God does not mean thinking about some passage of the scripture. Waiting on God definitely does not mean saying some vocal prayers. That you can do later. But set aside a definite quantum of time for simply waiting for, and waiting on God. Let the gaze of God fall on you and feel it (Ps. 33:13-15; 84:9; 139:1-2). Nothing may happen; nothing need happen; it will happen when God wants it, the way he wants it. Do not think that waiting on God is a waste of time; “Mary has taken the better part and it shall not be taken away from her” (Lk.10:38-42). What was she doing? Nothing. Just sitting at the feet of Jesus – that is all and Jesus was happy with that and he will be happy with us too if we can do that. 

Your ways and not mine:  We are very accustomed to dictate to God what he should do to us. Please stop that. Allow him to do what he wants. Sometimes you may think that nothing is happening. Wait. It will happen. Think of a seed. It does not do anything to grow. The growth potential is within. When the time comes, when the proper environment is provided for, it will sprout. (Jer. 18:1-7)

Listen: We are used to doing a lot of talking during prayer; stop that. Begin to listen. In the beginning you will not hear anything. Wait. Listen with your heart and then probably you will hear him speak to your soul. (Is. 55: 1 – 13)

The director:  He is there just to help to identify the “movement” – the way God touches you. He will not help you to pray; the Spirit will. Therefore it is important to tell the director the way you “feel” and not anything else. May be if he asks you about the way you pray, tell him that because it might help him guide you but otherwise it is between you and God. Therefore be conscious of your FEELINGS – glad, sad, indifferent, tired, worried, light, enthusiastic etc. 

The points / talks:  it may so happen that one day you do not feel like coming to the talk because you are so caught up with some points (basically caught up with God) and you are working through it. Please go ahead. The talks are not a must. Your retreat should not begin and end with the talks. It should go beyond and the talks are only a help. The texts given are only suggestions. They are not something that you have to do. You can use them to get started and once you set going, discard them.

Come as you are: God does not want you to first change, become perfect individuals and then go to him. He wants you to go to him as you are – sinners, imperfect, weak, lethargic, unfaithful ... He does not want you as you would like to be (that is your ideal). Allow him to mould you. (Jer. 18: 4)

Allow yourself to be affected by God: If you allow yourself to be affected, you will be transformed. God needs your permission. He stands at the door and knocks (Lk.12:36). You will have to open the door to him. He is outside; you are inside and the door is bolted from within, with probably years of rust and dirt. You have to open it. Then he will come in and transform you (Is.55:10-11). The retreat is a beginning of that opening; beginning of that transformation. It is not the end. It is a process that will go on, probably till the end of your life.

1. The Understanding of Priesthood

Priesthood is not anything exclusive to Christianity. Most religions (except perhaps Buddhism) have some kind of priesthood. Their functions vary. Many consider their priests as mediators between the divine and the secular. Their primary function is considered to be performance of certain rituals on behalf of the common people. In Hinduism besides performing the regular worship, (puja, the arati ceremony, etc.) they may conduct special ceremonies such as various rites of passage, both in the temple and at people's homes. Traditionally only men were allowed into the priesthood. In some religions they play the role of the ‘learned’ that provides them with a kind of ‘commonly accepted’ leadership in the community. In Islam, for example, there is no priesthood, understood as the mediator between God and people. Anyone can perform liturgical functions such as leading people in prayer. But the Ulema – the learned – among them become not only religious leaders but social leaders. They play the role of the theologians, the judges and canon lawyers (muftis).

In Judaism there was a hierarchy of priests leading to the high priest. The High Priest was special. His judgement was final and he had that singular privilege of entering the holy of holies once a year – on the feast of the yomkippur – to offer the sacrifice of atonement. It was understood that if he was not pure, he would die there and if he emerged from the sanctum sanctorum, he was pure. That was a test and all the people accepted it. It began probably as a result of their contact with other religions around them during the early exilic period. The Israelites noticed other tribes with high priests and they too wanted one like him. The first high priest was Aaron and his anointing is mentioned in Leviticus Chapter 8. Thereafter the whole tribe of Levi is purified and set aside for the service of Yahweh (see the book of Numbers, Chapter 8.) 

The responsibility of the High Priest was to look after the religious life of Israel, and to act as Israel’s representative before, and mediator with, God. He had to ensure that all the correct procedures were carried through with regard to the offering of sacrifices, that the daily and weekly ministrations were fulfilled. He had to ensure also that the people were made aware of the Law of God and what was required of them. Above all he was responsible for ensuring the successful celebration of the great Day of Atonement when all Israel’s sins were ‘atoned for’ for each year, for another year (Leviticus ch. 16).

In Christianity the idea of priesthood developed over a period of roughly four centuries. It was influenced by Judaism as well as other religious and socio-political situations around them. One is the concept of “Sacerdos”, that is the cultic priest and the other is “Presbyter” – a community leader. The Latin word “Sacerdos” has come to mean one who mediates between God and the people, reconciling both, mainly by offering sacrifices. The Greek word for Sacerdos is “heireus” which literally means a holy person, assigned for cultic function in the community. But this cultic priesthood is applied strictly to only Jesus Christ who offered one and final sacrifice of himself; thus nullifying need for any other sacrifices (Heb.10:12; Rom. 3:25; 1Jn.2:2). As all Christians are parts of that one body the Church, all Christians also share that Priesthood of Christ. So strictly speaking there is no need of that mediator since Jesus Christ is the Mediator for all. “Thus the exercise of our common cultic priesthood is our common Christian vocation and our common mission on earth.” (Aloysius Pieris; Our unhidden agenda; pg. 175)

Now let us come the idea of the Presbyter. The Hebrew equivalent is “hazqenim” meaning elders. He is a community leader, (the “manjhi haram” in Santali) exercising a “pastoral role”. “The first Christians borrowed this term from the Jews to designate the servants (ministri in Latin and diakonoi in Greek) appointed  to shepherd the local churches.” (Ibid.) But since he was the elder, the wise man, it was natural that he was asked to preside over the worship. He was asked to interpret the Word of God for the community. Thus over a period of time the two roles – cultic and presbyter – were fused into one. The origin of the present Christian priesthood can be found here.

Just for your clarification: “In the New Testament bishops and priests are, according to Catholic teaching, the sole bearers of the priesthood, the former enjoying the fullness of the priesthood (summussacerdos s. primiordinis), while the presbyters are simple priests (simplex sacerdos s. secundiordinis). The deacon, on the other hand, is a mere attendant of the priest, with no priestly powers. …” (The Catholic Encyclopaedia on Priesthood).

“But the Sacrifice of the Mass indicates only one side of the priesthood; the other side is revealed in the power of forgiving sin, for the exercise of which the priesthood is just as necessary as it is for the power of consecrating and sacrificing. Like the general power to bind and to loose (cf. Matthew 16:19; 18:18), the power of remitting and retaining sins was solemnly bestowed on the Church by Christ (cf. John 20:21.) … Both sides of the priesthood were brought into prominence by the Council of Trent.”(Ibid.)

My academic pursuit of the concept of priesthood should stop here. We are not here to study academically the concept of priesthood. This is not the forum for it. We are here to reflect on the experience of being a priest. I think this will be best done if we kneel before the crucified one and look at him to understand our own priesthood. We will now take off from here. We get our model of priesthood not so much by great studies but basically by looking at Jesus. Let this be a catch phrase that you take home from this retreat – WHEN IN DOUBT, LOOK AT JESUS. My little effort of giving this retreat will be more than fulfilled if you practice this. When in doubt, look at Jesus.

What can we, as priests, learn from Jesus? If you can spend the rest of the retreat in looking at Jesus, learning from him, forget about coming to my talks. He can talk to you much better than I ever could dream. So feel free to go to Him – not so much to talk to Him but to listen to Him. 

Forget about timetables as long as you go to Him; 

Forget about prayer, as long as you are with Him

Forget about everything; let Him become the centre of you

Then remember you have done a good retreat; a holy retreat; 

A retreat that will help you in your everyday life. That is all that I want to do in this retreat. 

Do not expect great, learned talks – for I am not an intellectual

Do not expect solutions to your problems – for I have plenty of them myself. 

And retreat is not a time to solve problems anyway.

Do not expect great miracles – for the seed grows slow, without the farmer noticing it. 

My job is to walk with you; to accompany you in this spiritual journey.

Both of us have to row the boat

Both of us have to battle the waves of the ocean

But if Jesus is there, we will do it successfully.

He may come half way through the night

He may come walking on the waters that separate you from him

On the waters that threaten you 

But surely he will come, as certain as the dawn.

So let us look for Jesus; look at Jesus. 

This is perhaps the last chance that you have to spend eight full days seriously seeking to understand what it means to be a priest of God here in this situation. Spend time with Jesus; ask him to tell you the type of priest that he wants you to be. Give him time to speak to you. Listen to him in the deep silence of your heart. Your companions will always be there; but this time may not be there again. So use it well.

1.2 Look back in faith so that we may look forward with hope

A newspaper reported once that the most popular course in Harvard University in those days was Psychology. Professor Ben Shahar taught that course. His main theme was gratefulness. He claimed that if people were grateful they would live a happier life. The secret to happiness was being grateful. Since he taught the secret to happiness in life, his classes were popular because who does not want happiness in life.

Are we people who are grateful? Or are we always the type that is never happy with life and hence complaining? Of course these are extremes. Most people are a bit of both. But by and large are we grateful or complaining? I will give below a few common characteristics; there are many others, more subtle and deep. They differ from person to person. 

What are some of the characteristics of grateful people? 

1. They are cheerful

2. They usually look at the positive side of life

3. They go out and do things – they are not usually afraid; they take risks

4. They may fail; but they are quick to bounce back.

5. They are generous. What else? Have you seen someone who is grateful? What other characteristics do you find in that person?

Characteristics of the people who are complaining

1. They are not cheerful

2. They see the negative side of things

3. They are calculating and slow; they do not easily take risks.

4. Once they fail, it is difficult for them to bounce back.

5. They are not generous

Why should I be grateful? Now the question is why or what are you to be grateful for? Is there anything for which you should be grateful? Is there anyone to whom you should be grateful? Are you to grateful your parents, relatives, friends and even your enemies? Why are you grateful to them? Are you grateful to God? Has he given you anything? Now don’t just give the usual answer – ‘yes, he has given me life’. So what? He has given that to others as well. The question is, has he given you anything special that he has not given to others. Say for example when you enter a bus, if the conductor gives you a ticket, you need not be specially thankful to him; that is his duty. But if a person gets up and offers you his seat, you will be grateful to him. Now don’t say that Jesus gave (not only his seat) but his life for us. That is true but he gave that for everyone. You should look for God’s gift to you in a very special way – something that he gave only to you and not to others. Then your gratitude to him will be different. Your gratitude to him should be something very, very personal. This can be done only if we look back at life.

Look Back:Do you look back at life at all? How far can you go back? What is your first memory? Is it something pleasant or something awful? How old were you at that time? Remember? Then slowly progress; as you grew older what are the things that happened to you? Who are the people who touched your life most? There may be pleasant and not so pleasant events. Recall all of them. It is not that you have to live in the past. You should not; but you should learn from it. That is why you look back. It is said, ‘those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it’.

A person can look at life and say, ‘well, I do not find anything great; there are not many great events; my life is just an ordinary life.’ That is because you do not look at life with faith. If you look back with faith you will find that God has done great things for you – for you – specifically. He has done things for you that He has not done for others. (‘You are mine. I gave Egypt for your ransom and exchanged Cush and Sheba for you’ – Is.43:3) Has God given anything special for you? Look at the whole of your life; let it be like a canvas laid out in front of you. 

Once you have the whole life stretched before you, what do you feel in general? The first time you look at it you may not understand much; it will be like a mosaic. Make it a habit to look back in faith as often as you can. Slowly the mosaic will become clearer. Slowly you will become more and more cheerful; the more you become grateful the more cheerful you will become. Then people will like you. Your life will change. When you find something that really makes you happy, remain with it; re-live it. Remain there as long as you want. 

Victims of the past are not architects of the future

Indeed I must admit that sometimes you will remember things that have been done to you or happened to you that are not pleasant. Is it because you do not look at it with faith? Perhaps. Perhaps if you look at that event with faith it may shed some new light. But it is quite possible that even when you look at it with faith, you do not see the logic of it; you may not understand why God did such a thing for us. Then if you were people of faith you would say with the Psalmist “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord” (Ps. 130:1) or even with Jesus you would ask God, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt.27:46). Both are cries of deep distress but not of despair. If you become desperate then you will become victims of the past. That is when you blame your past, other people for the state in which you are. You should never allow ourselves to become victims of the past; otherwise you can never be the architects of the future. Sometimes you have to simply accept like Job: “I have been holding forth on matters I cannot understand, on marvels beyond me and my knowledge” (Job 42:3). You can question God; but finally you should have the humility to accept the transience and limitation of your being human.   

Past is your foundation on which future is built

When you look at the past with faith you will notice that God had been there at every moment, guiding you, supporting you and taking you forward. Thus you become confident of the past. It is only when you are confident about the past that you can look to the future with hope. The past is your foundation on which you build the future. That is why past is important. That is why the prophets always drew the attention of the Israelites to the past. The central theme of the Shema Israel, (listen Israel) which every Jew has to repeat ‘whether at rest, walking abroad, at lying down or at rising …’ (Deut. 6: 4ff) is accepting Yahweh as the only God and remembering his great redemptive work. The most important liturgical service in the Church is the Eucharist. It is a memorial meal – remembering Jesus. “Do this in memory of me”.  This is important because unless one remembers what God has done, how can one trust him? That is why you too have to look at the past. But you are not looking at the past as historians; you look at the past with the eyes of faith. Then you will find the action of God; it is only then you can look to the future with hope. Then you can confidently say that the God who had been with you for so long will be with me in the future too.

Hope is the bird that sings when the dawn is far away. You too are called to sing when you cannot see the light in the horizon, simply because you saw the light yesterday and it will not fail you today and also tomorrow. 

Happy are those who can look back in faith for they will be able to live a life of confidence and joy and look forward at the rest of life with hope.

‘Look at the PAST with FAITH

Live the PRESENT with JOY

Embrace the FUTURE with HOPE’ 

(Pope Francis)

2.1 Priesthood of Jesus

We had said yesterday that we have to follow a principle: When in doubt look at Jesus. In order to understand our own priesthood let us look at the priesthood of Jesus. Of course this little talk is not going to be exhaustive. This may suggest something; this may pave the way for you for your further reflections. Please do it. 

A.  Jesus had a clear vision of his mission. 

First and foremost what we see is that Jesus had a clear vision of his mission. Right from the beginning of his mission (the public life) or even before that, he had a clear vision. We get a glimpse of this when he was lost in the temple. ”Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?” (Lk.2: 49) A boy of just 12 and yet he knows his mission – the purpose of his life. It is said that there are two significant days in the life of every great person who made a mark upon the earth – one is the day on which he is born and the other is the day on which realizes WHY he is born. Jesus seems to have realized that quite early in life. Later on this becomes more and more clear. Before he began his public ministry Jesus went for a long retreat of forty days. There he had some temptations. “Going to the desert” and the “temptations” point to one thing – the method through which he would accomplish his mission. When he was tempted with food he resisted it (Lk.4: 4). When he was tempted with power he countered it (Lk.4: 5-8). When he was tempted with doing things the easy way, the sensational way, he rejected it (Lk.4: 9-12). These temptations were not to be the last; they would come back. He did this because he knew his mission and how he would accomplish it. 

So you have to ask some simple questions. When you ask these questions please remember that there is no one to whom you have to answer except yourself. Of course if it helps, you can discuss it with someone whom you trust; that is optional. But you have to be absolutely honest in answering these questions. Honest to yourselves and honest before God. The questions are: 

1. Are you clear about your mission? Are you clear about how you are going to do it?

2. What is that specific mission that Jesus has called you to fulfil? 

Do not give general answers like ‘oh he has called me to give the good news to the poor’ etc. That is not specifically to you. It is for everyone. What does Jesus want from you personally? Once that is clear, there is a third question which is trickier than the others but be honest all the same. We have seen how Jesus was intent on remaining on the course, though there were temptations to swerve away from his path. 

3. What are the temptations you are facing now? 

All of us have temptations. All these temptations can be brought under the three that Jesus had faced. How are you facing these temptations? Spend some time – perhaps the whole day with Jesus. Walk with Him; talk to Him and look at yourself. We will talk about this later.

B. Jesus obeyed the Father to death

Incarnation was a result of Jesus’ obedience to the Father. This obedience demanded that Jesus gave up his rightful place in heaven. It demanded that he gave up the glory that his divine nature enjoyed and become obedient unto death (Phil. 2: 6 – 8). In every act of obedience there is sacrificing of the self. It is only to the extent to which one sacrifices one’s self that one will be able to obey perfectly. Priests are called to obey. 

Paul wrote, “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1). As we have opted for this life of priesthood we are to present our bodies once and for all, to be offered to God. Our bodies are to be used for God’s glory (Phil. 1:20-21). Then our bodies become “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19-20), indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9). Psalm 40: 6 – 7 echoes this beautifully:

“You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation opened my ear. 

You asked no holocaust or sacrifice for sin; 

then I said, ‘Here I am, I am coming’. 

In the scroll of the book am I not commanded

to obey your will?”  

Our God is a jealous God, a passionate God.  He does not want any sacrifices or holocausts to satisfy him. What he desires is ourselves. That is what is ultimately required of you. That is what Jesus did – he did not offer any sacrifices but offered himself. Oh, Priest of God, are you ready for that? That is the cost of discipleship; that is the price that you pay for being a true priest according to the order of Melchizedek  

To reflect on this further we have to take a very important text that is often used during the priestly ordinations. Now before reading the text let us remember that Jesus himself had told Simon that he was Peter (rock) and on that rock he would build his Church.

“He is the living stone rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God may be living stones making a spiritual house” (1Pet. 2: 4 – 5).  

 I do not want to comment much on this passage; you know it. I just want to draw your attention to the meaning of the term “living stone” and its implication. “Living stones” are stones cut into shape for the purpose of using them as building materials. They are not just boulders or fieldstones. Christ by his suffering and death on the cross has been cut into shape by the Father and has become precious as the corner stone. Now there are three important questions that we have to ask ourselves:

1. Am I willing to be cut and shaped which of course involves a lot of suffering and dying to oneself?

Through cutting and chiselling, namely through long years of training the priest is prepared for the job to which God called him. In fact the priestly training is one of the longest as compared with other jobs in our society. At the end of it the priest is supposed to be fit for the job; to be used by the builder.

2. The second question is still harder to answer. Once it is cut it belongs to the builder. Am I willing to be used by the Master builder? 

He may use it anywhere, anyhow – not necessarily as the cornerstone. Sometimes you may be used as a step – everybody stepping on you; sometimes the Master Builder may use you as the altar stone where sacred gifts are offered to the Lord; sometimes he may use you where no one notices you and yet you support the building – the temple of the Lord; and without you the temple would not be complete! The question now is - Am I ready and willing?

3. The third question places the responsibility squarely on us: in order to be used by the builder we have to set ourselves ‘close to him’. Are we close to the builder, ready to be picked up by him? Are we close to Jesus? Do I spend some everyday with him and with him alone?

I know these are not theological issues but these are practical points that will help your reflection and future action. Let us look deeper into Jesus to learn from him: 

C. Jesus did not care for the appreciation of the people.

For example when he cured many in Capernaum the demons declared him ‘Son of God’ but he would not allow them (Lk.5: 40-41) to publicize him. That would have been the easier way but not the way of the Cross. He does not seem to enjoy the glow of his popularity. (See Lk.4: 38 – 44.)

Mark says that he became famous at one point due to his cures and everyone was looking for him; his response was “let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns so that I can preach there too, because that is why I came” (Mk.1: 35-39). After miraculously feeding the five thousand, he makes his disciples get into the boat and go to the other side while he would send the crowds away. He did not want admiration from the crowds; he wanted to be busy with his father’s affairs. (Mt.14: 22ff). The so called ‘Markan silence’ is a concrete proof of Jesus’ desire for anonymity and his total disregard for human approval or appreciation.

Similarly there are many other instances – all leading to just one conclusion. Jesus knew exactly WHY he came. His mission was clearly before him. He was also convinced that he was doing his father’s work. That is why he could challenge the Pharisees: “if I am not doing my Father’s work, there is no need to believe me; but if I am doing it, then even if you refuse to believe me, at least believe in the work I do” (Jn.10: 37-38). Can you really say that at the end of the day? 

2.2 The temptations of Jesus

After the overwhelming experience of Jesus' encounter with the Father at his baptism, Jesus had to go through the desert experience to come to a freedom whereby he became free enough to follow the path of his humanity and move toward embracing his role as suffering servant. This is the freedom that we are called to attain. All these spiritual exercises – the retreats, the recollections, the prayers (including the Mass) – are meant to help us attain this spiritual freedom. Let us analyse a little more the temptation of Jesus in the desert.

In every mission there is a goal and there is a method to attain that goal. Jesus had a goal. His goal was to establish the reign of God, the Kingdom of God here on earth among a group of people that his Father had entrusted to him. Now the question is how does he do that? What is the method that he would choose? 

Turn stones into bread: This is a very legitimate suggestion. Jesus was hungry; Jesus had the power to turn stones into bread. He knew it and the Satan knew it. If he turned stones into bread and satisfied his hunger no one would be hurt; no one would be offended; in fact no one would even notice it. So why not do it and why was Jesus so adamantly refusing to do a ‘legitimate’ act to satisfy his hunger? 

In refusing to turn stones into bread Jesus decided that he would never use his power for himself. This was a temptation that he would encounter right through his life – right to the cross: “if you are the Christ come down from the cross”. In fact if Jesus came down from the cross his purpose would be achieved – the Jewish authorities would (may)believe. No, that would be going against the Father’s will because Jesus knew that the cross was the Father’s will for him. Besides, Jesus had decided in the desert once and for all that his power was not for his gratification and he sticks to that decision. Man does not live by bread alone; he lives primarily by faith – especially when it concerns the mission. He cannot live by people’s approval and praise; he has to seek his approval from God himself.

Now the Satan takes him to the pinnacle of the temple and asks him to jump so that if he is unhurt people would follow him. This is sensation and there would be a quick following of this wonder worker. Jesus refuses that. His following should not be based on sensationalism. His following should be based on faith – sometimes unreasonable faith (the call of Mathew; the invitation to the rich young man etc. are demands of faith).This is precisely the reason why he did most of his miracles quietly. (Turning water into wine – Jn.2:1ff; healing the blind man Mk.8: 23 Jesus takes the blind man outside the village; the multiplication of the loaves on two occasions – Mt. 14:16ff and 15:32ff – no one knew from where the bread came. Raising Jairus’ daughter (Lk.:51) (Jesus turned everyone out and took only his three trusted disciples.) So Jesus would not use the easy way; he will be the suffering servant of Yahweh. His way to achieve the goal would be the way of the cross and he would not budge an inch from that path. That is why when the mother of James and John comes to ask for favour he asks “can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” (Mt.20: 20 – 23) What he means is very simple – the disciples of Jesus have to suffer just like their master. “Come to me all you who hunger and thirst and I will give you rest” is not without an equal measure of suffering. Each one has to “take up the cross” if we have to tread the path of Jesus. There is no free lunch as they say.   

The third temptation of Jesus is one of power. “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” goes a famous saying. Jesus knew this. He had seen this happening in his own society and that is why he says “you know that the rulers of this world lord it over others … it shall not be so with you” (Mt.20: 25 -28). 

Power is oppressive; authority is liberative. Power looks at people and situation from the point of view of laws and regulations; authority is compassionate and looks at people from their point of view. Power condemns; authority forgives. An excellent example of this is found in John 8:3-11. This is the story of the woman caught in adultery. There was a strict law about this in Israel (Lev.20:10ff). So the Pharisees were not asking Jesus anything extraordinary; but Jesus shows them another way of looking at sin and the sinner. It is not that Jesus considered adultery as not a grave sin; he did because he says elsewhere the strictness with which one has to follow it (Mt.5:28). But Jesus never condemns the sinner. He condemns sin and forgives the sinner. This is why he dismissed the woman saying, ‘I will not condemn you; go, sin no more’. So the rules are there; but the rules can be re-interpreted if we consider that ultimately what is important is not to condemn but to get the sinner to the right path. In this case imposing the law would have meant that they would have killed the woman and got rid of the evil. But by forgiving her, she was given another chance to live and become a different person.  Isn’t that better than just getting rid of the evil from the society? Isn’t that better than killing a soul? Law is the way human beings deal with evil; compassion and forgiveness is God’s way of dealing with the sinner.

John 12:1 – 8: Look at Jesus in this story. He knew that Judas was a cheat; he could have tackled him there and then; but no; he let him be and also let the woman do what she was doing. Even though Judas had apparently proposed a more noble cause Jesus did not mind that. He had an explanation. Again you see how Jesus has taken the rule, re-interpreted it both in the case of Judas and in the case of the woman. Sometimes the real thief may be someone other than you suspect and the popularly accepted sinner may be innocent. How do you handle a situation like this in your own context? 

In this exercise please think of the way you deal with people who are working with you or working ‘under’ you. What is your attitude towards them? Are you the Pharisees who lay heavy burdens on others while you yourself refuse to move a finger to help them? (Lk.11:46). Are you people who are compassionate and forgiving? Are you “slow to anger and abounding in mercy and forgiveness” (Ex.34:6; Ps.103:8; Ps.86:15 etc.). This phrase is found so very often in the Bible and probably this should become the characteristic of all good priests who are truly Presbytors; and who have experienced the forgiveness of God.   

But can one get annoyed and angry at an unjust world? Yes, one can get angry. Anger is a great force that can ‘move mountains’. Jesus got angry and he had some very harsh words to tell the Pharisees and the teachers of the law (Lk. 11:39-48). He was fearless; but at the same time he did not condemn them but their actions. This is a very important lesson that we have to learn from Jesus: when the beneficiary of your anger is the other, get angry; but if the beneficiary is yourself anger is sinful. So Jesus never got angry with those who tormented him; but he got angry with them when they tormented others. 

A last point as priests we have to remember: At the sacrament of reconciliationpriests are not the judges to ask many questions, clarify, judge and condemn. Priests are dispensers or channels of God’s mercy to sinners. Priests have to ‘cut short the speech of the prodigal son’ and be eager to bring him to the house and dress him up with joy. Only God has thePOWER to condemn; priests ARE GIVEN AUTHORITY to forgive.

3.1 Priest Is Taken Out of the People

We looked at Jesus to see how he understood his priesthood. We will come back to Jesus again and again but now let us look at priesthood from another point view and learn some other characteristics.

The author of the letter to Hebrews explains some of the characteristics of priesthood. 

“Every high priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act for men in their relation with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can sympathise with those who are ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the limitations of weakness. That is why he has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people” (Heb.5: 1 – 2)

Several ideas are expressed in these two sentences. Let us take them up one by one. 

a. “Every high priest has been taken out of the people.” Yes, no one is born a priest; he becomes one. He is taken out of the people. Not because he is better than others; not because others cannot do the work that he does. He is taken out simply because God decides so. Period. The priest is priest simply because God calls him to be one - “not because of anything that we have done, but for His own purpose and by His own grace" (2 Timothy 1: 7- 9). Even Jesus says that: “You did not choose me; no, I chose you.” (Jn.15: 16). This makes a great difference between other occupations and the priestly occupation. People choose the occupation that they like but priesthood is not chosen by the individual; God chooses that individual for the priesthood. So today the words “taken out”, “I chose you” have to ring very loud in our hearts; and that should remain as a background music throughout our priestly life. Just think: can God say this about you: “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have sent my spirit upon him...” (Is.42:1)

“Taken out of the people” has great significance. It means that priests are ordinary human beings - weak, sinful, with a tendency to swerve away from God’s path. “As such he is flesh and blood, mind and body, spirit, emotions, conscious and sub-conscious. He is sexed, he is made by God for relationship with others, of both sexes, in knowledge, affection, friendship and love. He comes normally from a family background that has mixes of joy and sorrow, hope and fear, ambition, pride …He desires to be loved, he fears being loved, he desires to love and he is mixed and sometimes torn. …” (Michael Holligs: Living Priesthood; Mayhew-McCrimmon; Essex; 1977 pg.60) The priest errs, makes mistakes and falls. Paul, one of the greatest apostles, says, “I cannot understand my own behaviour. I fail to carry out the things I want to do, and I find myself doing the very things I hate.” (Rom. 7: 15). Doesn’t that ring a familiar bell? Doesn’t that happen to priests often? This should not surprise the priest and this should not surprise the common people either. Priests are human beings; and therefore they err; they go away from the plan of God and sin! Pope Francis admits that he is “lowly and yet chosen”. 

Seneca, the tutor of Nero Caesar, once wrote: “All men have sinned — some more, some less.” An ancient Chinese proverb says: “There are two good men — one is dead, the other is not yet born.” Sin is a reality that cannot be denied. There is no man who does not sin (1 Kgs. 8:46; Rom. 3:10,23; 1 Jn.1: 10). Every honest person is painfully aware of his imperfection, of his sinfulness.

People should not be surprised at the shortcoming of the priest; but they do – simply because they expect priests to be some kind of superhuman beings.Sometimes priests allow themselves to be made into super humans. It is important to remember the priest’s propensity to fall. Priests are not angels, they are human beings. ‘They are taken out of the people’.

Since the priest is taken out of the people there is a difference between the job of a priest and other occupations in society. Whereas other tasks are chosen by people, the person for the task of the priest is chosen by God. This should not introduce a kind of hierarchy; one should not think that the priestly job is better than other jobs; no! I am not saying that. I think if a doctor does his job honestly to the best of his ability, if a teacher teaches her students to the best of her ability, it is as good as a prayer. But the job of the priest demands something more. The job of the priest somehow should ultimately become his lifestyle. In a way, he has to “live” his ‘priestly job’. This is the difference. The priest does not preach so much by words but by his life. That demand is not made on the teacher or the doctor, though if they do it, it will be all the more effective. The teacher and doctor can qualify through academic pursuits; the priest cannot; he has to qualify through spiritual pursuit that will change his life. Academic qualifications should be subsidiary to this spiritual formation. So why are priests taken out of mankind? It is

b. “To act for men in their relation with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins”.This is the cultic priest, the “Sacerdos” as different from the “Pastoral” or “Presbyter” priest. Look at Ex.19: 12-13 and 20:18-21. Moses is the mediator between God and the people. When God speaks it is Moses who listens. Then he speaks to the people. Paul is quite clear in instructing Timothy about this function (2Tim.chapters 1 & 2). 

The mission of the priest is not primarily concerned with material things but spiritual things. Of course we can argue that it is no more faith alone but faith and justice that matter; it is should be faith that does justice. So the priest should be working both for faith (the spiritual realm) and justice (the ‘material’ realm). Or to put it differently, the priest should be concerned with both the vertical (spiritual) and horizontal (material) arms of the Cross. But I think in order to do this effectively primarily the priest has to be a man of God. Then everything else will fall in line. If the priest is not an engineer and if he cannot build a church building properly, people will understand that; but if he cannot preach a good sermon, if he cannot guide the people by his example, I think people do mind that. They expect this of a priest and their expectation is legitimate, for the priest is meant primarily for that – “to act for men in their relation with God”. 

Can we take the model of the modern court of law where the lawyers act for the complainants?  Are we the lawyers, pleading for the client, our people, before God? Are we qualified to do that? The lawyer has to work hard to build a case and then only he can stand before the judge. Do we work hard for the sake of the people?  Of course this is a judge who operates not in the material world but in the spiritual world. Therefore our arguments should be in the realm of the spiritual. Are we spiritual men? How is our prayer life? In the oldSyro-Malabar rite of the Mass before the priest entered the sanctuaryhe recited that beautiful Psalm 15: 

Priest: Who will enter your courts, O Lord

Who will stand in your presence?

Then the people: The man whose way of life is blameless

Who does what is right 

Who speaks the truth from his heart

Whose tongue is not used for slander.

Can we really say this about ourselves? We celebrate the Mass everyday; but do we live up to it? Can we honestly say Psalm 15? Paul specifies the qualities of a priest: “We prove we are God’s servants by our purity, knowledge, patience and kindness; by a spirit of holiness, by love free from affectations; by the word of truth and by the power of God”. (2 Cor. 6: 6 – 7) Do we have at least some of these qualities? Of course please remember that it is not entirely ours to achieve; it is a gratuitous gift of God. In the rite of ordination in the Orthodox Church it says that the priest is ordained to "stand in innocence before God's holy altar, to proclaim the Gospel of His truth, to offer unto Him spiritual gifts and sacrifices, and to renew His people through the baptism of regeneration." So though he is called out of sinful human beings he is called to live a life of holiness. Can we, like the Psalmist say, “Put me to the test, loins and heart … I wash my hands in innocence and go about your altar, O Lord.” (Ps. 26: 2- 6) Can we honestly say this? Spend the day today in a deep examination. Be honest with yourself – there is no one except God to whom you should prove anything. Don’t get stuck with small incidences but see the tendency in your life. That is more important than the occasional sins. 

The priest is like the lotus – though its roots are in muck, it yields a flower that is worthy of offering to God. He cannot afford to go back to the sinful life. Why? Because if he sins it is not only himself that will be held responsible but also the people as a whole. “If the high priest sins it makes the people guilty” (Lev.4: 3ff). So the priest carries in him a tremendous responsibility.“But we hold this treasure in pots of earthenware, so that the immensity of the power is God's and not our own” (2 Cor. 4:7). Therefore the ordaining prelate says, “Receive thou this pledge, and preserve it whole and unharmed until thy last breath.”

That is not all. The right to preside over the Eucharistic celebration distinguishes him from others for all practical purposes. During the Eucharist the priest takes the bread and says, “this is my Body”. It is understood that the bread becomes the real body of Christ (Transubstantiation) from that moment. True; but “these words extend beyond the morsel of bread over which they are said: they give birth to the whole mystical body of Christ. The effect of the priestly act extends beyond the consecrated host to the cosmos itself … the entire realm of matter is slowly but irresistibly affected by this great consecration.” (Teilhard de Chardin; Hymn of the Universe; Collins Fontana Books; London; 1973; pg.13) So the priest, in a way, offers and sanctifies not only the bread and wine but the whole Mystical Body of Christ, the whole universe.

C. “So that he can sympathise with those who are ignorant or uncertain…”This third point in the letter to the Hebrews is also very significant. Why is he taken out of the people? It is not only to offer sacrifices, not only to be circulating at the spiritual level but at a more human level as well. Priests are people who are taken out of people, not because of any special qualities but because God wants them for his work. This should make them humble. What is the one quality of a truly humble person? I think it is compassion. Are we compassionate people – ready to forgive? This was one of the characteristics of Jesus. He was ready to forgive even those who crucified him unjustly. The one characteristic of the religion of Jesus, Christianity, is forgiveness.

So priesthood is not just to operate on the vertical axis of the Cross; it has to operate on the horizontal axis as well. Priests have the singular obligation to be holy and blameless because they have to stand before God, pleading the cause of the people. Priests have to understand the weakness and fragility of the people. Look at them with compassion. Look at Jesus looking at that woman caught in adultery and saying, “I too will not condemn you, go sin no more”. (Jn.8: 11) Priests too are called to do likewise. They are called to be sympathetic to people especially those who are ignorant and uncertain.

3.2 Sin and Sinfulness

“Sin” appears more often in John than in the Synoptic gospels and “more commonly denotes NOT personal acts but a CONDITION induced by sinful acts. Sin indwells the sinner.” (The New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality). So when I say sin it does not only mean that we have to examine our conscience and see what all sins we have committed; we have to do much more. I believe that the individual sins we commit are the result of an underlying tendency (ঝোঁক) of sinfulness. This tendency is the source of individual sins. Take an example: for the many taps in our house that dispense water, the source is the tank somewhere outside. Similarly in the case of sins that we commit we have to identify the source; it is from this source that all events of sins arise.  For example, we know that most of the time fever is only a symptom. If we treat only the fever without treating the reason for the fever that fever will come back because we have not treated the sickness; we have just treated the symptom. Similarly confessing individual sins are treating the symptom. It will come back. That is why very often we have only the same sins to confess again and again. 

Let us take an example. All of us have seen plants growing on walls of buildings. They begin very small. We can just pull out some of these plants and it is over; but there are others – you can go on pulling out the stems that appear outside but they will come back in a few days. This is because it has taken very deep roots inside the wall. If you leave that and let it grow – in a few years without your knowing about it the roots will start breaking the wall and destroying the building. Our sins are like that. If you go on confessing only the individual events of sins it will be like pulling out the outer stems. Unless you uproot the roots – the tendencies of sinfulness – the sins will keep coming back.  

Let me make that a little more concrete. One may be in the habit of getting angry at people. Some show it (especially men) by shouting; others hide it (especially women) but burn within. We go for confession and promise the Lord that we will not get angry again. But as soon as we return home, there is something and the anger comes back. We are back to square one. This happens because in going to confession and saying about the event of anger, we have just treated the symptom (the fever) not the reason for the symptom (the sickness). What could be the sickness? What is the source of this anger? May be I think that I have the answer to all the evil in the world and others have to just follow me. When they do not follow me, or do not do as I tell them, I become frustrated or cynical. Over a period of time there develops an overall negative attitude to people and life in general. In that situation getting angry is easy. So the source is pride. Getting angry is only the symptom. Or may be source is jealousy. May be I see others doing well and I am frustrated about my own inability in the same or similar situation. This frustration expresses itself in anger. 

So today examine the sinful tendencies in you. Detecting the sinful tendencies, rooting out the deep rooted plant in the wall of your life is a very difficult and yet important task. But with the help of God we can do it. Can you hear his call now? When did you last hear him call? And what was your reaction? Have you refused anything for Jesus? Do not be afraid of admitting it; it would be simply honest to do so. This call may be to attempt to root out the sinful tendencies; it may be to move from the left of the column in the meditation on our apostolate to the right; that is, moving from “working for god to doing God’s work. It may be a call to let Jesus in to your plans and your work. 

But there is a difference between the understanding of sinner in other religions and that in Christianity. Sinner in other religions is a condemned person, standing in fear of the impending punishment. But sinner in Christianity is a person worthy of the most tender love of a God who is eagerly waiting for the return of the sinner.  In other religions sin is an act; according to Jesus sins come from the heart and they alone can defile a person (Mt.15: 18 – 19; Mk.7: 20 – 22).  

Some clarifications:

a. Forgetting and Forgiving

Remember that there is a great difference between forgiving and forgetting. Memory is something that you cannot control. You cannot ‘remember’ or ‘forget’ at will. Isn’t it your experience that you have forgiven someone but the thought of his/her wrong done to you keeps coming back? You will say – despite all my efforts to forgive, I cannot forget. It keeps coming back. Yes it does. It is like a wound. You are wounded; you treat it; it pains for some time and then it heals. But the scar still remains. Let it be. Memory is like that scar; it takes a long, long time to disappear. Sometimes it wont even disappear! But it won’t bother you if you accept it and let it be. Now is that memory, that thing which keeps coming back, is it sinful? No! It is not sinful, if you have not recalled it voluntarily and if you have really forgiven. Let it come back; as long as you do not act on that memory, it does not become a sin; it simply means that your memory is quite strong. That is all.

b. Acceptance and suppression

Let us take the example of the person with a withered hand (Lk.6:6 -11). When every one is having two hands, he does not have one hand and it hangs there like a dead branch; it bothers him. He cannot just say, ‘it doesn’t matter; its alright; after all I have at least one hand. Forget about this withered one.’ No, he cannot. If he tries to do that, he will be suppressing it. A suppressed problem will come back, sooner or later.  But by bothering about it, the problem will not be solved. So the only other alternative is to accept it. It is there like a dead branch and he cannot do anything about it but accept it. He can say ‘I am not that dead branch; I am much more and bigger than that. I can do a lot even without that hand. I want to try that’. This is acceptance. And if he can say, later, much later - “thank you Lord; I don’t understand why I have this dead branch; but it is there; may be you have some plans for it; help me to accept it”.  If you can do this it will be wonderful. But in this case Jesus healed it. 

c. Sin and the Sinner

Needless to say that there is a lot of difference between sin and the sinner. As soon as I say this you will say that I am going to say that the other person, despite his/her sinfulness is good. So make a distinction between sin and him/her. Yes, I would say that but then I would like to apply it to us. Very often this criterion is applied to others; not realising that it applies to us too. Just as I realise that the withered hand is not me and I am greater than the withered hand, I have to also realise that my weaknesses are not me. I should not be defined only in terms of my weakness; I have other qualities and strengths too. Do you dare to say this? 

Now there are some questions:

• What is the tendency in me that deviates me from my goal that God has for me?

• What are the wealth in me that prevent me from reaching responding to God?

• Are there any hidden agenda in my life that prevents me from answering God? 

It is these questions that we have to answer honestly – not for the sake of anyone but for the wellbeing of our own vocation. 

4.1 Priesthood Is For Service 

Ex. 28: 41: “… you will then anoint and invest and consecrate them to serve me in the priesthood”

Ex.29:1: “This is the ritual you must use for them when you consecrate them to serve me in the priesthood.”

Ex. 29:44: “I will consecrate Aaron too and his sons, to be priest in my service.”

Ex.30:30: “… you must consecrate them so that they may be priests in my service”

In the Old Testament times priesthood was meant for Temple service – for the service of Yahweh. That is quite evident from the texts above. Service of the community consisted in offering sacrifices and at most instructing the people in the observance of the Law. A priest in the service of others, other than religious ceremonies, service such as healing and feeding, listening and mending comes with Jesus. Paul took it to its zenith and spells it out. “I will most gladly spend and be spent for you” (2 Cor. 12: 7) says an enthusiastic apostle, Paul. A priest is supposed to be SPENT for the people. That is what he meant when he said, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1).

According to Pope Benedict XVI, 

“The priest is removed from worldly bonds and given over to God, and precisely in this way, starting with God, he is available for others, for everyone. When Jesus says: "I consecrate myself", he makes himself both priest and victim. Bultmann was right to translate the phrase: "I consecrate myself" by "I sacrifice myself". … It is the expression of the fact that he is both priest and victim. I consecrate myself -- I sacrifice myself: … It contains the whole mystery of our redemption. It also contains the origins of the priesthood in the Church.” (Sermon preached at Chrism Mass 2008, in Vatican where there were some 1600 priests)  

So the essence of priesthood is not just offering sacrifice but offering oneself as sacrifice. We offer sacrifice on behalf of the people. But this sacrifice that we offer on behalf of the people should not be just offering of things – bread and wine; but ourselves. We are priests and we are also (at least we are expected to be) victims.  Now the question is how can this be done? We cannot offer ourselves as Jesus did.

The priesthood of Jesus differed from that of the Levitical priesthood. Levitical priests offered animals for the sins of people but Jesus offered himself. (Heb.7: 26-28). That is the crux of the argument. That is where service comes to its culmination. There is no greater love than giving up one’s life for the other. That is why it remains a “mystery of faith”. Don’t we all say after the consecration “This is the mystery of faith”? Yes, Fathers, our life as priests, the sacrifice that we offer of ourselves is a mystery of faith; do not try to understand it only by reason; go beyond and then only you will find deep meaning for your life as a priest. Reason cannot explain everything. Accept that as a “mystery of faith”.

The sacrifice that we offer at the altar should not be just a memorial. While comparisons are not perfect, they will help us to understand better. Take for example a boy and a girl in love. The boy offers a flower as a symbol of his love. (Now I am not saying that the Eucharistic celebration is a mere symbol but I am giving this example to merely to understand its significance). The flower is only a symbol. It has to be actualised in life – their love has a long way to go before it is actualised. In offering the flower there was no effort; it was just a simple effortless act; but later when he will have to sacrifice his time and energy, his emotions and will for her sake, that gift of flower becomes more meaningful. The bread and wine that we offer at the altar that transforms itself as the Body and Blood of Jesus, has to be ‘actualised’ in the service we render later. That sacrifice of the Mass should become self-sacrifice, making us – just as it made Jesus – the priest and the victim. Otherwise the celebration of our Eucharist remains but a memorial, a routine that we carry out because the rule says so. 

We know that after the Last supper, after he broke the bread and shared the wine with his disciples, Jesus went to Gethsemane and from there eventually to Calvary. Did he not want to us to do likewise? When he washed the feet of his disciples, when he taught them through so many examples and parables, did he not want us to follow him to Calvary as well? The bread that we break at the Eucharistic celebration has to be actualised in the body that we break – our own body – in service of others. Then we will be like Jesus – he had his last supper, where he broke the bread, and then he proceeded to Gethsemane and to the Calvary, where he broke his body. This is the perfect sacrifice that Paul speaks about. (Heb.10:1 – 3) and the Psalmist is so eloquent:

You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation, opened my ear

You asked no holocaust or sacrifice for sin;

Then I said, here I am! I come to do your will. (Ps.40: 6)

How can we offer our bodies? We cannot obviously offer our bodies to be sacrificed and that is not needed. The question is what is our occupation and preoccupation? How do we spend our time? Do we give our full, our hundred percent for the work of the Lord? After all, we are set aside precisely for that – to offer sacrifice for the atonement of the sins of the people. If we are followers of Jesus in his priestly characteristics, we have to become the victims as well for the sake of the Kingdom. That is the service that is demanded of us; nothing less. We have to become both priest and victim. Ultimately the fulfilment of priesthood consists in service. Your real fulfilment does not come from the mouths of people; it will come very painfully as a result of breaking your body and spilling your blood. It will come from a deep faith that holds the hand of the Crucified One and when you dare to walk when the path is narrow and lonely. That fulfilment will come ultimately from selfless service.

“You might wonder how you can offer your body to God. Each morning when you rise, before you put your feet on the floor, commit your mind, eyes, ears, hands, and feet to the Lord, asking that the members of your body be guarded from sin and used for God’s glory (Rom. 6:19). Avis B. Christiansen summed up what our commitment should be in the third stanza of her hymn, “Only One Life”

Only one life to offer, Take it, dear Lord, I pray;
Nothing from Thee withholding, Thy will I now obey; 

Thou who hast freely given Thine all in all for me,
Claim this life for Thine own, to be used my Savior,

Every moment for Thee.”

(Levy, D. M. (1993).The tabernacle : Shadows of the Messiah : Its sacrifices, services, and priesthood. Bellmawr, NJ: Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.)

Total detachment:

A temptation in many could be to be part of the family in which one was born. Yes, your parents and relatives made you what you are and yet they have offered you to God as Hannah did to Samuel: “I think Yahweh is asking for this child. As long as Yahweh lives he belongs to Yahweh.” (1Sam.1:28) You are offered to Yahweh by your parents; respect their sacrifice and remain singularly at the service of Yahweh. Look at Jesus:  Take that incident of the mother and relatives of Jesus coming to take him home. Jesus is informed of this. He says, “Who is my mother and my brothers?” This was a daring question; an echo of it could be heard already when he was 12 and lost in the temple. 

What does it mean? Does Jesus abandon his mother at the peak of his ministry? Or does he think that the ministry is so important that mother and brothers do not matter to him? No, he does not abandon his mother; he is concerned about her right till the end. That is why on the cross when he was about to die he entrusts his mother to John. So it is not that priests should abandon their relatives; but they should not come in the way of the ministry. By the fact that they have ‘sacrificed’ their son for the work of God, they do not expect him to change his stance. He should be totally and fully dedicated to this ministry.Blood relationship is not the primary concern of Jesus; doing the will of the Father is and that Will is to serve humanity – serve humanity to such an extent that they become his family – “here are my mother and my brothers” (Mk.3: 32)

4.2 Martha / Mary, Action / Prayer:The conflict continues

The story of Martha and Mary (Lk.10:38-42) can throw up a lot of questions. Wasn’t Martha’s complaint legitimate? Among the two sisters one does all the work and the other just enjoys the company of Jesus. Is it fair? Both should share the work. Martha could have asked, ‘Lord if I also did the same thing as Mary does who would prepare the meal for you and your disciples?’ It would have been a legitimate question. So what is the solution? In normal human life this is not a problem.  The solution is quite clear – we have to cook in order to eat. So cook first. In other words, work first and then pray. Some obviously will agree with this and some will not. But there is a strong logic here. Nevertheless when we look deeper especially from the point of view of the priestly life this may not be an easy problem to resolve. 

There are people who are so caught up with their work that they do not have the time to pray. By the end of the day they are so tired that prayer becomes burdensome and if forced, it becomes a way of merely fulfilling a rule. On the other hand the work (apostolate) seems to be so important that without it other people will be inconvenienced. Therefore it may be argued that it is better that so many people are helped rather than one person engages in a little private devotion. Thus prayer normally finds itself relegated to the last item often to be forgotten or neglected. And yet Jesus tells the complaining Martha, “Mary has chosen the better part and it shall not be taken away from her”. So Jesus is of the opinion that prayer(being with him) is the better part and not work in the kitchen!

Therefore on the one hand prayer is the “better part” and on the other, kitchen work (apostolate) is also important. What will an active priest do? How much will he pray and how much will he work? ‘Find time for prayer’ is the usual answer from a committed spiritual father because he has no such pressure of work. It is easily said than done in the practical world. Sometimes people resort to the ‘battery charging’ principle – meaning once a year they go for a retreat because during the year they did not have time for prayer. The retreat becomes a kind of ‘charging up’ for the coming year. 

But Paul says, “Pray without ceasing and give thanks to God at every moment. This is the will of God, your vocation as Christians” (1Thes.5: 17 – 18).

This PRAYING ALWAYS is not an option; it is the WILL OF GOD. It is OUR VOCATION AS CHRISTIANS! How can an active priest, engaged in various ministries, also ‘Pray Always’? 

An answer can be found in the letter of St. Ignatius written to a group of Jesuit scholastics (those engaged studies) of Portugal. The letter was written on 7 May 1547. By that time theIgnatian way had spread and young men were joining the Society of Jesus in good numbers. They were initiated into the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises first and then sent to universities to study. A group of these young men from Portugal wanted to pray longer and engage in all kinds of penances and other pious practices. This would leave them little time for studies. Ignatius was informed of this. In response to this he wrote the letter.

Ignatius writes:  “Although study does not leave you time to devote yourselves to very long prayers, still it is possible to meet this desire by turning your work into one continuous prayer, undertaking it solely for the service of God”. So for Ignatius the work that we do should become prayer – one continuous prayer. Perhaps that is what Paul expects from all Christians in his letter to the Thessalonians, mentioned above.

So our prayer and work conflict should eventually end. It will end only when we make our work into prayer. That in fact will make a difference between a priest’s work and the work done by another lay person. For example when a priest goes to visit a family it is not just a social visit – like a friend going to another friend’s house. The priest goes to the family as a representative of Jesus; he goes there with Jesus and for Jesus. Then his behaviour will be different; he is sent by Jesus! Similarly if a priest is a teacher, he does not go to teach like other teachers. He goes there as one sent by Jesus, in the name of Jesus and he will teach even as Jesus did. That will make a difference from the best teacher. For the priest the family visit or the teaching is not just a work or a duty; it is a prayer. It has to become a prayer. 

In concrete practice, how will it be done so that work becomes a prayer? The following are some personal practices. So you may not find it in any books. It works for me and I give it below hoping that it will work for you too. If it does not, find your own way.

1. I believe that our universe is a holy ground, redeemed with the blood of Jesus. If it is redeemed by Jesus, God can be found everywhere. The whole universe quivers with the touch of the almighty and the effect of that touch can be found everywhere. Therefore it should not be difficult to find God anywhere. So if God is everywhere, then it should be easy to be in touch with him anywhere. 

2. It is our sinfulness, our lack of faith that prevents us from recognizing him. Therefore we become accept our sinfulness and yet become aware that sinners though we are, we are called to union with him. We are sinners and yet chosen. That is the meaning of the redemption brought about by Jesus. We can claim now to participate in divine life. 

3. If that is the case then when we begin our work, we can also take Jesus to that work or rather become aware of his presence there, toiling with us. He is there but we have to acknowledge it. If we acknowledge that God is working with me, then my way of working will be different. It is like when children realize that adults are around, their behavior changes. So take Jesus to your work, acknowledge his presence and do the work as usual.  

4. Once the work is over, can we say a word of thanks? After all, the way you worked was different because He was there with you. So at the beginning of the work He was present; during your work you did it as if you were doing it with Him and at the end of the work you thank Him. Your works thus was not just work it has attained the status of a prayer. 

What do all these add up to? Finally what is important is not whether we work or pray but why we do it. St. Ignatius defines the purpose of the Spiritual Exercises: ‘nothing should be done under any inordinate attachment’ – not even prayer. What is important is taking the decision to pray or to work in total interior freedom. This interior freedom is a result of union with God. “Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”. (Jn.8:32) For a true priest there should not be that duality (dwanda) between his spiritual life and his other life. His entire life should be a prayer. He should be able to find God both in prayer and in wok; in fact the work should become one continuous prayer; and it will happen if we develop the habit of “undertaking it solely for the service of God”. That in fact is the difference between apriest (a person of prayer) doing a work and the others doing the same work.

5.1 Priesthood, Discernment and Prayer

All of us have to make decisions - decisions about ourselves, decisions about others; about the work – what to do and what not to do and so on. Decisions are actually choices. Now for a Christian (and for that matter for any true believer in any religion) choices are not between good and bad. We have to avoid bad; we cannot choose it. If we choose a bad thing it is a sin! So that is obvious. So the choices are between two good things. Though we do not realise it, we make a number of decisions everyday – small and big. In fact someone had said that life consists of a series of decision-making. True, to a certain extent.

Conscious decisions: We make these decisions on the basis of a number of things. Many decisions that we make are conditioned by society. For example you have to wear certain clothing when in public is a socially conditioned decision. If there was no society we would have behaved differently; or in another kind of society, our behaviour would be different. Some of our decisions are biologically conditioned. For example to eat and drink – is biologically conditioned. If we do not eat we become weak; once we decide to eat, what we eat is very much socially conditioned. Some of our decisions are “spiritually” conditioned. Most of us find it odd if we do not say / attend the Mass every day. Most of us say the Rosary, the Office or other kinds of prayers. Those are spiritually conditioned decisions. Some call it habit; I hope the prayers that you say are not out of mere habit. 

Un- / subconscious decisions: Most of the decisions that we saw above are conscious – in the sense we know why we make such decisions. But there are other types of decisions that are unconscious. For example when you go the shop to buy soap, you automatically pick up one particular brand. Your brand. A chemical analysis of this soap will reveal that it is as bad or even worse than some other brands. Why did you pick up that? You will say that ‘well it is tradition, I have used it for ages and I like it’. Correct. But probably when you first decided to use it, you were influenced by some advertisement or other or somebody told you – that is also an advertisement. So you decided to buy the soap and that decision was unconscious. Very few people study the chemical component of soap before buying it. When we think of toothpaste, normally it is Colgate. Why? We are conditioned so. So many of our decisions are sub- or unconscious.To a certain extent media can be blamed for some of these decisions. In fact that is one of the dreaded scenario of the future – media can make us zombies. We do not decide on our own volition but media decide for us.

Responsibility: So conscious or unconscious, absolutely free decisions are hard to come by. Therefore one can ask a very important question: if that is so, then how can a person be held responsible for his decisions? For example, a drug addict, because he is under the influence of his addiction, decides to steal something. Is he responsible for his stealing? He may not have been responsible when he was stealing but he was responsible for the fact of being a drug addict. He cannot be exonerated simply because he is a drug addict. Similarly if you beat someone out of anger, and then realise that you have done wrong and go and ask him pardon – it is a good gesture. But if your beating had caused a broken arm, the arm will not heal because you asked pardon. May be he is able to endure it emotionally and will forgive you; but the arm remains broken and the fact remains that you are responsible for it. So unless one is completely off his mind, one is responsible for the decisions one makes. I do not think that there are many who will have doubts about this but this has many implications. We will come to that later. What is more difficult is the situation where one is in doubt whether to turn one way or another. What do we do? How do we tackle such situations?

Look at Jesus: In the beginning of the retreat I had suggested a principle: WHEN IN DOUBT LOOK AT JESUS. See what he did. He too had to make a number of big decisions – right from the age of 12 (to stay in the temple and put his parents to trouble or be a nice boy and go with them (Lk.2:42 – 44). This continued right till the end of his life – in Gethsemane he was in doubt and had to make a big decision – to accept the Cross or take the easy way out (Lk.22:41ff). He could have easily escaped as he did in earlier times (Lk.4:30). But no, he decided that the time had come. So that was a great decision. These are two examples at the two ends of his life, so to say. During his ministry he made a number of decisions.

The way of Jesus: Let see the process Jesus follows in decision making. Jesus too seemed to have his catch phrase: WHEN IN DOUBT CONSULT FATHER. Every time he wanted to take a major step he goes to pray (Mt.4: 1- 11). Or after he had taken a major step he goes to pray – after the feeding of the 5000. “After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray.” (Mt.14: 23) He consults his Father. Was that right to feed those people? He was becoming too popular. Was that right? Jesus did not have anyone else to consult. He knew that if he consulted his disciples the answer would not be quite right; they did not yet understand what he was doing. His way was different from theirs. So he consults his Father.

In all the Gospels it is mentioned explicitly or implicitly that Jesus went to pray or be by himself. This being with himself is being with his Father. (Mt.4:1- 11 the desert experience; Mt. 14: 23 goes to pray; Mt. 17: 1 – 8 Transfiguration; Mk.1:35 Jesus goes to pray; Lk.5:16 pray; 6:12 pray; Jn.6:15 pray; 8:1 pray; 17:1 pray.

Let us take another example: Go back to Luke again. He says, “Now it was at this time (when the Jews were discussing the best way of dealing with Jesus) that he went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them.” (Lk.6: 12-14). He has to make a major decision. He knows that sooner or later the Jews will put an end to his whole enterprise. He wants it to continue. He needs to select a team of people to continue his work when he would be gone. That is an important decision. What does he do? Jesus Consults his Father. Spent the whole night in that!

It should be noted that Jesus consulted his Father not only for any decisions but also in normal situations. When he was gaining in popularity he keeps in touch with his Father: Luke (5: 15) says “His reputation continued to grow and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their sickness cured; but he would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray”.  He is successful in one place and he is not comfortable with that. What to do next? He has to understand his next course of action. How does he do it? He goes off to some lonely place and prays – consults the Father. So it is not only to make major decisions that he consults the Father but also for day-to-day activities. That was his way of life.

Our way of proceeding: Now let us put ourselves in the place of Jesus. Our reputation grows and we are successful. What do we normally do? We go on doing more of it. Then our Bishops or superiors push us up. We go up until we settle down at our most incompetent stage – as per the Peter principle (“In hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.”) We become busy and so busy that we hardly have time to pray. The first thing that gets cancelled is prayer. I have seen this in my own life and in the lives of many. If we go on like that the bubble of our success will burst. It bursts because it has no substance inside. A priest cannot be sustained by people’s praise alone. He has to be sustained by God. For this he needs prayer. He needs to be in touch with God. That is where his sustenance comes from. That is why Jesus did not care much for the praise of people. When the disciples told Jesus that everyone was looking for him his response surprises us. He says, “let us go elsewhere …” (Mk. 1: 37 – 39). Jesus seems to say, ‘when you are successful, go to some lonely place and pray. Do not stay where you are successful; go elsewhere’.

Let us now look at some of our major decisions. Does God figure in your decisions? At least at the major ones? Actually all of us basically make only a few big decisions. Other decisions are made based on that big decision. For example you have made one big decision to be a priest. (It need not be when you joined the seminary. That decision may have been made later.) Most of your other decisions – decisions that are of any worth – are based on or coloured by that one decision. If you were not a priest your other decisions would be something else. In fact Jesus made just one decision – to do the will of the Father. That resulted in the Incarnation. All other decisions were fulfilment or results of this one decision. That is the difference between Jesus and us: all his decisions were fulfilment of that one decision. But sometimes we make decisions that are contrary to that one fundamental decision that we made. That is where the problem begins. This is where we make mistakes. We take such decisions because we do not make God part of that decision; we do not consult Jesus. This is where discernment comes.

Success is not the measure: I want to caution you here: please do not think that all decisions, if made after due consultation with Jesus would go smoothly. No, trouble or lack of it, is not a criterion for a decision that is well made. For example, the decision that Jesus made with all his consultations and prayer and withdrawal to the hills, met with problems. So much problems that he had to give up his life! So let us not link lack of problems and good decisions. Success is seldom the criteria for God. So make Jesus your partner in making decisions. That is good discernment.

There is just one more, small corollary. Ask yourself who is the beneficiary of your decision. If it is by and large others, then you can be sure that it will not go too far wrong. St. Ignatius, the author of the Spiritual Exercises, says that there are three gradations in all human temptations: from wanting to POSSESS, man rises to wanting to be NOTICED and then finally he rises to wanting to BE POWERFUL. We can see this pattern in the temptations of Jesus in the desert. This temptation is an archetype of all temptations. All our decisions too are hinged on or triggered by these temptations. Unless we make Jesus the partner of our decisions we are likely to fall into these temptations. 

Gandhiji had once said: when you make a decision, think of the poorest man in the vicinity and then see how he will benefit. I would add, when you make a decision look at Jesus and the poorest person in the vicinity and see how both of them would benefit from your decision. If they do, be sure, it will be a good decision.    

5.2 Jacob wrestles with God

Gen. 32: 24 – 30: “And Jacob was left alone. Then a man wrestled with him until daybreak. … Then Jacob named the place Penuel saying, “I have seen the Lord face to face and survived”.

So Jacob wrestled with God. He is not defeated; but his hip bone is dislocated. Jacob does not give up until he is blessed by this wrestler. He is blessed and given a new name, Israel, meaning, “God struggles” “God is strong”. What do all these mean? 

In order to understand this fully we have to go back and reflect a bit on the person of Jacob. He is the second son of Isaac. We know that his mother and he cheated his old father and Jacob inherited the land, property and the blessing (Gen. 27:1-29). This made Esau the older brother very angry against Jacob and he wanted to kill him after the death of the father.  In order to escape the wrath of his elder brother he goes away to his uncle (mother’s brother) Laban. There he is cheated by Laban (Gen. 29:20 – 30) but Jacob also cheats Laban (Gen. 30: 25 – 43) and becomes rich. Not only that, his wife, Rachel stole the household idols (Gen.31: 20; 35) as they were running away. So while Jacob ‘stole’ material things his wife stole spiritual things – indicating total deprivation of Laban. Then they run away from that country to Jacob’s country, Canaan.

But Jacob foresees trouble; he thinks that Esau was still angry with him and would harm him. As someone said, Jacob had Esau coming from front and Laban pursuing from behind. There was no escape! Jacob is a bad man – with a lot of faults and he is in trouble. So “Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed” (Gen. 32: 8). Nevertheless he does not give up; he decides to divide his wealth so that if one portion is attacked and taken the other would be spared (Gen. 32: 8 – 10).  Clever man.

Then towards evening he sends away all the people and possession across the river. His family crosses over to Canaan; but Jacob is still in a foreign land. He was alone at night fall. This is unusual. Normally the father of the family, especially a person of the caliber of Jacob, would like to be with his family and possession; but here he seems to be wanting to be alone. Strangely enough that Jacob who worked for 20 years for his two wives and possessions is now divested of everything. Not only that, he is now alone, facing danger from every side. He collapses into deep sleep – exhausted, physically and spiritually (“Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed”).  The wrestling with God takes place within this context. What does it mean?

“The struggle of mysterious (divine) beings with human beings is a very common theme of ancient folklore. Frequently these beings are presented as guarding the passage of a river, as being effective only during the night and as being forced to reveal something to the human antagonist.” (Jerome Biblical Commentary, 125) So Jacob’s wrestling with the mysterious being belongs to that genre. Nevertheless there must be some purpose in adapting it and including it in the story of Jacob.  I think it has some deep significance for us who read the text with faith and not with mere reason. 

On the first level this can be compared to a situation for good prayer (Mt. 6:6). 

• Firstly, get rid of all your distractions and be alone for an encounter with God. Our relationship with God can never go deep as long as we are protected on all sides with wealth and security, good friends and general well-being. Sending away these ‘across the river’ and being alone with sense of danger on all sides is a condition for deep relationship. 

• Secondly when there is no other alternative, when God is the only alternative, then you will pray. Then you will encounter God.  If you look back you will find that you prayed best when there seemed to be no other alternative but God.

• Thirdly, Jacob wrestles the whole night – it is not a few minutes. It is only when you spend “the whole night” that something happens. The encounter with God is not going to be easy; it is a struggle, a wrestling that goes for a long time. Sometimes our sleep will be disturbed; our “hip bones” (our support) will be dislocated (made ineffective) and we may begin to “limp” (our gait will change). The question is do we let go? Or like Jacob, can we honestly say ‘though it is boring, though it is painful and at times it looks meaningless, I would not let go, unless I am blessed’. 

• Fourth, the word “night” is important because it is a dark night of the senses and may be eventually if you are worth it, it may be a dark night of the soul that you have to pass through before it “dawns”;  before your prayers become “bearable” (leave alone enjoyable).

• Fifth, then towards morning Jacob is struck badly – dislocates his hipbone. So, though one struggles the whole night there is no guarantee that there would be a happy morning; one may end up in pain or some disaster might fall the pray-er (the one who prays).

• Sixth, Jacob does not give up. Somehow it is in that agony, in that uncertainty that wisdom dawns: “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Gen. 32:28). Then he is blessed and he receives a new name: Israel. 

So in Jacob’s story we can find our own struggle in our encounter with God: our sinfulness which is made up of all kinds of acts, fears and anxieties. These finally lead us to loneliness and vulnerability. Everyone goes through this phase in life; it is only an encounter with God that will give us a new purpose in life. We hear St. Paul expressing this phase very clearly: “We were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within” (2 Corinthians 7:5).

There is a second level to which we have to descend now. At the end of the struggle Jacob receives a new name – Israel. The name is the identity of the person; and often it suggests the mission to which that person is assigned. Israel, “God struggles”, “God is strong”. From now on it is no more Jacob who will struggle but God will struggle for him; he has to believe that God struggles for him. That is a call to faith. Ultimately it is not you who struggle; but God does and you are called to manifest that in your life. 

“Jacob named the place Peniel ‘because I have seen God face to face’ he said ‘and I have survived’”

(Gen. 32:31). Can you see the face of God in your struggles and difficulties? Religious are called to see the face of God in the “darkest” of regions and at the “darkest” of times. Only faith can do that and that is the real challenge. According to Tielhard de Chardin the universe vibrates with the touch of God. Do we perceive it? 

There is a third stage in this journey of Jacob; the meeting with Esau. With fear and trembling Jacob goes ahead to meet the angry brother who comes against this one man with four hundred warriors. What happens thereafter is given very succinctly in Genesis 33. That is the effect of an encounter with God – we can meet the enemy boldly and somehow the conflict resolves amicably. This is because from now on (after the encounter) it is not Jacob who decides and runs the affairs; it is God.  It is God who struggles; Jacob now becomes an instrument in the hands of God.

That is what real encounter with God should do to all. One finally becomes an instrument in the hands of God.   

6.1 Priesthood and Human Relationship

This may be a bit difficult topic to discuss because the boundaries are so blurred. Usually I do not like to quote authors except from the Bible; but here I have taken the help of others. This is simply because I myself do not feel competent to handle this topic alone. So I need others to help me! I know that there will always be someone among you that do not agree with me. Mine is not the last word; it is not an authoritative treatise; it is just a personal reflection. There will be plenty of loopholes and mistakes; I hope to correct them with your help. So feel free to ask questions but do not expect answers to every question, because I do not have answers to many questions springing up within myself.

More than ever today the priest seems to live in a world of contradictions. He is supposed to be a man of God, with prayer and dabbling with things of God but at the same time he is expected to be with the people. He is supposed to be understanding and friendly with people and yet there are limits to the extent to which he may show that ‘friendliness’. We are told that priests are taken out of the people. So before they became priests they were just like any other human beings with all their strengths and weaknesses too and yet they are not expected to behave like that. They are in the world and yet not of it. Aren’t all these contradictions?  How do they arise and what are the solutions? Now I do not want to claim to answer all these questions and solve the puzzles and contradictions. It will be preposterous to claim to do that. (It will be like the six year old girl in the drawing competition. She was drawing something and the teacher asked her what she was drawing. She said that it was God. The teacher said, “but no one has seen God”. The little girls answered, “They will, in a moment; wait till I finish”.)

To make matters still worse, I do not have much experience of the life of a diocesan priest. Therefore my statements may not ring true to you but what I want to do is to help you reflect a bit on the relationship that a priest can have while fulfilling his full duty as a priest. I want to do this because “Of all the questions, private discussions and public controversies which today surround the priest and priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church, the most argued is probably celibacy.” (Michael Hollings: Living Priesthood; Mayhew-McCrimmon; Essex; 1977 pg. 54). May be in this part of the world we do not argue about it too much; but I know it is a question in the minds of many – not so much celibacy itself (perhaps in East we have not yet started questioning it as in the West) but relationship with the opposite sex is a concern. Therefore we have to discuss and reflect on it; we have to pray on it and above all we have to permit Jesus to sheds some light on it. 

I think the life of a diocesan priest, often living alone in a parish, ‘cut off’ from the rest of the world is one of the toughest aspects of his life. He has no one to talk to; he has no companions of his own to discuss and resolve daily issues. In a way he lives utterly at the mercy of the people and of God. It can take him closer to God because there is nowhere else that he can go; or it can also take him away from God for the same reason. In my interaction with a few of them, they gave me to understand that this loneliness is the main reason that led them to all kinds of problems. Most try to find solace in dedicated work, to build up the parish both spiritually and materially. Some try to solve the boredom and loneliness by taking recourse to alcohol; others develop friendship that later turns into companionship. To what extent can a priest develop a relationship with the opposite sex? Should we totally keep away about half the population (often the better half) in order to safeguard our integrity? What is the role and understanding of celibacy today?

There are two lines of thought on this matter and both are coming from eminent churchmen and theologians: Edward Schillebeeckx on the one hand and Karl Rahner on the other. (There are others of course but let us look at these two.) 

Edward Schillebeeckx says that celebacy originated from the Stoics and the liturgical law which was based on some archaic anthropology. (See Schillebeeckx: Ministry – Leadership in the community of Jesus Christ; The Crossroad Publishing Co, New York, 1981; pg.80ff) Karl Rahner would argue along the line of a decision, a choice which precludes other possibilities. Any real choice has at least two equally good possibilities. So marriage is a good possibility, celibacy too is an equally good possibility. One is not better than the other (if that is so, we are morally bound to choose the better one). Therefore when we choose one, obviously the other is left out. (See Rahner: Servants of the Lord; Burns and Oats Ltd.; London; 1968; pg.166ff.) These arguments will continue even after cows come home; but is there a solution?

Let us apply our rule: when in doubt, look at Jesus. How did Jesus deal with this situation? Did situation like this exist at the time of Jesus? Not quite. Jesus was not expected to be a celibate and yet he chose to be one. He wanted his followers to be perfect even as the “father is perfect” (Mt.5: 48) and he challenged the young man, “if you want to be perfect, go sell all your possession … then come follow me” (Mt.19: 21). For Jesus detachment and self-abnegation seem to be a ‘sine-qua-non’ for perfection. Would he not want his priests, his closest followers, to be perfect as well? Matt.19: 10–12 is a clear indication. But of course among his close associates there were persons who were not celibate. Peter, his right hand man, was married. May be so was the case with some others as well. Paul did not consider celibacy as a condition even for bishops (1Tim.3:2.12; Titus 1: 6). Some say that Jesus is not speaking here (19: 10–12) about celibacy of the priesthood in general but those who chose it “for the sake of the kingdom” i.e. religious (the Essenes of his time?). But honestly, this distinction is difficult to make. 

A successful celibate life can be compared to a successful married life – both have their own self-denial, sacrifice for the other and a good share of misunderstanding and sufferings. A failed celibate life need not make a successful married life; often it can be a failure too. Rahner says that many priests who thought that marriage was their final problem-solver, got married and suddenly realised that the demands made on them are such that if they kept to that, that would have made them good celibate priests. (Op.cit. pg. 164) 

Almost all commitments finally boil down to sacrificing oneself. It is quite possible that when the time of this sacrifice comes (and it certainly comes) the grass appears greener on the other side. But that is only an appearance; from the other side it will look greener on this side. Haven’t you heard married people say that the priestly life is the happier one? The other way around is also true but many do not say it.

Let me be very clear about this: as priests we have given up the right to have a relationship with a woman as husband and wife. No, we cannot have that relationship. This is part of the decision that we made; part of the choice that we have made when we finally decided to become a priest in the Latin rite of the Catholic tradition.  

In saying this I am not saying that priesthood should be lived as if priests are beings without the normal God-given sexuality. No, I am not saying that. We cannot deny that we are beings with normal sexual urges and desires. But there are so many things that we know are good and yet we do not get it or use it. Sexual urges are one of those things that we, as priests have promised not to fulfil. Now if we give in to it, we are not being honest to God, others and ourselves. Then we are living a double life. Then our preaching becomes one thing and our life becomes quite another. Then, honestly, we do not have the right to preach to the people to be good and honest.

This also does not mean that we have to treat women as strange and dangerous creatures. They are not and they should not be treated so. They can be good friends, helping us in our mission and even enriching us. Jesus had very good friends among women. (Lk.8: 1-3). They took care of him. His friendship with the family of Lazarus, including Martha and Mary was such that he wept at the death of Lazarus. He shared their sorrow to that extent.

So what do we do? The following is my understanding:

• Have a clear notion of your priesthood and its demands – you should be able to stand before God in innocence and with a clean heart. Make yourself capable of saying like the Psalmist: “Put me to the test loins and heart … I wash my hands in innocence and go about your altar, O Lord.” (Ps. 26: 2- 6)

• You may not be perfect; but you can pray for it; desire for it. That is already something. 

• Be transparent – in thought, words and actions, not only in matters of the opposite sex but in everything.

• Anchor yourself on God – all the rest will fall in line. “True celibacy does not draw its nourishment from contempt for sex, but faith in the wilful submission and faith in the Lord.” (Rahner)

As Rahner says, “Keep praying your way into what Jesus says about discipleship, place yourself with your whole concrete life before the cross of Christ. Really and honestly face up to the cross and death of your Lord. Accept the solitude which celibacy brings with it. Have the incredible courage to keep asking for grace to understand this way of life that is yours, even if your heart seems unwilling to utter the prayer. Do not think only of yourself and your happiness, think first of those others that you are to serve as a priest. Keep telling yourself that it is a slow business, calling for much patience, to acquire a certain understanding of what one has begun in God’s name, in the strength of the Crucified, in the reliance on the Gospel. Then you will find yourself being drawn ever deeper into the mystery of that life which springs from the death of Christ. Your life is steeped in that mystery. Celibacy is only part of it.” (Op.cit. pg. 165)

The long and short of it is: you cannot compromise; you are a priest and part of that package is celibacy. This is not only giving up physical interaction with the opposite gender but it should be practiced even at the level of intentions: “… but I tell you this: anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has in fact already committed adultery with her in his heart”. (Mt.5:28). In the practice of this vow, this state of life, our focus should not be on what we lack but on what we possess because of the lack of it; we possess the freedom to love and give ourselves to many and surrender ourselves totally to God. 

6.2 ‘Radicality’ of the Response: Total commitment

As priests we can say that we have responded to the call of Christ. May be. There are many ways of responding to the call. We will come to that later. You can say that you have left your family and joined the priestly life. You will take the vows and try to live a good priestly life. At what level? Let us look at some examples of responding to the call and compare it with ours. 

For the Israelite nation as a whole, the crossing of the Red sea was a symbol of breaking from the past, freeing from the slavery in Egypt. After the crossing they became a free people. But were they ready to exercise and use that freedom? Several tests later, lasting for a long time (forty years is a long time) they enter the Promised Land. They begin a new life. The Pasch, Passover, is in fact the ceremony of abandoning the past and entering upon a new life. The Passover of Jesus too can be considered so. Of course in his case it was not a passing over from sin to sinlessness but passing from bodily life to a spiritual life. But let us take some concrete examples.  

1Kings 19:19 – 21: This is the story of Elijah selecting Elisha. After the selection Elisha requests Elijah’s permission to say goodbye to his parents. Elijah permits it freely. But Elisha decides not to go home even for that last rite. Then he took the yoke of oxen, slew them and roasted the pieces of meat on the fire made by the yoke. So he not only kills the oxen but burns the yoke as well. Then he gives the roasted meat to the people and follows Elijah. 

Let us take each of these actions: 

1. Once the call is received, there is no turning back. That turning back can be quite disastrous – it can open up other avenues. The family bond can come in the way of responding to the call. That is not all; once the call comes it has to be responded to promptly. When an important person calls us we try to respond immediately; God’s call needs prompt response. Therefore Elisha decides not to go back even to say goodbye. Responding to God’s call is more important than responding to family relations. “Who is my mother and who are my brothers …” (Mt.12:48) Once he starts responding to the call, there is total severance from family ties.

2. Elisha then took the yoke of oxen and slew them: Elisha was a farmer or the son of a farmer (‘he was ploughing a field of twelve acres of land and at the end of the twelfth acre). If the call had not come probably he would do that all his life. But once the call comes that way of life stops; it changes totally. There is no going back. This is the significance of killing the oxen.  Not only that, in order to make the response total, the ploughing instruments (the plough and the yoke) are burnt. He cannot be a farmer anymore; the very means of farming is destroyed. The response now is total. It is like burning the bridge after crossing the river. You cannot go back.

Let us take another example: (Mt. 26:7; Mark 14:3: Lk.7:37.) This is the story of the woman with the alabaster jar of expensive perfume. Mark says that it was pure nard to emphasize its rarity.  Among the three evangelists Mark alone mentions that she broke the jar. The others say that she poured the perfume.  Luke alone says that she poured them on the feet of Jesus. 

Perfume was an important item for the profession of that woman. She brings it to Jesus and empties it. She did not keep anything for herself. The breaking (mentioned by Mark) is quite like the killing of the oxen by Elisha. The past is gone; there is a total break from the past. The old identity (Elisha – the farmer; the woman – a prostitute) is destroyed. A new identity is born. In some congregations at the time of the vows, the candidates are given a new name – the past is over; now it is a new life.

Luke says that she poured the perfume on the feet of Jesus. Perfume was a symbol of her sinful life. She now pours it over the feet of Jesus. Her sinful life is offered at the feet of Jesus. Now she would begin a totally new life.

Let us take one more example from the early Christian community.

Act. 4: 34 – 36: “Those who owned land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the sale and laid it at the feet of the apostles”. It is not that they sold some of their belongings; they sold land or houses. This means they have nothing to go back to – no land, no houses. They had broken from the past and now a new life begins. In getting rid of the houses or land they were imitating Jesus (“… the son of man has nowhere to lay his head” Mt.8:20).

The opposite tendency:

An opposite tendency can be observed as well: after their liberation from Egypt, the Israelites as a nation would look back and long for the meat and fish of Egypt. They would grumble about food in the desert (Ex.16:2; Num. 11:4-6) rather than enjoy the freedom of the desert. 

In the New Testament there is the example of the rich young man (Mt.19:16 - 22) who could not follow Jesus because he had great riches. He did not want to break from the past. He went back sad because he had great wealth. The episode of Ananias and Sapphira (Act. 5:1) where they sell everything but put aside some of the proceeds is another example where there is reluctance to break from the past. 

Now let us come to our own story. We say that we have left everything and followed Jesus’ call. That implies that we have broken from the past. Is that true? Are we over-concerned about families and relations? Family ties are sometimes so strong that it seems to come first and then priestly life. I would like to leave you with some questions. Answer these questions in front of the Lord. So be as honest as you can. If you have failed in one or two, it does not matter; there is still time to mend. A saint is not one who does not commit any sin but trusts in God in spite of sinfulness because God’s heart of forgiveness is greater than our sinfulness.

1. Do you still think of the “flesh pots of Egypt” – the good times that you had at home or with friends prior to joining the priestly life? The thoughts might come to you but do you long to go back to that? What are the flesh pots that still haunt you? Is it food? Friendship? Relationship? Family ties?  

2. Have you really killed your oxen and burnt your yokes? What are these? First of all you have to identify these – the things that you are attached to and then you may be able to tackle them. 

3. Very often family ties are very strong – so strong that we still feel that we have to be helping them even in their day to day affairs. As priests we should not be busy with these. True there would be problems but they will be taken care of [“let the dead bury their dead”  (Lk.9:60)]

4. Are there any old time friends who still provoke memories to such an extent that it hampers your priestly life? 

5. Are you a person who ‘keeps something for yourself’ (Act.5:1) or a transparent person? This transparency is very difficult these days. 

Total abandonment requires a lot of faith. It is faith that will enable us to say “I do not know what is in store for me tomorrow but I know He will be there”. As the Psalmist says, “I believe that I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living” (Ps.27:13). Deep, true faith is indeed a gift; but we have to be open to receive that gift.

7.1 Priesthood and Responsibility

When a company recruits someone they are given a responsibility – to be a clerk, a receptionist, an executive. They are given a job specification. They are responsible for a particular job. Today let us look at the responsibility contained in some of the calls in the Bible. I will take up some. You can think of others if you so desire. We will also think of our responsibility as priests.

All calls of God implied a responsibility. A person was called FOR something – there was a definite purpose (just as the company). The greatest responsibility of course was given to Moses at the beginning of the call, “I send you to Pharaoh to bring the sons of Israel, my people, out of Egypt.” (Ex. 3:10) This was crystal clear. In the calls of the prophets we find that the purpose differs slightly. It was to communicate a message. (“He has sent me to bring good news to the poor” Is. 61:1ff) This message was sometimes an assurance for a threatened people (“do not be afraid” – Is. 43:1; 44:1ff). It was about changing the lifestyle (“sit in the dust …” Is.47:1). Sometimes it was a good news of an impending event (“a maiden is with child … Is.7:14). Very often we find that it is difficult and unpleasant tasks that the prophets are given: 

To the kings who trusted in their own abilities and went about, the prophet is called to say:

“I am bringing you disaster from the North” Jer.4:6

 “Tell the King and the queen mother, ‘sit in a lower place since your glorious crown

has fallen from your head”. (Jer. 13:18)

To the people who did not live justly before God he was called to say:

“Sons of Israel, listen to the words of Yahweh. There is not fidelity, no tenderness

no knowledge of God in the country; only perjury and lies, slaughter and theft

adultery and violence, murder and murder” (Ho. 4: 1- 2)

 To the religious who believed in ritual sacrifice they had to say

“What are your sacrifices to me, says Yahweh.

 I am sick of holocausts of rams and the fat of calves” (Is. 1:11)

To high religious leaders they had to say, 

“Priests put on sackcloth and lament. Ministers of the altar, wail. Come, pass the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God” (Joel 1: 13)

To the economically powerful they had to say,

“You who trample on the needy and try to suppress the poor people of the country, …

You who say when will new moon be over so that …We can buy up the poor for money, 

And the needy for a pair of sandals …Days are coming when … the stalwart youth will faint from thirst … they shall all fall never to rise again” (Amos 8: 4 – 14) 

What is the purpose of your call?

Is it a different situation now than that of the Prophets’ time? Has anything really changed? I think as Qohelth says, there is nothing new under the sun (Qo.1: 9). Are you not asked to preach faith in God when the trend is to trust in money or property? Are you not asked to preach forgiveness when the general attitude is revenge? Are you not asked to preach uprightness when the tendency is to cheat and be untruthful as long as one is not caught? Are you not asked to preach to people to walk in the sight of the Lord to please him rather than to please people? Don’t we have in our society those who buy up the poor for money or for a bottle of country liquor? Do we not have a responsibility to preach against these practices in our parishes and society?  

So the “Baal” of the prophets’ time has not gone away; it has only taken on a new avatar and the new avatars are money, property, cheating, swindling, excessive media, etc. So just as the prophets preached against “Baal” we too are called to preach the same message. It is an awesome responsibility and a difficult task indeed. Looking at it in itself, it is impossible for us to fulfil this task; but do not worry. 

Call always accompanies an assurance of companionship of the Lord

Very often when God calls someone he feels inadequate for the job. This is quite natural if we are aware that we are mere human beings and we cannot do things if we rely on our own strength. Therefore many express their inadequacies. But there is always an assurance that God would be with that person if he responds. Very often the phrase used is “I will be with you”. 

To Joshua after Moses’ death: 

no one will be able to stand against you all your life. 

As I was with Moses, so I shall be with you  (Jos.1: 6)

To Gideon: 

You shall strike down Midian as one man. I will be with you. (Jdg.6: 16)

To Jeroboam who would succeed Solomon: 

If you listen to all I command you

walk in my ways and do what is right in my sight 

by keeping my statutes and commandments as David 

my servant did, I will be with you (1Kg.11: 36 – 38)

To Israel:

When you pass through the raging waters, I will be with you

when you cross the rivers they will not overwhelm you; 

when you walk through fire you will not be harmed 

forI will be with you (Is.43: 2- 4)

This strain “I will be with you” is always there directly or implied in all calls. What it implies is something very significant.

1. It implies that ultimately he does not call us because we are strong or more just or better compared with others. No, we are as good or as bad; yet he calls us – that is his will.  He calls us in spite of or even because of our weakness. Gideon was the least; David was the youngest whom his father counted out.

2. So the work that we do is not because of our strength. We do not rely on our strength to do the work of God. He will do it his way by a strength that comes from him. 

3. It does not however mean that we do not have to put our best foot forward. He needs our full cooperation. We have to try hard and sometimes try against all odds. Sometimes (may be very often) we have to be ready to accept failure. However if we have a deep faith we will be able to accept it.

4. It does not mean that we will not have any problems; we will (everyone had it – from Moses to the disciples had lots of trouble) and yet we will be able to carry on.  

Do not be afraid 

This is yet another strain that we find in the Bible. There are several references but let us take just two:

1 Chr. 28:20: “Then David said to his son Solomon, ‘Be strong, stand firm; be fearless, be dauntless and set to work, because Yahweh God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you’ …” That applies to all who work for God. He will be with us. 

2Chr.20:15: “Yahweh says this to you, "Do not be afraid, do not be daunted by this vast horde (the army of Assyria), for the war is not your affair but God's”.

That is faith. The work that we do, if we really do it for God, if it really is God’s work, then we can say that this work is not my affair; it is God’s. Then it is His responsibility to make it a success or failure. 

But though the battle is Yahweh’s, it is important that we go out with courage to fight; that is imperative (2Chr. 20: 16ff)

Sometimes the purpose of the call is not clear

Sometimes – very often – the purpose of the call is not revealed fully. Therefore some are confused and ask for clarifications. Moses asks for clarifications; it is given. Mary asks for clarification; it is given – just sufficient to carry on. Sometime it is even worse; sometimes that work becomes meaningless. (Ezk.33: 30 – 33). ‘Why am I doing this? My companions, who were with me, now are better off and here I am struggling away in this meaningless work. Nobody seems to understand and appreciate me. Why should I carry on?’ These thoughts will come to us. Sometimes do we not say with Elijah “God, I have had enough; now take my life” (1Kg. 19:6)? Jesus had come to that point on the cross and asked: “My God, my God why have you forsaken me”.  May be some of you have not come to this. Thank God. But if ever such occasion comes, remember to ask the Lord for the meaning. Do not give up. If you ask the Lord really honestly, he may answer. But be ready for an answer like this: “My grace is sufficient for you” (2Cor.12: 9). 

Success is not the measure of fulfilment of the call

Paul towards the end of his life says, “I have run a good race; I have finished the course. I am already being poured out as a libation” (2Tim4: 6-7). Blessed are you if you can say this towards the evening of your life. But not many are given this opportunity. We had seen the case of Elijah. Moses did not see the fulfilment of his mission. (Deut. 34:1-5) It was left to Joshua to cross the river into Canaan. 

Many of the Prophets died frustrated, not being able to bring about conversion among the people. In fact some of them were deported. Jeremiah was thrown in the well for speaking about the coming problems in Jerusalem (Jer. 38: 6) Most of the life of Ezekiel was spent in exile. Isaiah was caught in a seesaw situation. There were the two huge, powerful empires on either side of the tiny Israelite kingdom – Assyria on the North and Egypt in the South. Both wanted to keep the gun on Israel’s shoulder and fire at the other. Israel was pulled and pushed to align with one or the other of the empires. If it aligned itself with one, the other was not pleased; on the other hand there were the prophets who kept saying that the strength of Israel comes not from aligning with one or the other kingdoms but by being faithful to Yahweh. This was a difficult situation. Often the prophet had to swim against the current. He had to persuade the people to do things that were not popular. Most prophets died, frustrated.

Coming to Jesus we see that his life was a failure when he died. Mother Teresa has a beautiful answer here. She says that ‘God does not want us to succeed; but he wants us to try’. That is our responsibility. We should try; we should give our full self to God’s work; then come what may, doesn’t matter.  

7.2 Washing of the Feet

Feet washing

One of the most significant rituals during the Passion Week, is on Maundy Thursday - the Washing of the Feet. So I am going to reflect a bit on this.

The context:

It is about three years that some of the disciples have been with Jesus. By now they are able to guess that something is going to happen. What is that something? Nobody could really understand. Now their tradition comes to help. Tradition said that one day a messiah would come and a new kingdom would begin. The disciples thought that Jesus would be the king in that kingdom. In spite of all kinds of miracles, instructions and stories the disciples did not understand that Jesus was speaking about a different type of kingdom. So there was a shameless wrangling among the disciples concerning who would be the greatest in that kingdom. Jesus saw this. He must have been terribly hurt, angry and disappointed on seeing that the disciples have descended so low. But he does not give up. He tried to teach them one last time. So that is the context of this event of washing the feet.

The Meaning:

Let us take off from what we know. As you enter a Santhal family the custom is to wash the feet of the guest. What is the meaning of this? I guess it simply shows respect and acceptance of the guest into the family. Feet washing here is a gesture of welcome, usually done by a member (often female) of the family.  It is not done primarily to cleanse (which it might do) but as a sign of respect and welcome. It is a gesture which implies something else – so it is a symbolic gesture.

But in the time of Jesus it was different. It was not considered a symbolic gesture, but a real one. One washed the feet because it was dirty. That is why Jesus says to Peter, ‘he who is clean need to wash only the feet’. Feet-washing was not done by any members of the house but slaves. It was a menial job – something like bathroom cleaning, sweeping and so on. 

Now Jesus decides to do this. Their leader, the future king, decides to do a slave’s job. This is shocking. Just imagine that the President of India/Bangladesh came to your house and he began to sweep the floor. How would you feel? The effect was something like that. The disciples were shocked. “No, you can’t do that to me”, says Peter. It was so shocking. (When Pope Francis went to wash the feet of women in the jail this was the reaction.) Jesus gives an explanation and carries on. What is the meaning of this gesture?

Types of Leadership:

There are two types of leadership – one leads from the back and the other leads from the front. The ones who lead from the back, stay at the back. They DRIVE the others; they give orders; they TELL you to do this and that but they themselves may never do it. They are hardly visible. So one does not know what they are doing. They often become tyrants and very exacting. Jesus accuses the Pharisees of being this kind of leaders (Mt.23:4).  Can you think of some leaders who are this type? Are you a leader like this? Are you demanding from others and not demanding from yourself?

The other type is the leaders who lead from front. They are in the full sight of others. They may demand from you but they will do it and show it. They are equally demanding from themselves. They may be called charismatic leaders. Mother Teresa was like this; Jesus was like this – come and follow me, he would say. Gadhiji was like this. (The story of the mother who complained to him about her son so fond of sweets). They are understanding and are able to make compromises because they know and have experienced the way things are – not from theory but from practice. They often become role-models. They lead people not by words but by works. They lead people by their lives. Can you think of some people like this?

Jesus was leading them from front. In washing the feet he was showing them a way of life, not by words but by his own actions, his own life. So the episode of washing the feet is not so much for teaching the disciples service but for teaching them leadership.

Allow Jesus to cleanse us

If I ask you whether you will allow Jesus to cleanse you, you may in all probability say, ‘of course’. But I think it is so easily said simply because we know that this is an academic question; Jesus in fact would not be coming here now and therefore the question of he cleansing us does not arise. Another reason why we so readily accept to be cleansed by Jesus is because we do not really understand the implications of this act of cleansing. 

What does it really mean? Or what does it really imply?

1. first and foremost we have to accept that we need cleansing. Do you deep down believe that you are a sinner and you need Jesus to cleanse you? The deeper you grow in spiritual life, remember the more you realise that you are a sinner. This is one of the sure signs of good and solid spirituality.

2. Once Jesus cleanses us, he may tell us – like he always did – ‘go sin no more’. Are we ready for that? We may have to make many sacrifices. Are you ready?

Feet-washing is not an act but a way of life:

This is not an event – something that happened or is done once or every year and it is over. No, feet-washing is not an event; it is a way of life. It is a life in which we proclaim that we are there to serve. We do not feel it below our dignity to do the menial work or go to any extent as long as it is for ‘the service of souls and the glory of God’. It seems there are some congregation of religious who do feet-washing as a regular practice, a ritual; and through this ritual they are saying that they are there to serve; to do the lowest of jobs.

Conclusion

Let us end this by asking ourselves three crucial questions. I recommend that you ask yourselves these questions often.

1. Am I ready to let Jesus wash my feet with all its implications?

2. Am I really ready to wash others’ feet?

3. Whose feet am I finding it most difficult to wash? (Jesus washed the feet of Judas Iscariot also knowing fully well what he would do to him).

8.1 Challenges to Priesthood

In what we have covered so far we have already seen so many challenges. The questions that we have raised are challenges indeed. But I must be a little more specific. It does not necessarily mean that these are the only challenges; every situation presents its own challenge and the priest has to respond to it. The context each priest – his family background, his training and education, the present situation in which he finds himself – are all different and they present unique challenges. It is not possible for me to address them. Nevertheless some general challenges as I see it can be enumerated.

1. Living what we preach

I think this is the biggest challenge today. Today more than ever a priest is in the public domain for all to see. We cannot have a private life of our own. Our life is for the public to see, analyse and critique. Therefore we cannot preach one thing and live a life that is not congruent with our message. In fact now more than ever the messenger has become the message. The priest is the message. Before we speak, the fact that we stand before the people, we give out messages by the way we live and move about among the people. If our preaching from the pulpit is not in consonance with our life, our preaching does not go very far. If you wonder why in spite of your eloquent sermons every Sunday people do not change, then look at your own life. Ask the people, listen to them. It is not that they tell you all the truth – they are wise, they know that you are not ready; and therefore they will be guarded. But listen to them all the same. Today before we preach a message we have to live it. That is where the advice of St. Francis of Assisi comes in. He says, “Preach the Gospel at all times; if needed use words”. That is a great saying: Our life has to preach the Gospel; words comes in only as a last resort. 

2. Men of Prayer 

More than anything else I think people want us to be men of prayer. Yes, they want us to help them, help their children get admitted to good missionary schools etc. but above all they want us to be men of prayer. They understand it – if you are or if you are not. They may not be able to express it; but they know it. They will make out in the way you say Mass; in the way you preach and in the way you go about in your daily life. Do not be shy to tell them that you want to go now because it is time for your prayer. They will not laugh at you; they will respect you. We belong to them and yet we are taken out of them – to ‘serve them in holiness and truth’; we are meant “to be a holy priesthood” (1Pet. 2:5). There is only one way that I know of being holy – that is, to be in touch with God and that is done in prayer. But we are all very busy people. We find hardly any time for prayer. There is so much to be done and at the end of it all, we are tired and so … prayer goes for a toss. So the challenge here is to handle the tension between work and prayer. My simple, humble question to you who are busy is this: what are you really “busy” about? Do you really want to sacrifice prayer at the altar of work?  I have only this to say: if you really love a thing or a person, you will find time for it or for that person. If you really love God you will find time for God; you will find time for prayer.

3. A wise leader

This is not something that we achieve but life teaches us. For the stoics the wise man alone can be a priest. There are two kinds of leadership – one is the leader who leads from behind. He cannot be seen; he is often heard. People listen to his words more out of fear than out of love. His life is not known to the followers; his life may be different from that of the followers and different from what he says. The other leader is the one who leads from the front. His life is very transparent. As priests we are called to lead from the front – more by our life than by our words.

This is not an exhaustive study on priesthood; I have presented above in a nutshell a practical view of priesthood that could become useful for us. I have omitted a number of issues such as the relationship between bishop and the priests, the issue of the vows, quality-qualification–assigned works of the priests, parish administration etc. Though these are important issues, I am afraid I am not competent to deal with these. 

4. A Sense of Self-sacrifice

Priests are not there to gain something for themselves; they are there to give. “Give until it hurts” says Mother Teresa. This “giving” need not be only money and things; these are easier to giver than the real treasure of the priest. What is that treasure of the priest? I think by and large it is a sense of forgiveness, compassion and concern. For this a priest needs to be a man with a large heart.

8.2 “You are the salt of the earth” Mt. 5:13

It is essential to enumerate some qualities of salt to understand the significance of Jesus’ sayings:

1. Salt is born of sea water and sun. Therefore in ancient times salt was considered the purest item on earth. So if we are to be called salt, we too have to be pure. 

2. Salt prevented corruption, decay and destruction. Plutarch says that meat is a part of a dead body; and left to itself it will go bad. But salt preserves it and keeps it fresh. It is as if salt has inserted soul in the dead body and given it a new life. So if we have to be called salt, we have to not only remain pure but also we have to prevent corruption wherever we are present. That is a daunting task in our present society. Do we dare to prevent corruption wherever we are or do we add to that corrupting force? 

3. Salt adds flavor to food. This is perhaps the greatest quality of salt. What kind of flavor do we add to the society in which we live? Does our neighborhood become a little more Vasudeva Kutumbakam just by our being in it? Sometimes have we not felt joy and confidence simply by the presence of some people in our midst? They do not do much but their presence does a lot. Such people are true salt of the earth. 

4. The presence of salt is not seen; but its absence is felt. Salt becomes conspicuous by its absence.  Our presence in society need not be seen; the newspapers need not report us; we need not appear on television screens. And yet we are required to simply add flavor to the society in which we live. There is something else that happens and that is perhaps what Jesus wanted all to do because ultimately he too had become that.

5. Salt, in adding flavor or in doing its work of preservation melts and becomes one with the substance in which it is placed. Salt loses its “identity of form” (not identity of essence). It loses its ego in order to preserve. It gives that saltiness to the substance in which it is placed. It loses its graininess in order to add flavor to the food. In the final analysis that is what a selfless person is meant to do – to lose himself or herself for the sake of the others. That is what Jesus did; that is what Gandhiji did and that is what we too are called to do.

6. All of us know that not much of salt is required to do all that. In order to add flavor, in order to preserve and prevent corruption we need not do much. It is not how much we are doing that matters but that we are doing the right thing is what matters in society. 

As religious we have to apply this to our respective communities. Our communities, however small and insignificant they are, are meant to be a city built on a mountain top for all to see. Whether we like it or not people see it. What is the “corporate message” that we as a community give to the people around us? Are we a community that is “open”, welcoming and ready to serve or are we reserved, “closed” with high walls (both material and mental). Let us examine and see what we can do as a community to be a light of the world and salt of the earth.

Yes, sometimes there will be problems. We have to face the dirt and filth of the world and in the process sometimes we will ourselves get “dirty”. That is part of the game – the cost of discipleship. 

So let us ask a few questions:

1. Am I really pure or do I add to the corruption around me? 

2. Am I really willing to melt and lose my so called identity which is actually my ego?

3. Am I ready to add flavor and yet not seen?

4. How is my community being looked at by others? What picture does my community paint?

5. What are the walls that keep others from coming to our community?     

Jesus also said, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God with? It is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through”.  (Lk.13:20 -21).

The leaven is like the salt. Its action is seen but it is not seen. Not much leaven is needed to ferment a large amount of flour. In fermenting the leaven loses its identity. 

A story

When the Zoroastrians were persecuted in Persia many fled the country. Two ship loads of them seem to have come to India. They landed on the shores of Gujarat and went to the local king asking for asylum. The king felt that his kingdom could not accommodate more people and that too from a foreign nation. But he did not know the language of these foreigners. So in order to communicate he asked for a glass and a jar of milk. He poured the milk into the glass until it was full. Then by gestures he communicated that it was the condition of his kingdom and there was no place for them. 

The leader of the group asked for a small spoonful of sugar. He put the sugar carefully into the glass with the milk and the milk did not spill over. The king understood the message: they would be like sugar in the milk, adding flavour to it but would not disturb it. So the king granted permission for them to settle in his kingdom. Though dwindling in numbers now, they are spread all over India and are known as Parsis because they came from Persia. Even today their life is almost like what their leader described – adding flavour to the society, without disturbing it. They are quite successful business people but honest and God-fearing. 

That is what salt does; that is what we are called to do if we are the salt of the earth.  

Day / Theme Songs

Introduction: The night before বড়আশাকোরেএসেছি

1.1 The idea of priesthood খোলখোলদ্বার

1.2 Look Back in Faith যদিতারেনাইচিনিগো

2.1 Priesthood of Jesus আমারেকরজীবানদান

2.2 Two Models of Priesthood আগুনেরপরশমণীছুঁয়াওপ্রাণে

3.1 Priests are taken out of the people আমারমাথানতকরে

3.2 Sin and sinfulness দয়াদিয়েহবেগোমোর

4.1 Priesthood is for service ক্লান্তিআমারক্ষমাকর

4.2 Prayer and Action আমারহিয়ারমাঝেলুকিয়েছিলে

5.1 Priesthood and Responsibility আমিতোমারসঙ্গেবেন্দেছিআমারপ্রাণ

5.2 The barrier between us and Jesus যখনএসেছিলেআন্ধকারে

6.1 Priesthood, discernment and prayer আমরানুতনযৌবনেরদূত

6.2 Radicality of the response to God আলোকেরএইঝর্ণাধারয়

7.1 Priesthood and human relationship আমিহ্রদয়েরকথাবলিতেব্যাকুল, 

7.2 Experiencing Love যখনপডবেনামোরপায়েরছিহ্নএইঘাটে

8.1 Challenges to Priesthood যদিতোরডাকশুনেকেউনাআসে

8.2 You are the salt of the earth আমিভয়করবনাভয়করবনা