HOMILY OF BISHOP PETER ODETOYINBO OF HOLY THURSDAY 2022 AT SS PETER AND PAUL CATHEDRAL, ITESI ABEOKUTA,
Remember your leaders who preached the Word of God to you, and as you reflect on the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.
Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be forever. Do not let yourselves be led astray by all sorts of strange doctrines. (Heb.13:7-9a)
Today and more than ever before the priesthood and priestly life and formation is facing a lot of crisis and challenges. These challenges have put many priests, young and old into confusion, crisis of identity with their vows, many have doubts of faith and conflicts in their social, ecclesiastical and moral status in the Church, among peers and in the society which are manifested in their comportments as individuals, as a presbyterium and even in the Liturgy and pastoral life. Often many do not know where they belong and in the bid of being sociable and relevant to the youth and society they have lost sensus fidei and sensus ecclesiae. Many are caught between functionalism and devotion and as some are not helped to come out of this confusion, careless attitudes step into their life and ministry. Hence the citation above as the basis for our reflection today.
St. Fulgentius of Ruspe wrote to Peter on Faith presenting and describing Christ the High Priest in paragraph 3 of the letter affirms that- He, that is Christ, it is then who showed forth in himself alone all that he knew to be necessary to achieve our redemption- he who at the same time is priest and sacrifice, God and temple: the priest whom we are reconciled, the sacrifice by which we are reconciled, the temple which we are reconciled, the God to whom we are reconciled. He alone is priest, sacrifice, and temple, because he is all these as God according to the form of a servant: yet he is not God alone, because he is also along with the Father and the Holy Spirit according to the form of God. (2nd reading Office of the Reading Friday 5th Week of Lent). Yet he has no form of comeliness that we should desire him but he is the High Priest. This was central to the life, ministry and mission of these Leaders who are worthy of emulation by Priests.
As Seminarians and now as Priests we have read, heard and celebrated this citation above from the Common of Pastors and often we paid no attention even as we have crammed it and could recite it of our heads. I ask you today to recall and remember it and I am bringing it to your consciousness as priests while we celebrate and renew your commitment and vows. The writer of the book of Hebrews in the citation presents a positive look into the priestly life and ministry and invites priests to look inward, into their individual lives and as a presbyterium for proper evaluation since the last Holy Thursday in order to be devoted and devout priests serving the Church with purpose and precision just like Christ. The Church in her wisdom as a Mother wants to remind all priests that as they are pastors they have examples of good pastors that should be imitated and followed to safeguard the deposit of faith and morals as they proclaim, celebrate and lead the people of God.
Remember your leaders and who were these leaders that we celebrate with dignity and reverence that priests must remember and simply they are Apostles, Bishops, Priests, Religious, Saints, Missionaries, Holy Men and Women, Virgins, Martyrs who labored in the Church despite oppositions, challenges, temptations and threats and remained focused and steadfast, persevering in their apostolic, episcopal, priestly and religious lives and commitment with precision and sense of purpose in imitation of Christ and love for the Church. They walked and worked with ever growing strength, with sensus fidei and sensus ecclesiae, with humility, love, sacrifice, patience, in poverty, obedience and chastity, fervent in prayers
and diligent in their duties and very accountable of their duties in absolute trust in God. These leaders
were marked with sanctitas vitae, eruditio, doctrina orthodoxia and approbatio ecclesiae. Priests today must take cognizance of these pious and dedicated holy Leaders for imitation and devotion in order to be faithful dispensers of God's mysteries in their personal lives and celebration of the Liturgy and the sacraments. Priests today must be ever be prepared to sacrifice and demonstrate the real and correct sensus fidei and sensus ecclesiae like these leaders and only in that they can find fulfilment.
These Leaders were the priests and pastors who lived and preached the word of God that we received from the missionaries who brought us to faith and now as priests what do we do than to continue to imitate and be dedicated like the Leaders. Their love and passion for the faith and the Church, care for the flock entrusted to them, charity and compassion, accountability and responsibility and total self-giving to the mission are perfect examples for you to follow, imitate and teach others by your lives and pastoral ministry. Pelu emi ifokansin ni won fi sise, that many died of fatigue, diseases, poisoning, assassination and their graves especially for the missionaries are with us here for those of them who died in our land.
As you reflect on the outcome of their lives.. says the book of Hebrews imitate their faith. Do priests reflect today, what do they reflect on, when do priests reflect, a priest that does not reflect in a sober manner will be empty and will only end as a functionary priest without devotion and in-depth of rich soil and inspiration will be suffocated. I am not talking here about only writing and delivering of homilies, which is part of priests' duty. Many priests do not reflect anymore nor have time to reflect or meditate hence I enjoin you beloved priests spent time to reflect on your personal lives and relationship with Jesus and the Church, on your ministry and pastoral care, thirsts and quests for better commitment and diligence to duties and of course holiness of life which marked the Leaders. Spending time on gossips and going around looking for what is not lost and prowling round without specific spiritual mission and objective are all wasteful and injurious to the ministry, indeed remember your Leaders who preached the word of God to you. Let faith and devotion increase in your life even while you celebrate the Sacraments and carry out. other priestly duties, while at meetings and in your travels and relationships among yourselves and with the people of God. Your prayer life is very important and essential in this life of reflection like our Leaders hence the book of prayer Breviary handed to you at ordination, the monthly recollection and your devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints in your various parishes will further help you not to only remember your Leaders but be close to them with precision and sense of purpose, sensus ecclesiae and sensus fidei
Living a life of sober reflection in the priestly life today is essential in order to have a way to go and move ahead with the life you have chosen with absolute trust and faith in God and his Church. It does help in the imitation of these Leaders and will surely be expressed in your personal lives, as a presbytrium and pastoral care of the people of God. The Holy Father, Pope Francis to further buttress the life of our holy Leaders we reflect about today point our four ways to a devoted, focused and good priestly life and these ways are first the priest's closeness to God knowing Jesus in union with the Holy Spirit as St Fulgentius affirmed, secondly closeness to the Bishop which any priests want to avoid and deal with hypocritically without sincerity, which is deceptive and confusing for them in their choices and ministry, third is closeness to the brotherhood in the same diocese and presbyterium that would necessarily breed unity courage and communion. Do not pick and choose which meeting or gathering of priests to attend and some are even avoiding ordination ceremonies and do not want to be where priests are hered and finally closeness to the Laity, who need the priests' pastoral care and compassion and help towards holiness of life and salvation. As you renew your vows today keep these in mind and truly remember your Leaders who preached the word do God to you and lived it.
Recalling St. Fulgentius letter to Peter, Jesus is the sacrifice, the temple and offering hence he is same today as he was yesterday and as he will be forever. The Leaders kept this in focus with precision and sense of purpose, which today many priests have not kept because they believe and act as if they can add to Jesus' power, strength, glory and honour, by indulging in private ministries, adorations centers and activities, corroding the Liturgy in careless manner by which they celebrate especially the Holy Mass, and other forms of celebration and blessings and prayer periods organized not for Jesus and in the name of the Church but for their own selfish ends and glory, self-importance and recognition to the embarrassment of God, the Church, the Eucharist and other Sacraments and the dignity of the Priesthood and Religious lives. This is why the book of the Hebrews warns and I join him to exhort you do not be led by all sorts of strange doctrines and policies and injunctions and lives that do not flowed from sensus fidei and sensus ecclesiae but from personal frustrations, confusion of life and search for material gains and cheap popularity.. remember your Leaders who preached the word of God to you and you will be at peace, you will find fulfilment and aanu, iyonu, alurabarika, and ore ofe from God.
Finally many priests are in conflict of choosing and living and acting between being possessed by Jesus like St. Paul and our Leaders desired and possessing Jesus; being possessed by the Church and possessing the Church; and being possessed by the priesthood and possessing the priesthood. Which of these is your own choice and desire as you reflect and live on the priesthood of Christ for another year when again it will be renewed in the presence of the Bishop and the People of God. It is rather better and more fulfilling to be possessed by Jesus, by the Church and the spirit of the Priesthood the surest way to imitate our holy Leaders. Having been presented, read and formed and experienced the life of our Leader and their end, in all your daily struggles and reflection not relying on your strength and self-realization but on the amazing grace of Jesus I exhort and enjoin and direct you "...be the shepherds of the flock of God that is entrusted to you; watch over it, not simply as a duty but gladly, because God wants it (and you are ordained for this), not for sordid money but because you are eager to do it. Never be a dictator over any group that is put in your charge, but be an example that the whole flock can follow". And with you I have also a share in the glory that is to be revealed so that when the Chief Shepherd appears you will be given the crown of unfading glory with our Leaders who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith and sensus ecclesiae. (1 Peter 5:1-4). Let us therefore hold on to the grace that we have been given and use it to worship God in the way that he finds acceptable, in reverence and fear (Heb. 12:29).
+Most Rev Dr Peter Odetoyinbo
Catholic Bishop of Abeokuta Diocese Nigeria
Nice homily my Lord
ReplyDelete