Called to be fathers
Chrism Mass
Brothers, I am sure that we can all vividly recall Easter last year. To prevent the spread of the Corona virus, the government required the closing of our churches. As we entered the most sacred time of the Christian year, we were required to celebrate the Easter Triduum in empty churches. While some of us were able to provide live-streaming, it was still strange and eerie. We celebrated the profound Paschal liturgies without a congregation, seemingly, enacting a ritual without engagement with the faith and the prayers of the people.
We knew that each liturgical event was still an act of worship on behalf of the Church, yet we missed the atmosphere of faith generated by the presence of our parish communities.
We are so blessed this year to be able to enter Holy Week with the confidence that we will take the spiritual path to Easter with and alongside our parishioners. At the same time, we are aware that in many places around the world this still remains not possible.
Pope Francis has declared this year, a Year of St Joseph, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Pope Pius IX of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church.
The Chrism Mass each year is an opportunity for each of us called to the sacred ministry of the priesthood to reflect upon our vocation and to receive fresh encouragement to live it to the full. This year we can do this in the light of the Year of St Joseph.
St Joseph has much to offer us as priests.
No doubt, this carpenter, betrothed to a young woman from his village, had dreams for his future life. They were thrown into confusion when he discovered that his fiancé was with child. While this good and just man intended to quietly conclude the relationship and ensure that Mary’s good name was protected, he received divine instruction to take Mary as his wife. He found himself suddenly thrust into the responsibilities of fatherhood.
We priests are called to be fathers, in our case, spiritual fathers to individuals and of communities. We are honoured with this title, Father. It reminds us of a key dimension of our priestly identity. And St Joseph has much to teach us about the nature of fatherhood.
Our fatherhood, like St Joseph’s, is God-given. St Joseph was entrusted with the role of being guardian and protector of the Holy Family. We, too, are entrusted with the role of being guardian and protector of the parish community that is entrusted to us by the bishop. We are guardians and protectors of the spiritual health and wellbeing of the people.
It is also true that many a priest has also found himself taking on a spiritual fatherhood of individuals, sometimes over extended periods of time. It is not unusual for a priest to find himself a confidant, a mentor, a friend, to people who have sought out his wisdom, guidance and spiritual support.
After assuming responsibility for Mary and the child Jesus, St Joseph’s whole life was not his own. On four separate occasions he received angelic instructions. He was not in charge of making key decisions, but asked to faithfully obey what was being asked of him.
As priests our lives are not our own. When ordained we make a promise of obedience to the bishop and his successors. We are assigned a parish. Sometimes we are asked to do things which are not our preferred choice. We do so in obedience.
St Joseph would be tested on several occasions. Imagine his embarrassment when he could not provide decent accommodation for his wife when she delivered her child. Imagine the anxiety when told in the night to flee to Egypt because Herod was seeking to kill the child. He became a refugee in a strange land, no doubt struggling to provide for his wife and her child. He knew uncertainty and vulnerability.
Pope St Paul VI, in a homily on 19 March 1966, pointed out that St Joseph concretely expressed his fatherhood “by making his life a sacrificial service to the mystery of the incarnation and its redemptive purpose”. He added, “He turned his human vocation to domestic love into a superhuman oblation of himself, his heart and all his abilities, a love placed at the service of the Messiah who was growing to maturity in his home”.
These words can be readily applied to ourselves as priests. We have made our lives “a sacrificial service to the mystery of the incarnation and its redemptive purpose”. Indeed, this is at the heart of our vocation as priests. We offer our lives for the advancement of the redemptive work of Christ.
Pope Francis, in Patris Corde which announced the Year of St Joseph, comments rightly that fathers “are not born, but made”. He says, “A man does not become a father simply by bringing a child into the world, but by taking up the responsibility to care for that child. Whenever a man accepts responsibility for the life of another, in some way he becomes a father to that person”.
We priests learn to be fathers to our people. As we live our vocation we grow in the art of being spiritual fathers. And fatherhood is an art. Whenever, as the Pope reminds us, that we accept responsibility for the life of another, we become a father to that person. Surely, one of the great joys of our priestly life is to know that we are seen as a father.
Fatherhood above all is devoted service to the family. No longer living for the fulfilment of their own hopes or intentions, a true father rejoices simply in the flourishing of his family, wife and children. Pope Francis commented, “The logic of love is always the logic of freedom, and Joseph knew how to love with extraordinary freedom. He never made himself the centre of things. He did not think of himself, but focused instead on the lives of Mary and Jesus”.
The priest understands this. We never own a parish community or have control over people. We serve. We give of ourselves. We know the “logic of love”, which is to allow people to be free. Our joy is to see our parishioners grow in faith and love.
Tonight, at this Chrism Mass, let us receive again the call to be fathers. Let us look to St Joseph and ask his intercession for us. As Patron of the Universal Church, he is also patron to us who serve the life and mission of the universal Church here in Tasmania.
St Joseph, pray for us, priests, who are called and honoured with the title, “father”.
Archbishop Julian Porteous
Monday, 29 March 2021