Confessions of a parish priest: Thank you.
May 21, 1983, a Saturday morning. Not much sleep the previous night, the day had arrived. Effort can be measured in years of study, in the highs and lows that life throws at you, and in the frequent failures. Now, morning had dawned. My notes remember one thought-feeling more than any other, gratitude. So much care, from family and friends, they did do so much heavy lifting. The thought-feeling, above all, gratitude. After all, it was all gifts not a personal success or the result of merit.
Priesthood, in the Hebrew setting, was bestowed to individuals such as Aaron. They stood before the Lord representing his people, and before the people representing the Lord. But then, it was no longer the individual, it would be Israel. The entire people would be God’s chosen, God’s priestly people.
And, in the passing of centuries, the One Priest, Jesus would come to be. Christ, on the altar that was the cross, and the cross the revelation of the fullness of God’s love. Christ, the priest, the fulfiller of mission, the permanent presence of God’s love in our midst. In other words, the early Christians then shifted from individuals back to the whole community.
They saw the whole community of believers as sharing in the priestly mission of Christ. We hear in Peter’s first epistle, “you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation”. Once more, as a community, priests for the whole of humankind before the God of the universe – to bring God to the world and the world to God.
This is the priesthood to which we are dedicated by our baptism. It is the priesthood of Christ; it is the priesthood of the cross. We exercise our shared priesthood only in sharing the passion and death of Christ. We simply share in it.
It is because of this priesthood of all the people of God, that those who exercise a special and essential ministry – bishops and priests – have their priesthood. In the (my) exercise of ministry, they ( I ) exercise the priesthood which belongs to us all.
On May 21, 1983, for the first time, I prayed “Lord, let me care for your people with the love that you have for them”. That was the first time, each day becomes a new first time for me.
All of the above simply to say, I need you to keep praying for me. After all, in all of us sharing in Christ’s priesthood, I do not stand by myself, I stand with you and for you.
And, as it happened 39 years ago, my heart is filled with gratitude, and know that you are up to the challenge of some heavy lifting when those moments come when I just don’t quite cut it. Forgive me often, pray for me always.
Father Francisco Gómez, S.T.