FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
Dear St. Mary’s Parishioners,
In the Gospel for this Fourth Sunday, we see a big change in the people’s reactions to Our Lord. Last Sunday, they were very pleased with Jesus, when he read from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and said that the Scripture passage was being fulfilled in their hearing. In this Sunday’s Gospel, the people tried to throw Our Lord off of a cliff. The people were furious with Jesus because he was saying that all people from all walks of life and from all nations will receive his saving message. Jesus would be a Savior not only to the Jews, but to all peoples. Maybe they thought they were the chosen people, and because of that, they were special. But Jesus was trying to broaden their horizons. The people in the synagogue believed Jesus was being blasphemous because he identified himself with Elijah and Elisha. For these reasons, they wanted to throw Jesus off the cliff outside of town.
To his listeners, Jesus was often a sign of contradiction. He came to “bring glad tidings to the poor,” yet he ate with the wealthy. He would reprimand his disciples for being ambitious and he would call on the rich and powerful to be of service to the poor and the powerless. In other words, Jesus was always trying to get his listeners to consider their life in this world in light of their destiny. He wanted them to live for the kingdom of heaven. A fundamental quality of Jesus’s priesthood was to move the people, through his words and actions, to consider their destiny, to realize the dignity to which they had been called, and to be sign of contradiction in this world.
The celibate priesthood and the consecrated life are vocations which are signs to people in this life of how things will be in the next life. One way a priest or a consecrated person is a sign pointing to heaven, at least in the Roman Catholic Church, is through the living of celibacy, because in heaven, there is no marriage. In the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 22:30), Jesus says that in heaven, there is no marriage. This does not mean that marital love ends in heaven. Rather, it means that there is no marriage in heaven the way there is here on earth. One reason there is no marriage in heaven is because there is no dying. Therefore, there is no need to replenish the human race. Another reason there is no marriage in heaven is that the human need we have for intimacy is fulfilled by God in the beatific vision.
In his “Theology of the Body,” Pope John Paul II spoke of the “spousal meaning of the body.” St. John Paul II said that God has placed in each one of us the inclination to live with and for another. In this life, generally, the spousal meaning of the body is lived in either marriage or the consecrated life (religious life and priesthood). Ultimately, however, this spousal meaning of the body is an expression of that longing that each of us has to be united eternally with God in heaven. Therefore, those who live consecrated celibacy are a sign to all God’s people of how we will relate to God and to each other in heaven.
The celibate priesthood and the consecrated life not only point to the kingdom of heaven, but they also point to Jesus Christ because He himself chose to live in virginity for the kingdom of heaven. Thus, the celibate priesthood and consecrated life are valued because Jesus chose to live this way himself. The consecrated celibate chooses to fashion his life in a very concrete way on the celibacy or virginity of Jesus. He or she makes the choice to follow God’s call to celibacy with a very concrete understanding of what he or she is choosing. He or she needs to cultivate a very deep love for Christ whom he or she is choosing to follow. At the same time, he or she has a profound understanding and a deep appreciation of what he is not choosing. In other words, marriage is valued very much. You would have to question the one who feels called to celibacy who does not have an appreciation for marriage or who has never considered choosing the married state of life. We are very blessed in our parish to have two priests and three religious sisters (Sisters Adriana, Grecy and Laura) to be signs pointing to heaven and to Jesus Christ.
What does all this have to do with me one might ask? The answer is everything! If we want to get to heaven, it is good to have a concrete reminder in this world pointing to our destiny and pointing to Jesus Christ, our Savior. We need signs all the time. We might remember to stop at an intersection that was missing a stop sign, but then again, we might not. And what would happen? We would crash. So, the celibate priesthood and consecrated life are good reminders to us of our destiny. Please join me in praying for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Lord knows, we need them!
In Christ Jesus,
Father Berg
