***
These are some of the most honest, humbling words I’ve read about priesthood in scripture. In our first reading from the Letter to the Hebrews it is written:
“Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, because he himself is beset by weakness” (Hebrews 5:1-2).
***
He himself is beset by weakness.
***
Before a priest is ordained, he makes three promises: prayer, celibacy, and obedience.
Some also make the promise of life-long poverty.
Why don’t priests promise something easily achievable? Or something that requires less sacrifice?
These promises are sown into fields of human weakness.
And that’s precisely the point.
***
One of the first lessons learned in the spiritual life is that we cannot become holy – or pleasing to God – on our own. We must depend entirely upon the Lord.
But with God’s grace, every priest can live out his promises faithfully, even joyfully.
And by extension, every Christian can live a joyful life pleasing to God. We can live as devoted spouses, generous servants, faithful friends, and holy intercessors, even though we are beset by weakness.
Faith is not trusting in what we can do on our own; faith is trusting that we can do all things, even what seems impossible, through Christ who strengthens us.
This is the transformation Jesus is talking about in the Gospels – taking old wineskins and transforming them into something new.
So, where am I weak? Or, where do I need to be transformed by the Lord?
***
With God’s grace, the newly ordained priest can become a saint by the end of his life. The newly wedded couple will pray together and stay together. The person beset by grief will find peace. The friend whose trust has been lost will learn to trust again.
With the Lord, all things are possible. May this Eucharist – or our own private time spent in prayer – strengthen us to continue loving and serving the Lord.
***
