“The son of man came not to be served but to serve”
Chrism Mass
St. Colman's Cathedral,
Cobh
16 April 2025
My friends,
“Ministerial priesthood and the people of God” is the title of the final chapter of a small volume by Hans Urs Von Balthasar on Priestly Spirituality. While the book was published in 2007 the chapter I refer to was first published in 1969, which is a mere four years after the Vatican Council.
He begins with what remains a fundamental question for both priests and people. “Social restructuring that calls into question the idea of a priestly state… have brought profound unease to the heart of the Catholic Church. Is his ministerial priesthood accounted for sufficiently by its New Testament foundations or is it merely a structure only fully established in the post Apostolic era and in given circumstances to be dismantled?” Priestly Spirituality P.109.
This is a fundamental question because on those New Testament foundations established through the ministry and life of the Lord Jesus rest our priesthood, our ministry and our relationship with the flock that is entrusted to our care. Von Balthasar answers his own question and our question with a firm affirmation of the ministerial priesthood – by his examination of the words and actions of Jesus toward the disciples and the task of shepherding that he entrusted them with.
That solid gospel foundation does not free us from the spirit of the age which interrogates severely any role of leadership that does not have a democratic mandate. For that reason, it is all the more important that we as priests and the people who place their trust in us that we are sure in the divine origin of our leadership and avoid any sense of personal right or privilege. “The Son of man came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”
We have been called to stand with integrity in that Christ-like service to the people.
No matter how sincere and genuine our desire to serve, our personal limitations and the demands of some people can truly test our resolve and patience. While our aspiration is to serve peoples spiritual and personal needs, the culture of expectation by some is proving very challenging at a minimum and deeply stressful. This human reality can lead to ‘burn-out’ for some – so much the joy of service turns to the bitter wine of resentment.
In this wider context we are more than ‘service providers.’ While we have roles as members of Boards of Management and school Chaplains, we are not state employees. We are more than administrative functionaries, while we may willingly do so – it is not the measure of our priestly ministry.
The priest is a sacramental presence at the heart of your community of faith. The priest is called to embody the presence of God in and through his fragile but blessed humanity. Its both a privilege and an awesome responsibility. We effect this presence of the divine through our daily engagement with our communities. However, this is becoming more demanding. The harvest is rich, but the labourers are few.
In this new reality – we risk the temptation to try to satisfy the wishes of every community that has a church. It will not be possible. Great adjustments await priests and people in the years ahead. The unthinkable is likely to touch every community of faith.
For us priests we need to stay close to Von Balthasar’s affirmation of the nature of the ministerial priesthood – its divine origins in the life and ministry of Christ Jesus. We need to resist the temptation to be merely “service providers” rather be clear in our hearts and minds of the divine spark that first set our hearts aflame with a sense and desire to tell people that the Kingdom of God is close to you and help nurture it in their lives.
It is for us who are privileged by this call not to make people dependent on us rather help them to fan the flame of faith in their hearts and lives and so build the Kingdom with each other.
