Homily for Monday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time

For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/092407.shtml

The longer I am a priest, the more I wear my Roman collar. I remember early on when I was ordained, and even before then, I would give a lot of thought as to where and when I would wear the collar. Of course, whenever I was around Church or functioning as a priest, I would wear it. It wasn’t a question of that. It was that quick run to the grocery store, or a visit to the health club that I debated whether or not to present myself as a priest. What ended up sealing the deal so to speak, is even if I wanted just a little time off from being a priest, or wanted the efficiency of running my errands like a regular person, someone always recognized me as a priest anyway. The diocesan priesthood is such a public life, and people love to see you and to interact with you. Especially when you’re in a hurry! Slowly, I learned to enjoy wearing the Roman collar, even the interruptions and the many questions that come simply because you’re a priest.

It is true that a priest is entitled to a private life, but of course, not to a secret one. No one is entitled to a secret life, for there is nothing hidden that will not come to light one way or another. The priesthood especially cannot sustain secrets or compartmentalization. The priesthood is a gift Christ gives to men, and we are to be generous in sharing that gift and in serving. We are not to stuff the light Christ gives us under a bed, but to be a consistent witness to the light of Jesus’ resurrection. As Archbishop Naumann likes to put it, the priesthood is supposed to ‘shock’ people by its counter-intuitiveness. It is supposed to make people wonder why someone would stake their entire lives on the truth of Jesus’ resurrection.

The more I wear the collar and the more I present myself as a priest, the more my faith grows. This is what Jesus is getting at in today’s Gospel. Faith that is lived only for one’s self is a faith that is useless, like a lamp stuffed under a bed. There are still times when I do not present myself as a priest outwardly by wearing the Roman collar – when I am at games or getting in some needed relaxation with friends. But the priesthood has been such a tremendous gift to me – woe to me if I hide that gift!