Offerimus Tibi Domine

In his homily at the Chrism Mass, speaking to priests the Holy Father called for obedience to the Church's teaching - mentioning particularly those who push the issue of women's "ordination", speaking of this as disobedience in a matter that has been irrevocably forbidden.

He reminded priests to teach what the Church teaches and not "do their own thing". The "zeal for souls" that they are to foster is to be in obedient service to the Church's actual teaching - not their own version of it. I have myself heard and continue to hear about so many instances of priests and even higher clergy doing just the opposite of this. Let us pray that the Holy Father's call - at the Chrism Mass of all places - will not fall on deaf ears. I've never understood why priests want to belong to a Church with which they so vehemently disagree. There are plenty of Christian groups and ecclesial communities out there that reflect such opinions, if they feel that strongly, they could join them instead of trying to re-fashion the Church.

Recently a group of priests from a European country issued a summons to disobedience, and at the same time gave concrete examples of the forms this disobedience might take, even to the point of disregarding definitive decisions of the Church’s Magisterium, such as the question of women’s ordination, for which Blessed Pope John Paul II stated irrevocably that the Church has received no authority from the Lord. Is disobedience a path of renewal for the Church? We would like to believe that the authors of this summons are motivated by concern for the Church, that they are convinced that the slow pace of institutions has to be overcome by drastic measures, in order to open up new paths and to bring the Church up to date. But is disobedience really a way to do this? Do we sense here anything of that configuration to Christ which is the precondition for all true renewal, or do we merely sense a desperate push to do something to change the Church in accordance with one’s own preferences and ideas?

All our preaching must measure itself against the saying of Jesus Christ: "My teaching is not mine" (Jn 7:16). We preach not private theories and opinions, but the faith of the Church, whose servants we are.

The last keyword that I should like to consider is "zeal for souls": animarum zelus. It is an old-fashioned expression, not much used these days... A priest never belongs to himself. People must sense our zeal, through which we bear credible witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us ask the Lord to fill us with joy in his message, so that we may serve his truth and his love with joyful zeal. Amen.