Priesthood is not merely a task which has been assigned…  
Our priestly vocation is given by the Lord Jesus himself. It is a call which is personal and individual: we are called by name as was Jeremiah. It is a call to service: we are sent out to preach the Good News, to "give God's flock a shepherd's care". It is a call to communion of purpose and of action: to be one priesthood with Jesus and with one another, just as Jesus and his Father are one—a unity so beautifully symbolized in this concelebrated Mass.
 
Priesthood is not merely a task which has been assigned; it is a vocation, a call to be heard again and again. To hear this call and to respond generously to what this call entails is a task for each priest, but it is also a responsibility for the Senates of Priests. This responsibility means deepening our understanding of the priesthood as Christ instituted it, as he wanted it to be and to remain, and as the Church faithfully explains it and transmits it. Fidelity to the call to the priesthood means building up this priesthood with God's people by a life of service according to apostolic priorities: concentration "on prayer and the ministry of the word" (Acts 6 :4).
 
In the Gospel of Saint Mark the priestly call of the Twelve Apostles is like a bud whose flowering displays a whole theology of priesthood. In the midst of Jesus' ministry, we read that "he went up the mountain and summoned the men he himself had decided on, who came and joined him. He named twelve as his companions whom he would send to preach the good news..." The passage then lists the names of the Twelve (Mk 3 :13-14) . Here we see three significant aspects of the call given by Jesus: he called his first priests individually and by name; he called them for the service of his word, to preach the Gospel; and he made them his own companions, drawing them into that unity of life and action which he shares with his Father in the very life of the Trinity.
– Pope Saint John Paul II, excerpt from the Homily at Holy Mass for the American Priests – Apostolic Journey to the United States – October 4, 1979
 
Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!
 
Happy Easter! 
 
Today we continue to reflect upon the words of Pope Saint John Paul II in his first Apostolic Visit to the United States.  This homily from Philadelphia was a Holy Mass for the American Priests.  The participants were priests from the ‘Senates of Priests’ – a Priest Council – which is a group of priests established by the Second Vatican Council to assist the Bishop of a Diocese in his Pastoral Governance.  In bringing in members of the Senates of Priests the Holy Father addressed the Priests of all of the Dioceses of United States. Just two weeks from Holy Thursday, this seemed like a fitting homily for our reflection… yes, as always, I encourage you to read through the entire homily.   
 
As a priest, a Pastor, and a member of the ‘Senate of Priests’ for the Diocese of Harrisburg (Bishop Gainer just appointed me a member to this Council in the late Summer), I found the reflection of Saint John Paul II to be very encouraging and enlightening.  It is too easy and terribly incomplete to understand the priesthood as a task, a job, or even a career within the Church.  The priesthood, like the Consecrated Life and the Married Life, is a vocation: a calling from God ‘to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and its righteousness’ in a particular way, a specific manner of life filled with the Truth of Christ.  Like any vocation, it demands an abandonment to the Love of God and a commitment of fidelity to promises.  And, like every vocation there are many practical aspects and various expressions of being a priest that shape our understanding and impressions.  But, what can never be set aside is that the priesthood is not a creation of men or a mere function within a community – it is a calling from God. 
 
During these days of so many restrictions, this homily is helpful to me – a reminder of who I am as a priest.  I hope that for you, it is a reminder of how much I need your prayers, and, perhaps, it is informative/inspiring about the Priesthood of Jesus Christ
 
The Church needs holy priests, priest who form their lives after the Sacred Heart of Jesus – priests of the New Covenant of Christ’s sacrifice.  The Priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Priest of the New Covenant, is consecrated to Paschal Mystery – the truth of God’s Love; priests are ordered according to the words and example of the Lord Jesus, in service to the New Law of Grace as expressed so directly by our Savior on Holy Thursday:
“I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (Jn. 13:34).
 
 
 
Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!
 
 
 
Know of my prayers for you, please pray for me!
 
Father Wilke
 
Saint Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer, pray for us!