Third Week in Ordinary Time - Australia Day Weekend
St Mary's Cathedral
Isaiah 8:23-9:3 1 Corinthians 1:10-13,17 Matthew 4:12-23
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
27 Jan 2002
This is Australia Day Weekend and we should thank God for all the good things we have in our country and perhaps ponder for a minute the role of our Catholic faith in the story of yesterday and today.
Both Isaiah and Matthew's gospel were well aware of the advantages that came from a life of faith: "the people who dwelled in darkness and in the shadow of death have seen a great light".
Light is one of the basic symbols of Christ, and of the function and consequences of faith. The motto of Cardinal John Henry Newman was "ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem" (out of the shadows and ghosts and into the light). The symbol of light had greater resonance in an age without electricity, but we still appreciate its power when we wake up after being disorientated in a dream, or first see the dawn when we are sick and unable to sleep at night.
Do we truly think of knowing Christ, of knowing the basics of Catholic tradition as a great advantage? Do we take it for granted? Has it become simply a matter of habit? Do we think of it as our way of looking at things, one way among many?
Those of us who are healthy should be aware of this blessing and thank God for it. Do we think of our faith in the way we think of our health? Like the advantages of education, or the ability to get away for holidays?
Faith is more important in our lives than any of these. It is the secret to life after death, it gives a purpose and meaning to our ordinary lives. We know God; we have someone to turn to in time of trouble.
Often those without faith better realize the treasure we have. Our view of faith can be like our view of our own family! Sometimes youngsters do not appreciate how good it was with their parents until they leave home, or have to build a marriage and look after their own children.
Many things are needed to sustain a strong community of faith: good families, schools, strong laity, mutual help and priests. In the gospel today we hear Jesus call Peter, Andrew and the sons of thunder James and John. Probably the single greatest need of the church in the next 25 years is for more priests. I am not pessimistic in this score. Vocations have always been somewhat scarce. I think we have passed the bottom of the trough.
There are three points we should keep in mind:
1) Priesthood is a great life and not a refuge for those who cannot make it in the wider world. It holds many consolations, attracts great support from many people, and many opportunities for service and leadership in faith.
2) We should regularly pray for vocations. Vocation is a mystery of faith, and the crucial element is the importance of the faith dimension. Altruism is expressed in many ways. I still suspect many are called but do not answer.
3) We should also actively support those who are thinking of priesthood. I am sometimes surprised by the number of good practising Catholics who are hostile to the idea of someone going off to try a vocation to priesthood. Some people are in favour of vocations, provided they come from somewhere else! Popular esteem of priests and priesthood is an important factor in whether young men will consider priesthood as an vocation. We have four seminarians starting for Sydney in 2002, and another six Sydney seminarians for the neo-catechumenate community.
After praying for priests, successors to Peter and Andrew, James and John, we should not forget that God calls all Christians to cooperate in his personal plan for them, which respects our freedom to say yes, no or maybe. Human response is the major reason why God writes straight in crooked lines. He respects our freedom.
Recently a very fine Catholic writer, now an old man, recounted how his common sense wife told him not to worry about his personal salvation as God had too much on his mind to be worried about one more individual! The writer replied by quoting what modern computers can do, the millions of pieces of information they can sort and classify as a hint, a glimpse of God's knowledge.
God calls each of us; few are called to be monks, priests or religious. God calls us in our everyday lives, through our families, through our work to follow him. These ordinary problems and events around us are not obstacles, but the means to Christ and to holiness.
May we have the light to see what is God's will and the wisdom and strength to act.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
