16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
First Reading: Jer 23:1-6
Second Reading: Eph 2:13-18
Gospel Reading: Mk 6:30-34
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” God says in this Sunday’s First Reading.
“It is you who have scattered my flock and have driven them away.” He promises to “raise up shepherds” so that his people “shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing.”
The image of shepherding occurs throughout the Bible, as in the Gospel Acclamation and Reading. However, it has two parts. One is the image of a loving shepherd searching for lost sheep and leading them to fresh green pastures, as in this Sunday’s Psalm. The other is the image of sheep scattering or following a hireling who does not have their true interests at heart. The first is a beautiful image of Christ, the second an unattractive image of ourselves.
Sheep are silly animals. On their own, they cannot see what is best for them. Without shepherds, they scatter, following anyone who will lead them, even into danger.
We must accept that image, for Jesus himself used it. Before his Ascension, he told St. Peter three times to feed his lambs and his sheep. St. Peter himself wrote to the first Christians: “At one time you were straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd, the guardian of your souls.”
Today, the shepherds who lead us aright are Pope Francis, the successor of Peter in Rome; the bishops in union with him, also successors of the apostles; and the priests and deacons who share their duties. Paramount among these duties is the celebration of the Eucharist, St. John Paul II said in his encyclical Ecclesia De Eucharistia.
“The Eucharistic sacrifice is the source and summit of the Christian life, for the most holy Eucharist contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth: Christ himself, our passover and living bread. Through his own flesh, now made living and life-giving by the Holy Spirit, he offers life to men. Consequently, the gaze of the Church is constantly turned to her Lord, present in the sacrament of the altar, in which she discovers the full manifestation of his boundless love.”
Only by drinking Christ’s Blood are we “who once were far off” brought into God’s “bloodline,” his family, as we hear in the Second Reading. Christ is “our peace.” It is only by eating his flesh that we become one, breaking down all hostility.
The Eucharist is “likewise the centre and summit of priestly ministry.” It is not only “the principal and central raison d’être of the sacrament of priesthood,” but also “the source of the strength a priest needs to live a priestly life.
“Priests are engaged in a wide variety of pastoral activities. If we also consider the social and cultural conditions of the modern world, it is easy to understand how priests face the very real risk of losing their focus amid such a great number of different tasks.”
Look at the apostles in this Sunday’s Gospel Reading. “Many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” Accordingly, Christ summoned them: “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest for a while.”
The bond which unifies a priest’s life and work is “pastoral charity” (“shepherd-like love”). This love “flows mainly from the eucharistic sacrifice, which is therefore the centre and root of the whole priestly life.” Therefore, it is important, “for the spiritual life of the priest as well as for the good of the Church and the world, that priests follow the Council’s recommendation to celebrate the Eucharist daily.” Even if no one else is present, “it is an act of Christ and the Church.”
May we priests make this Sunday’s Entrance Antiphon our own: “God himself is my help. The Lord upholds my life. I will offer you a willing sacrifice; I will praise your name, O Lord, for its goodness.”
Father Hawkswell's course, “The Catholic Faith in Plain English,” has now ended, but all the materials (video and print) will remain available online free of charge at beholdvancouver.org/catholic-faith-course until the end of August.