ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Your Eminence, Cardinal Bevilacqua,
Dear brother Bishops: Martin, Louis, Robert and Michael,
Dear brother Priests who serve with generosity and sacrifice the faithful of the
        Archdiocese of Philadelphia,
Dear Seminarians,
Dear young people,
Dear friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,

            In union with our Holy Father Pope John Paul II and all the priests of the world, we give thanks to God for gathering us together on this Holy Thursday, when the Church proclaims Jesus Christ as the great High Priest anointed by the Holy Spirit.

            Today we celebrate the gift and mystery of the priesthood. We celebrate Jesus Christ as He Himself is anointed Priest of the New Covenant and as He shares the priesthood with those whom He has personally chosen. This is the day on which the faith of the Church shows the relationship of the priesthood to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist to the priesthood. This is the day on which we express support and love for all the priests who carry forward their daily dedicated pastoral care of God s people.

            I would like this morning to extend a special greeting to all you students who have come here from so many parishes to be with your Bishop and your priests on this special day: the day when Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist and the priesthood; the day when He gave priests the power to offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice, to celebrate Mass.

            This wonderful feast is the day when the Bishop comes together with his priests, as a united presbyterate, to celebrate the Eucharist. Today the Bishop blesses the oils that are used in administering four of the sacraments of the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, the Anointing of the Sick and Holy Orders. Your presence here this morning, dear young people, is very important.

            And all of you, dear people of God, by your participation show your faith in the Church, in the priesthood and in the Eucharist. You have also come here in order to show your support for your priests. You are all very much aware that, despite the weaknesses and sins of individuals, the Church, which is the Body of Christ, is strong in faith and love. Our hope is in the living God. We believe in the power of the death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive sins, to renew hearts and to bring us all to ever deeper conversion in our lives.

            This morning I would like to speak especially to my brother priests. At this time in the life of the Church we are conscious of many problems in society and of many challenges in the priesthood. All of us have been affected by the actions of some brother priests who have seriously compromised their priesthood and inflicted harm on others. We continue to grieve for those whom they have harmed and for all who have suffered through their infidelity. We also share the suffering of those who have been falsely accused. We know that Jesus our High Priest takes on the sins of all of us and offers forgiveness and mercy to the world. As ministers of reconciliation we know how much the world - ourselves included constantly needs repentance, pardon, penance, vigilance, and new life. As a presbyterate we are here in the sight of God and in the presence of our people to renew our total commitment to sacred celibacy and faithful service in integrity of life.

            Even as we acknowledge the scandal that has touched our ranks, we are confident in the overpowering grace of Jesus Christ. We feel solidarity with thousands of our brother priests throughout the United States, and so many more throughout the world, the vast majority of whom are described by our Holy Father Pope John Paul II as those priests who perform their ministry with honesty and integrity and often with heroic self-sacrifice. Pope John Paul II goes on to say: As the Church shows her concern for the victims and strives to respond in truth and justice to each of these painful situations, all of us - conscious of human weakness, but trusting in the healing power of divine grace - are called to embrace the mystery of the Cross and to commit ourselves more fully to the search for holiness. We are indeed called by God, dear brother Priests, to be part of a wholehearted reawakening to those ideals of total self-giving to Christ which are the foundation of our priestly ministry.

            The Holy Father goes on to say: It is precisely our faith in Christ which gives us the strength to look trustingly to the future. We know that ... man will be able to radiate peace and love to those around him only if he meets Christ and allows himself to be overtaken by him. As ministers of the Eucharist and of sacramental Reconciliation, we in particular have the task of communicating hope, goodness and peace to the world.

            It is my conviction, that you, dear brothers, are in the vanguard of this search for holiness and this rededication to the ideals of total self-giving to Christ in integrity of priestly life and ministry. And what strength and joy you find in this!

            As a bishop, I have heard the resolve of numerous brother priests to be who they are called to be: generous and self-sacrificing, chaste and truthful ministers of the Gospel and servants of the People of God, ready to respond, day and night, to the pastoral needs of the community.

            Dear brother priests: this is the day for all of us to experience, once again and together the joy of our ordination. This is the day for the Church to pray in a special way for vocations to the priesthood, knowing that they have their origin and support in the power of Christ s Paschal Mystery. These vocations are deeply fostered by the witness of your priestly fidelity and joy. This is the day for all priests to experience the joy of a special relationship with Christ and therefore with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We are also called to experience the joy of spiritual paternity in the Church; to express gratitude for the sentiments of our people, for the love they have for priests, for the love of this congregation, for the love of your parishioners and for all the gratitude and trust that the people of this Archdiocese of Philadelphia constantly show to you their priests. It is the moment to realize the esteem of the faithful for the celibacy that we have promised and that we freely, and with determination, renew today. It is the occasion to express fraternity among ourselves in the presbyterate as we continue to offer our lives to serve our brothers and sisters in need, and as we hear the words of St. Paul, telling us: Bear one another s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).

            It is because of the priesthood that the Church possesses the Mass, Viaticum, reservation of the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic adoration and all the Sacraments. Through the priesthood every vocation is sustained in the Church. Christian marriage and the Christian family are a special object of the daily pastoral care that you as priests give to the faithful. Today the Church wants you, dear brother Priests, to realize and to acknowledge with humility and thanksgiving how important you are in God s plan of salvation. Today Christ Himself thanks you for sharing with Him, faithfully and perseveringly, the burdens of His Gospel. We remember those brothers of ours who cannot be here today and who bear patiently the heavy weight of pain, sickness and suffering. We are close to them in prayer and with fraternal affection.

             And how grateful we are to the people of God here and in our parishes, for their trust and love and support. We renew our commitment to them because we renew our commitment to Jesus Christ and to the mission of His Church. We are strong not because we have no weaknesses or sins but because Jesus Christ died for us, and in the Eucharist His body and blood are offered to the Father so that sins may be forgiven.

             Dear brother priests: the people of God count of your love, your pastoral service, and your fidelity to the end. Jesus Himself has chosen you to serve the rest. You have been anointed to proclaim the Gospel to the poor and to the whole world. Rejoice! Be strong! Be faithful! You are not alone! Mary, the Mother of Jesus is close to you at all times with her maternal love. The prayer of Christ s Church sustains you. The People of God are with you! And Jesus Himself continues to ask you - by your love and the gift of your lives to sustain one another and all your brothers and sisters in the Church. Amen.