When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matt 9:36)
Do you struggle with feeling alone in your faith? Have you gotten despondent, angry, depressed or tempted to despair due to issues in the Church? Know that you are not alone, and there is an answer to this issue - but it is not what you think!
Too often we Catholics will make comments about how the priests and bishops are "weak" or not doing their jobs being courageous leaders, then just leave it at that, feeling we have fulfilled our duty. But what does this accomplish? Does complaining about things fix them? or does it make you feel complacent because you have recognised the issue and now it is up to "someone else" to fix it.
As Catholics do we pray for the Bishops and Priests? Do we try to support them spiritually and emotionally? Do we thank them for being Jesus' presence among us as they accompany us in our spiritual life?
Another question I would also like to challenge you with... Do we fraternally correct them when they fail to minister to us as they were ordained to do?
As baptised Catholic Christians, we have rights in the Church that are outlined in Canon Law. It is our right by virtue of our baptism to be able to receive the Sacraments of the Church and to be taught the Word of God - it is important to remember this.
§2. The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.
§3. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.
Can. 213 The Christian faithful have the right to receive assistance from the sacred pastors out of the spiritual goods of the Church, especially the word of God and the sacraments.
When clergy preach heresy, or when they give homilies that do not break open the Word of God for us and lead us into the Mystery of the Mass - they are committing spiritual abuse. Pure and simple! This is the most common example of clericalism. The clergy are meant to feed us from the Table of the Word and the Table of the Altar - with the Word of God, and then the Word made flesh in the Eucharist. When those in positions of power and authority neglect their responsibility to feed the sheep, they will be accountable on Judgement Day (Luke 12:48).
In 1 Corinthinians 4:5, St Paul forcefully explains that he is not preaching about himself, but about Jesus Chrtist, and later on in the same letter he says "woe to me if I do not preach the gospel" (1Corinthians 9:16t). This means that preaching is handing on the Deposit of Faith, sharing and announcing the Good News of Salvation (CCC #3) - this is uniquely accomplished during the homily in the Liturgy of the Mass. This means that the homily itself is a sacred action because it is part of the Liturgy itself according to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM).
The homily then is sacred, it is the teaching moment of explaining the Word of God, announcing the Gospel to the People of God according to their particular lived circumstances, preparing them to enter into the mystery of the Liturgy so they can unite themselves in the Sacrifice of the Eucharist. So that united with Christ in the Eucharist, they can be immersed in communion with God and with eachother in the Communion of Saints as the Mystical Body of Christ, strengthened by grace and transformed to go out to their day to day lives proclaiming the Gospel to all (CCC #1419)
As Pope Francis has rightly pointed out in his Apostolic Exhortation Evengelii Gaudium:
paragraph 137 "The homily has special importance due to its eucharistic context: it surpasses all forms of catechesis as the supreme moment in the dialogue between God and his people which lead up to sacramental communion. The homily takes up once more the dialogue which the Lord has already established with his people"
paragraph138 "When preaching takes place within the context of the liturgy, it is part of the offering made to the Father and a mediation of the grace which Christ pours out during the celebration. This context demands that preaching should guide the assembly, and the preacher, to a life-changing communion with Christ in the Eucharist. This means that .the words of the preacher must be measured, so that the Lord, more than his minister, will be the centre of attention"
Paragraph 144 "To speak from the heart means that our hearts must not just be on fire, but also enlightened by the fullness of revelation and by the path travelled by God’s word in the heart of the Church and our faithful people throughout history. This Christian identity, as the baptismal embrace which the Father gave us when we were little ones, makes us desire, as prodigal children – and favourite children in Mary – yet another embrace, that of the merciful Father who awaits us in glory. Helping our people to feel that they live in the midst of these two embraces is the difficult but beautiful task of one who preaches the Gospel"
The clergy have the duty to preach the Word of God, not their own opinions. They only have the authority to speak in the name of the Church when upholding the Magisterium, but their personal opinions are just that - their own opinions, not the teaching of the Church. This means that we faithful have the right to be taught what the Church believes, and we have the right to have the Word of God authentically explained to us so we can learn how to grow in faith, in holiness and union with God:
Can. 760 The mystery of Christ is to be set forth completely and faithfully in the ministry of the word, which must be based upon sacred scripture, tradition, liturgy, the magisterium, and the life of the Church.
Can. 768 §1. Those who proclaim the divine word are to propose first of all to the Christian faithful those things which one must believe and do for the glory of God and the salvation of humanity.
They were ordained to serve the People of God, to feed us spiritually and shepherd us in imitation of the One True Good Shepherd (CCC#896). The are not ordained for their own ego or for themselves, they have been ordained for service - consecrated through the Sacrament of Holy Orders to serve and minister to the People God, the Church - all the baptised faithful, you and I. They serve God through serving the People of God. This is the whole point of Holy Orders, it's charism is founded specifically on and for service, in imitating Jesus Christ Himself, as the Catechism clearly outlines:
876 Intrinsically linked to the sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry is its character as service. Entirely dependent on Christ who gives mission and authority, ministers are truly "slaves of Christ," in the image of him who freely took "the form of a slave" for us. Because the word and grace of which they are ministers are not their own, but are given to them by Christ for the sake of others, they must freely become the slaves of all.
As our fathers in Christ, who represent the Good Shepherd, they have been entrusted with ministering to us. This was outlined in the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church Lumen Gentium, paragraph #20: "Bishops, therefore, with their helpers, the priests and deacons, have taken up the service of the community, presiding in place of God over the flock, whose shepherds they are, as teachers for doctrine, priests for sacred worship, and ministers for governing". However sometimes we have also forgotten the Catholic teaching on the rights and duties of the laity which is founded on our Common Baptismal Priesthood of the Faithful. This is what I would like to explore with you in this manifesto of the harvest of holiness for the lost sheep.
It is often well known and quoted about Vatican II emphasising the Universal Call to Holiness for all the faithful, as well as reaffirming the perennial doctrine of the Baptismal Priesthood or also known as the Common Priesthood of the Faithful. Due to the reaction from post Reformation Catholicism, this last doctrine has been seen as suspicious to many Catholics. People worry that it feels/sounds too Protestant, that is seeks to undermine the Ministerial Priesthood (hierarchy, clerics). However the Church has always taught that clergy only have their authority, their ministry and their sacramental power by virtue of their baptism and subsequent Sacrament of Holy Orders. Without baptism, you cannot be a Catholic Christian, and only someone who is a Baptised Catholic male can be ordained as a Priest (CCC #1598).
The Church teaches that all baptised Catholics constitute the People of God (Code of Canon Law Can. 204 para 1; Cf. LG 3). The People of God all share in unity with Jesus Christ the Head of the Church, and so together with Him they share in His Royal Priesthood. This fulfills the prophecy God gave to the Israelites in Exodus 19:6, and reaffirmed multiple times in the New Testatament (John 4:23, 1Peter, 2:5, 1Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6, Revelation 5:10). So all of us share in the dignity of being the People of God - the Church. We are the Church! This is explicitly taught in the Catechism paragraph 899
"in particular [the laity] ought to have an ever-clearer consciousness not only of belonging to the Church, but of being the Church, that is to say, the community of the faithful on earth under the leadership of the Pope, the common Head, and of the bishops in communion with him. They are the Church."
So if all of us baptised faithful are the Church, this also means the Church is ours. The Church does not belong to the hierarchy, they are entrusted with governing the Church through service in imitation of Christ. This does not mean they have the right to change things, or teach things contrary to the Gospel or the Deposit of Faith. The living Magisterium of the Church ensures that the Bishops and clergy in union with them serve the People of God by keeping the of the faith handed on by the Apostles (CCC #899). This is a pastoral duty as outlined in the Catechism:
It is this Magisterium's task to preserve God's people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error. Thus, the pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed at seeing to it that the People of God abides in the truth that liberates.
The Truth of the Gospel has power, it liberates - it sets us free (John 8:31). The Gospel belongs to all people, even those who have not been saved. All of us baptised who have been reborn in water and Spirit have the obligation and duty to share the Gospel with all people. It is not the exclusive role of the clergy. The ministerial priesthood implies that the clergy minister as priests within the community of believers, the Church. But outside of the Church, out in the world, in the secular sphere - that is where we as Christians exercise our Common Baptismal Priesthood to bring the Gospel to others. United to Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit we offer to the Father our struggles, worries and problems of daily life, praying at all times for others so that our very lives become a living sacrifice acceptable to the Father. This is the meaning of living the Gospel. Our personal encounter with Christ, begun in baptism and living a life of grace will transform our life so that we are no longer of the world yet we still live in the world (John 15:19).
Now that you understand your dignity as a Catholic, your duty as a Christian which flows from all the graces entrusted to the Church - how can you remain complacent?
Your Confirmation empowered you through being sealed with the Holy Spirit so that you can now live a life for Christ (Galatians 2:20). The sacraments are direct means of grace for us in the spiritual life, they have divine power. So as a Catholic when you feel helpless about issues in the world and the Church, you need to remember that God Himself is with you (Romans 8:31). With God on your side, there is no longer any place for fear - ."For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control" (2 Timothy 1: 6-7)
This gift that St Paul refers to is our faith, the Deposit of Faith handed on by the Apostles which is the Good news of the Gospel. This faith is also the theological virtue of faith given to us in baptism, and reinforced at Confirmation. The anointing we receive at Confirmation is the seal of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:12, 4:30), giving us power to live out our baptismal consecration and exercise our Baptismal Priesthood as outlined in the Catechism.
1304... Confirmation is given only once, for it too imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the "character," which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high so that he may be his witness.119
1305 This "character" perfects the common priesthood of the faithful, received in Baptism, and "the confirmed person receives the power to profess faith in Christ publicly and as it were officially (quasi ex officio)."120
As someone loved by the Father, chosen and saved by the Son, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be a Royal Priest in the Catholic Church to which you belong - how can you sit back passively while your brothers and sisters in the faith suffer?
As the Body of Christ we are all united to eachother, so when one of us prays and receives grace - we all benefit from it. But the inverse is also true, when other members of the Body are in sin, or even worse - preaching error as they claim to be sheep but are actually sheep in wolves clothing (Matthew 7:15), then all of us suffer.
This tribulation in the Church has always been an issue since the beginning. Everytime there was a crisis in the Church throughout history, the Holy Spirit as the Lord and Giver of Life, has always stirred up faithful Catholics to renew and reform the Church. Many of the great Saints in the history of the Church were lay people, even if they were religious brothers and sisters (monks, nuns, friars, sisters) according to Church teaching they are still part of laity. They were only able to be great saints, martyrs for the faith and bring renewal to the Church through entering into the depths of their baptismal consecration and empowered by the Holy Spirit were able to exercised their Common Baptismal Priesthood for the benefit of us all.
The Saints did not try to replace the hierarchy of the Church or usurp their legitimate authority entrusted to them by Jesus. They instead, grew in holiness and virtue through prayer, sacrifice, and penance by witnessing to the power of the Gospel to transform their life which inspired others. This overflow of graces is what happens when we have the love of God poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit gives us power to be witnesses to the world, but also within the Church.
So as sheep in the fold of the Church, when we see our fellow sheep suffering and being attacked by wolves because our shepherds fail in their duty entrusted to them by Jesus, or even worse flee from responsibilities (John 10:13) - will you sit there and be attacked?
Will you watch others getting attacked and killed while watching helplessly? or will you rise up (Philippians 2:13) and protect yourself? Will you have the courage to protect others and through your example, inspire others to also rise up?
Let us find encouragement from Pope Francis himself in Evangelii Gaudium regarding how we need to approach the current crisis of faith in the Church
If something should rightly disturb us and trouble our consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without the strength, light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to support them, without meaning and a goal in life. More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: “Give them something to eat” (Mk 6:37).
Many Catholics are spiritually starving and dying, while we sit back and watch without helping. But how are we to help our fellow Catholics? The more we help them to understand the power of their Baptismal Priesthood, the deeper they can grow in faith through prayer and the sacraments - then we all benefit. We will experience the New Pentecost that the Popes have been talking about for years.
At Pentecost the Apostles were transformed from scared people who had previously abandoned and denied Jesus - to now having the boldness to proclaim Christ from the rooftops. Through their preaching, the Church began to grow - all the Church, not just clergy members. So too it should be with us - through the Holy Spirit, the more we can help our fellow Catholics to be bold in the faith, to grow in holiness, to be saints and exercise their Baptismal Priesthood in the world - the more courage we will also have to hold our shepherds accountable for not feeding us as their were commissioned to do.
The Saints, by their very existence were a sign of contradiction ( Luke 2:34, Acts 28:22) to the world and also others in the Church - including the hierarchy. Think of St Francis of Assisi, St Catherine of Sienna, St Isisdore Bakanja, St Charles Lwanga, Sts Francisco & Jacinta, St Tarcisius, Sts Perpetua & Felicity. Their very life and struggles were a preaching to all of the importance of fidelity to Christ whilst being a reproach to others. They inspired many during their time on earth, and they still continue to inspire us all today. Through the Communion of Saints, we are still connected to them in the Mystical Body of Christ and the unity of the Holy Spirit. They call out to us today to pray for our shepherds, to hold them accountable when they fail in their sacred duty, to respectfully reproach them out of love of the truth.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ (Ephesians 4:15)
Jesus calls you to be faithful and persevere to the end (Matthew 24:13), He calls you to holiness and union with Him every day - every moment your heart beats. As the Church prays in the Invitatory Psalms every morning "if today you hear his voice harden not your hearts" (Psalm 94:8 LXX) - the letter of the Hebrews explains that this "today" is right now (Hebrews 3:15). So every moment that you listen to God and hear Him, it is a moment of conversion, a time to turn back to him with all your heart, a time to respond to His call.
Jesus is calling of us today, here and now to respond to His call of intimacy with the Trinity through relationship with Him. He stands at the door of our heart and knocks (Revelation 3:20) asking us to commune with Him. This encounter with Jesus is what Pope Francis has called us all to rediscover in Evengelii Gaudium :
I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”.[1] The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms.
This call to encounter with Jesus gives us peace and joy that nothing else can give (John 14:27). This is also the Universal Call to Holiness so often mentioned in Church Documents. I believe that we are now entering into a time in the history of the Church where the Holy Spirit is calling us to a new holiness, raising up new saints for this generation - calling you and I to be saints of the new millenium as Pope St John Paul II said.
This is the period of the New Pentecost that the Popes have spoken about repeatedly for years, this spingtime of holiness in the Church for renewal. The Holy Spirit is the one who will bring about renewal, gently but powerfully calling us all to mission in the Church and the world. The Holy Spirit is the one who enables and empowers us with grace to do the righteous deeds of the saints (Reveleation 19:8) that will bring in the harvest of holiness.
Catechism paragraph 39 "Because the Holy Spirit is the anointing of Christ, it is Christ who, as the head of the Body, pours out the Spirit among his members to nourish, heal, and organize them in their mutual functions, to give them life, send them to bear witness, and associate them to his self-offering to the Father and to his intercession for the whole world. Through the Church's sacraments, Christ communicates his Holy and sanctifying Spirit to the members of his Body."
Only through an encounter of the beauty of Christ and personal union with Him can we learn the beauty of holiness (Psalm 96:9), and as Pope Benedict used to say that we are called to evanglise through the beauty of our encounter with Christ. This is the New Evangelisation that the Popes have often repeated, we are called to encounter the Good News of the Gospel in our life everyday and share this rediscovery with others. One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy (Galatians 5:22), and Pope Francis beautifully links the Gospel, an encounter with Jesus and joy in Evangelii Gaudium:
The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew
We know that Jesus is on our side, and he has already won the Victory. So why are we afraid, like sheep without a shepherd? Now is not the time to fall into despair or bitterness.
As the sheep of the flock, we know how to recognise the voice of the Lord (John 10:27-30). This is the way the Holy Spirit protects us and guides us into the truth (John 14:26). As the Catechism explains in paragraph 152"One cannot believe in Jesus Christ without sharing in his Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals to men who Jesus is. For "no one can say "Jesus is Lord", except by the Holy Spirit",22 who "searches everything, even the depths of God. No one comprehends the thoughts of God, except the Spirit of God."23
This ability to recognise or sense the faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is what the Church calls the Sensum Fidelium. Pope Francis again in Evangelii Gaudium discusses this as follows:
In all the baptized, from first to last, the sanctifying power of the Spirit is at work, impelling us to evangelization. The people of God is holy thanks to this anointing, which makes it infallible in credendo. This means that it does not err in faith, even though it may not find words to explain that faith. The Spirit guides it in truth and leads it to salvation.[96] As part of his mysterious love for humanity, God furnishes the totality of the faithful with an instinct of faith – sensus fidei – which helps them to discern what is truly of God. The presence of the Spirit gives Christians a certain connaturality with divine realities, and a wisdom which enables them to grasp those realities intuitively, even when they lack the wherewithal to give them precise expression.
This is also taught and explained in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, article 12:
The holy people of God shares also in Christ's prophetic office; it spreads abroad a living witness to Him, especially by means of a life of faith and charity and by offering to God a sacrifice of praise, the tribute of lips which give praise to His name. The entire body of the faithful, anointed as they are by the Holy One, cannot err in matters of belief. They manifest this special property by means of the whole peoples' supernatural discernment in matters of faith when "from the Bishops down to the last of the lay faithful" they show universal agreement in matters of faith and morals. That discernment in matters of faith is aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth. It is exercised under the guidance of the sacred teaching authority, in faithful and respectful obedience to which the people of God accepts that which is not just the word of men but truly the word of God. Through it, the people of God adheres unwaveringly to the faith given once and for all to the saints, penetrates it more deeply with right thinking, and applies it more fully in its life.
Now you know that when you hear certain teachings from priests or homilies that don't sound or feel right, that something is "off" but you are not able to explain why - it is the Holy Spirit working in you,- helping you to discern through the Sensum Fidelium! Now you are able to see that this is dogmatically taught by the Magisterium of the Church and also by the Pope. This knowledge of having a charism of "spiritual intuition" by virtue of the faith you received in baptism should give you hope, and help encourage you in your struggles to stand strong against the winds of false doctrines that try to pressure you or wear you down (2 Peter 2:1, Jude 4).
Now is the time to stand firm in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13) and to build up the Church, encouraging eachother (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Now is the time we can strive for the victorious crown if we remain faithful during this time of trial and tribulation in the history of the Church (2 Peter 3:14, Hebrews 3:14, Revelation 2:10). We are in a period of testing, purifcation and sanctification in the Church, this involves the entire People of God - not just the clergy.
It is time for all of us to understand our calling in Christ, learn to exercise and live our Baptismal Royal Priesthood which empowers us by the Holy Spirit to grow in holiness, fight sin and the devil, as well as mutually support eachother (Jude 1:10, Ephesians 4:12) for the building up of the Church. This requires each of us - clergy and lay, married, single, religious and clergy - each and every member to work together for the common good - the salvation of our souls and the world.
Every member is responsible for the Church, not just the clergy. It is time we realise that this is a subtle but dangerous form of clericalism which we must throw off, if we are to grow into the fullness of life that Christ has called us to:
And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head. From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part. (Ephesians 4:14-16 )
There are many movements and currents within the Church of laypeople taking their faith seriously, living our their Baptismal Consecration and Priesthood. We can think of individuals like Dr Scott Hahn who has done more work as a layman in the Church than most priests. There are other movements building up the faith from the grassroots such as Legion or Mary, Christus Rex pilgrimages, Militia Immaculata, Apostoli Viae, the Charismatic Movement and many others that I am sure I do not even know about. The Holy Spirit is always at work in the background, gently moving things into place, working in people's hearts, sanctifying them and equipping them with the virtue of fortitude. This is something that I have come to sense and feel very strongly about over the last week through prayer and my interactions with other people, I have been able to sense the Holy Spirit at work in ways I would not have thought of before.
The upcoming synodal process has made many people uneasy - they feel their Sensus Fidelium being triggered. But at the same time, this is a wonderful opportunity for all of us together, as the People of God to bring renewal to the Church and encourage eachother that God is in our midst!
The Kingdom of God is within us and in the Church. The more we are open to the Holy Spirit, He will heal divisions and hurt in the Church, unite factions, and bring us to the unity of faith. This is a clarion call for unity. We need to move beyond the bickering and infighting, to realise that this is exactly what the devil wants as it stops us from witnessing the Gospel to the world.
We need to move beyond Left vs Right, Trad vs Liberal, Radtrad vs Neocon, Pre Vatican 2 vs Post Vatican 2. A Kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:24). We need to move beyond labels and false identities that cause division in the Church, and instead strive for unity in thought (1 Corinthians 1:10), unity of faith (Ephesians 4:13) so as to have the unity Jesus desires for us from His own intimacy with the Father (John 17:23). All of us through our Baptism have a place in the Church, this is our Divine Right given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
The Holy Spirit brings unity, it is the devil who sows division, despair and hate. We are people of hope, filled with the love of God and knowledge of salvation. It is time we all stand together firm in faith, to resist error, and support eachother in the fight for the Gospel and the Church (John 1:4-6). Jesus gave up his life for the Church, for us - now we are called to live a new life with Him and for Him, to bring His Bride to His Wedding Feast.
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. (Revelation 19: 7-8)
