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I wonder if someone of you can help me to see whether there might be a connection between something I read about at Off the Record and these words of St. Gregory the Great. This exemplar pontificum said:
Sunt enim nonnulli qui dum plus terrenam substantiam quam oves diligunt, merito nomen pastoris perdunt: non enim pastor, sed mercenarius vocatur qui non pro amore intimo oves dominicas, sed ad temporales mercedes pascit. Mercenarius quippe est qui pastoris locum tenet, sed lucrum animarum non quaerit, terrenis commodis inhiat, honore praelationis gaudet.
For there are not a few who, while they love worldy fortune more than the sheep, rightly lose the name of “pastor”: for he is not called a pastor but an employee who shepherds the Lord’s sheep, not on account of a deep love, but to gain temporal reward. Indeed the employee holds the place of a pastor, but he does not seek the profit of souls, but longs for worldy conveniences and delights in the honor of preferrment.
From the Off the Record blog:
The journalists go on to report that most priests [in England and Wales], including the heterodox, gave Pope Benedict a high rating on his first year (scoring him 8.9 on a 1-to-10 scale) and quote a respondent who, unconvincingly, chalks it up to careerism:
“We are such creeps,” said one clergyman before giving the Pope a nine. “We’re all thinking of our careers.”
Sorry, pal, if you think an anonymous poll on the pope counts more toward promotion than a publicly permissive stance on condoms, you’ve got it backwards. The two most successful clerical careers in Britain are those of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and Dominican Timothy Radcliffe.
And St. Augustine adds this interesting note:
Nec enim mercenarius diceretur, nisi acciperet a conducente mercedem. Filii aeternam hereditatem patris patienter expectant, mercenarius temporalem mercedem conducentis festinanter exoptat; et tamen per linguas utrorumque divina Christi gloria diffamatur. Inde ergo laedit unde mala facit, non unde bona dicit: botrum carpe, spinam cave: quia botrus aliquando de radice vitis exortus, pendet in spinis: multi quippe in Ecclesia commoda terrena sectantes, Christum praedicant, et per eos vox Christi auditur; et sequuntur oves, non mercenarium, sed vocem pastoris per mercenarium.
For he ought not be called a “hireling” unless he has accepted a wage from the employer. The sons of the Father patiently await an eternal inheritance, the hireling desires a temporal wage from the employer and speedily; nevertheless, the divine glory of Christ is spread abroad through the tongues of both. Accordingly, the hireling wounds when he does evil, not when he speaks good: pluck the fruit, avoid the thorn; sometimes when the fruit grows from the root of the vine, it hangs among thorns: many in the Church, to be sure, while pursuing worldly goods, preach Christ, and through them the voice of Christ is heard; and the sheep follow, not the hireling, but the voice of the shepherd through the hireling.
St. Louis-Marie de Montfort,
Pope St. Pius X,
St. Joseph,
St. Ambrose of Milan,
St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Francis (and St. Clare),
St. Catherine of Siena,
St. Alphonsus Ligouri,
St. John Chrysostom,
This is a particularly sensitive subject for me because I have observed an increasing number of ‘hirelings’ in the Church. There is also an abundance of religious who act like hirelings.
The day I was prepared to offer my domestic services to a certain religious community on a occasional basis I was horrified to find that I must be on the payroll in order to do so. There was no such thing as donating my time and effort there.
I remember sitting uncomfortably with my SS card in hand and giving my tax information in order to qualify to help. There I was joining the crowd of creepy laypeople who draw paychecks from the Church.
Since then I joyously work in the best way I can and humbly receive pay which I continously pour back into places it is most apparently needed.
There are still lines of demarcation between hirelings and religious in some Catholic religious communities. At the community I work for there are religious and hirelings and no psuedo religious gaining worldly goods and acclaim.
At any rate I think St. Augustine is right on when he says”sometimes when the fruit grows from the root of the vine, it hangs among thorns: many in the Church, to be sure, while pursuing worldly goods, preach Christ, and through them the voice of Christ is heard; and the sheep follow, not the hireling, but the voice of the shepherd through the hireling.”
If I am the fruit among the thorns then so be it. I will do what I must even if it means rendering my SS number and receiving a paycheck. Where my heart is on this matter only God really knows.
I am certain though that when it comes to religious life there should be no volleying for worldly advancements. That WOULD be plain old creepy. And even with all the creepiness around God’s voice will always be heard. For that we can be certain of.
Anon,
You are obviously one of the good ones among a sea of lay do-gooders in the Church.
I hate to be accused of misogyny again, but at least your doing a job that fits your station. Likewise lay men, if they *must* help out, should be taking care of the grounds and doing repairs and such.
Instead we have paid church mice laity making felt banners, as DREs, and all the other stupid lay functions.
Recently, I was assisting at a local novus ordo parish, doing some heavy lifting and moving of stuff as they prepared for Holy Thursday.
The priest wanted to see the “whole effect” of the special altar of repose that we had just set up, so the monstrance was brought out (adoration would take place at the altar of repose throughout the night). To my amazement the Blessed Sacrament was inside the monstrance as the DRE casually carried it in and placed it on the altar. Then the priest and DRE carried on about the aesthetics of the “worship space” for several minutes as Our Lord, exposed, was present at this altar.
Anywho, all these DREs should be fired. Every last one of them. Even the orthodox ones. There are plenty of young faithful religious coming up nowadays. Give them the positions. Send the lay-ladies home to make babies or bake goodies for the priests (if the ladies are past child-bearing age).
Please note typo: shepherd is spelled with an e, not an a.
Joe six pack,
I don’t mind laywomen making and taking care of babies or baking goodies. What I do mind is answering to a subset of lay hirelings ( both men and women) whose hour of labor isn’t worth a dime from the collection basket.
This new subset now calls themselves lay ecclesial ministers - coworkers in the Lord’s vineyard. http://www.usccb.org/laity/laymin/index.shtml
And today, being the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, I thought of adding this to the conversation!
MAY 1
SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER
Colossians 3:14-15, 17, 23-24
Psalm 89:2, 3-4, 12-13, 14 and 16 (R. 17c)
Matthew 13:54-58
May 1, 2006
Monastery of the Glorious Cross, O.S.B.
Branford, Connecticut
Saint Joseph in May
The month of May begins with a feast of Saint Joseph. It is significant that the commemoration of Saint Joseph both precedes and follows the heart of the whole liturgical year: the glorious Pasch of the Lord. We celebrated Saint Joseph on March 19th; he returns to us again today. Saint Joseph is never far from the Blessed Virgin Mary, his immaculate spouse and, yes, his best friend, the friend of his heart, the love of his life, the unfailing cause of his joy in the midst of anxieties, hardship, and sorrow. Saint Joseph participated intimately in all those sorrows of hers that announced and prefigured the mysteries of Christ’s passion, death, and burial: the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the disappearance of the boy Jesus in Jerusalem. If you would empathize with the Heart of Mary, go to Joseph.
Yesterday, in his Angelus address, Pope Benedict XVI explained the link between Paschaltide and the popular dedication of the month of May to the Blessed Virgin. The Holy Father said this:
“In the days which followed the Lord’s resurrection, the Apostles remained amongst themselves, comforted by the presence of Mary, and after the Ascension they persevered together with her in prayer awaiting Pentecost. Our Lady was for them mother and teacher, a role she continues to develop for the Christians of every age. Each year in Paschaltide, we relive most intensely this experience and maybe for this reason the popular tradition has consecrated to Mary the month of May, which normally falls between Easter and Pentecost. This month . . . is useful for us to rediscover the maternal function which she develops in our lives, that we may always be docile disciples and courageous witnesses of the risen Lord.”
Saint Joseph and the Mystical Body of Christ
Similarly, Paschaltide discloses for us the ongoing role of Saint Joseph in the economy of salvation. During Paschaltide we read the Acts of the Apostles, the continuation of the life of Jesus Christ in His Mystical Body, the Church. In the life of the infant Church, as in the life of the Infant Christ, Saint Joseph is present: vigilant, interceding, protecting the poor, the vulnerable, and the weak. This hidden but very real role of Saint Joseph continues through history.
Joseph, having held in his arms the Body of the Infant Christ, having nourished and protected Him, cannot forsake His Mystical Body, the Church. Even the Protestant theologian Karl Barth was compelled to write: “If I were a Roman Catholic theologian, I would lift Saint Joseph up. He took care of the Child; he takes care of the Church.” Saint Joseph watches over each member of the Mystical Body with the same devotion, the same tenderness, and the same strength with which he watched over the precious members of Our Lord’s Sacred Humanity.
Saint Joseph and Immigrants
Today, in a special way we recommend all immigrants to Saint Joseph. He knows their struggles. He knows their anxieties, their hardships, and the fears. Saint Joseph was, after all, an immigrant in Egypt. He arrived there, in a strange land, with his Virgin Spouse and her Infant Son. He had to find housing, to look for work, to endure the suspicion, the prejudice, and the slights that are the lot of immigrants in every time and place.
Saint Joseph and Priests
We recommend priests to Saint Joseph. The Church, in her wisdom, proposes to her priests two prayers in honour of Saint Joseph each day: one before Holy Mass, and one after. Every priest can find in Saint Joseph a friend, a model, a protector. Saint Joseph stands ready a every moment to introduce priests to a deeper intimacy with his Spouse, the Virgin Mary.
If you want to help priests, entrust them to Saint Joseph. All priests, especially parish priests, are exposed to being criticized and judged. It is a particular form of suffering that accompanies every priest from the day of his first Mass until the day of his last. I believe it was Archbishop Fulton Sheen who said that all priests are lacerated by the tongues of the pious! He knew of what he spoke; his own biography was entitled The Passion of Fulton Sheen. An effective way of countering the sins against charity that wound and discourage all priests is to entrust them to Saint Joseph.
Saint Joseph and Work
We recommend workers and those without work to Saint Joseph. People without meaningful work - be it manual or intellectual - fall more easily into depression. They have no self-esteem. They go from one thing to the next never finding the satisfaction and fulfillment that come from having a responsibility and from a job well done. Today let us not forget those suffering from idleness and unemployment. There is nothing more degrading to a human person. Even the sick and the very old find joy in work, in rendering the little service, in having others count on them for something.
Saint Joseph and the Dying
Finally, we recommend the dying to Saint Joseph. We will all want Saint Joseph near us at the hour of our death. Saint Joseph visits the dying because they are so much like little infants. They are vulnerable, weak, and subject to the attacks of evil spirits. Saint Joseph, exquisitely tender for souls redeemed by the Blood of Christ, is the “terror of demons.” He is the defense of those in the throes of the final combat. If you want to die in the company of Saint Joseph, live in the company of Saint Joseph. Pray to him, seek his company every day.
Saint Joseph is very close to us on this first day of May. Be close to him. He will guide you into the heart of the Mystery. There you will find his beloved Spouse, the Virgin Mary. There you will find the very Body of Christ: His glorious Body made present in the Eucharist, and His Mystical Body, the Church.
Joe Six Pack wrote: “To my amazement the Blessed Sacrament was inside the monstrance as the DRE casually carried it in and placed it on the altar. Then the priest and DRE carried on about the aesthetics of the “worship space” for several minutes as Our Lord, exposed, was present at this altar.”
Amazing? Yes: 1.) because the Sacred Hosts for the “altar of repose” are not consecrated until the Evening Mass of Maundy Thursday, and 2.) because the rubrics explicitly forbid the use of the monstrance for adoration at the “altar of repose.” “The Blessed Sacrament should be reserved in a closed tabernacle or pyx. Under no circumstances may it be exposed in a monstrance” (Congregation for Divine Worship, Circular Letter Concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Paschal Feasts, January 16, 1988, art. 55).
Attention-to-detail to the rubrics notwithstanding, the fact that the Blessed Sacrament was disregarded in this manner was the more important part of the incident.
When the Blessed Sacrament is given such lowly regard, can it be expected that the priest or the laity will give a hoot about your Circular Letter.
Yes, such irreverence to the Blessed Sacrament would indeed be outrageous, if the facts are as you describe them. Where would the Blessed Sacrament have come from on Holy Thursday prior to the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper? There is no consecrated Host available until after Holy Mass. The Roman Missal clearly states that the tabernacle is to be empty before the Evening Mass on Maundy Thursday, i.e. there is no reserved Blessed Sacrament until the Sacred Species consecrated at the Evening Mass are solemnly carrried to the “altar of repose.” (Also, it is not “my” circular letter. It was issued by the Roman Congregation for Divine Worship.)
I didn’t mean any offense by the “my” word.
Won’t it be nice when the laity can cease being liturical cops, no longer needing to study endless documents on rubrictology, and just simply implicity trust their pastors, their shepherds.