The Priest's Sacred Calling: A Reflection on Faith and Vocation

Anthony Aruanna • November 5, 2023

From pastor’s desk on the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A

This Sunday’s readings remind us of the importance of the role of priests, who are supposed to be the men of God. The role of the priest in the Old Testament was to offer a sacrifice on behalf of the people of Israel and to give an example of holy life with God. We hear in the first reading, however, about the priests who were unfaithful and how God rebuked them. God speaks through the prophet
Micah directing this warning to the priests of Jerusalem Temple:

 

“And now, O priests, this commandment is for you: If you do not listen, if you do not lay it to
heart, to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse upon you and of
your blessing I will make a curse.”

 

These are very harsh words directed to those who both, stood before God on behalf of the people and represented God so that people could approach God without fear. The Temple priests had proved to be unworthy of their role and their sin was revealed, for they “ turned aside from the way, and have caused many to falter by [their] instruction. ” In other words, instead of bringing people to faith, they started doing their own business by violating the covenant God had established with the Chosen people on the mount Sinai. Human weakness again prevailed and the priests of the Temple had become a stumbling block to the simple folk. Hence, once more God had claimed what was His: the fate of the people.

Similarly, in the Gospel we hear an echo of the prophet Micah. But this time it is the Lord Jesus Himself, who rebukes the scribes and the Pharisees, who were supposed to help the Chosen People to know the Holy Scriptures and lead them to the deeper understanding of God, and eventually to the recognition of the Messiah. Instead, the scribes and the Pharisees were using their position to rule over people’s hearts and minds while keeping them in the dark. In this case the so-called religious people used their authority either for their own gain or because of their pride. Like the prophet Micah, Jesus is very straightforward while directing His message. Here too, Jesus pinpoints the sin of the scribes and the Pharisees sins: they do their piety as a show-off — “ all their works are performed to be seen.” Consequently, they cannot or do not want to hear Jesus’ message. Hence, the Lord directly warns the people: “ do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. ”

It seems that the things have not changed much since Jesus’ times, for today too many of us, priests or theologians, do not do what God commended us to do. Unfortunately, for too many priests and theologians today, the priesthood or study of theology have become just a career or a lifestyle, not because they wanted to do that from the beginning, but rather because they have neglected their relationship with Jesus and the Blessed Mother. Yes, a lack of deeper relationship with God is the first indicator that a particular priest is on the way to lose his vocation. In my opinion, it is the key to understanding the crisis of the priesthood back in the ancient times and today. Too often we just rely on legality of the religion or we try to intellectualize our faith and mission instead of cultivating deeper ties with the Lord and the Blessed Mother through intense prayer, repentance and ongoing formation.

Since currently there are so few young men entering the seminaries or religious life because the crisis among the priests is too obvious, I ask you, please, unceasingly pray for vocations to the priesthood. Remember that without the priests there will be no sacraments: no baptisms, no confessions, no anointing of the sick, no holy matrimony, no Eucharist, eventually no Church. So, pray also for the priests you know so that we all may be truly the holy men of God. Thank you for your support and prayers.

 

Blessings to all.

 

Fr. Janusz Mocarski, pastor

Mensaje del pastor para la celebración de la Pascua 2025

By Anthony Aruanna • April 14, 2025
Queridos hermanos y hermanas,

Pastor’s message on Easter 2025

By Anthony Aruanna • April 14, 2025
Dear brothers and sisters,

From Pastor’s Desk on the Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” — Our Lord Jesus addresses this question to His disciples trying to tell them that they need to be healed of their spiritual blindness first. In this context blindness is not to believe in Christ and healing means to have faith in Jesus who is the Light of the world. In other words, when we gain our spiritual sight through faith, then we will be able to help others on the way to salvation. Without faith in Jesus we just remain living in the darkness of sin. Without Jesus we are all like blind men bouncing against the walls of reality and against each other. However, when we embrace faith in God in the person of Jesus and let our hearts be set on Christ, then He—the Son of God and Our Lord—becomes our guide. Because of that our every step will be illumined with the light of faith. While putting our faith into action in our daily life we also start bearing good fruits of an authentic and happy life.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el Octavo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“ ¿Puede un ciego guiar a otro ciego? ¿No caerán ambos en un pozo? ” - Nuestro Señor Jesús dirige esta pregunta a sus discípulos tratando de decirles que primero necesitan ser curados de su ceguera espiritual. En este contexto, ceguera significa no creer en Cristo y curación significa tener fe en Jesús, que es la Luz del mundo. En otras palabras, cuando ganemos nuestra vista espiritual a través de la fe, entonces seremos capaces de ayudar a otros en el camino de la salvación. Sin fe en Jesús solo permanecemos viviendo en la oscuridad del pecado. Sin Jesús todos somos como ciegos que rebotan contra las paredes de la realidad y contra los demás. Sin embargo, cuando abrazamos la fe en Dios en la persona de Jesús y dejamos que nuestro corazón se fije en Cristo, entonces Él -el Hijo de Dios y Nuestro Señor- se convierte en nuestro guía. Por eso, cada uno de nuestros pasos estará iluminado por la luz de la fe. Al poner nuestra fe en acción en nuestra vida diaria, también empezamos a dar buenos frutos de una vida auténtica y feliz.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el 5º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • February 6, 2025
A menudo la gente nos pregunta a nosotros, los sacerdotes, qué hacer para profundizar en su vida espiritual. A todos se nos ocurren respuestas diferentes y, ciertamente, hay muchos caminos para una mayor vida espiritual. Hay, sin embargo, un método más probado que ha ayudado a muchos cristianos católicos a estar en la vía rápida de la santidad y a comprender mejor la vida espiritual. Es la consagración total al Corazón Inmaculado de María, o como propuso originalmente San Luis Grignon de Montfort allá por el siglo XVII, la Consagración Total a Jesús por María. Después de San Luis hubo muchos otros que siguieron sus pasos. Entre algunos de los santos más conocidos se encuentran el Papa Pío X, San Maximiliano Kolbe y San Juan Pablo II. Estos santos reconocieron que María desempeñó un papel vital en la vida de la Iglesia primitiva y que la Santísima Madre sigue desempeñando un papel importante en la Iglesia de nuestros tiempos.

From Pastor’s Desk on the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • February 6, 2025
Often people ask us, priests, what to do in order to deepen their spiritual life. We all can come up with different answers and there are certainly many ways to greater spiritual life. There is, however, a more proven method that has helped many Christian Catholics to be on the fast track to holiness and to better understanding of spiritual life. It is the total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as originally proposed by Saint Luis Grignon de Montfort back in the XVII century, the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. After St. Luis there were many others that followed in his footsteps. Among some of the most known saints were Pope Pius X, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. John Paul II. These saints recognized that Mary played a vital role in the life of the early Church and that the Blessed Mother still plays an important role in the Church of our times.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el 2º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
Estoy seguro de que todos estamos atónitos y horrorizados por los incendios forestales del sur de California que afectan ya a cientos de miles de sus habitantes. La velocidad y la ferocidad del fuego sólo demuestran lo frágiles que somos como seres humanos individuales y como humanidad en general. Muchos californianos pueden estar dudando de su fe en estos momentos; muchos se plantearán preguntas: ¿Dónde está Dios? ¿Por qué permite Dios catástrofes tan terribles? Ciertamente, muchos de nosotros nos haríamos las mismas preguntas. Si Dios está detrás o no, no lo sabemos. Sin embargo, sí sabemos que vivimos en un mundo creado que tiene su propio ritmo y ciclos que se dan en la naturaleza. Las cosas suceden con y sin interrupción humana. Algunas cosas las podemos controlar (muy poco, de hecho), y muchas otras no. Lo que sí podemos reconocer es que las catástrofes naturales son una forma de llamada a la conversión y a una mayor confianza en Dios. También es una llamada a la acción para hacer la tierra más acogedora, de modo que las personas puedan prosperar en ella.

From pastor’s desk on the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
I am sure that all of us are stunned and horrified by the wildfires in Southern California impacting now hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants. The speed and ferocity of fire only proves how fragile we are as individual human beings and as humanity by and large. Many Californians may be doubting his or her faith at this moment; many will pose questions: Where is God? Why does God permit such terrible disasters? Certainly, many of us would ask the same questions. Whether God is behind it or not, we do not know. However, we do know that we live in a created world that has its own rhythm and cycles that occur in nature. Things happen with and without human interruption. Some things we can control (very little, in fact), and many things we can’t. What we can recognize is that natural disasters are a form of a call to conversion and to greater trust in God. It is also a call to action to make the earth more hospitable so that people can prosper in it.

From pastor’s desk on 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year, B

By Anthony Aruanna • October 19, 2024
Last July over 50 thousand Catholics gathered in Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress. Obviously, the central theme of the gathering was the Eucharist. One of the key speakers at the Eucharistic Congress, Monsignor James Shea, said:

Del Escritorio del Párroco el 29 Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

By Anthony Aruanna • October 19, 2024
El pasado mes de julio, más de 50.000 católicos se reunieron en Indianápolis con ocasión del 10º Congreso Eucarístico Nacional. Obviamente, el tema central del encuentro fue la Eucaristía. Uno de los principales oradores del Congreso Eucarístico, Monseñor James Shea, dijo: