Comment
We have great priests in our diocese; fraternity and unity is strong
Bishop Shelton J. Fabre
For the past several years, the priests of our diocese have gathered annually for a convocation. This gathering was originally the result of our diocesan listening sessions and strategic pastoral plan. The hope for the convocation is to allow our priests to spend time together in renewal, camaraderie, prayer and continuing formation. My hope is to share with you some of the fruits of my experience of our recent 2020 annual priests’ convocation. Further, I hope that you will be able to take some of these thoughts and apply them to your own lives. On our first day, the goal was to look back over the past year since the last convocation in 2019. Reflecting on the past helps us to locate ourselves in the midst of some of the chaos of life and makes clear to us where we have been and where God has been working in our lives. Over the course of a year, a lot can happen, and we can forget the good things that God has done in our lives, as well as the challenges that we have overcome. On the morning of the second day, we reflected on the experience of disappointment. Doubtless you have experienced disappointments during this past year. It is what we do with disappointment that is most important. We can allow disappointment to morph into contempt, which steals our joy and makes us bitter, or we can take disappointment and use it
as an opportunity for greater depth. Disappointment is a powerful force that exposes the places in our hearts where we can still mature and grow deeper. On the afternoon of the second day, we reflected on the reality of the priest in persona Christi capitis. This is the understanding that the priest, especially when he celebrates the sacraments, stands “in the person of Jesus Christ our head.” Understanding this reality, we know that when we receive the sacraments through the
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Please remember to pray for our priests, deacons, religious men and women, and seminarians!!
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Comfort For My People
priest it is the person of Jesus who acts in our lives. The power and grace of the sacraments always come from Jesus. This is an important reality to integrate, and it is an important responsibility to live as a priest. As priests, we need to recognize that we are called to be the person of Jesus to others. As priests, we must also recognize the person of Jesus as he comes to us in a unique way in the ministry of our brother priests, but also the ways that Jesus comes to us in others. As people of faith, we need to recognize the person of Jesus as he
8 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2020
comes to us uniquely in the ministry of our priests, but also the ways that Jesus comes to us in one another. On the morning of the third day, we reflected on how we long to be in companionship with Jesus Christ. If we are faithful to ongoing discernment and spiritual growth, we are confident that we will arrive at the place in our lives and spirituality where we recognize Jesus as our constant companion on the journey through life. As priests and as members of the lay faithful, we need to remember this ongoing challenge to grow in spiritual maturity with the Lord, constantly surrendering our lives to him. On the afternoon of the third day, we reflected on the fraternity shared among our priests. Each priest lives as part of a “presbyterate,” the collective body of priests in a particular diocese. Each priest is ordained into an already existing support structure of brother priests who are there to support and provide for him. However, no collection of human beings is perfect, and the presbyterate is no different. Just as family members disagree, brother priests will also disagree. However, just as families heal hurts, priests also desire to heal hurts among the presbyterate as well. The convocation was again a wonderful experience!! It reminded me that we have great priests who serve in our diocese, and our fraternity and unity as priests is strong and getting stronger. Over the short course of these four days, our priests were able to rest, pray and spend much needed leisure time with each other. It is my hope that you may have noticed a joyful change in your parish priest before reading this article. I hope this reflection is as helpful for you as our convocation was for our priests. Please remember to pray for our priests, deacons, religious men and women, and seminarians!! BC
