F.U.N. (Faith Up Now) Bless you Father
“ACHOOOOO…!” I let out a hearty sneeze in the confessional.
“Bless you Father…!” the little boy in the other side simultane
ously replied.
“Hey, that’s supposed to be my line,” I jokingly said.
“Tee-hee hee…,” the little rascal giggled.
“I’m just joking.”
I guess it’s good to remember that we also need to be blessed!” I thanked the little child.
* * *
Once, some students cordially invited me to join them in a mountain climbing excursion. I was moved by their thoughtfulness until someone candidly remarked that they were actually inviting me ‘just in case.’
“What?” I clarified.
He explained that just in case some mishap would occur during their outing, I would be there to give them the absolution.
My imagination suddenly drifted to a dotted figure of a boy plummeting [in slow motion] into some abyss as I calmly and solemnly imparted the absolution from the edge of a ravine.
As I slowly snapped myself back to reality, I asked the boys,
“What if I were the one who fell off?”
“Can’t you absolve yourself, Father?” one of them asked.
“Unfortunately, that’s not how things work,” I said.
“Then let’s invite another priest, just in case,” a smart-aleck said.
* * *
It is something both human and spiritually comforting to be reminded that we priests –already with a mission to be bearers and administrators of grace– are also in need of God’s blessings.
We are very much like doctors who also need other doctors. The only difference is that, unlike doctors who may self-prescribe, we cannot administer the effects of grace upon ourselves especially when it comes to certain sacraments.
Unfortunately, for example, I cannot baptize, absolve, ordain or anoint myself.
The fact that we priests also need grace is also a confirmation of the divine origin and effects of the sacraments. They were instituted by Christ during his public life, and the infinite merits He gained through His Passion and Death now unceasingly fuel every sacrament and the specific grace each confers.
Moreover, the supernatural character and sublime power of the sacraments are further emphasized when Christ deigned that they be administered through weak and imperfect human instruments. God could have easily given this charge to His majestic archangels, however, He mysteriously wanted to stress the sacraments’ divine source and efficacy by instituting that they be received through human channels, His priests.
In some way, this addresses the possible critical attitude of some who refrain from believing or going to the sacraments because these ‘are being administered by men’ who are likewise sinners. But this is where they miss the point. Priests are like delivery boys of grace, and what they deliver –that is, grace– is not something that comes from them nor depends on them.
If a pizza delivery boy arrived without wearing the usual attire of say Pizza Hut or Jollibee, then one would probably doubt his delivery. Now in cases that a uniformed delivery man might arrive wet from rain or stained with mud, we are still assured that his outward appearance won’t affect the quality of his delivery.
Although priests are like God’s 24/7 grace-delivery boys, they are radically distinct (not necessarily better or holier) from your local delivery boy by virtue of the sacrament of order. They do not only bring Christ but are in fact Christ Himself when administering the sacraments.
Even though sadly, sometimes they may not externally portray an edifying representation of our Lord, they are still mysteriously God’s chosen vessels of grace.
What more can we say if our Lord Himself demonstrated how He required of human implements in order to carry out divine actions. For example, He made use of mud as a salve to cure a blind man’s eyes, a few fish and bread to feed thousands, ordinary bread and wine to institute the Eucharist, mere words like ‘your sins are forgiven’ to remove a adulteresses debts, etc.
In this sacramental thread, we may understand that priests are like the servants in that Gospel scene of the wedding feast in Cana .
Our Lady seems to have a special predilection for them, and tells them a little secret that would make them effective disciples of Her Son: “Do what He [Jesus] tells you!”
These servants took to the humbling task of filling some pots to the brim with ordinary water.
They are brought to Jesus, and our Lord performs His first miracle. Like these servants, priests have but to place themselves in God’s hands, so that even the most ordinary elements become divine in their hands through the power of Christ that constantly works in and through them.
