My dear parishioners, Jesus Christ, in whose divine personhood resides the fullness of incomparable beauty and majesty, was faithful in all things throughout his earthly ministry so that many would choose for salvation in his name. In Jesus, our loving heavenly father was pleased to bestow grace upon grace, raise him from the dead on the third day and receive him at his right hand in glory. More cherished than a multitude of good works is a priest’s solemn love of God, indeed his heartfelt love for God in ministry to others. When serving others exacts a high price, and it will, only God’s divine mercy can protect and sustain the priest and his ministry. Fortitude, the virtue that enables one to bear up when good things and good people are taken away, presupposes that a human being will experience grave difficulties in this world. Indeed, some situations are marked by great suffering. His Eminence, the late Cardinal Archbishop Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan (Bishop of Nha Trang 1967-1975; Coadjutor Archbishop of Saigon 1975-1994) was imprisoned by Hanoi henchmen after the fall of South Vietnam in 1975. Sentenced to a re-education camp, he spent nine of his thirteen years imprisonment in solitary confinement. In the midst of great suffering, he offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with tiny fragments of bread and by using the palm of his hand for a chalice. He told this story: One day, one of the prison guards asked me: "Do you love us?" I answered: "Yes, I love you." "We have kept you shut in for so many years and you love us? I don't believe it ..." I then reminded him: "I have spent many years with you. You have seen it and know it is true." The guard asked me: "When you are freed, will you send your faithful to burn our homes and kill our relatives?" "No, although you might want to kill me, I love you." "Why?" he insisted. "Because Jesus has taught me to love everyone, even my enemies. If I don't do this, I am not worthy to bear the name Christian. Jesus said: 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.'" "This is very beautiful but hard to understand," the guard replied. [Zenit, Sept 17, 2002] Toil, drudgery, and sometimes great danger do not spare the priest who loves much. Pray that your unworthy priests grow to understand that generosity does not refer merely to material things and enjoyable experiences at table. A priest must be generous in sharing himself in large and small ways that find their destiny in the shadow of our Lord’s cross: humiliations, arrest, torture, and his passion and death. Jesus says, "But he to whom little is forgiven, loves little." [Lk 7:47] The holy archbishop loved much because he found within himself much to be forgiven. He understood what St. Paul meant when he wrote: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body . . . the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints.” [Col 1:24-26] Hence, the Catholic priest's ministry of selfless charity and mercy is established as a sublime oblation of cosmic proportions. Sincerely in the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Your pastor, Reverend Richard Barker. +++