28.2 F
Saint Paul
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Pray, prepare and live as priest, prophet and king

Deacon Gordon Bird

Keep those lamps trimmed and burning, as the hymn goes — reminding us as Jesus taught so often to be on watch and stay prepared.

Early on in this Advent season, I recall hearing the robust, title-leading verse that has more breadth and depth in its action than one probably realizes. To stay alert and well prepared for the polyvalent, timeless meaning of Advent — the coming of Christ: 1) in prayer, anticipation of and the joy of celebrating his birth; 2) in preparation of the promise of his glorious Second Coming; and yet, 3) to help us focus on the importance of the here and now — how he lives actively in our hearts in the present moment — all the year through.

Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright. Taking a global perspective, we indeed hope and pray all is calm and bright for all people — especially the young whose lives are compromised and challenged. And here is a reminder of Pope Francis’ prayer intention for December — the somewhat mellow season of Advent that leads to the joy of Christmastide: “That every country takes the measures necessary to prioritize the future of the very young, especially those who are suffering.”

While our thoughts, prayers and outreach activities can take a world view, we can harbor this as an action locally within and beyond the Christmas season — all year long. Parishes in which I minister, it’s such a blessing to see how thoughtful families and individuals seize ministerial initiatives to support the less fortunate or mobile through the giving of gifts, providing of food, visiting the lonely. Especially when it involves teaching the younger family members works of mercy via the experience of helping others in need. And the impact it makes when they reach out to someone close to their own age.

Teach your children well. Even when it comes to the Second Coming. Yes, we need to educate our young in reading, writing and arithmetic, etc. It’s imperative that we also help them early on in life come to embrace the virtues of faith, hope and charity.

Families harbor the young, and Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s intention for the Catholic Watchmen movement this month directs us to the importance of being imitators of Mary and Joseph: “To pray for the blessings of this holy Christmas season to be upon the families of our archdiocese and the child Jesus to be more deeply encountered by all, especially by the example of the first holy, domestic church.”

- Advertisement -

Through the theological virtues, the family, by word and deed, can teach their very young how to encounter Jesus. Mom and Dad are the first and are to be the best of teachers. When the time is right, their formidable duty is to help the young grasp what it means going forward as a baptized child of God.

A three-fold duty we all took on in our new birth of baptism by water and the Holy Spirit is to be priest, prophet and king so we may live always as members of Christ’s body, sharing everlasting life. Essentially, it’s being Jesus to others — through holiness, through truth, through serving others. How better to prepare for the Second Coming than to live this munera — function, office, duty — day-in and day-out? This is not only for clergy!

Here we are at the “hic et nunc” — the here and now — the present moment. In an excellent introduction to the recent Catholc Watchmen video series, encompassing what each munus of priest, prophet and king means for a Catholic man, Bishop Andrew Cozzens also advised that it is good to know some Latin. No worries — that’s as heavy a learning as it gets here. Kidding aside, the seven-part series elaborates on how embracing spiritual leadership — the thrust of the Catholic Watchmen in their accountability to family, parish and community as priest, prophet and king — keeps hearts alive in the presence of Christ, the highest Priest, the highest Prophet, the King of the Universe.

This “alive in Christ” is all about self-gift. Our Lord and Savior came to us as a child, which we celebrate this Christmas, and he died to save us. We are alive to seek holiness through the cooperation of the grace of the sacraments — to sanctify and reconcile family, friends and others. Alive to know and teach his truth, which sets us free. Alive to establish through the gift of ourselves a kingdom of love and mercy for families, the Church, community and the world. Check out the series at thecatholicwatchmen.com.

Have yourself a very Merry Christmas!

Deacon Bird ministers at St. Joseph in Rosemount and All Saints in Lakeville, and assists the Catholic Watchmen movement of the archdiocese’s Office of Evangelization. Reach him at gordonbird@rocketmail.com. Learn about the archdiocese’s Catholic Watchmen initiative thecatholicwatchmen.com.

 


Related Articles

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Trending

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
12,743FansLike
1,478FollowersFollow
6,479FollowersFollow
35,922FollowersFollow
583SubscribersSubscribe
- Advertisement -