It is hard to believe that the month of January is almost over. I hope that you have enjoyed reflecting on the priesthood with me as we looked at the Five Priestly Identities. I also hope that you have gained a little more insight into your vocation as well whatever it might be. We have one last identity to look at this week. Following that, I would like to share with you some insights from Fulton Sheen on how priests fail to live up to God’s design of the priesthood as he looks at Judas, whom he calls “The First Crack in His Priesthood.”

so following that I will share with you two additional identities from Fulton Sheen’s book: A Priest is not His Own.

Good Shepherd. “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
The image of the Good Shepherd, I think speaks to all of us as the ultimate of Christian leadership. This leadership requires the priest to be both a leader by example but also as pastor the leader of a small business. Early on in my priesthood, I had the opportunity to get to know and to talk to a professional business coach. This person charged upwards of $500 an hour to coach business executives so that they could become better leaders. He went on to explain that there are really three styles of leadership. The first (let us call it box “A”) is the authoritarian leadership style where the leader makes all the decisions with no consultation. The third box (let us call that box “C”) is what he called consensus where everyone has to agree before things move forward. The middle box (and let us call that box “B”) is a sort of middle ground where the leader gathers information, advice, preferences, etc. but in the end he or she must make the decision that he or she things is best even if it goes against the consensus. It was this business coach’s theory that pastors had to always take his leadership style from box B because of how the Church is structured. Pastors do not only have to report to their parishioners as his sheep but he also must report to his superiors his bishop, pope, and ultimately God. Ultimately the goal of the priest is simply to lead as many souls as possible to heaven.

5 Things you can do to support priests discover their identity as Good Shepherd
1. Pray that your priests will embrace their role of being Good Shepherd with enthusiasm.
2. Encourage your pastor to lead and let him know that you will love him right or wrong
3. Compliment your priest when he gives a good homily and if possible be specific
4. When disagreeing with your priest remain civilized and don’t raise your voice
5. Volunteer to advise the pastor by being on the parish council, finance council, or if there is a need to lead a capital campaign.

The following is from Fulton Sheen’s book: The Priest is Not His Own. I have found it helpful to see how Judas failed in his vocation and so I try to learn from his mistakes. Quotes from the book will be in bold and my commentary will be in ordinary print.
We can learn much by reflecting on Judas.
1. Those who have been cradled in the sacred associations of the priesthood know best how to betray Our Lord. Judas knew where to find Our Lord after dark: “Here there was a garden, into which He and His disciples went. Judas, His betrayer, knew the place well; Jesus and His disciples had often forgathered in it. (Jn 18:1-2)” – We should never become lazy in our prayer life and assume that we and our vocation are safe. We should pray constantly to God for His grace.

2. Divinity is so holy that all betrayal must be prefaced by some mark of esteem or affection: “It is none other, he told them, than the Man whom I shall greet with a kiss. (Mt 26:48).” - I try to remember always that it is a privilege to be a priest and to never go through the emotions.

3. No bishop or priest knows the ultimate depth of spiritual sorrow and grief until he has felt the hot, blistering kiss of a brother in Christ who is a traitor. – I know that no one is perfect and so I will be hurt by others especially by those who are suppose to support me. I cannot let that though effect my relationship with Jesus.

4. A priest can always sell Our Lord, but no priest can buy Him: “Whereupon they laid down thirty pieces of silver. (Mt 26:15).” – I must avoid the temptations of worldly allurements.

5. Any pleasure, profit, or gain that one receives through rejecting the Eucharistic Lord proves to disgusting that the beneficiary is impelled, like Judas, to throw it back in the face of those who gave it: “And now Judas his betrayer was full of remorse at seeing Him condemned, so that he brought back to the chief priests and elders their thirty pieces of silver; I have sinned, he told them, in betraying the Blood of an Innocent Man. (Mt 27:3-4)” – God is the source of my ultimate happiness. Could not the money have been given to the poor? Judas never thought of that then.

6. Many psychoses and neuroses are due to an unrequited sense of guilt. The Lord would have pardoned Judas as He pardoned Peter, but Judas never asked for pardon. – I need God’s mercy as much as the next and God freely forgives me through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.