February 16, 2025
Take heed not to foster your own judgment, for, without doubt, it will inebriate you; as there is no difference between an intoxicated man and one full of his own opinion, and one is no more capable of reasoning than the other. – Saint Francis de Sales
What comes to mind when you think of obedience? Is it slavery? Giving up freedom? Following someone as they walk off a cliff? Is it something only suitable for dogs and prisoners? What if we talk about obedience to the ultimate good, the true authority? For us, that ultimate authority is God the Father, but what does that mean for our relationship with the Church, the Bride of Christ? Does she possess the same authority? At ordination, the man to be ordained promises celibacy, obedience, and simple living. These are meant to be a mirror of the evangelical councils (the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience) which we have spoken of recently. I first made these promises at the point of candidacy for Holy Orders. Those promises were then empowered by sacramental grace when I was ordained a transitional deacon on April 27, 2013 – twelve years ago this coming April. Since then, I have had plenty of opportunities to practice the virtue of obedience. Have I been perfect? Ask my superiors – I have said yes when asked. The reality of obedience is, however, much more complex than simply saying yes. It is about making known God’s work in you and allowing the Church to utilize one’s gifts to serve the People of God to the best of our ability. When the Acts of the Apostles speaks of the early Church having all things in common, I think more about gifts and talents than personal possessions. All the same, Church leaders direct this obedience for the good of all. The Prayer of Saint Francis is a prayer that calls us to recognize that our lives are not our own; our preferences do not automatically indicate the action that is best to take. Let us pray the Prayer of Saint Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
When we stop focusing on our faults and weaknesses and instead see ourselves as part of something greater, something holy and wholly in the hands of God, then and only then can we find peace. May we focus less on our preferences and opinions. May we focus less on the interminable noise of this world. May we fall more and more in love with the truth every day. May we grow in the courage and conviction that it is good to lay down our lives at the service of God and His bride, the Church!
Two Parishes, One Heart,
Fr. Adam