The Call to Preach the Word of God

In this year of 2023 several celebrations within our Holy Church come together, some by design and some merely by chance, but because this has happened it allows us to take note, as well as to see what we can discover concerning our Lord’s call to us.

June has long been celebrated within the Polish National Catholic Church as Sacred Vocations Month, and we can assume that this is, in part, because June is the month containing Father’s Day.  While we honor our earthly fathers on the third Sunday of the month, our minds are also drawn to our spiritual fathers, the bishops, priests and deacons of our Holy Church.

We are reminded also that these spiritual fathers play a vital role within our lives, within our church and within our world.  Therefore, each and every one of us must be concerned about the increase of vocations within the Church.  We hear of this concern from the time of our Lord with the Gospel reading on the 11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time and we express that concern in prayer during the days of this Sacred Vocations Month.  In the Gospel of Matthew we read: “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’” (Matthew 9:36-37)

To our reflection on this Gospel, we add our own prayers for the increase of priests from the PNCC Prayer Book: “Almighty and eternal God, in Your plan for our salvation You provide priests as shepherds for Your people.  Inspire men to answer Your call to become priests, because the harvest is great but the laborers are few.  Grant Your Church an increase of priests and keep them faithful in their love and service to You and the people entrusted to their care.  Through their faith and ministry may Your light shine in the world and Your kingdom be built among us.  We ask this through Jesus Christ, our High Priest.  Amen.”

Certainly, this reflection and this prayer should be a part of our life not only throughout the month of June, Sacred Vocations Month, but in fact, if we hold dear the importance of the priests within our lives, will become a part of our regular prayer life.  The desire for an increase of priests is something that should not be restricted to only one month, but must be a daily part of our strong relationship with Almighty God.  Within the Book of Exodus that we hear on the 11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we hear God speaking to Moses concerning His relationship to His chosen people.  On the mountain God says: “I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.  Now therefore, if you obey My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession out of all the peoples.  Indeed, the whole earth is Mine, but you shall be for Me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:4b-6a)

Again, as we reflect on this reading, we see that we, as the members of the body of Christ, the members of God’s Holy Church, have been grafted unto this priestly kingdom and holy nation.  But if we are a priestly kingdom then we must offer sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Eucharistic worship and therefore we must have priests, called forth from the people to offer this sacrifice.

But within the Gospel reading that we cited above, we also see that our Lord connects together several actions with the calling of His apostles, His priests.  First, we must realize that this truly is a call.  The Gospel of Matthew reading continues: “Then Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.” (Matthew 10:1)  After giving the names of the Apostles, then the Gospel says: “These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: … As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” (Matthew 10:5a, 7-8)

So then, the call of Jesus has two parts, a summons and a sending. At its face we know this because the priests of God’s Church are called, or summoned, to a life of dedication and devotion to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and His body the Church, but this life of dedication and devotion is lived as they are sent into parish life to exercise this ministry among God’s people.

But the thing is that because this summons and this sending is true for the priests of the Church, then it must also be true for all the people of God, exactly because we are priestly people.  We are summoned to the feet of Jesus because the apostles, bishops and priests are summoned, we offer our sacrifice through the actions of the priests and bishops, we are sent into the world to live the gospel of Christ, exactly because the bishops and priests are sent into the world to preach this Word to us.

Within the Sunday reading the first instruction given to those sent is: “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’” (Matthew 10:7)  How fitting that we hear this gospel on Word of God Sunday within the Polish National Catholic Church.  Beginning with the 1909 Synod, the Polish National Catholic Church has recognized that the Word of God, heard and preached, has sacramental power.  The PNCC Catechism speaks to the importance of receiving this sacrament, not only when we gather for Holy Mass, but at any other time the people of God gather together.  The Catechism states in Question #323: “Why should we receive the Sacrament of the Word of God?”  With the answer: “We should receive the Sacrament of the Word of God because Christ commanded us to receive and proclaim it.  Holy Scripture says this: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19); The seed is the Word of God. (Luke 8:11); Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it. (Luke 11:28); You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God. (1 Peter 1:23); One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4).

During the Holy Mass for Word of God Sunday we are called to show special honor to the Book of Gospels, both before, during and after the proclamation of the Gospel to the Church.  This honor can be showed in many ways.  We may carry the Gospel during the procession into Church; we may proclaim the gospel in the body of the Church to show that it is for all the people, the entire body of Christ; we may incense the Book of Gospels to show its importance and exalted position in the Liturgy of the Word.  Along with these actions, the Book of Gospels can also be displayed during the entire liturgy in a prominent place to show that it is another way in which Christ is present within His Holy Church.

As we think of these ways in which we honor the Word of God within our parishes, we are also reminded that the open Bible forms an important feature within the symbol of the Polish National Catholic Church.  But the Bible within the Symbol of the P.N.C.C. is not closed, it is open to remind us that the Word of God is not static, it is active.  In fact, Scripture itself tells us: “Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

This activity is explained further within our catechism where the question is given: “What is the Sacrament of the Word of God?”  with the answer: “The Word of God is the sacrament through which we: 1) Learn so that we know the Divine Will of God; 2) Become strengthened in faith; 3) Are united with Christ our Lord, and; 4) Become better qualified to labor for the kingdom of God.

My brothers and sisters, as we focus on this last Sunday before we fully enter the season of Ordinary Time, the Sunday of the Word of God, let us realize that we must pray for the bishops, priests and deacons of the Church as they proclaim to us the Word of God.  Let us pray for the increase of vocations that others will come to offer themselves for this important ministry of the Church.  And also let us realize that like those priests, we are both summoned and sent.  Summoned to gather at the feet of Jesus, in worship as we receive Him present in the Blessed Sacrament and in His Word, but also sent into the world to live a life, entirely united to Christ.