Supporting Our Shepherds
June 29, 2025
“Let everyone revere the deacons as Jesus Christ, the bishop as the image of the Father, and the presbyters as the senate of God and the assembly of the apostles. For without them one cannot speak of the Church.” –St. Ignatius of Antioch, from Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1554
We have now reached the halfway point of the Jubilee Year of Hope, and this week we celebrate the Jubilee of Bishops, Priests, and Seminarians. Bishops are mentioned in the New Testament and in the writings of the early Church. The Greek word episkopos means “overseer.” After Jesus ascended to the Father and before the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church on Pentecost, Matthias was chosen to take the apostolic role left by Judas. (Acts of the Apostles 1:15-26). This began the chain of apostolic succession that continues to this day. Bishops are ordained as successors to the Apostles by the Laying on of Hands to proclaim the Gospel, celebrate the sacraments, and shepherd God’s people, usually in a specific area, today referred to as dioceses.
We are blessed by the leadership of Bishop Robert Gruss over the Diocese of Saginaw. He has been discerning with a team of priests, religious, and lay people that Jesus is inviting us to be a “Diocese on Mission” courageously proclaiming the joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people who are wounded and hurting. Like Saints Peter and Paul, whom we commemorate this Sunday, we are called to be missionary disciples, ambitious for the Kingdom of God. We can no longer sit comfortably in our parishes expecting people to worship and serve with us out of habit or obligation. Bishop Gruss, the Pastor given to us by God, is calling us to be built up as evangelizing followers of Jesus, going out and inviting God’s lost sheep back into the fold. I will share more about Bishop Gruss’ invitation to us to become a “Parish on Mission” over the month of July.
The first “Pillar” of Bishop Gruss’ invitation is to “Love and Support a Unified Presbyterate on Mission.” The presbyterate are the priests of the diocese. On this Jubilee of Priests, we give thanks for the service of our priests, who have been ordained to be co-workers of the bishop in his mission. Without priests, we would have very limited access to sacraments such as Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, and (most vitally) Eucharist. In the liturgical celebration of the sacraments, priests act in the Person of Christ the Head of the Church (in persona Christi capitis), speaking and acting as Christ for us in a unique way. In our diocese and parish, we are so blessed by the ministry of our senior priests who continue their sacramental service well into their retirement years. We appreciate so much the ministry of Fr. Rick Filary as our parish Sacramental Minister! Fr. Joe Griffin and other senior priests continue to serve our parish and other diocesan parishes through “substitute” presiding at Mass and Reconciliation and making hospital visits to the sick and dying. Thank you to those who signed up to pray for our priests during the month of June. Please let our priests know how grateful we are for their priestly ministry!
A central way that we can love and support our priests is to pray and foster a culture of vocations in our parish and diocese. As we mark this past week’s Jubilee of Seminarians we give thanks to God, pray for, and support the seminarians of our diocese. These young men have courageously stepped forward to discern if God is calling them to serve the People of God as priests.A little over a year ago, Bishop Gruss asked each parish to establish a Vocations Commission to foster vocations in every parish. Through the leadership of some dedicated women and men, and with the support of our Knights of Columbus council, this Commission has been established in our parish. Since this Commission has begun meeting, we have begun to pray the Memorare prayer for vocations at each Mass, we have hosted Bishop Gruss for a Holy Hour for Vocations and several other Holy Hours for Vocations (one of which was presided by then Deacon Dan Christe who shared his vocation story with us and who was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Gruss this spring), put together a spiritual bouquet for Fr. Rick, held egg roll and pierogi sales to support seminarian education, organized households to sign up to pray for priests and vocations during the month of June, implemented vocation education in our faith formation programs, and much more. May our prayers, formation opportunities, and financial support bear much fruit!
As we remember the leadership of St. Peter on this Jubilee of Bishops, Priests, and Seminarians, may we never take for granted the Grace offered to us though the sacraments and the ministry of our shepherds who make our access to the Grace of the sacraments possible. As we remember the missionary drive of St. Paul today who was converted by Christ while on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians, our prayers are with the Christians in Damascus where 25 people were killed and over 50 injured by a suicide bomber this past Sunday while participating in the Divine Liturgy. Christians in North America and all over the world either cannot celebrate the Sunday Eucharist this weekend because a priest can only visit once every few months, or they take their life in their hands by deciding to be baptized or to participate in the Eucharist in an area where the Church is being persecuted. May we honor their sacrifices by thanking our priests, by fostering more vocations to the priesthood, and never taking our opportunity to attend Mass each week conveniently and peacefully for granted.