When I look back at 36 years of priesthood, I can honestly say that I have been abundantly blessed. Time and again, I have been the recipient of so many gifts. Unfortunately, I am embarrassed to say that I have not always used them. The busyness of life, coupled with the demands of ministry, has sadly meant that some gifts have remained unused, stored away in various places. Some gifted books have collected dust on my bookshelf. As a bishop now, I am usually spared this embarrassment because any gifts I receive I immediately turn over to the archives.

I recently had some new bookcases installed in what had been my chapel, the size of which was no bigger than a closet. I was able to transform another room into a simple but more spacious chapel that I call the St. John Vianney Chapel. Every time I pray in that chapel, I pray through the intercession of St. John Vianney for priests. Unlike the previous chapel, I can now have family and friends present for holy Mass.

As I moved my books onto the new bookshelf, I discovered a gift I had received from my bishop on Holy Thursday 2000. He gave all of us priests a book titled “Eucharistic Meditations: Extracts from the Writings and Instructions of St. John Vianney.” The gift coincided not only with the feast of the priesthood, but also with the Great Jubilee. Inside the book was a card written by the bishop, which said, “The special significance of Holy Thursday for priests as well as the Jubilee emphasis on the great gift of the Eucharist combine to make this small volume an appropriate aid in our efforts to deepen our relationship with Christ the High Priest.”

I immediately removed the book from the bookshelf and placed it in my chapel. Every day I would read and pray over one of the 27 meditations. The reflections offered a deeper look at the holy Eucharist, especially for priests. This exercise came on the heels of the National Eucharistic Congress. I strongly encourage you to read this book, which has been published three times and reprinted three times since 1923.

‘The Priest Has the Key of Heavenly Treasures’

The 22nd meditation is titled “On the Priest.” St. John Vianney speaks about the power of the priest. He writes, “Without the priest the death and passion of Our Lord would be no use; the priest has the key of the heavenly treasures; he is God’s steward and the administrator of his goods.” The Cure of Ars adds: “What is the priest? A man who holds the place of God, a man clothed with all the powers of God. ‘Go,’ Our Lord said to the priest, ‘As my Father hath sent me, I also send you.’” He continues, “At the consecration the priest does not say, ‘This is the Body of Our Lord.’ He says, ‘This is my Body.’”

The patron of parish priests says: “Behold the power of the priest! The tongue of the priest makes God from a morsel of bread! It is more than creating the world.”

Do you realize the power that is ours as priests? In the familiarity of our duties, along with the fatigue that often comes with it, we can sometimes take this power for granted. In the face of our inadequacies and insecurities, we can become blind to this power that by God’s grace works through us.

When I was a pastor, I was once stationed with an older parochial vicar who came to me and said that he wanted power. He wanted to be able to make decisions and tell people what to do. He wanted to be a pastor. I reminded him of the special sacramental power that he had through ordination. Later, his priesthood would lead him to exhibit the power of faith over suffering when he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS.

This Year of Jubilee is a good time for us to rediscover gifts that we have never used but which continue to be gifts. In my case, dusting off an old gift made me appreciate even more the power that comes with being a priest. Gifts keep giving! 

BISHOP DAVID J. BONNAR, editor of The Priest, is bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown.