14th Sunday
Installation of Father James Boric
St. Mary’s Parish, Hagerstown
July 7, 2024
The Real Deal
I’m delighted to celebrate Holy Mass this morning here at St. Mary’s, and on this occasion, to install Fr. James Boric as your pastor and as your pastor at St. Michael in Clear Spring. He’s been here, of course, more than a year, and in that time, you have come to know what I know: he is a faithful, singlehearted priest and pastor, or to put it another way, he’s the “real deal.” And how do I know this? It’s because I had the privilege of living in the same residence with him when he served as Rector of the Basilica of the Assumption. I know him to be a prayerful priest who loves the Lord, the Church, and the people entrusted to his care.
So now, reflecting on the Word of God proclaimed this morning, and with an eye towards the principal responsibilities of a pastor, I would like to offer a few points for all of us to think about and pray about. Beginning with this…
Pride of Place: Proclamation of the Word
The first responsibility of a pastor is to proclaim the Word of God, and to preach that Word “in season and out of season,” to preach it “when convenient and inconvenient.” This proclamation of the Word is more reading the Gospel. It includes preaching the Word of God on Sundays and weekdays, at funerals and weddings, and on many other occasions. It includes all forms of instruction in the faith, offered to young and old alike. The Pastor is to proclaim, teach, admonish, and encourage – not according to his own preferences and wisdom, but in accord with the Word of God as it comes to us through the teaching of the Holy Catholic Church.
Above all, the pastor is to confirm what he teaches by the example he offers, manifesting to those whom he serves that he not only proclaims and teaches the Word, but also that he listens to the Word and takes it to heart in prayer, conforming his life and ministry to what he proclaims. None of us, myself included, can ever forget how important good example is, how charity and right conduct can touch the heart and so open the mind to the Lord, to the faith, and to the Church.
Of course, as this morning’s Scriptures make clear, it’s not always smooth sailing. God’s Word sometimes is met with skepticism, indifference, and rejection. And if it happened to the prophets and to the Lord himself, it’s bound to happen to his representatives. Fr. Boric is blessed to serve parishes known for their faith and fidelity,
Yet, as we know, many Catholics no longer practice their faith and the world around us leaves little room for God and the things of God. Indeed, it is often hostile. Yet, when pastor and people are prayerful, united, and joyful in the faith, and are anxious to spread it and not afraid of rejection, the mission of Jesus entrusted to the Church advances. People are converted to the Lord, hearts are changed, families are renewed. This is not merely wishful thinking but the missionary imperative, given by the Lord to his Church, to preach the Gospel in every time and place, including this time and place.
Word and Reality
But let us be clear: the Word which the pastor is to proclaim, preach, and bear witness to is not a mere idea, nor merely a moral code, nor still less is it an ideology. The Word to be proclaimed is not an idea but indeed a Person. As Pope Benedict and Pope Francis both have said, “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (DCE, 1). The Word proclaimed leads to an encounter with the Word made flesh, most especially in the Holy Eucharist but indeed, in all the sacraments.
Thus, listening with faith and joy to the Word of God at Holy Mass, we are led into the heart of the Eucharistic mystery: a participation in Jesus’ offering of his very life on the Cross as we adore and worthily receive his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. At the heart of every priest’s life and ministry is the Eucharist. It might be said that we priests exist for the sake of the Eucharist: to adore the Eucharistic Lord, to proclaim him, to celebrate Holy Mass, and to lead and gather as many as we can around the Lord’s altars. And I can attest, the Eucharist is at the very heart of Fr. Boric’s life and ministry, and nothing makes him happier than to witness those he serves opening their hearts to the Lord in adoration, praise, and thanksgiving. What’s more, all the Sacraments and indeed the whole life of the Church, not only points towards the Eucharist but indeed are oriented to towards it. Thus, we are baptized and confirmed, and our sins are forgiven in the Sacrament of Penance so that we might worthily participate in the Holy Eucharist. Priesthood and marriage are rooted in and oriented toward the Eucharist, and in moments of grave illness, especially our last illness, how we need the Eucharist as food for the journey from time to eternity. Every other ministry of the Church flows from and leads to the Eucharist, the source and summit of the Church’s life and the very substance of the priesthood.
Oremus pro invicem
In today’s 2nd reading, St. Paul, a champion of the faith, admits his weakness, speaking of the thorn in the flesh from which he suffered and expressing his dependence upon the Lord for all that he did. Every one of us in ministry, myself included, can relate to this reading from St. Paul – and so it is that we need to have a holy exchange of prayer: we pray for you, God’s People, whom we are privileged to serve, and you, God’s People, pray for us who are your priests and pastors. In this way, our communion of faith is strengthened as each of us and all of us receive from the Lord the graces we need to live our vocations faithfully and to encourage others to follow us.
Thank you, Fr. Boric for your priesthood and for your faithful ministry. Thank you, parishioners at St. Mary’s & St. Michael’s and from near and far for receiving Fr. Boric so graciously and for your living your faith. In God’s grace, let us continue walking in the ways of faith so that when the Lord Jesus returns, as surely he will, he will be amazed, not at our lack of faith, but at its depth and beauty! May God bless us and keep us always in his love!