Parish Visit: Cathedral of Saint Andrew
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This weekend, as Our Lord continues likening the spiritual life to a farmer’s labors, I want to briefly reflect on how this relates to the seminarians you so frequently seen on the posters throughout our Diocese – with the promise that we are, indeed,‘real people’.
How often do we all ask God the very question poised by the farmhands in today’s Gospel: “Do you want the weeds to be pulled up?” – and, without a doubt, it is equally often that we receive the same, confusing, response that they do: No.
But, as Christians, our hope derives from what comes next; that is, from the ingenuity of the farmer’s vision:
First, he says “collect the weeds for burning”, and we glimpse His ultimate plan to demolish everything which has come about from the interference of the enemy. Then, he instructs: “but gather the wheat into my barn” – that is, his domain, or even, in a sense, his home.
My friends, this is precisely what the Church’s seminarians are in the midst of during priestly formation; we are entering into a place where we can totally open ourselves up to that pruning which is so essential to preparing us to be the ‘good shepherds’ that Christ so ardently desires for His People.
Undoubtedly, this can be a trying process; none of us would deny that. Yet, our hope remains firm because of the clear vision of the ‘Divine Farmer’; that the presence of these weeds is necessary for us, so we would witness their separation from that wheat which will, in time, “become for us the bread of life”. In this exists a miracle so very evidential of God’s passionate love for his people, for each one of us.
And so, today, as I ask for your continued prayers for all seminarians during the period of our ‘pruning’, I want also to iterate just how much strength we continuously garner from witnessing this good work taking place in our lives, and assure you of our ongoing prayers for each of you.
Thank you, and God bless.
