Gospel
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one another, “What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.
REFLECTION
“What is there about his word?
Have you known someone that when he/she speaks people stop and listen? This sounds like a commercial, but it is not.
I knew someone like that. That person was my uncle. William T. Pittman was my mother’s older brother. As a little boy he wanted to be a priest. He and my mother were close in age and he felt a kind of responsibility for her. He would take her by the hand and walk her to school every morning. Bill loved his family and he loved his Catholic Faith.
When my uncle reached 14-years of age, he left home to attend school with young men discerning the religious life. He chose the Congregation of Missionaries, or also known as the Vincentians. His goal was to become a priest, to serve the poor and be close to his beloved Blessed Mother Mary. So, my uncle went to Cape Girardeau, Missouri for his minor and major seminary years. He was a good student and avid reader. After his ordination June 12, 1949, my uncle was made the prefect and disciplinarian for the minor seminarians. He also taught Latin and Greek. My uncle was tough. He was a man’s man. He had a deep pitched voice and was gruff which made the young seminarians pay attention.
I remember when my uncle came home to visit the family. All the family would come to my grandmother and grandfather’s house to eat my grandmother’s fried chicken, play cards on the big oak table and talk politics, while my sisters and I would sit under the table to watch Bishop Fulton Sheen on TV followed by Ed Sullivan’s Show. We listened to the conversation while under the table to my uncle as he spoke with authority and conviction during the family discussion. We were a little scared of my uncle but we respected him and enjoyed the family gathering.
“What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” When Jesus spoke, everyone listened even the demons had to listen to him.
The priests speak with authority that Jesus gave them when he instituted the Sacrament of Holy Orders. During the Holy Mass, the priests calls down God who obeys the words of the priest during the consecration of the bread and wine. “O, how great is the priest! … If he realized what he is, he would die… God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host…”.(St. John Marie Vianney)
Let us pray for all priests to realize the gift they have received when they were ordained and to perform their priestly duties humbly and faithfully.
Together let us pray the PAPA Prayer for Priests.
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