Bishop Oswald Hirmer, Bishop emeritus of Mthatha
	© Missionaries of Mariannhill  magnify

Dear friends,

I am happy that I was invited to celebrate with you this “Year of Priests”.  Do not be afraid. I will not give you a difficult lecture, which may sound like a “conglomeration of inexplicable ponderosities”.  

Let me simply share with you what made me a happy priest and what is the interior power that keeps me going.

1. Paul is my great example.

I am fascinated by his insight, faith and enthusiasm for Christ. What did he tell us today:  “God in his mercy has given us this work to do, and so we are not discouraged” (2 Cor 4,1).  

Whenever I was convinced  that my work was God’s work which he has given me, nothing could discourage me and destroy my joy: For instance,  when others did not appreciate my work, when I was misunderstood or was failing in my efforts. It was enough for me that I could tell myself: “I have tried to do YOUR work, o Lord. What we have started in faith – Christ will complete (see Phil 1,6).

Trouble and misery only came my way when I did things that were incompatible with God’s will and his ideals.

I must admit, however, that sometimes I had to pray: “Dear Lord, I have done this now. Please make it your will!” I could image Jesus smiling at me on such occasions, telling me: “OK, naughty boy! I am with you.”

“God has given me this work to do as his priest – so I am not discouraged.”

2. There is a prayer, which still today gives me direction and guidance for my priestly life. Do not be surprised!  This prayer is the ANGELUS 


a) THE ANGEL OF THE LORD DECLARED UNTO MARY !

Gabriel had a great and important message for Mary. I could imagine how Gabriel listened carefully to God before he was sent to Mary.  What guidance does this event give to me as a preacher?This is my experience: Without listening first to God in prayer and meditation, my preaching became a brilliant and entertaining BLAH BLAH.

Dear friends, you study theology. Do not merely study it to pass your exam or the chase after a degree. Study theology, Church history and scripture with a “listening attitude and open heart”. Rejoice when you discover in your studies the wonderful plan god has with you, the people and the whole world. You will discover that the work of a priest is destined to succeed – in the midst of all failures – because Christ is alive and has already won the victory. Jokingly I told my priests in Mthatha: “We are condemned to succeed!” Discover this in your studies and prayers!

b) AND SHE CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.

As a young priest I was for me a matter of fact: If my catechumens have attended all my instruction they will be ready for baptism. But then I realized: I could proclaim only the good News, like Gabriel did. He real thing, however, God had to do directly. It was not Gabriel who gave the Holy Spirit to Mary. It was God himself who had to became active.  Mary conceived Jesus in her womb by the power of God’s Spirit and not by the words of Gabriel. This insight gave me guidance in my priestly work.

I can only announce the gospel, God himself must touch the hearts of the people and enkindle in them faith, hope and love.In short: We priest can only proclaim the Good News as Gabriel did. God himself must become active and make t the faithful “conceive” by the Holy Spirit.The consequences for me as a priest were obvious: Without prayer, my sermons will have no power; they would remain Blah Blah, although they may be brilliant and entertaining.Perhaps, dear friends you will understand as well that when we pray the Divine Office, we assemble before God all the faithful, especially those to whom we have been sent.

Let me summarize the message of the first part of the ANGELUS:

 - As Gabriel, I have carefully to listen t to God. We do it in study and prayer.

- Then I am able to proclaim God’s Word, not my own clever thoughts.

- We ask God, whenever we teach or preach: “Lord, send your Spirit over our people as you have overshadowed Mary.  

 c) “I AM THE HANDMAID OF THE LORD – BE IT DONE UNTO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.”

The second part of the ANGELUS shows me the spirit of purity and the aim of my personal spiritual life.“I am the handmaid of the Lord – be it done unto me according to your word.” In a totally unselfish way - Mary is totally available for God and his plan. This shows to me what purity really means: Surrendering myself to God and be totally available to cooperate in his plans. The second part of the ANGELUS shows me as well the aim of my personal spiritual life. What is this aim? I want to remain in close contact with Christ, surrender myself into the hands of God and willingly to cooperate unselfishly in God’s plan.  “I am the handmaid of the Lord…” These words of Mary reveal to me the sprit and meaning of adoration: Surrendering myself into the hands of God, allowing him to do with me what he will. St. Augustine said that every prayer should have this spirit of adoration and total surrender to God. “I am the handmaid of the Lord…” I see Mary sitting with open arms, receiving God’s love. This, again, shows me the meaning of every prayer: sitting in silence – waiting for God’s love.

Carlo Caretto was sitting for hours and hours in the desert, during night, waiting for God’ s love”, as he said.“I am the handmaid of the Lord…” Let me share with you how I try to continue these words in my life as a priest: I imagine myself sitting together with Lord on a hill of Galilee. I pray: “Lord my soul clings to you, your right hand holds me fast.” At times I continue praying: “Here I am Lord, is it I Lord, I have heard you calling in the night. I will go Lord, if you lead me, I will hold your people in my heart.” This prayer becomes for me a continuation of Mary’s reply to the angel: “I am the handmaid of the Lord….”

On other days I pray slowly and with all my heart the Prayer of Abandonment of Charles de Foucault: “Lord, I give myself totally to you. Do with me whatever you will ..” Brothers, I would not have survived as a priest if I would not have experienced and cultivated this personal relationship with Christ, to become one with him as Mary did: “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word.”

d)“AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH AND LIVED AMONG US”

The third part of the ANGELUS the focal point of all our pastoral work as priests. Through our priestly life and actions, Christ should become flesh among us still today. Our pastoral work has only one aim:  to help the people of God to experience Christ’s presence and accept him as Mary did. “The Word becomes flesh and lived among us.” Brothers, the Risen Christ is a reality among us. His presence is not limited to the Blessed Sacrament only. His presence fills the whole universe. Benedict XVI says, because Christ is God, his human nature as well is present everywhere in the cosmos. Let me remind you of what I have said already:

Our pastoral work has only one aim:  to help the people of God to experience Christ’s presence and accept him as Mary did. “The Word becomes flesh and lived among us.”There are many ways a priest can help the faithful to experience Christ’s presence among us:

No.1:  The faithful can experience the presence of Christ in the way we deal with them, how we talk to them and forgive them. Christ’s gentleness should shine through our words and actions. The faithful will not experience Christ’s presence in us if we play the boss, barking at people and scolding them like an angry dictator.John XXII is for me the shining example of a priest who made Christ present through is gentleness and kindness. 
 


No.2: The Word can become flesh among us if we solve problems not in our human, mere rational way but in the “Kingdom Way”. I remember a workshop in India, which was attended by about 150 people. I problem rouse with a man who did not stop his petition prayer. People got angry. I tried to solve this problem in the “Kingdom Way”. In the evaluation of the workshop at the end, it was said that they experienced Christ in the way I dealt with the problem.

No.3: We are called to make the Word Flesh still today. We do this if we do not merely sit behind our computers - but go out and visit people, sharing their lives, their worries and joys. In this gentle and understanding contact with people the “Word becomes Flesh”. Yes, the third part of the ANGELUS can inspire our pastoral work and give it direction.

No.4: The people of God can experience the presence of the Lord if we help them to use scripture in a prayerful way. For example, using the Seven Steps of gospel sharing in the right way we do not just talk AOBUT Jesus but we help the faithful to encounter Christ in person, a person with flesh and blood.I remember a workshop that I conducted in Germany for priests and pastoral workers. We especially explained and practiced the Seven Steps. At the evaluation at the end a priest shared with us: “I am a retired priest. My whole life long I have preached and talked ABOUT Christ. But I have never experienced the presence of Christ in such a real way as I have experienced him during this week.” Brothers, the Seven Step Gospel Sharing is a powerful means of allowing Christ to become flesh still today and live among us.

No.5. The Eucharist is the sacramental celebration of Christ among us. It is Christ’s wonderful gift and his guarantee that he really is with us. This is my experience: If we do NOT help the faithful to experience  Christ in their personal prayers and, for example, in gospel sharing, the celebration of the Eucharist becomes for them a dead ritual. Therefore young people leave the Church because they do not “experience Christ” in the Catholic Church, as they say.

Our message, however, is: Christ has become flesh and lives among us. He is present as God and Man, everywhere in the universe and in our humble homes. At the Eucharist, we celebrate Christ’s presence, His hidden presence becomes visible in the sacramental sign of bread and wine. In the book OUR JOY IN BEING CATHOLIC I used and example how we can imagine the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Look into the sky at night. There is deep and frightening darkness that fills the universe, we think. And yet this dark universe is filled with light. We only see this light if it is reflected by an object, for example by the moon and satellites.In a similar way Christ fills the universe with his presence. He is present everywhere. He is there as God and Man, present with Body and Blood. His invisible presence, however, is reflected in the sacramental signs of the Eucharist, Bread and Wine. This is the great gift of the Eucharist: The Word became flesh and lived among us. 


CONCLUSION

Brothers, I tried to open to you the power of the prayer, called ANGELUS.It is the summary of the whole Christian message (as Benedict XVI) tells us. It is also a signpost for our personal spiritual life and for our pastoral and missionary work. 


THE ANGEL OF THE LORD DECLARED UNTO MARY

AND SHE CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.

I AM THE HANDMAID OF THE LORD – BE IT DONE UNTO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.

AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH AND LIVED AMONG US. 
 + Amen