Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we approach the Chrism Mass in our respective dioceses, that beautiful and sacred liturgy where our priests renew the promises they made on the day of their ordination, I find myself reflecting deeply, with great humility, on the profound responsibility that bishops carry as spiritual fathers to the priests entrusted to their care.
This reflection was sparked by a story I recently heard in a homily from my own pastor, Fr. Michael Reilly. It is a story often shared in Catholic circles from the life of Saint John Paul II. A priest visiting Rome encountered an old seminary classmate begging on the steps of a basilica, disheveled, broken, and far from the altar he once approached with joy. This fallen priest had lost his way and declared himself “not a priest anymore.” Yet, through a chain of grace, he was brought before the Holy Father.
In a private moment, the Pope asked this man, now appearing as a beggar in both body and spirit, to hear his confession. When the man protested, “Your Holiness, look at me. I am a beggar. I am not a priest,” Saint John Paul II replied with tender clarity: “My son, once a priest, always a priest, and who among us is not a beggar. I too come before the Lord as a beggar asking for forgiveness of my sins.”
In those words, we hear not only the indelible character of Holy Orders but also the deep solidarity of our shared humanity before God. The Pope, the Vicar of Christ, placed himself alongside the broken priest as a fellow beggar, dependent on mercy, in need of absolution.
At the Chrism Mass, as the oils are blessed and our priests renew their promises, may our bishops renew their own fatherly commitment.
As a Permanent Deacon and, more personally, as the father of a priest, I was deeply moved by this story. It touched my heart and led me to think about the relationship between bishops and their priests. Our bishops are called to be fathers in this same spirit of humble mercy. At the Chrism Mass, when priests stand before their bishop to renew their vows and the holy oils are blessed, it is a moment of reaffirmation, for the priests, yes, but also an opportunity for bishops to reflect on their own fatherly and spiritual leadership.
We know that some priests walk heavy paths, burdened by doubt, weariness, isolation, or wounds that have caused them to falter. They remain priests forever, ontologically changed by the sacrament, but like all of us, they are beggars too, in need of a father’s encouragement, guidance, correction, and above all, merciful love.
Let us ask our bishops (and ourselves): How do we accompany those who stumble? Do we seek them out, as the Good Shepherd does, with patience and without judgment? Do we create spaces of trust where they can lay down their burdens, confess their struggles, and be lifted up again? And do we remember our own beggarly state, our own need for the Lord’s mercy, so that any leadership or support we offer flows from humility rather than superiority?
At the Chrism Mass, as the oils are blessed and our priests renew their promises, may our bishops renew their own fatherly commitment: to watch over their priests with the gentle heart of Christ, to remind them (and all of us) that priesthood is eternal, mercy is boundless, and we are all beggars at the foot of the Cross.
Let us pray for our bishops, for our priests, for one another, and for the grace to live as true disciples, humble, compassionate, and ever reliant on the One who calls us all from our poverty to His richness.
In Christ,
Deacon Patrick Stokely
Saints Peter and Paul Parish
West Chester, PA
