Last weekend, here at the Seminary, we hosted a group of young people associated with various Oblate ministries across the continent. It was uplifting to see those youngsters travelling long distances in order to participate in formation sessions based on Oblate Chartism. As this year the Oblates have begun three year preparation for the Bicentenary of the Oblate Congregation by focusing on the theme: “A new heart: Life in Apostolic Community” the talks and activates of the weekend focused on this very theme. St Eugene passion for establishing the first Oblate community came from his passion for the Church which he saw as a community, a living organism. From my observation I could tell that the youth gathered at St Mary’s shared Eugene’s understanding of the importance of the community for evangelization. As somebody said it is relatively easy to find a holy Catholic but it is more challenging to find a holy Catholic community. What is worse, lots of us believe that personal holiness is all we need to achieve and that holiness of our local communities isn’t so important. How different it is to Jesus’ words: “I give you a new commandment: love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another. By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” (Jn 13, 35)

The highlight of the weekend was the Eucharist with the Parish of St John Vianney and the dinner of the De Mazenod Family which saw a great number of Friends of the Oblates gathered to support and to enjoy each other company. Fr Gerry Conlan OMI, a missionary working in Kenya, Africa, brought into our celebration a taste of the big Oblate World.

            How many of us used to love stories about buried treasure when we were kids? How much the search for the treasure captivated our imagination as it brought dreams about the change of life we would have with discovery of such a treasure? Similar dreams and hopes the people who came to Australia in 1851 had during the gold rush. As we listen to the parables Jesus is telling us today at Mass we could think that they are stories for little children to kindle their imagination. But they aren’t bed time stories. They take us closer to God.

            My Sisters and Brothers!

            What is the treasure Jesus is talking today in the Gospel?  The Bible tells us this: “Happy the man who discovers wisdom, the man who gains discernment, gaining her is more rewarding then silver, more profitable then gold. She is beyond the price of pearls.” (Proverbs 3: 13-15) Are we surprised now that Solomon asked for wisdom so that he could discern between good and evil so that he could govern the people of God? He knew what was priceless – wisdom. What is wisdom though? In the Biblical sense, wisdom is the “ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding.” The Wisdom teachings of the Bible flow from the two great themes of the Ten Commandments and the Commandments of Jesus: reverence to God and respect for all persons. We may think that wisdom is some skill we gain in due course. However Christian understanding of wisdom is more about a person than some skill.

In what is today known as Istanbul but used to be called Constantinople there is a church that for a thousand years, until fifteenth century, was the biggest church building of the Christendom. It is called Hagia Sophia which means Holy Wisdom. Do you know who that mysterious Holy Wisdom is? When the church was still in the hands of Christians its main feast day was December 25. Whose birthday is then? It is Jesus Christ who back then, in the sixth century was already called Wisdom of God.

            Although it isn’t a Christian place of worship any longer let us acknowledge the one who is called Wisdom of God gives us ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding.

That is what the New Testament, the First letter to the Corinthians, to be precise, states: “Jesus Christ, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30) Wisdom presented here it is Our Blessed Lord.

            Can you recognize this passage: “Going into the house they saw the Child with his mother Mary, and falling to their needs they did him homage. Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.” The Magi left their earthy treasures in Bethlehem as those treasures had lost their value in comparison with Christ – the true treasure. The man from today’s parable did the same. He reevaluated his life and acknowledged that what he had was nothing in comparison with what was hidden in that field. What he found was what the Magi found too – Christ the Lord.  Was he silly? Were the Magi crazy? As we reflect on both passages we discover a common thing: When the man finds the treasure hidden in the filed he goes off happy. When the Magi found the Baby Jesus they were filled with delight. Such a treasure, I mean Jesus Christ, brings hopes for better future, for the change of life.

            I have just told you one of the Christmas stories let us balance it with an Easter story now. When the Lord was taken down from the cross he was placed in the grave, in the ground like treasure waiting to be found. However Jesus is an unusual treasure. He doesn’t wait to be found. He leaves the place where they hidden him, the grave, and go to search for us. He who is Wisdom of God to us. What happens to the women when they meet Jesus that Easter morning? They are filled with awe and great joy (Matthew 28: 8) like the man who found treasure in the field, like the Magi leaving their earthly treasures before the Baby Jesus, He who is Wisdom of God to us.

Do I need to talk to you that we need more priests?

Do I need to talk to you that there is plenty of work for new priests?

Do I need to talk to you that the priesthood is important for our Church?

My Dear Sisters and Brothers! No need to talk about these questions. What I would like to focus on instead is what the Word of God for this Sunday focuses on. Let start with discernment. Basically it comes to answering a couple of questions:  What should I do? How should I do that? Darnel, mentioned in the Gospel, bears a close resemblance to wheat. There is no way you can tell them apart at first. The only way is to let both of them, wheat and darnel, grow. When the ear appears then you can tell the difference. Discernment needs time too. However it is not hanging around but it is about growth. If a man asked you: “Should I become a priest?” what would you say? Would you say straight away: “Join the priesthood today!” Can we say that, simply because we need priests? How can we help such a man to discern whether his desire to be a priest is a genuine call from Jesus? Even the Church doesn’t jump into a Yes or No conclusion straight away. On the contrary the Church gives those discerning their vocation a generous amount of time, six, seven or even more years. However it is not about hanging around for six or seven years in the seminary. It is about the growth: human, spiritual, Christian growth.

There is an event recorded in the Bible, in the Book of Numbers precisely, when Jews were traveling through the desert after escaping from Egypt. How many tribes did they have? You are right, 12. So they were asking which tribe should become the priestly family. After consulting God, Moses collected the staffs of the 12 leaders of the 12 tribes and placed them in the most sacred chamber where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, where God was present. In the morning when the staffs were picked up they discovered that something unusual happed to the staff of Aaron. The dry, dead stick flourished. That’s how the people of Israel found out, discerned, who was chosen by God to be a priest. Today we don’t walk about with sticks, well, at least not until we reach some certain age when it is hard to walk. However I would like to use that story with Aaron to explain the discernment for the priesthood. When did the staff of Aaron flourish? When it was in the presence of the Lord. When somebody is called by Jesus to be a priest you can see how he flourishes when he is in the presence of the Lord. It becomes evident in his interest in prayer. Learning about Christ fascinates him. He looks at the Church, at the People of God, with the same love, kindness and compassion shown by Jesus. Today you can hear that chastity, celibacy is not healthy. That it ruins the psychology of those who choose it. Today you can hear that poverty, renunciation of material goods doesn’t make sense. Today you can hear that placing one’s will, his dreams and plans for the future at the disposal of the bishop or the provincial is unfair. Well, those who are called to the priesthood or the religious life flourish, find happiness and peace in those things.

For seven years I was preparing myself for the priesthood. Now I am back to the seminary to help the young men to prepare themselves for the priesthood. It is not that Jesus calls somebody to this way of life and then drops him off to the seminary saying: “Work on him. I will come back in seven years to pick him up.” On the contrary when somebody comes to the seminary he comes with Christ who’s Spirit comes to help those who are weak as we could hear in the second reading. Most of the time Jesus did his public ministry it was to form, to prepare the Apostles to continue his mission. Seven years in the seminary may seem to be long but the priesthood isn’t a job it is a life commitment to Christ, a relationship with Christ, that’s why the longish time enables the man to get closer to Christ in order he could draw others to Christ too.

I would like to encourage you to pray for those men discerning their vocation so that they could have courage to say Yes to the call.

            Can you remember what was used by God to create the first human being? The Holy Scripture tells us that God took some dirt from the soil and thus fashioned man. Now, let us go back to the Gospel we have just heard. Jesus speaks about one particular type of soil that is desirable- rich soil. Have you ever thought what makes soil rich? You can’t put notes or coins into soil to make it reach, can you? What makes it reach is that there are decaying plants, decomposing birds or animals. Rich soil is full of death, full of dying processes. I am sure that we all enjoy laying on the sand down on the beach on a summer day but I am also sure that none of you would fill your garden with golden sand from St Kilda Beach if you wanted to grow plants. Nothing would grow. Sand is beautiful on the beach but moved to a garden it reveals that it is barren.

            My Dear Sisters and Brothers! The first man was created of the dirt of the soil that is the environment for the vegetation, so that the human being could become the environment for the growth of the word of God.  That’s why as soon as the first people were created God gave them the commandment not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were to kill, or to use more religious word, to mortify their desire to be like God.

            St Paul explains that in the second reading for this Mass taken from the Letter to the Romans when he speaks: “From the beginning till now the entire creation has been groaning in one great act of giving birth.” Look, the soil of our planet keeps giving birth to the vegetation. We who, as the Bible says, were created of the soil of the earth are created for the same purpose to give birth to the seeds of the Word of God sown in us.

How to be the friendly environment for the word of God? In the same Letter to the Romans, just a few verses earlier we read: “If by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body, put them to death, you will live.” A Christian isn’t a lucky individual who doesn’t have any problems or issues with himself or herself. On the contrary such a person seeing thorns or weeds, which in us take the form of our sins and of our weakness, chooses not to let then grow but to cut them down. Then they become the food, compost for the seeds sown by God.

            How can you put to death the misdeeds of the body? By choosing TODAY not to act on them. Don’t worry about tomorrow. If TODAY you are drawn to be selfish, choose to focus on the needs of your husband or wife, your children or your parents, your church community. If TODAY anger is boiling in you choose to be kind and patient. If TODAY temptations of flesh are evident choose to distract yourself by doing some work or spending time with your friends. Look, there isn’t a selfish person. There isn’t an angry person. There isn’t a lustful person. But situations arise when people choose to be selfish, angry, impure etc. However every time you choose, with the grace of God of course, which is like that rain coming down from heaven we heard of in the first reading from Isaiah, every time you choose not to follow those misdeeds, you are pulling out a sinful weed in you. I guess it will appear again tomorrow with a new situation in your life but TODAY you are making good compost of that misdeed so the seeds of God’s Words.  A disciple Jesus presents to us in the Gospel for this Mass is like black, rich soil. In him or her the seeds of God’s Word grow and ripe bearing and abundant fruit as St Paul wrote in the Letter to the Galatians: “The fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, truthfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

            In the Gospel Our Blessed Lord speaks about his yoke. These words of Christ are not for the lazy and those who look for easy ways in their life. These words are for those who take their Christian calling seriously as they apply the Gospel’s principals to their daily dealings. It is for the parents who want to do the best even when they feel they are losing their strength. It is for the children who want to respectful and honour their parents even if there is some misunderstanding between them. It is for the priests who find it challenging to serve in our secular society. It is for the professionals who struggle to live up to the values of the Gospel in their work environment. However this Gospel passage is not just an invitation to keep doing well, to keep working hard. It is also a promise given by Christ. What is a yoke? It is a device for joining together a pair of animals so that they can pull a plow or heavy load. Pay attention to that: “It is a device for joining together a pair of animals…” As we know Christ wasn’t lecturing veterinary students. So, here he talks about a “device” for joining together a pair of persons so that they can share the load of doing good. If you are a parent loosing strength to be a good parent, if you are losing strength to be a respectful son or daughter, if you are losing strength to be a committed priest, if you are losing strength to be for the people that surround you, Christ has something to offer you. He tells you: “Don’t shoulder it on your own. It doesn’t work. Rather stand next to me and shoulder that yoke with me.”

          I think we all know the story of Simon of Cyrene. We usually say that Simon helped Jesus. However if we reflect on it deeper we find that it was Jesus helping Simon to shoulder the yoke of his daily struggles. Simon appears only for one of the fourteen Stations of the Cross but Jesus takes a share in shouldering our yoke every day. Another word for his yoke is the Cross. We have heard that we need to take up our cross and follow Jesus. It has nothing to do with looking for pain and suffering but it is about  putting God’s glory and the needs of others before our own plans and desires. Tell me: “Is it easy to put glory of God and the needs of others before your own needs?” It is not. It easier to focus on your own needs. Jesus always put the glory of God and the needs of the others before his own needs and he invites us today to approach him and to learn this attitude from him by being united to him by living for God’s glory and salvation of people.

          If you feel that your strength is leaving you go to Jesus and he will give you rest. Why do we rest? So that we can resume the work or duties that exhausted us. Note that Jesus doesn’t promise to take the struggles away. Rather he promises to reinvigorate. How can you get rest Jesus promises? Let me tell you the story of a priest who was appointed a bishop. First he was excited. It looked like a great promotion but as he started researching about his new diocese he found out how many problems he would need to face. The diocese was shaken by sexual abuses of the clergy. The bishop to be started worrying: “Why should I fix up that mess?” he thought. However he decided not to refuse the appointment. When the day was approaching for the public announcement of his appointment, he went to the city. The old bishop warmly welcomed him, they spoke at some length and the old man asked him to stay in his residence. The new bishop went to bed early to be ready for the media conference in the morning but he was so worried about the questions he was expecting to face from the floor that he couldn’t fall asleep. Around 3am he said to himself: ‘That’s it. I am going to the chapel to calm down.” When he got there he found that the old bishop was there already praying before the Blessed Sacrament. It was exactly what he had been doing for years. Before starting his daily duties he would spend prolonged time with Jesus. From Jesus the old bishop was getting strength to deal with so many problems. Before Jesus the old bishop was finding strength not to give up but to continue serving God and the people of God.

          When Jesus says: “Come to me..” it means he is here, in the tabernacle, waiting to welcome you. Keep coming to him when you labour and are overburdened and he will give you the rest you need to resume your work for God’s glory and the good of others.

A few days ago I read an article about a priest. Today was his funeral. Fr Piotr was a priest for six months. He died at the age of 25. His dream was to be a priest that’s why he entered the seminary of his diocese. However last year he was diagnosed of bowl and stomach cancer. It didn’t look good at all. The nun who broke the news to him also said: “God loves you so much. He has got great plans for you.” Fr Piotr was thinking what kind of plans God could have for a dying person. He shared his thoughts with his bishop and also revealed his desire to be ordained a priest ASAP. The bishop dispensed Piotr from the unfinished studies and on Christmas Day 2013 Piotr was ordained as no one knew how much time he had left. That Christmas day in the little chapel, like in Bethlehem where Christ was born a new and very ill priest was born. The Bishop said to him that day: “Christmas happened in fragility, uncertainties and fear… Piotr, you are being born to the priesthood in fragility of your body…. You have passed all exams required for the priesthood by the way you live your suffering. I want you Piotr, if it is the holy will of God, to serve the People of God by your priesthood at the altar, in the confessional, wherever you will be able to minister. I want you to minister your suffering in priestly manner.”

Fr Piotr was offered a treatment in a good clinic. He refused. He didn't want to spend months away fro his church. He wanted to live his final weeks as a priest. People remember the young and exhausted priest climbing the steps to the Cathedral to celebrate his daily Mass and hear confessions. When pain was unbearable he kept repeating: "I will remember you when I am with my Lord." He offered his suffering so that the seminary, where he was prepared for the priesthood, could always give the Church holy priests.