PREACHING - A SIGN OF CONTRADICTION

More than forty years ago (1976), a Polish archbishop was invited to preach the Lenten retreat for the pope and the Roman Curia. At the time, only the Holy Spirit knew that the retreat master, Cardinal Wojtyla, would become Pope John Paul II two years henceforth. The future Successor of Saint Peter chose as the theme for his meditations the expression Sign of Contradiction. The title derives from Simeon’s prophetic utterance to Our Lady in the temple. “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted” (Luke 2:34).

The Presentation of the Lord in the temple is the archetypical consecration. The evangelist, Saint Luke, makes this abundantly evident in his description of the event. The Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph present the Child to the Lord (cf. Luke 2:22). It is a ritual act that likewise corresponds to the law of the Lord. For what has just happened in this joyful mystery can only be rightly called a consecration (cf. Luke 2:23). As with other consecrations of the Lord, the spoken words are just as momentous as the physical acts.

The words coming out of the mouth of Simeon at the Presentation convey an incontestable Christological content. The messiah has truly come but his messianic mission will be far from easy before he gets to Calvary. There are those who reject Jesus because “no prophet is without honor in his native place and in his own house” (Matt. 13:57). There are those who reject him in Capernaum, walking away “and no longer [accompanying] him” (John 6:66) upon hearing that he is the Bread of Life. Rejected was he then and rejected is he now. But not even rejection by the ransomed of any and all times deters the Lord from carrying out his propitiatory sacrifice on Calvary. Rejection is just not outside the ambit of the Lord’s mediation. And neither is it outside of the mediation of those men who are made other Christs by priestly ordination.

Good Preaching Necessarily Draws Opposition
Following Christ, all priests of the new dispensation are called in their consecrations to speak words that will be opposed. In his public ministry, Jesus spoke words which drew opposition all the time, none more resisted than this word: Repent! Evangelization and catechesis are always moments for conversion. When priests speak in the pulpit, we have a privileged moment for that opposition and resistance to the word to be broken down if we approach our work in the right way. Context, discernment and prudence are key factors in all pastoral endeavors and never are they more essential than in preaching about sensitive topics like God’s gift of sexuality. The overwhelming pastoral need in this area still requires an act of the will on our part. And once that is in place, I still may want to know: Where do I start?

Next year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Humanae Vitae, Blessed Paul VI’s encyclical on the integrity of the marital act, reminding us that we cannot detach its life-giving meaning from its love-giving meaning without deleterious consequences. It came as the Sexual Revolution was just ramping up. Five decades on, everywhere we look, we see the bitter fruit of that revolution. It begs the question, then, what if we did not go silent in the pulpit on Humanae Vitae? What if we mustered the courage to speak on its truth and did not give in to fear?

Silence on this issue has made it seem that most priests have been unconvinced of Humanae Vitae’s rightness for the faith. It has also made it seem that some priests value their popularity a bit too much. It is good to recall here Jesus’ warning: “Woe to you when all speak well of you” (Luke 6:26). This warning comes with the judgment that false prophets are revealed precisely in the fact that everyone says nice things about them (cf. Luke 6:26). Any false prophet is ipso facto disqualified from being a sign of contradiction.

Let me finish with a few comments about the saint I invoked at the beginning of this essay. Saint Thomas More is in every sense of the expression a saint for our times. Although he was married and had children, celibate priests ought to be mindful of the things we have in common with him. While his conflict was with the king, it was over the indissolubility of marriage, a matter that should concern us all. All Catholics—regardless of their vocations in life—ought to be able to recognize that marriage is a permanent union raised to the dignity of a sacrament by Christ. Without a vibrant marriage culture however, society is inestimably weakened. And so is the Church.

Vocations to the priesthood take root in families and are nourished within this milieu. The flourishing of marriage and family life is tethered ever so fragilely to the flourishing of vocations to the priesthood. But who among us can make the case that marriage and the priesthood are flourishing at this time? All the empirical data suggests not a flourishing but a wilting. Marriage and the priesthood have been harmed enormously by a misuse of sexuality. A return to health for both vocations however is not going to be found in laxity and compromise. No, it will arise out of a defense of what is true. Jesus assures the apostles at the Last Supper that they are already consecrated in the truth. It has occurred in the very word he speaks to them (cf. John 17:17). Let us be re-invigorated to preach that word in season and out of season. For the good of the culture and our faith, let us be and remain signs of contradiction!