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The Eternal Priest |
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Raymond V. Gough, S.J.
"The purpose for which any high priest is chosen from among his fellow men, and made a representative of men in their dealings with God, is to offer gifts and sacrifices in expiation of their sins… His vocation comes from God. So it is with Christ. He did not raise Himself to the dignity of the high priesthood; it was God that raised Him to it, when He said, ‘Thou art My Son, I have begotten Thee this day’, and so, elsewhere, ‘Thou art a priest forever, in the line of Melchisedech’. Christ, during His earthly life, offered prayers and entreaties to the God who could save Him from death, not without a piercing cry, not without tears; yet with such piety as won Him a hearing. Son of God though He was, He learned obedience in the school of suffering, and now, His full achievement reached, He wins eternal salvation for all those who render obedience to Him." (Hebrews 5:1,5-9)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, dear friends of Father Delaney:
On an occasion such as this, would it be a temptation or an inspiration for us to indulge in a bit of sentiment? Nostalgically to recall fond memories of the priest who so profoundly influenced our lives and the lives of so many. Would it be a virtue or a fault, an indication of strength or a betrayal of weakness if we should mingle the water of sentiment with the wine of sacrifice? Sacrifice and sentiment – we do not usually bracket the terms; they would seem to have little in common. We think of sentiment as something soft, sacrifice as something hard: they seem to strike discordant notes. Sentiment we usually associate with Christmas; sacrifice is epitomized by Calvary. And yet, are they mutually exclusive? For all the sweet sentimentality associated with Christmas, there was also the cold, stark reality of sacrifice; and for all the hardship of Calvary, Christ expressed sentiments of pity
for the Jew, compassion for the thief, and concern for His Mother and John and all the children of Mary.
If it is a temptation, then let us succumb to it! For surely the occasion warrants it – so beautiful and heart-warming is the sight we behold here today: the King’s sons and daughters, gathered around His altar-throne, attesting by the variety of their holy habits the many-splendored beauty of His Spouse, the Church. Many of them, former UPSCAns or students here in the University who owe their vocation, under God, to Father Delaney, to his inspiring words and still more inspiring example…
We could take our cue for renewal from today’s liturgy. The wedding garment of the Gospel, which is the condition and result of our being called and chosen, is what Saint Paul has in mind when he exhorts us in the Epistle, to be renewed, to put off the old self and to put on Christ. Paul mixes his metaphors somewhat, but the thought is clear: we are to throw around ourselves, like a garment, something which lies at the innermost roots of our being. We have been both called and chosen: called to be members of one Body in Christ Jesus, clothed with the wedding garment of grace which was given to us symbolically in Baptism when we put on the New Man which was created in God’s likeness, justified and sanctified in truth. We have been chosen because we did not reject His invitation; and we need not fear to be cast off as long as we have put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
"To put on Christ" means many things. Saint Paul mentions a few of them in today’s Epistle. We must speak the truth because we are one Body in Christ; otherwise it would be like the hand deceiving the head. We must not nurse a grievance nor harbor a grudge; it would be like cutting off your nose to spite your face. We must work diligently to be able to share with the less fortunate members of Christ’s Body the gifts and blessings He has lavished on us.
"To put on Christ" in a practical way is to "put on Father Delaney", for it was the spirit of Christ that drove him, the spirit of sacrifice, the spirit of love. Surely, if Father Delaney taught us anything by his life – and more eloquently by his death – it was that love and sacrifice must go together: you can’t have one without the other. And both love and sacrifice mean GIVING. How often have you heard him say: "Sacrifice is usually difficult and irksome; only love can make it easy, and perfect love can make it a joy. We are willing to give in proportion as we love, and when love is perfect, the sacrifice is complete." It was true of God: He gave His only-begotten Son. It was true of Christ: He gave Himself for our salvation. And what Saint Paul said of himself was true of Father Delaney: "Gladly will I spend and be spent on your soul’s behalf, though you should love me too little for loving you too well"…
People have often asked: What was Fr. Delaney’s secret? How was he able to effect such a lasting influence on so many? I think the name of this Chapel gives us a clue. The CHAPEL OF THE HOLY SACRIFICE! For Fr. Delaney that meant not just the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, but also the Holy Sacrifice of Marriage! How eloquently he spoke on both sacrifices, the Mass and Marriage! How he could pack them in, semester after semester, in the old sawali chapel as he spoke to standing-room-only audiences of students and faculty members, UPSCAns and fraternity and sorority members alike, on the Mass, and on Love, Courtship and Marriage.
It is easy enough to understand his infectious enthusiasm for the Mass. For he took to heart the words of St. Paul to the Philippians: "In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus" (2:5), and so he could identify as few others with Christ, the Priest, and with Christ the Victim. To Fr. Delaney, the Mass was the ultimate kenosis, the pouring out of the divinity and the humanity of the Son of God; the Mass was the Last Supper – Calvary – Christ Risen; it was the constant, conclusive, daily reminder of God’s love for each of us in Christ Jesus. To Fr. Delaney was given the grace that we all prayed for on the First Sunday of Lent: "to understand the meaning of Our Lord’s death and resurrection, and to reflect it in our lives." Fr. Delaney reflected it, he lived the kenosis, he poured himself out for others without counting the cost. In Fr. Delaney we caught a glimpse of the beauty and joy of sacrifice, and in turn we tried to learn – love – live the Mass ourselves!
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These are excerpts pieced together from three homilies on separate occasions but on the same theme, "John P. Delaney, S.J. and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass", all delivered at the Chapel of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, University of the Philippines, by the late Rev. Fr. Raymond Gough, S.J. Father John Patrick Delaney, born to Irish parents in Liverpool, U.K. but grew up in New York City, was the Resident Chaplain for the Catholic students and faculty at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. Two of the fifteen co-founders of CXAP, by God’s grace, happened to be fervent Delaney’s disciples on the Holy Mass in those days. Thus their choice of Fr. Gough’s homilies for this section of catholicxybr.org.
CXAP acknowledges, with thanks and great appreciation, the assistance obtained from the Fr. JP Delaney Memorial Committee whose book The Father Delaney We Knew is the source of these excerpts from Father Gough’s homilies.
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