Preach with authority, serve with humility

Three chairs were placed on the altar in the Mission church at Mission San José facing Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ, as he delivered his homily on June 28. In those chairs sat Garrett McGowan, Aidan Cameron-Smith and Huy Minh Nguyen, who were about to be ordained to the transitional diaconate, part of their journey to becoming priests.  

 Bishop Barber offered the men some spiritual fatherly advice, specific to one of their new responsibilities: preaching with the authority of Jesus Christ and His Church. “If you are going to preach well, you must spend time studying the Scriptures,” he said. “You must read continually. You must consult good commentaries. When Jesus was engaging with the rabbis in the temple asking questions, all who heard him were astounded. May all who listen to your homilies be astounded by what they learn about God’s love for them.” 

 He also reminded them to continue praying, sharing an anecdote from his days teaching at a seminary when a new seminarian brought a textbook to a holy hour instead of using the time for prayer. When the hour was up, Bishop Barber approached the young man and said, “Study is for the head. Prayer is for the heart. This hour is supposed to be for talking to the Lord as if He were your best friend.” 

 “Preach. Study. Prayer,” the bishop said. “But in reverse order. Pray, study, and then you will be able to preach and preach well.” 

 It was advice the new deacons were able to put into practice quickly, with some of them scheduled to give their first homilies Sunday morning after participating in another key aspect of their diaconate, a commitment to service.  

 Bishop Barber continued his tradition of inviting the new deacons to serve breakfast with Night on the Streets–Catholic Worker bright and early Sunday morning.  

 Together with approximately 25 other volunteers, the new deacons set up and served between 60 and 80 guests breakfast. Afterwards, volunteers gathered for prayer, and new volunteers were asked to reflect on what they learned from their presence there that morning.  

“Jesus unites himself to the poor,” Deacon McGowan said.  

While the guests departed with their bodies nourished, everyone left with their souls nourished.