“‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’
Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses' aide, said,
‘Moses, my lord, stop them.’
But Moses answered him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake?
Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!
Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!’”
What is my role as your pastor? In Latin, the word pastor means shepherd. In John’s Gospel, Jesus states, “I am the good shepherd.” Jesus lays down his life for the sheep, whom he knows and who know him. Jesus, as the good shepherd, is the model of a pastor, being in relationship with and laying down his life each day for those entrusted to his care. Traditionally, Jesus is also understood to model three offices or duties or, in Latin, munera: priest, prophet, and king. Functionally, these three munera can encompass many of the specific responsibilities of a pastor to sanctify, teach, and govern.
To sanctify, I am charged with encouraging prayer within families, making the Eucharist the center of parish life, nourishing the faith through frequent reception of the Eucharist and confession, encouraging full, active, and conscious participation in the Eucharist and protecting it from abuses, baptizing, preparing couples and celebrating marriages, celebrating funeral rites, helping the sick, and especially the dying, through the sacraments, and providing solemn blessings. To teach, I am charged with proclaiming God’s Word in its entirety, providing instruction in the truths of the faith, preaching on Sundays and Holy Days, evangelizing all, especially those who have left the practice of the faith or have no faith, correcting errors, seeking out the poor, afflicted, lonely, exiled, and those weighed down by special concerns, caring for the Catholic education of children and young adults, visiting families and supporting spouses and parents in their duties, and fostering works in the spirit of the gospel including social justice. To govern, I am charged with representing the parish in all juridic affairs, administering the temporal goods of the parish in accord with civil law and approved policies and procedures, growing the practice of Christian life in families, promoting the role of the laity in the mission of the Church, and fostering communion.
This isn’t quite everything the Church says I’m responsible for as your pastor (I also have other responsibilities just related to being a priest, like praying for you every day), but it’s a good start. There are two misunderstandings that could easily arise when considering the above: first, that I’m supposed to do all of this on my own and, second, that you are only sheep. The answer to both of these possible misunderstandings is the same. It is the Holy Spirit.
In fulfillment of Moses’s desire, the Holy Spirit has been given to all of God’s people, empowering each of us with gifts for ministry, leading us into all truth, and forming us as one body in Christ. St. Paul says that pastors, among others, are a gift “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Eph. 4:12-13). My joy as a pastor comes from seeing you empowered by the Holy Spirit for ministry, unified in mission and service, and growing in Christian maturity. In short, not being mere sheep, but disciples growing in faith and in action. It is becoming who you were made to be! The truth is, I can’t be a good pastor without you nor would I want to be. You help me to be who God made me to be! Thanks be to God that the LORD has bestowed his spirit on us all!