St. Augustine: Priests should never tire of seeking the lost

The Clarion Herald celebrated “The Gift of Priesthood” in a special section that included columns by priests and bishops across the state of Louisiana. Here is a reflection from from Father Brice Higginbotham of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

In his famous sermon on pastors, St. Augustine distills for us priests the essence of pastoral ministry. 

Our mother, the Church, nourishes us priests with these words every late summer as we pray the Office of Readings, at the same time showing our deacons, consecrated women and men, and laypeople who pray the Divine Office what they should expect from their priests and how they might pray for us. 

Here is my favorite section, where St. Augustine speaks of the zealous pastoral charity of the shepherd of souls:

I shall recall the straying; I shall seek the lost. Whether they wish it or not, I shall do it. And should the brambles of the forests tear at me when I seek them, I shall force myself through all straits; I shall pull down all hedges. So far as the God whom I fear grants me the strength, I shall search everywhere. I shall recall the straying; I shall seek after those on the verge of being lost. (St. Augustine, Sermon 46:14-15 in the “Liturgy of the Hours,” Monday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time) 

This is pastoral charity. This is living with the heart of Christ, a heart which is laser focused on the straying sheep. The priest, living pastoral charity in union with Christ, cries out from the depth of his heart the words with which Christ begins his own public ministry: “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15).

The kingdom of God is at hand! Jesus Christ himself has come all the way down from heaven to seek you, dear sheep! When you rejected him, he came for you. When you spat upon him and accused him falsely, he came for you. When the brambles of your scourging and your apathy, and your lack of reverence before the Blessed Sacrament tore at his back, he came for you. He has searched everywhere – among tax collectors, prostitutes, sinners and even into hell – so that you “may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

He went to the cross for you and even passed through the cross to the Resurrection … for you!

  We priests have the lofty calling of being Jesus in the world. Each of us is “alter Christus.” Each of us acts sacramentally “in persona Christi Capitis.” Each of us is impelled to search everywhere for the lost sheep. And each of us will only experience this zealous pastoral charity which St. Augustine describes if our hearts are burning with the love of Christ. 

I simply do not have the capacity for that kind of charity (or charity at all, in fact!) if I do not faithfully pray the Liturgy of the Hours; if I do not make a daily holy hour; and if I do not celebrate the Mass with reverence and devotion (even on the days when I feel no consolation).

These words of the saint are only pretty poetry, some fantasy from a bygone age. As our Lord himself says, “He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

But, if we priests choose to remain in Jesus, the courageous fatherhood which Augustine describes will be ours. It will hurt more than anything else in our entire lives. We will sweat; we will cry; we may even bleed. And it will all be worth it! 

Our Lord teaches us that remaining in him makes us true disciples who bear much fruit and enter into the loving communion of the Blessed Trinity! Entering into this blessed communion through our fidelity to our vocation as shepherds results in the fullness of our joy! “These things I have spoken to you,” says the Lord, “that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

So we priests find suffering and joy together – the paradox of the life of a disciple in this valley of tears – as we search everywhere. We preach about repentance, then we sit in the confessional for hours, sometimes preaching and sitting for months at a new parish before people begin to come. We prepare our homilies with fidelity, so that the people might have the best chance to hear the Gospel. We go out into our town to meet our people on their turf and show them that Jesus doesn’t just stay in church. We go to the festivals, the parades, the Friday night football games, and the rest, because Jesus searches everywhere for his people. 

We get online, making sure our parish has an attractive website and social media presence because we love the people who will first be invited into encounter with Jesus there. We hire billboards and commercials if we can afford them. We seek every opportunity to look our children in the eye and call them to virtue, especially one-on-one and in small groups. We do this not because it’s easy – it’s not – but because they rightly call us “Father,” and fathers love their children enough to call them to virtue.

When we reach the gates of heaven and Jesus looks us in the eye, may we be able to say after the model of St. Augustine: I have recalled the straying; I have sought the lost. When the brambles tore at me, I forced myself through, and pulled down all hedges. You granted me the strength, sweet Jesus, and we together have searched everywhere, rescuing many who would have otherwise been lost. 

Then, we pray, he will respond with the words of immeasurable joy: “Well done, good and faithful servant … enter into the joy of your master” (Mt 25:23).

Father Brice Higginbotham of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux has begun studies in Rome for a license in Sacred Scripture. For more information, go to fatherbrice.com.