Am I my brother’s keeper?

Vocation Homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Given at St. Peter's Church in Provincetown
By: Rev. Fr. Ronnie P. Floyd


Am I my brother’s keeper? The simple answer is yes—and as our Lord tells us in the Gospel

Our brother or our neighbor—is really everyman, every person whose path we cross and whose life is affected by our own. This is a fundamental principle of Catholicism called solidarity—which means that as Catholics we understand that no man is an island, that our actions affect each other and that we must be conscious of this interdependence in the exercise of our freedom.

Each of us has a responsibility to care for and promote the good for each other.This is at the root of the greatest commandment: the command to Love God, and because of our Love for God, to Love our neighbor.

This is true Christian charity, and you know what, in many ways, we Americans, we American Catholics, are very good at loving our neighbor.

A clear example of this is the instant and generous response whenever we hear of a natural or man made disaster threatening peoples lives anywhere across the globe.

However today’s Gospel and scriptures, reminds us of the more difficult aspect of Charity
the harder aspect of Love.

To love one another does not mean to live and let live. To love one another does not mean simply to provide our neighbors with what they need to survive. Love means to be intimately interested in the well-being of another. It means to want what’s good for them not just nutritionally, physically, financially, emotionally but also intellectually, morally, and spiritually.

When the Gospel speaks about feeding the poor, of course it means giving the hungry bread.

But let us not forget that our Lord himself declares that Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that falls from the mouth of God. And what is the Word of God, except God’s plan for humanity? Thus if we want to succeed in fulfilling that law of love, we can’t provide for our neighbors body and be silent about their soul!

Each of us, by virtue of our baptism—must speak out helping and teaching each other to listen
for God’s plan and to obey His Law.

God loves us, he loves us all, inspite of the fact that we are all sinners, and so to help us speak, to teach us and help us recognize God’s plan God gives us some help

God sends us shepherds, he sends us pastors and watchmen elders in faith, who we call priests to help us help others, but priests do not have a monopoly on this teaching vocation! All of us by virtue of our baptism share in Christ’s prophetic mission. All of us are called to watch over each other, to take responsibility for our neighbors to teach them the truth, walk with them on the path, and to correct them when necessary.

Rather, God gives us shepherds, who are sealed with the grace of the Holy Spirit and dedicated to proclaiming the Word and being a steward of the mysteries of God, so that we who are called to love, might be strengthened daily by the source of all Love through the proclamation of the Word of God and by the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ—the source of all the sacraments.

It is to Priests—the helpers of the Bishops and in their own right successors of the Apostles—
that Christ entrusts the duty to safeguard the faith, to keep it pure and whole, so that in each generation the faithful have direct access to Christ.

In this special way, priests become their brother’s keeper. Priests live out the universal call to love by feeding their brothers and sisters—not just with bread and water but with the Word of God the Father and the food from heaven.

In this way our priests become icons and images of the Father and so we rightly call these our brothers, Father.

And while, as we all know, individual priests and even bishops may occasionally stray from the path and need to be called back to faithfulness themselves, Christ promises that united with the Holy Father and all the Bishops the Priesthood itself will never fail—because it is ultimately united to Christ’s own perfect priesthood.

Thus the priesthood is truly an exalted calling and so important to the Church, we need priests.

However just as much as we need priests, the priesthood is in its own right a path to happiness and holiness for the men who are called to it. The priesthood is not a job, but an identity. It is a vocation, a calling, from God Himself. From the same God who made and knew us from the first moment of our conception. Thus when God calls a man to the priesthood, just like when he calls a man or woman to another vocation, e.g. marriage, parenthood, or religious life, this calling, this vocation, is not an option, It’s not a choice, but rather it’s a reality! It’s the reality of who we are and are meant to be and since God made us and wants us to be happy we can never be happy or at peace, unless we follow the plan He has for our life.

This was my experience.

Happiness comes from listening to the word of God and doing it—following God’s plan in freedom!

And so we come back to the question: Am I my brother’s keeper?

If in charity the answer to this question is yes and if we truly desire what is best for our neighbor we must help them to seek our and discern God’s vocation for them.

Do not be afraid to correct each other, and to lead each other to follow God’s will—because in this journey of life, we are all fellow pilgrims, and so we must help each other follow the Way.

Just as we must be willing in charity to correct our brother when he sins. In Charity, help young people know that God has a plan for them, to listen for it in their hearts, and to do it! Their happiness depends on it!

And while all vocations are of God and thus needed in a special way encourage young men to consider the priesthood. I believe that every young man, who is serious about his faith, owes it to himself and his God to at least consider this vocation.