Fields of Grain: Praying for Priests
Saturday, September 7th Readings Reflection: Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
“While Jesus was going through a field of grain [also referred to as “corn” in other translations] on a sabbath, [H]is disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.”
Today’s Gospel begins with this detailed description of the Apostles’ actions as they walked through a field of grain. While seemingly insignificant in light of the exchange between Christ and the Pharisees that follows the above quoted line, the Apostles’ actions have a symbolic significance in light of their role in the Church. St. Ambrose, a 4th century Doctor of the Church, wrote:
But herein is a great mystery. For the field is the whole world, the corn is the abundant harvest of the saints in the seed of the human race, the ears of corn are the fruits of the Church, which the Apostles shaking off by their works fed upon, nourishing themselves with our increase, and by their mighty miracles, as it were out of the bodily husks, plucking forth the fruits of the mind to the light of faith.
In other words, the field through which Our Lord and the Apostles were walking represents the entire world. The corn represents those who live in the state of grace and merit the title of saint when they join the Church Triumphant. Our Lord often spoke about a good tree bearing good fruit, and the ears of corn in today’s Gospel symbolize the good fruit borne by the Church. These fruits come from the Church Militant as we live lives of prayer and good works, living not for our bodily husks but for the eternal life for which we long by the light of faith. These good fruits nourish and sustain the Apostles, the first priests, bishops, and pope of the Catholic Church.
This symbolism carries with it an important message for us today. Perhaps more than ever before, we must pray for our priests, bishops, and pope, that they may be strengthened against the countless temptations that they endure and lead many souls to Christ. St. Alphonsus de Liguori wrote that through the labours of a holy priest, “God will gain not one but a hundred and a thousand souls.” On the other hand, an unfaithful priest will likely bring many souls with him to Hell.
Our priests have the immense blessing of administering the sacraments to the faithful. Within the priest’s hands and at his words, ordinary bread and wine become Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. By a priest’s words, sinners are brought back from spiritual death to the life of sanctifying grace in the Sacrament of Penance. Only a priest has the God-given power to consecrate bread and wine into the Holy Eucharist and to forgive sins in Confession.
As the Psalmist wrote, “What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things [H]e hath rendered unto me? I will take the chalice of salvation; and I will call upon the name of the Lord” (Ps 115:12 DRB). We can never repay God for the infinite blessings He has bestowed upon us through His priests. We can, however, pray for all the priests of the Catholic Church, that they may always cooperate with the graces God gives them to faithfully live out their vocations. May we pause over the seemingly simple details at the beginning of today’s Gospel and remember to offer a prayer for priests, by whom God blesses us with infinite graces.
