Pope at Mass: bishop, a humble
and meek servant, not a prince
During Mass, Monday morning, Pope Francis spoke about the
qualities of a bishop that St. Paul speaks about in his letter to Titus.
By Robin Gomes
A humble and meek servant, not a prince. This is what
a bishop should be according to Pope Francis. Celebrating Holy Mass,
Monday morning, at the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican, he delivered a homily
outlining the qualities of a bishop.
He took his cue from the Letter of St. Paul to Titus in
the day’s Mass, that describes in detail the figure of a bishop, to bring order
in the Church.
Church not born in complete order
The Pope pointed out that the Church was born amidst zeal
and disorder but also "admirable things" were
accomplished. He noted that there is always confusion and disorder with
the power of the Holy Spirit but we must not be afraid because
it is a beautiful sign.
Speaking in Italian, the Pope explained that the Church was
never born with everything in order, in place, without problems, or
confusion - never. However this confusion, this disorder, he said, must
be resolved and put in order. As an example, he pointed to
the first Council of Jerusalem where there was a struggle
betweenjudaizers and non - judaizers , but the
Council finally fixed the problem.
Bishop, administrator of God not of goods
Pope Francis said that St. Paul leaves Titus in Crete to set
things right, reminding him that "the first thing is faith".
At the same time, he provides some criteria and instructions on the figure of
the bishop.
The Pope outlined the definition of a bishop as a "steward
of God", not of goods, power, mutual self-interest but only the
interest of God. The bishop always has to correct and ask himself,
"Am I an administrator of God or a businessman?"
The bishop, the administrator of God must be irreproachable –
something that God asked of Abraham: "Walk in my presence and be
irreproachable". This, the Pope said, is the basic quality of a leader.
Qualities of bishop
Pope Francis also spoke about what a bishop should not
be. He should not be arrogant or conceited, ill-tempered or giving in to
drinking, one of the most common vices in Paul's time, not a businessman or
attached to money. He said it would be a calamity for the Church if a
bishop had only one of these defects. Instead, a bishop should be able to
"give hospitality", a "lover of good", "sensible,
just, holy, master of himself, faithful to the Word worthy of the faith that he
was taught".
The Holy Father said it would be nice to ask these questions
at the beginning of an investigation before the election of bishops, before
going ahead with other inquiries.
According to Pope Francis, a bishop, above all must be humble
and meek, a servant not a prince. This, he said, is the Word of God.
This, he said, is not something new after Vatican II but goes back much
earlier to the time of Paul. This is from the beginning when the Church
realized that it had to fix the problem of bishops.
What counts before God is not being nice and preaching well
but humility and service. The Pope concluded urging for prayers for
bishops so that “they may be, or we may be, as Paul asks us to be".
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