As often as the mercy of God deigns to renew for us the day of his gifts, there is, beloved, a just and reasonable cause for rejoicing, if the origin of the office we have undertaken be referred to the praise of its Author. For this observance, fitting indeed for all priests, I know to be most necessary for me, who, looking to the slenderness of my littleness and to the greatness of the office undertaken, I too ought to proclaim that prophetic word: Lord, I have heard thy report, and I feared; I considered thy works, and I trembled. For what is so unwonted, so fearful, as labor for the frail, sublimity for the lowly, dignity for the undeserving?
And yet we do not despair nor fail, because we presume not upon ourselves, but upon him who works in us. Whence also, beloved, we have sung the psalm of David in harmonious voice, not for our own exaltation, but for the glory of Christ the Lord. For he it is of whom it was prophetically written: Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110:4)—that is, not according to the order of Aaron, whose priesthood, running on through the propagation of his seed, was of a temporal ministry, and ceased with the law of the Old Testament; but according to the order of Melchizedek, in whom the figure of the eternal High Priest went before. And while it is not recorded of what parents he was begotten, in him is understood to be shown forth that One whose generation cannot be declared.
Finally, when the sacrament of this divine priesthood passed over also to human functions, it is not transmitted through the line of generations, nor is that chosen which flesh and blood created; but, the privilege of fathers ceasing and the order of families being set aside, the Church receives as her rulers those whom the Holy Spirit has prepared; that in the people of God's adoption, whose whole body is priestly and royal, it is not the prerogative of earthly origin that obtains the anointing, but the condescension of heavenly grace that begets the bishop. Although, therefore, beloved, in discharging the service of our office we are found both weak and slothful, since whenever we desire to act devoutly and zealously, we are held back by the very frailty of our condition;
yet having the unceasing propitiation of the omnipotent and everlasting Priest, who, like unto us, equal to the Father, lowered his Godhead even unto things human and raised humanity even unto things divine, we worthily and piously rejoice in his appointment: for although he has delegated to many shepherds the care of his sheep, he himself has not relinquished the keeping of his beloved flock. From his sovereign and eternal protection we have received also the safeguard of apostolic aid, which assuredly is not idle from its work; and the firmness of the foundation, upon which the height of the whole Church is built, is not wearied by any mass of the temple resting upon it. For the solidity of that faith which was praised in the prince of the apostles is perpetual;
and as that which Peter believed in Christ abides, so that which Christ instituted in Peter abides. For when the Lord, as is disclosed in the Gospel reading, had asked the disciples whom they—amid the various opinions of many—believed him to be, and the blessed Peter had answered, saying: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God: the Lord said: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And to thee will I give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven;
and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven (Matt. 16:16-19). The dispensation of truth, therefore, abides, and the blessed Peter, persevering in the strength of the rock which he received, has not relinquished the helm of the Church which he undertook. For he was so ordained above the rest, that, while he is called the Rock, while he is pronounced the foundation, while he is appointed door-keeper of the kingdom of heaven, while he is set as arbiter of the binding and the loosing—his decisions retaining their force even in heaven—we might know, by the very mysteries of his titles, what sort of fellowship he had with Christ. He now more fully and more powerfully performs the things entrusted to him, and carries out all the parts of his offices and cares in him and with him,
through whom he was glorified, executes all the parts of his offices and cares. If, therefore, anything is rightly done by us and rightly discerned, if anything is obtained from the mercy of God by daily supplications, it is of his works and merits; his power lives in his own see, and his authority is preeminent. For this, beloved, that confession obtained, which, inspired into the apostolic heart by God the Father, transcended all the uncertainties of human opinions, and received the firmness of the rock which no assaults could shake. For in the universal Church, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, Peter says daily, and every tongue that confesses the Lord is instructed by the teaching of this voice. This faith conquers the devil, and looses the bonds of his captives.
This faith engrafts those rescued from the world into heaven, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. For it is fortified by God with such great solidity that neither could heretical depravity ever corrupt it, nor pagan faithlessness overcome it. By these means, therefore, beloved, today's festivity is celebrated with reasonable homage, that in the person of my lowliness he may be understood, he may be honored, in whom both the solicitude of all shepherds, together with the keeping of the sheep committed to them, endures, and whose dignity does not fail even in an unworthy heir.
Hence the longed-for and honorable presence of my venerable brothers and fellow-priests is the more sacred and more devout from this, if they refer the piety of this office, in which they have deigned to be present, principally to him whom they have known to be not only the prelate of this see, but also the primate of all bishops. When, therefore, we bring our exhortations to the ears of your holiness, believe that he himself, whose place we fill, is speaking to you: for we admonish you with his affection, and we preach nothing else to you than what he taught; beseeching you that, with the loins of your mind girt, you may lead a chaste and sober life in the fear of God, and that your mind, not forgetful of its sovereignty, may not consent to the lusts of the flesh.
Brief and fleeting are the joys of earthly pleasures, which seek to turn aside from the paths of life those who are called to eternity. Let the faithful and religious soul, therefore, desire the things that are heavenly, and, eager for the divine promises, lift itself up into the love of the incorruptible good and into the hope of true light. But be assured, beloved, that your labor, by which you resist vices and fight against carnal desires, is pleasing in the sight of God and precious, and will profit not only you but also me before the mercy of God: for the shepherd's care glories in the advancement of the Lord's flock. For my crown, as the Apostle says, and my joy are you (1 Thess. 2:19);
if your faith, which from the beginning of the Gospel was preached in all the world (Rom. 1:8), shall abide in love and holiness. For although it behooves the whole Church, which is in all the earth, to flourish in all virtues, yet you above all, before the other peoples, it becomes to excel in the merits of piety, who, founded upon the very citadel of the apostolic rock, both our Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed together with all, and the blessed apostle Peter has instructed before all. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.