By Renjith Joseph
Fr Joseph Carola SJ joined us for dinner on Sunday 27 August before giving us seminarians a brief overview of St Augustine’s sermon titled On Pastors. Fr Joseph explained that Augustine was highlighting the burden of stewardship of the Church: to the laity as a fellow Christian, and to the clergy as a fellow bishop.
As shepherds of Jesus’ flock, clergymen must feed their sheep with the ways and words of the Lord rather than their own. A shepherd must preach Christ at all times and not their own agenda, not seeking an advantage or preaching for convenience.
Fr Joseph explained that just as shepherds have a right to some of the milk of the sheep in their care, clergy have a right to recompense. They cannot, however, sell the Gospel for a profit and must keep in mind that the greater reward will come from Jesus for their genuine stewardship of His people. Similarly, a shepherd has a right to some of the wool of the sheep. Fr Joseph underlined that this meant clergy also have a right to honour but not without actually feeding the sheep with word and sacrament. A bad shepherd would refuse to risk challenging their sheep and instead deliver speeches that present false notions of divine mercy at the expense of truth.
Furthermore, Augustine says that a good pastor prepares his flock for suffering. While a poor shepherd builds on sand while heaping up milk and wool, a good shepherd builds on the rock of Christ and His cross, reminding the sheep that Jesus’ undeserved suffering is their fate too. Christians, as adopted sons and daughters of the Father, will not be a stranger to the whip since the Only Begotten Son was also flogged. However, Fr Joseph reminded us that we will not be tested beyond our bearing (1 Cor 10:13).
God doesn’t desert the sheep regardless of the sins of the shepherds. The sheep still must reject false teachers and discern and listen to the voice of the true shepherd, Jesus Christ, in the teachings of the shepherds they have been entrusted to.
After the talk, Fr Joseph graciously answered several of our questions and related scenes of pastoral availability and the need to accompany people in their sufferings and joys. All the seminarians were profoundly moved and continue to express their gratitude for Fr Joseph’s inspirational exegesis of St Augustine, as well as his insightful and faithful pastoral experience.