Holy Great-Martyr Procopius (303).
1 Corinthians 9:13-18. Matthew 16:1-6.
Read 1 Corinthians 9:13-18
As priests, we always need to remind ourselves (and are constantly being reminded by safeguarding officials) of the need to be beyond reproach in our dealings with minors and other vulnerable persons. In other words, we need take the necessary steps in our ministry so that we are protected from accusations of wrongdoing. For instance, we always ought to have a second non-related adult present when with minors or to hear confessions in a space that is visible to others or in a divided confessional that requires priest and penitent to enter via separate entrances.
While the heightened awareness around being beyond reproach in our dealings with vulnerable populations is relatively recent and due largely to the horrific clergy sexual abuse scandals, the need to be beyond reproach goes back to the earliest years in the Church, as evidenced by the Apostle Paul in today’s reading.
Paul is under attack. He is accused of not being a true apostle and of teaching falsehoods. And in his own defence, he points to how he has preached and carried out his ministry in a manner that is beyond reproach. He points to how he has never charged anyone for his preaching and how he has sustained himself financially when he could have, if he wanted, gained from the people to whom he preached and ministered.
While this is important for clergy for obvious reasons, it is also important for the lay faithful. For you who read these reflections who are not clergy (the great majority), you might be the only believer that your family members and coworkers know. You might be the only connection that others in your life have with Christ and the Church. For them, you are a much more immediate and powerful ambassador for Christ than any deacon, priest, or bishop.
If you carry out your life beyond reproach—if you flee from the various forms of immorality and flee towards goodness and charity—you will be a powerful witness for Christ and the Gospel.