Saint Hilary of Poitiers

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Today is the memorial of Saint Hilary of Poitiers, a bishop and doctor of the Church. He lived from 320 to 368 in Poitiers, Gaul, which would later become what is today France. I write this reflection during the week especially dedicated to praying for vocations to the Holy Priesthood. And this is most fitting as Saint Hilary was an ardent apostle of Jesus Christ and a faithful and courageous priest and bishop. One of the primary tasks of priests and bishops is to be teachers of the faith and preachers of the truth. Priests are given this task first of our by Our Lord Himself who said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:19-20a) They were given the task of teaching, which Saint Hilary took very seriously when the identity of Christ was challenged by the Arians, who denied the divinity of Christ. An old prayer book, written by the Confraternity of the Precious Blood, says of Saint Hilary that while he was unbending in his defense of the Church, he was always charitable. The old book says, “faithful Catholics should miss no opportunity of presenting the truth to those outside the Church, but this must be done with gentleness and consideration. We must hate sin and love the sinner. ” Today we look to this gentle but strong priest, whose dedication to calling he received from God made him an example to all. Today we need more priests like Saint Hilary, men who willing to step forward and proclaim the truth and to proclaim it uncompromisingly and yet with the gentleness of a shepherd whose heart is full of love. May we all imitate his desire to proclaim the truth of Christ even when we face opposition. And, may we pray that God strengthen our priests and send us more who are willing to do the same. Amen.