A patient alongside patients, the Pope writes to priests, saved so that they may save
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "From Gemelli Hospital, Rome, March 13, 2005", is more than how John Paul II's Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday begins; it resonates with the fact that this year more than before, the Pope was "a patient alongside other patients uniting in the Eucharist my own sufferings with those of Christ." But, the Pope writes, "I entrust to [Our Lady] especially the elderly, the sick, and those in difficulty." Thus, despite a life of pain, sickness, crosses to bear, a priest performs his duties, grateful to God for a life that is saved in order to save.
In the letter the Pope sees the priesthood as a life of gratitude, a life given and saved so that the priest can save others, a life that remembers Christ and is consecrated to and centred on Him.
"We have our crosses to bearand we are certainly not the only onesbut the gifts we have received are so great that we cannot fail to sing from the depths of our hearts our own Magnificat," he writes.
The Letter was released to the press by Card Dario Castrillon Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.
"From his own cross," the Cardinal notes, "the Pope indicates to each priest the unfathomable dignity, conferred upon him by ordination, of being able to pronounce, 'in persona Christi', the words that instituted the Eucharistic mystery, and of receiving the capacity to transform his own priestly existence into a radical gift for the Church and for humanity". (cf. Letter, part 1).
To lead a life that is saved in order to save, John Paul II says, "commits us to advance along the path of perfection. Holiness, in fact, is the full expression of salvation. Only if our lives manifest the fact that we are saved do we become credible heralds of salvation."
For a priest, "a life that is given", the Pope writes, means "placing himself at the disposal of the community and at the service of anyone in need, his life takes on its true meaning."
For him, we live in an age that values "a life that remembers", but also a time "when rapid social and cultural changes are weakening the sense of tradition and leading the younger generation especially to risk losing touch with their roots. [Hence] the priest is called to be, within the community entrusted to him, the man who faithfully remembers the entire mystery of Christ."
It is in this light that one can understand the Eucharistic adoration. Indeed, "[t]o place ourselves before Jesus in the Eucharist, to take advantage of our 'moments of solitude' and to fill them with this Presence," the Pope writes, "is to enliven our consecration by our personal relationship with Christ, from whom our life derives its joy and its meaning."
By practicing charity and living "in the midst of God's People", and directing "their path and [. . .] nourish their hope" the priest won by Christ can more easily win others over to the same adventure. (FP)
.png)
