For priests, "it is about ‘being’ a priest, not just carrying out the function of a priest, free from all spiritual worldliness, aware that it is their lifestyle that evangelize well before their actions". "A vocation nurtured by means of a constant formation, in communion, becomes a powerful instrument of evangelization, to serve the people of God"

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "Every vocation is for mission and the mission of ordained ministers is evangelization, in all its forms." According to Pope Francis, this objective has a privileged instrument in the formation of priests: "it is about 'being' a priest, not just carrying out the function of a priest, free from all spiritual worldliness, aware that it is our lifestyle that evangelize well before our actions".

The Pope's address to participants in the plenary assembly of the Congregation for the Clergy, who he received this morning, focused on the themes of vocation, formation and evangelization. He told them "a vocation nourished by means of a permanent training fellowship, becomes a powerful instrument of evangelization, to serve the people of God".

Firstly he addressed vocation to the priesthood. It is "a treasure that God always puts in the heart of some men, whom he has chosen and called to follow Him in this special state of life. This treasure, which needs to be discovered and brought to light, is not made to only 'enrich' some. Whoever is called to the ministry is not 'master' of his vocation, but an administrator of a gift that God has entrusted to him for the good of all the people, even of all men, even of those who have fallen away from the practice of religion or who do not profess faith in Christ. At the same time, the whole Christian community is the custodian of the treasury of these vocations, intended for service to the community, and indeed, the community must be more conscious of its task to promote them, accept them and accompany them with affection".

While it is God who calls, "we, however, we must do our part, through formation, that is the response of man, the Church." "It is about protecting and nurturing vocations, and they shall bear ripe fruit." But formation Pope continued, "is not a unilateral act by which one transmits theological or spiritual notions. Jesus did not say to those He called: 'Come, I will explain' or 'follow me, I will teach you'; Instead the formation Christ offered to his disciples was 'come and follow me', 'do as I do', and this is the method that even today the Church wants to adopt for her ministers. The formation of which we speak is a 'discipling experience, which draws men close to Christ and to conform more and more to Him".

"Precisely for this reason, it cannot be a completed task, because the priests never cease to be disciples of Jesus, to follow him. Sometimes we advance expeditiously, at other times our pace is uncertain, we stop and we can also fall, but always remaining on the path. Hence, the discipleship formation understood as discipleship accompanies the entire life of an ordained minister and involves his integral formation of his person, intellectually, humanly and spiritually. Initial and permanent formation are distinguished because they require different methods and timing, but they are two halves of one whole, the life of the ordained disciple, in love with his Lord and constantly following Him".

"Such a journey of discovery and enhancing of vocations has a specific purpose: evangelization. Every vocation is for mission and the mission of ordained ministers is evangelization, in all its forms. It begins with being before doing. Priests are united in sacramental brotherhood, so the first form of evangelization is the witness of fraternity and communion among themselves and with their Bishop. This communion can lead to a powerful missionary impetus, which frees the ordained ministers from the easy temptation to be more concerned with the consent of others and one's own well-being motivated by pastoral charity for the proclamation of the Gospel to the most remote peripheries. In this mission of evangelization, priests are called to foster their awareness of being pastors, sent to stand in the midst of their flocks, to bring to the Lord through the Eucharist and to dispense His mercy. It is about 'being' a priest, not just carrying out the function of a priest, free from all spiritual worldliness, aware that it is their lifestyle that evangelize well before their actions. How nice to see priests joyful in their vocation, with a grounded serenity, which supports them, even in moments of fatigue and pain! And this never happens without prayer, that of the heart, that dialogue with the Lord ... that is the heart, so to speak, of priestly life".

 

• vatican
• pope
• francs
• priestly
• formation
• vocation
• evangelization
• clergy