Pope: priests, chosen "among men", to serve them with a"loving gaze"
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Priests do not fall from on high, they are "called by God", who chooses them "among men", to constitute them "on behalf of men", among whom they must live and towards whom they must be "close, with a visceral mercy and loving gaze”.
"Some thoughts" on the "relationship between" the priests and other people "were expressed by the pope at the audience today with participants in the conference organized by the Congregation for the Clergy on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the conciliar Decree" Optatam totius "and "Presbyterorum ordinis ", which ends today at the Pontifical Urbanianum University.
"It is not a 'historical commemoration'. Remarked Francis. “These two Decrees are a seed, that the Council has scattered within the life of the Church; during these five decades they have grown, they have become a vigorous plant, of course with a few dry leaves, but especially with so many flowers and fruits that adorn the Church of today. Retracing the path taken, this Congress has shown these fruits and constituted an appropriate ecclesial reflection on the work that remains to be done in this area that is so vital to the Church. Optatam totius and Presbyterorum ordinis were mentioned together, as the two halves of one reality: the formation of priests, that we distinguish in initial and ongoing formation, but which represents for them a unique experience of discipleship”.
"Since vocation to the priesthood is a gift that God gives to some for the good of all, let me share with you some thoughts, starting from the relationship between priests and others, following note n. 3 of ordinis, which is like a small compendium of the theology of the priesthood, from the Letter to the Hebrews: "Priests, who are taken from among men and ordained for men in the things that belong to God in order to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, nevertheless live on earth with other men as brothers ". “Consider these three moments: 'taken from among men', 'made in favor of men' present 'in the midst of other men”.
"The priest is a man born in a human context; there he began learning values, absorbing the spirituality of the people, learning how to relate to others. Even the priests have a history, they are not 'mushrooms' who suddenly sprung up in the cathedral on the day of their ordination. It is important that formatters and the priests themselves remember this and know how to take account of this personal history along the path of formation. It needs to be personalized, because it is the concrete person that is called to discipleship and the priesthood, in each case taking into account that one must follow and conform oneself only to Christ the Master. In this regard that I like to recall that the fundamental 'center of vocational pastoral care' is the family, the domestic church and first and fundamental place of human formation, which can germinate in young people the desire for a life conceived as a vocation, to follow with commitment and generosity. It is in the family and the wider community - school, parish, associations, groups of friends - that we learn to relate to real people, we are modelled by our relationship with them, and we become what we are thanks to them. "
"A good priest, therefore, is first of all a man with his own humanity, who knows his own history, with its riches and its wounds, and he has learned to make peace with it, reaching an underlying serenity, that peculiar to a disciple of the Lord. Human formation is therefore a need for priests, that they may learn not to be dominated by their limits, but rather to build on their talents. A priest who is a man at peace knows how to spread serenity around him, even in the grueling times, conveying the beauty of the relationship with the Lord. On the contrary, it is not normal when a priest is often sad, nervous or hard of character; it is not good for the priest, nor his people. We priests are the apostles of joy, we proclaim the Gospel, that is the 'good news' par excellence; certainly it is not us to give strength to the Gospel, but we can help or hinder the encounter between the Gospel and the people. Our humanity is the 'clay pot' in which we guard the treasure of God, a vessel in which we must take care to convey its precious contents well".
"A priest cannot lose his roots, he is still a man of the people and culture that have generated him; our roots help us remember who we are and where Christ has called us. We priests do not drop from above, but we are called by God, who takes us from 'among men', to constitute ourselves 'in favor of men'. This is the second step. Here is a key point of the life and ministry of priests. Answering the call of God, you become priests to serve our brothers and sisters. The images of Christ that we take as a reference for the ministry of priests are clear: He is the 'High Priest', so close to God and close to men; He is the 'Servant', who washes feet and is close to the weakest; He is the 'Good Shepherd', whose main aim is to always care for his flock".
"They are the three images that we have to look to when thinking about the ministry of priests, sent to serve men, to lead them to the mercies of God, to proclaim His Living Word. We are not priests for ourselves and our sanctification is closely linked to that of our people, our anointing to their anointing. Knowing and remembering that they are 'made for the people' helps priests not to think of themselves, to be authoritative and not authoritarian, firm but not hard, joyful but not superficial, in short, shepherds, not officials. The people of God and all humanity are beneficiaries of the mission of priests, toward which the whole work of formation. Human, intellectual and spiritual formation flow naturally into that ministry, which provide tools and virtue and personal dispositions. When all this harmonizes and blends with a genuine missionary zeal, along the path of a lifetime, the priest may fulfill the mission entrusted by Christ to his Church. "
"Finally, what is born with the people, with the people must remain; the priest is always 'in the midst of other men', is not a professional pastoral worker or evangelizer, who comes in and does what he must - maybe good, but like a job - and then goes to live a separate life . You become priests to be around people. The good that the priests can do comes mainly from their closeness and a tender love for people. They are not philanthropists or officials, but fathers and brothers. Closeness, a visceral mercy, a loving gaze: with this witness of life we can evangelize, to experience the beauty of a life lived according to the Gospel and the love of God that is made concrete through his ministers. A good examination of conscience to a priest is this; if the Lord were to return today, where would he find me? "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Mt 6:21). And where is my heart? Among the people, praying with and for the people, involved with their joys and sufferings, or rather in the midst of worldly things, worldly affairs, my private 'space'? The answer to this question can help every priest to guide his life and his ministry for the Lord”.
"The Council has left the Church 'pearls'. Like the merchant of the Gospel of Matthew (13:45), today we go in search of them, to bring new impetus and new instruments for the mission that the Lord has entrusted to us. I trust that the result of the work of this conference - with many distinguished speakers from different regions and cultures - will be offered to the Church as a useful actualization of the teachings of the Council, bringing a contribution to the formation of priests, those we already have and those who the Lord will give us, so that, increasingly configured to Him, there are good priests after his own heart. "
Adding one last thought Francis noted: "One thing I would add to the text - excuse me! - Is the discernment of vocations, admission to the seminary. Look for the health of the boy, spiritual health, material health physical and mental. Once, as a newly appointed director of novices, in 1972, I went to bring the results of personality tests to the psychologist, a simple test that was done as one of the elements of discernment. She was a good woman, and also good doctor. She said: 'This has this problem but can continue if he does this ...'. She was also a good Christian, but in some cases was adamant: 'This one cannot continue' - 'But doctor, this is such a good young man' - 'Now he is good, but you know that there are young people who unconsciously, they are not aware, but unconsciously they feel to be mentally ill and seek strong structures that can defend them, so he can move on. And he will do well, until such time he feels well established and then the problems will begin there'-'It seems a little strange to me ...'. And the answer I will not ever forget, the same as the Lord to Ezekiel: 'Father, have you never thought about why there are so many police who are torturers? They enter young, seem perfectly healthy but when they feel confident, the disease begins to emerge. Those are strong institutions that these sick unconscious seek: the police, the army, the clergy ... And many diseases that we all know that come out'. It's curious. When I realize that a young man is too rigid, too fundamentalist, I do not trust him; behind there is something he does not know. But when you feel safe ... Ezekiel 16, I cannot remember the verse, but it is when the Lord tells his people all that he did for him: he found them as newborn, and then he dressed them and he married them ... 'And then, when you did you felt safe, you prostituted yourself'. It 'a rule, a rule of life. Eyes open to the mission in seminaries. Open eyes".
"I am confident - he concluded - that the result of the work of this conference - with many distinguished speakers from different regions and cultures - will be offered to the Church as a useful actualization of the teachings of the Council, bringing a contribution to the formation of priests, those we already have and those that the Lord will give us, so that, increasingly configured to Him, they are good priests according to the heart of the Lord, not officials! And with patience”.
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