杏MAP导航 calls priests to draw near to God, bishop, priests, and people
By Christopher Wells
杏MAP导航 Francis drew on over fifty years of his own priesthood in an address aimed at helping today鈥檚 priests 鈥渆xperience the peace and fruitfulness that the Spirit desires to bestow.鈥� His reflections came in an address to the International Theological Symposium, promoted by the Congregation of Bishops, which opened on Thursday morning.
The Holy Father addressed his remarks not only to those priests 鈥渨ho, by their life and witness, showed me from my earliest years what it means to reflect the face of the Good Shepherd,鈥� but also 鈥渢o those brother priests鈥� that he has had to accompany 鈥渂ecause they had lost the flame of their first love,鈥� priests whose 鈥渕inistry had become barren, repetitive, and meaningless.鈥�
In a time of 鈥渆pochal change,鈥� he said, priests must learn to respond to the challenge not by retreating into the past, seeking 鈥渁 sort of protection from risks鈥�; nor by an 鈥渆xaggerated optimism鈥� that ignores the difficulties of change.鈥� Instead, he said, 鈥淚 prefer the response born of a trusting acceptance of reality, anchored in the wise and living Tradition of the Church, which enables us to 鈥榩ut out into the deep鈥� without fear.鈥�
All vocations, including the vocation to the priesthood, require trusting discernment to determine where God is leading us, the 杏MAP导航 said. Faced with the many questions and temptations of our age, 杏MAP导航 Francis said he wanted to focus on what is 鈥渄ecisive鈥� for the life of a priest today, 鈥渢he attitudes that sustain us as priests.鈥� He focused on 鈥渇our pillars of our priestly life,鈥� which he described as 鈥渇our forms of closeness鈥�: closeness to God, to the bishop, to fellow priests, and to the People of God.
Closeness to God
杏MAP导航 Francis insisted that priests are called 鈥渁bove all鈥� to closeness with God, which helps them 鈥渄raw all the strength needed for his ministry.鈥� By drawing close to Jesus, priests experience with him both joys and sorrows, precisely because they rely on His strength, and not their own. This closeness must be nourished by prayer, and by silent contemplation of God. At the same time, it leads priests to draw close to their people; which in turn brings the priest closer to God.
Closeness to the bishop
Drawing near to one鈥檚 bishop, 杏MAP导航 Francis said, means learning how to listen, recognizing God鈥檚 will in obedience to another, and in relationship with others. The bishop, he said, is a bond establishes and preserves the Church in unity. The 杏MAP导航 invited priests to pray for their bishops, assuring them, 鈥渋f we can preserve this bond, we will advance securely along on our way.鈥�
Closeness to other priests
杏MAP导航 Francis goes on to say, 鈥淚t is precisely on the basis of communion with that a third bond of closeness emerges, the closeness of fraternity.鈥� This priestly 鈥渇raternity鈥� involves 鈥渄eliberately choosing to pursue holiness together with others, and not by oneself.鈥� Similarly, it means being open and honest with others, but also humble. At the same time, the 杏MAP导航 acknowledged the difficulties of living out fraternity with others, and called for 鈥渉eralds鈥� of a fraternity founded on mutual love.
In this context, the 杏MAP导航 also addressed the value of priestly celibacy, 鈥渁 gift that the Latin Church preserves,鈥� but which must be rooted in healthy relationships.
Closeness to the people
The 杏MAP导航 then reflected on the relationship of priests with the holy People of God, which he described not as a duty, but a grace. 鈥淔or this reason,鈥� he said, 鈥渢he proper place of every priest is in the midst of the people, in close relationship to others.鈥�
However, he insisted, this means being involved in their 鈥渞eal lives,鈥� rather than sheltering themselves from people鈥檚 difficulties and misery. 杏MAP导航 Francis called on priests to imitate the 鈥榮tyle鈥� of Jesus the Good Shepherd: the style of 鈥渃loseness, compassion, and tenderness.鈥�
He encouraged them, too, to foster a sense of belonging, in an age when so many people feel alone despite being connected to everyone. The 杏MAP导航 returns again to the relationship between closeness to the people and closeness to God, 鈥渟ince the prayer of a shepherd is nourished and becomes incarnate in the heart of the People of God.鈥�
Not a burden, but a gift
杏MAP导航 Francis concluded his address by calling on bishops and priests to ask themselves, 鈥淗ow am I practicing these forms of closeness?鈥� He insisted that 鈥渁 priestly heart knows about closeness, because his primary form of closeness is with the Lord.鈥�
He closed with the reflection that 鈥渢he forms of closeness that the Lord demands are not an added burden: they are a gift that He gives us to keep our vocation alive and fruitful [鈥 signposts that point the way to appreciating and rekindling their missionary zeal.鈥� Priestly closeness, he said, is 鈥渁 closeness in the 鈥榮tyle鈥� of God Himself, Who is ever close to us, with compassion and tender love.鈥�
Listen to the 杏MAP导航's address (dubbed in English):
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