VATICAN - The Pope dedicates his catechesis to the Year of the Priesthood: “if the ‘diptych’ consecration-mission is not taken into account, it becomes very difficult to understand the identity of the priest and of his ministry in the Church ”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – “As a precious legacy of the Year of St Paul, we can heed the Apostle's call to deepen our knowledge of the mystery of Christ, so He may be the heart and the core of our personal and community existence. This is in fact the indispensable condition for genuine spiritual and ecclesial renewal”. With these words the Holy Father, Benedict XVI began his weekly Wednesday audience on 1 July in St Peter's Square. The Pope's catechesis was devoted to the Year of the Priesthood opened a few days ago. The Pope said he hoped the year “will be for every priest an opportunity for interior renewal and consequently of sound reinvigoration of commitment to his mission ”.
“Just as during the Year of St Paul our constant reference was St Paul –Benedict XVI continued- , in the coming months we will take a look first of at Saint Jean Marie Vianney, the holy Cure of Ars, recalling the 150th anniversary of his death. In the Letter which I addressed to priests on this occasion, I underlined what shines most brightly in the life of this humble minister of the altar: ‘total identification with his ministry.”
Considering the double term "identity-mission" and the theme of the Year of the Priesthood - Fidelity of Christ, fidelity of the priest Cristo,– the Pope said “the gift of divine grace precedes all possible human response or pastoral achievement, therefore, in the life of the priest, missionary proclamation and worship are inseparable, just as ontological-sacramental identity and evangelising mission are inseparable ”. The goal of the mission of every priest is to lead all men and women “to offer themselves to God as a living offering, holy and pleasing to Him, which in creation and in human persons, becomes worship, praise to the Creator, receiving from Him that charity which they are called to dispense abundantly to one another”. After recalling that “love of neighbour, concern for the poor are not only themes of social morals, they are expressions of a sacramental understanding of Christian morals ”, the Holy Father underlined the “principal dimension, essentially missionary and dynamic of the priest's identity and ministry: by proclaiming the Gospel they generate faith in those who do not yet believe, so they may unite with the sacrifice of Christ, their sacrifice which becomes love of God and love of neighbour”.
The Pope then stressed the necessity to rediscover “clear and unequivocal judgement of the absolute primacy of divine grace” in the face of “so much uncertainty and fatigue in the exercise of the priestly ministry”. “The mission of every individual priest will depend, therefore, also and principally on awareness of the sacramental reality of his 'new being'’. On the certainty of one's identity, not artificially constructed but freely and divinely given and received, depends ever new enthusiasm for mission … having received such an extraordinary gift of grace with their ‘consecration’, priests become permanent witnesses of their encounter with Christ. Starting precisely from this interior awareness, they can fulfil their 'mission' through the proclamation of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments”. With regard to certain interpretations of the priestly mission in our day, connected primarily with “building a new society”, the Holy Father dwelt on two essential elements of the priestly ministry mentioned in the Gospel: “Jesus sends, then and now, Apostles to announce the Gospel and gives them the power to expel evil spirits. ‘Announcement’ and ‘power’, that is word’ e ‘sacrament’ are therefore the two main pillars of the priestly service, over and above its possible multiple configurations”.
In the final part of his catechesis, Benedict XVI affirmed “if the ‘diptych’ consecration-mission is not taken into account, it becomes very difficult to understand the identity of the priest and of his ministry in the Church. Who in fact is the priest, of not a man converted and renewed by the Spirit who lives a personal relationship with Christ, making his evangelical criteria continually his own? Who is the priest, of not a man of unity and truth, aware of his limits and at the same time of the extraordinary greatness of the vocation received, that is, the vocation to help extend the Kingdom of God to the far corners of the earth? Yes! The priests is wholly a man of the Lord, since God himself called and constituted him in his apostolic service. Since he belongs entirely to the Lord, he belongs entirely to men, for men”.
Last of all the Pope urged Catholics to pray during this Year of the Priesthood, for the sanctification of the clergy and for priestly vocations: “prayer is the first duty, the true path for the sanctification of priests, and the soul of authentic vocation pastoral’. The numerical scarcity of priestly ordinations in some countries, should not discourage, it should lead to the multiplication of room for silence and listening to the Word, to giving better attention to spiritual direction and the sacrament of confession, because the voice of God, who continues to call and to confirm, may be heard and promptly followed by many young men. A person who prays is never afraid. A person who prays is never alone; a person who prays will be saved!”
Addressing Italian speaking visitors the Holy Father greeted members of the Istituto di Cristo Redentore – Missionari Identes, who are marking the 50th anniversary of their foundation. The Pope said: “I pray you may continue with great generosity to announce Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world ”. Thanking the members of the Consulta Nazionale Antiusura “for their important and appreciated activity to assist victims of this social scourge ”, the Pope urged them to strive “for renewed effective commitment to counter the devastating phenomenon of usury and extortion, which constitute humiliating slavery. May there never lack on the part of the state adequate assistance and support for less fortunate families in difficulty, may they find the courage to denounce those who take advantage of their often tragic condition”. Greetings the members of an inter-parliamentary Association "Cultori dell’etica", the Holy Father underlined the “importance of ethic and moral values in politics”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 2/7/2009; righe 60, parole 834)