Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “The priest, man of the divine Word and of sacred things, must be today, more than ever, a man of joy and hope. To men who can no longer conceive that God is pure Love, he will always affirm that life is worth living, and that Christ gives it all its meaning because he loves men, all men.” And this is “one of the greatest challenges of our time,” said the Holy Father Benedict XVI in his Video Message aired during the International Retreat for Priests, which is being held September 27 – October 3 in Ars, on the theme: “The Joy of Being a Priest: Consecrated for the Salvation of the World."
The Holy Father affirmed: “In this Year for Priests, we are all called to explore and rediscover the grandeur of the sacrament that has configured us forever to Christ the High Priest and has 'consecrated' all of us 'in truth.' Chosen among men, the priest continues to be one of them and is called to serve them giving them the life of God...Our priestly vocation is a treasure that we bear in earthen vessels. St. Paul expressed happily the infinite distance that exists between our vocation and the poverty of the answer we can give to God.”
Benedict XVI then reflected on the “link between the Year of St. Paul and the Year for Priests” with these words: “Let us keep present in our ears and in the depth of our heart the Apostle's exclamation full of confidence, who said: 'for when I am weak, then I am strong' (2 Corinthians 12:10). Awareness of this weakness opens us to intimacy with God, who gives us strength and joy. The more the priest perseveres in friendship with God, the more he will continue the work of the Redeemer on earth. The priest is no longer for himself, but for all.”
After highlighting the fact that “the religion of the Cure d'Ars is a religion of joy, not a morbid seeking of mortification, as sometimes has been believed” and thus, the priest “must be today, more than ever, a man of joy and hope,” Benedict XVI greeted “with particular affection” the priests “who have the pastoral charge of several churches and who spend yourselves without counting the cost to maintain a sacramental life in your different communities.” After expressing the “immense recognition” of the Church for them, he exhorts them not to lose heart: “continue praying so that numerous young men will agree to respond to Christ's call. Christ does not fail to want to increase the number of his apostles to carry out the mission in his fields.”
The Holy Father then invited the priests to reflect on the great number of Masses celebrated and that will be celebrated, the countless absolutions to “perceive in this moment the infinite fecundity of the sacrament of [holy] orders.” “Your hands, your lips, become, in the space of an instant, the hands and lips of God. You bear Christ in yourselves; you have, by grace, entered in the Holy Trinity...This consideration should help to harmonize relations between priests in order to bring about that priestly community to which St. Peter exhorts to form the body of Christ, up built in love.”
Another characteristic that the Holy Father mentioned was the priest as “man of the future,” “the Mass is the only point of union between the means and the End, because it allows us already to contemplate, under the humble appearance of bread and wine, the Body and Blood of him whom we will adore in eternity. The simple but profound phrases of the saintly Cure on the Eucharist help us to perceive better the richness of that unique moment of the day in which we live a vivifying face to face [encounter] for ourselves and for each one of the faithful...I encourage you to reinforce your faith and that of the faithful in the sacrament you celebrate which is the source of true joy.”
In concluding his Message, the Holy Father repeated that “nothing will ever replace the ministry of priests in the life of the Church” (Homily during the Mass of Sept. 13, 2008, on the Esplanade des Invalides, Paris) and reminded priests that they have been “chosen by Christ himself to be, thanks to him, salt of the earth and light of the world.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 30/9/2009)
