This morning, in the Sala Regia at the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience a group of people participating in a Convention organized by the Congregation for the Clergy on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the publication of the Second Vatican Council's Decreee Optatam totius and Presbyterorum ordinis, taking place at the Pontifical Urban University from November 19 to 20, 2015.
Your Eminences,
Dear brother Bishops and priests,
Brothers and sisters,
I greet each of you most cordially and express my sincere thanks to you, Cardinal Stella, and to the Congregation for the Clergy who invited me to participate in this Convention fifty years after the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council's Decrees Optatam totius and Presbyterorum ordinis.
Please excuse me for changing the original plan, which was that I should come to you, but in the end, there was not enough time; even here, I arrived a bit late!
It is not a matter of a historical re-enactment. These two Decrees are a seed which the Council has thrown into the field of the life of the Church; during the past fifty years, these seeds have grown; they have become a vigorous plant, certainly with some dried out leaves, but above all with many flowers and fruit that adorn the Church today. Retracing the path that has been travelled, this Convention has demonstrated these fruits and constituted an opportune ecclesial reflection on the work that remains to be done in this area that is so vital to the Church. There is still work to be done!
Optatam totius and Presbyterorum ordinis were considered together, as the two halves of one and the same reality: the formation of priests, which we consider in initial stages and on an ongoing basis, but which constitute within themselves a unique experience of discipleship. Not surprisingly, in January 2013, Pope Benedict gave this issue concrete form (Motu proprio Ministrorum institutio), juridical in its reality, also attributing competence over seminaries to the Congregation for the Clergy. In this way, the same Dicastery can begin to deal with the life and ministry of priests from the moment of their entry into the seminary, working to ensure that vocations are promoted and cared for, and that they may blossom in the lives of holy priests. The path to holiness for a priest begins in the seminary!
Since a vocation to priesthood is a gift that God offers to some for the good of all, I want to share with you a few thoughts, starting with the relationship between priests and other people, following Number 3 of Presbyterorum ordinis, which is like a small compendium of the theology of priesthood, spoken of in the Letter to the Hebrews: Priests have been taken from among men and constituted on behalf of these men in matters that pertain to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices in forgiveness for sins, and to live on earth among other men as brothers among brothers.
Let us consider these three moments: taken from among men; constituted on behalf of men; and present in the midst of other men.
The priest is a man who was born in a certain human context; there, he began learning values, absorbing the spirituality of his people and becoming accustomed to relationships. Even priests have a history, they are not mushrooms that suddenly sprout in the Cathedral on the day of their ordination. It is important that formators and priests themselves remember this and know how to take account of their own personal histories along the path of formation. On the day of ordination, I always say to the priests, to the newly-ordained priests: remember where you came from, from the flock, don't forget your mother and your grandmother! This is what Paul said to Timothy, and I still say it today. This means that we cannot be priests if we believe that we are formed in a laboratory, no; it begins in the family with the traditions of faith and with the entire experience of the family. This experience must be personalized, because we are concrete persons, called to discipleship and to priesthood, taking into account the fact that Christ is the only Master who we follow and who configures us.
In this regard, I am pleased to remember the family, the domestic church as the fundamental pastoral centre for vocations, a basic place for human formation, where the desire for a life conceived as a vocational journey can grow; a life to be lived with commitment and generosity.
In a family and in all other community contexts - schools, parishes, associations, groups of friends - we learn to live in relationship with concrete people, to make of ourselves models of relationships with them and thus also becoming who we are, thanks to them.
Therefore, a good priest is first of all a man with his own humanity, who knows his own history, with his own gifts and his own wounds, who has learned to make pace with himself, at peace with his past, possessing a serenity that is typical of the Lord's disciples. Human formation is therefore necessary for priests, for we learn not to be domineering over others' limits, but rather to find ways for their talents to bear fruit.
A priest who is a man of peace will diffuse serenity within himself, even in moments of fatigue, transmitting the beauty of a relationship with the Lord. It is not normal, however, that a priest should sometimes be sad, nervous or hard of character; this is not good: either for the priest himself or for the people of God. But if he has an illness or he is neurotic, he should go to the doctor! From a spiritual doctor and from a medical doctor: both will give you pills that will make you feel better, both of them! But, please don't let the faithful pay for the nervousness of the priests! Don't punish the faithful; be close of heart to them.
We priests are apostles of joy, we proclaim the gospel, the good news; it is certainly not us who give strength to the gospel - some people think so - but we can help or hinder the encounter between God's people and the gospel. Our humanity is a clay jar in which we keep God's treasure, a vase that we must care for, in order to be able to share her precious contents with others.
A priest cannot lose sight of his roots, he remains always a man of the people and of the culture in which he was born; our roots help us to recall the fact that we are from and where Christ has called us to be. We priests do not descend from above, but we are called, called by God, who takes us from among men in order to offer ourselves for the sake of mankind. I will tell you a story. In dioceses, many years ago ... Not in dioceses, no, among the Jesuits, there was a good priest, really good, young, two years ordained. He was experiencing some confusion so he spoke about it with his spiritual father, with his superior, with the doctors; he told them: I'm leaving, I can't continue, I'm leaving. And thinking about these things - I knew his mother, humble people - I told him: Why don't you go see your mother and speak to her about this? He went, he spent an entire day with his mother, and he came back changed. His mother had given him a few spiritual slaps, she told him three or four truths, she put him in his place and he could continue. Why? Because he had gone back to his roots. This is why it is important not to cut yourself off from the roots, where you have come from. In the seminary, you have to do mental prayer ... Yes, sure, that's what you have to do, to learn ... But first of all, pray like your mother taught you to pray, and then carry on. That's always where our roots are, the roots of the family, like you learned to pray when you were a child, with the same words, beginning with those prayers. Then you can continue, going on in prayer.
Here's the second passage: on behalf of men.
Here, there is a point that is fundamental to ministry and to priesthood. Responding to God's vocation, we become priests in order to serve our brothers and sisters. The images of Christ that we take as references for the ministry of priests are clear: He is the High Priest, at the same time close to God and close to mankind; he is the Servant, who washes our feet and draws us close to those who are weak; and he is the Good Shepherd, who always cares for his flock.
These are the three images toward which we should look, while we think of the ministry of priests, sent to serve mankind, to allow them to experience the mercy of God, to proclaim his Word of life. We are not priests for ourselves and our own sanctification is closely tied to that of our people, our anointing to their anointing: you are anointed for your people. Know and remember to be constituted for your people - holy people, people of God - help priests to not think about themselves, to be authoritative but not authoritarian, firm but not hard, joyous but not superficial, in short: shepherds, not officials. In both of the readings for today's Mass, we see clearly the capacity that the people had to rejoice when the temple had been cleansed and restored, and the lack of ability for joy that the chief priests and the scribes had when they saw Jesus driving the merchants out of the temple. A priest should learn to be joyous, he should never lose this ability, it is better that way, to have an ability to be joyous: if it is lost, there is something wrong. I tell you truthfully, I am afraid of rigidity, I'm scared. Away with rigid priests! Such priests bite! I remember an expression that Saint Ambrose used to use in the fourth century: Where there is mercy, there is the spirit of the Lord; where there is rigidity, there are only his ministers. A minister without the Lord becomes rigid, and this is a danger for the people of God. Pastors, not officials.
The people of God and all of humanity benefit from the mission of priests, which is the aim of all our work in formation. Human formation, as well as intellectual and spiritual formation all flow naturally into that ministry, which provides tools, virtues and personal dispositions. When all of this is in harmony and blends with a generous missionary zeal, throughout an entire lifetime, a priest can fulfill the mission entrusted by Christ to his Church.
Finally, since he was born among people, with people he must remain: the priest is always among other men, not a professional pastor or evangelizer, who arrives and does what he must do - as though he is good at doing a particular job - and then goes off to live a separate life. He becomes a priest in order to remain among people: close to them. Permit me, brother bishops, to point out that this applies equally to us: bishops must remain close to our priests too. This is just as valid for us! How many times do we hear the laments of priests: But I called the bishop because I had a problem .. the secretary ... told me that he is very busy, that he is travelling, that he can't see me for at least three months ... Two things. First: a bishop is always busy, thank God, but if a bishop receives a call from a priest and cannot receive him because he is too busy, at least pick up the phone and call him; say to him: Is it urgent? It's not urgent? When can you come, what day ...? In this way, he will know that you are close to him. There are bishops who seem to be very distant from their priests ... Closeness, at least a phone call! This is paternal love, fraternity. The other thing: No, I have a conference in such and such a city and then I have to travel in America, then ... Listen, the decree of residence proclaimed at Trent is still valid! If you are not happy to stay in your diocese, resign and travel the world doing some other apostolate that is much better, but if you are the bishop of a diocese, stay home. These two things, closeness, at home. This is advice for us bishops! You became priests in order to be close to people.
The good that priests can do is born above all out of their closeness and their tender love for others. We are not philanthropists or functionaries, priests are fathers and brothers. The fatherhood of a priest is very good.
Closeness, bound by mercy, loving gaze: to experience the beauty of a life lived according to the gospel and the love of God which is made apparent through his ministry. God never refuses. Here I think of the confessional. We can always find ways to give absolution, to welcome, but sometimes we cannot absolve. There are priests who say: no, I cannot absolve you of that sin, leave. This is the wrong way. If you cannot give absolution, explain yourself: God loves you so much, God loves you. There are so many different ways to draw close to God. I cannot absolve you now, but I can give you a blessing as a sign that God loves you. And that man or that woman will leave, filled with joy because he or she has found the icon of the Father, who never refuses; in one way or another, he or she has been embraced.
This can also be a good examination of conscience for a priest; if the Lord were to return today, where would I find him? Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Mt 6:21). Where is my heart? Among people, praying with and for people, sharing in their joys and sufferings, or surrounded by worldly things, worldly affairs, concerned about my own affairs? A priest cannot have private space, because he is always either with the Lord or with people. I am thinking about priests who I have known in my city, who had no secretary to answer the phone, who slept with the telephone beside the bed, and people would call at all hours of the night, waking them up and asking them to anoint them: no one every died without the sacraments! These priests were never alone, even when they were sleeping. This is apostolic zeal. The response to the question: where is my heart?, can help every priest to see his life and his ministry in the light of the Lord.
The Council left the Church some precious pearls. Like the merchant in the gospel of Matthew (Mt 13:45), today we go in search of them, to bring them new approaches and instruments for the mission that the Lord confides to them.
There is another thing that I want to add - excuse me! - is vocational discernment, admissions to the seminary. Seek out the health of the individual man, spiritual health, material health, physical, psychological. Once, when I had just been named Master of Novices in 1972, I went to share with a psychologist the results of a personality test, a simple test that we used to do with one of the elements of discernment. She was a good woman, and a good doctor, but she said: This one has a problem but he can continue if he does this ... She was also a good Christian, but in some cases she was inflexible: This one cannot continue. - But doctor, this boy is so good. - Now, he is good, but I know that there are young people who are aware unconsciously, they are not aware of it, but unconsciously they know that they are mentally ill; they seek out structures which will defend them; in this way they can continue. And things are well, until the moment when they feel well established, and then problems start. - But this seems a bit strange. I will never forget her answer; it was the same answer the Lord responded to Ezekiel: Father, You have you never considered that there are so many police torturers? They enter young, they seem healthy but when they feel secure, sickness begins to come out. There are strong institutions that are sought out by those who are unconsciously sick: police, the army, the clergy. Then there are many illnesses that we all know that come out. It's curious. When I realize that a young man is too rigid, too fundamental, I don't trust him; perhaps there is something that he himself is not aware of. But when he seems secure ... Ezekiel 16, I don't remember the verse, but that's when the Lord tells his people everything that he's done for them: he found them as newborns, then he clothed them, married them ... And then, when you felt safe, you became a harlot. This is a rule, a rule of life. Keep your eyes open to the mission of the seminary. Keep your eyes open.
I trust that the fruit of the work of this Convention - with so many distinguished speakers from many diverse regions ad cultures - will be offered to the Church as a useful implementation of the teachings of the Council, providing a contribution to the formation of priests, those who are currently preparing and those who the Lord wants to invite, so that, configured more and more to Him, they may be good priests according to the heart of the Lord, not functionaries! Thank you for your patience.
Address of His Holiness, Pope Francis
to participants in the Convention
celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication
of Optatam totius and Presbyterorum ordinis
Your Eminences,
Dear brother Bishops and priests,
Brothers and sisters,
I greet each of you most cordially and express my sincere thanks to you, Cardinal Stella, and to the Congregation for the Clergy who invited me to participate in this Convention fifty years after the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council's Decrees Optatam totius and Presbyterorum ordinis.
Please excuse me for changing the original plan, which was that I should come to you, but in the end, there was not enough time; even here, I arrived a bit late!
It is not a matter of a historical re-enactment. These two Decrees are a seed which the Council has thrown into the field of the life of the Church; during the past fifty years, these seeds have grown; they have become a vigorous plant, certainly with some dried out leaves, but above all with many flowers and fruit that adorn the Church today. Retracing the path that has been travelled, this Convention has demonstrated these fruits and constituted an opportune ecclesial reflection on the work that remains to be done in this area that is so vital to the Church. There is still work to be done!
Optatam totius and Presbyterorum ordinis were considered together, as the two halves of one and the same reality: the formation of priests, which we consider in initial stages and on an ongoing basis, but which constitute within themselves a unique experience of discipleship. Not surprisingly, in January 2013, Pope Benedict gave this issue concrete form (Motu proprio Ministrorum institutio), juridical in its reality, also attributing competence over seminaries to the Congregation for the Clergy. In this way, the same Dicastery can begin to deal with the life and ministry of priests from the moment of their entry into the seminary, working to ensure that vocations are promoted and cared for, and that they may blossom in the lives of holy priests. The path to holiness for a priest begins in the seminary!
Since a vocation to priesthood is a gift that God offers to some for the good of all, I want to share with you a few thoughts, starting with the relationship between priests and other people, following Number 3 of Presbyterorum ordinis, which is like a small compendium of the theology of priesthood, spoken of in the Letter to the Hebrews: Priests have been taken from among men and constituted on behalf of these men in matters that pertain to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices in forgiveness for sins, and to live on earth among other men as brothers among brothers.
Let us consider these three moments: taken from among men; constituted on behalf of men; and present in the midst of other men.
The priest is a man who was born in a certain human context; there, he began learning values, absorbing the spirituality of his people and becoming accustomed to relationships. Even priests have a history, they are not mushrooms that suddenly sprout in the Cathedral on the day of their ordination. It is important that formators and priests themselves remember this and know how to take account of their own personal histories along the path of formation. On the day of ordination, I always say to the priests, to the newly-ordained priests: remember where you came from, from the flock, don't forget your mother and your grandmother! This is what Paul said to Timothy, and I still say it today. This means that we cannot be priests if we believe that we are formed in a laboratory, no; it begins in the family with the traditions of faith and with the entire experience of the family. This experience must be personalized, because we are concrete persons, called to discipleship and to priesthood, taking into account the fact that Christ is the only Master who we follow and who configures us.
In this regard, I am pleased to remember the family, the domestic church as the fundamental pastoral centre for vocations, a basic place for human formation, where the desire for a life conceived as a vocational journey can grow; a life to be lived with commitment and generosity.
In a family and in all other community contexts - schools, parishes, associations, groups of friends - we learn to live in relationship with concrete people, to make of ourselves models of relationships with them and thus also becoming who we are, thanks to them.
Therefore, a good priest is first of all a man with his own humanity, who knows his own history, with his own gifts and his own wounds, who has learned to make pace with himself, at peace with his past, possessing a serenity that is typical of the Lord's disciples. Human formation is therefore necessary for priests, for we learn not to be domineering over others' limits, but rather to find ways for their talents to bear fruit.
A priest who is a man of peace will diffuse serenity within himself, even in moments of fatigue, transmitting the beauty of a relationship with the Lord. It is not normal, however, that a priest should sometimes be sad, nervous or hard of character; this is not good: either for the priest himself or for the people of God. But if he has an illness or he is neurotic, he should go to the doctor! From a spiritual doctor and from a medical doctor: both will give you pills that will make you feel better, both of them! But, please don't let the faithful pay for the nervousness of the priests! Don't punish the faithful; be close of heart to them.
We priests are apostles of joy, we proclaim the gospel, the good news; it is certainly not us who give strength to the gospel - some people think so - but we can help or hinder the encounter between God's people and the gospel. Our humanity is a clay jar in which we keep God's treasure, a vase that we must care for, in order to be able to share her precious contents with others.
A priest cannot lose sight of his roots, he remains always a man of the people and of the culture in which he was born; our roots help us to recall the fact that we are from and where Christ has called us to be. We priests do not descend from above, but we are called, called by God, who takes us from among men in order to offer ourselves for the sake of mankind. I will tell you a story. In dioceses, many years ago ... Not in dioceses, no, among the Jesuits, there was a good priest, really good, young, two years ordained. He was experiencing some confusion so he spoke about it with his spiritual father, with his superior, with the doctors; he told them: I'm leaving, I can't continue, I'm leaving. And thinking about these things - I knew his mother, humble people - I told him: Why don't you go see your mother and speak to her about this? He went, he spent an entire day with his mother, and he came back changed. His mother had given him a few spiritual slaps, she told him three or four truths, she put him in his place and he could continue. Why? Because he had gone back to his roots. This is why it is important not to cut yourself off from the roots, where you have come from. In the seminary, you have to do mental prayer ... Yes, sure, that's what you have to do, to learn ... But first of all, pray like your mother taught you to pray, and then carry on. That's always where our roots are, the roots of the family, like you learned to pray when you were a child, with the same words, beginning with those prayers. Then you can continue, going on in prayer.
Here's the second passage: on behalf of men.
Here, there is a point that is fundamental to ministry and to priesthood. Responding to God's vocation, we become priests in order to serve our brothers and sisters. The images of Christ that we take as references for the ministry of priests are clear: He is the High Priest, at the same time close to God and close to mankind; he is the Servant, who washes our feet and draws us close to those who are weak; and he is the Good Shepherd, who always cares for his flock.
These are the three images toward which we should look, while we think of the ministry of priests, sent to serve mankind, to allow them to experience the mercy of God, to proclaim his Word of life. We are not priests for ourselves and our own sanctification is closely tied to that of our people, our anointing to their anointing: you are anointed for your people. Know and remember to be constituted for your people - holy people, people of God - help priests to not think about themselves, to be authoritative but not authoritarian, firm but not hard, joyous but not superficial, in short: shepherds, not officials. In both of the readings for today's Mass, we see clearly the capacity that the people had to rejoice when the temple had been cleansed and restored, and the lack of ability for joy that the chief priests and the scribes had when they saw Jesus driving the merchants out of the temple. A priest should learn to be joyous, he should never lose this ability, it is better that way, to have an ability to be joyous: if it is lost, there is something wrong. I tell you truthfully, I am afraid of rigidity, I'm scared. Away with rigid priests! Such priests bite! I remember an expression that Saint Ambrose used to use in the fourth century: Where there is mercy, there is the spirit of the Lord; where there is rigidity, there are only his ministers. A minister without the Lord becomes rigid, and this is a danger for the people of God. Pastors, not officials.
The people of God and all of humanity benefit from the mission of priests, which is the aim of all our work in formation. Human formation, as well as intellectual and spiritual formation all flow naturally into that ministry, which provides tools, virtues and personal dispositions. When all of this is in harmony and blends with a generous missionary zeal, throughout an entire lifetime, a priest can fulfill the mission entrusted by Christ to his Church.
Finally, since he was born among people, with people he must remain: the priest is always among other men, not a professional pastor or evangelizer, who arrives and does what he must do - as though he is good at doing a particular job - and then goes off to live a separate life. He becomes a priest in order to remain among people: close to them. Permit me, brother bishops, to point out that this applies equally to us: bishops must remain close to our priests too. This is just as valid for us! How many times do we hear the laments of priests: But I called the bishop because I had a problem .. the secretary ... told me that he is very busy, that he is travelling, that he can't see me for at least three months ... Two things. First: a bishop is always busy, thank God, but if a bishop receives a call from a priest and cannot receive him because he is too busy, at least pick up the phone and call him; say to him: Is it urgent? It's not urgent? When can you come, what day ...? In this way, he will know that you are close to him. There are bishops who seem to be very distant from their priests ... Closeness, at least a phone call! This is paternal love, fraternity. The other thing: No, I have a conference in such and such a city and then I have to travel in America, then ... Listen, the decree of residence proclaimed at Trent is still valid! If you are not happy to stay in your diocese, resign and travel the world doing some other apostolate that is much better, but if you are the bishop of a diocese, stay home. These two things, closeness, at home. This is advice for us bishops! You became priests in order to be close to people.
The good that priests can do is born above all out of their closeness and their tender love for others. We are not philanthropists or functionaries, priests are fathers and brothers. The fatherhood of a priest is very good.
Closeness, bound by mercy, loving gaze: to experience the beauty of a life lived according to the gospel and the love of God which is made apparent through his ministry. God never refuses. Here I think of the confessional. We can always find ways to give absolution, to welcome, but sometimes we cannot absolve. There are priests who say: no, I cannot absolve you of that sin, leave. This is the wrong way. If you cannot give absolution, explain yourself: God loves you so much, God loves you. There are so many different ways to draw close to God. I cannot absolve you now, but I can give you a blessing as a sign that God loves you. And that man or that woman will leave, filled with joy because he or she has found the icon of the Father, who never refuses; in one way or another, he or she has been embraced.
This can also be a good examination of conscience for a priest; if the Lord were to return today, where would I find him? Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Mt 6:21). Where is my heart? Among people, praying with and for people, sharing in their joys and sufferings, or surrounded by worldly things, worldly affairs, concerned about my own affairs? A priest cannot have private space, because he is always either with the Lord or with people. I am thinking about priests who I have known in my city, who had no secretary to answer the phone, who slept with the telephone beside the bed, and people would call at all hours of the night, waking them up and asking them to anoint them: no one every died without the sacraments! These priests were never alone, even when they were sleeping. This is apostolic zeal. The response to the question: where is my heart?, can help every priest to see his life and his ministry in the light of the Lord.
The Council left the Church some precious pearls. Like the merchant in the gospel of Matthew (Mt 13:45), today we go in search of them, to bring them new approaches and instruments for the mission that the Lord confides to them.
There is another thing that I want to add - excuse me! - is vocational discernment, admissions to the seminary. Seek out the health of the individual man, spiritual health, material health, physical, psychological. Once, when I had just been named Master of Novices in 1972, I went to share with a psychologist the results of a personality test, a simple test that we used to do with one of the elements of discernment. She was a good woman, and a good doctor, but she said: This one has a problem but he can continue if he does this ... She was also a good Christian, but in some cases she was inflexible: This one cannot continue. - But doctor, this boy is so good. - Now, he is good, but I know that there are young people who are aware unconsciously, they are not aware of it, but unconsciously they know that they are mentally ill; they seek out structures which will defend them; in this way they can continue. And things are well, until the moment when they feel well established, and then problems start. - But this seems a bit strange. I will never forget her answer; it was the same answer the Lord responded to Ezekiel: Father, You have you never considered that there are so many police torturers? They enter young, they seem healthy but when they feel secure, sickness begins to come out. There are strong institutions that are sought out by those who are unconsciously sick: police, the army, the clergy. Then there are many illnesses that we all know that come out. It's curious. When I realize that a young man is too rigid, too fundamental, I don't trust him; perhaps there is something that he himself is not aware of. But when he seems secure ... Ezekiel 16, I don't remember the verse, but that's when the Lord tells his people everything that he's done for them: he found them as newborns, then he clothed them, married them ... And then, when you felt safe, you became a harlot. This is a rule, a rule of life. Keep your eyes open to the mission of the seminary. Keep your eyes open.
I trust that the fruit of the work of this Convention - with so many distinguished speakers from many diverse regions ad cultures - will be offered to the Church as a useful implementation of the teachings of the Council, providing a contribution to the formation of priests, those who are currently preparing and those who the Lord wants to invite, so that, configured more and more to Him, they may be good priests according to the heart of the Lord, not functionaries! Thank you for your patience.
No comments:
Post a Comment