The entire Church participates in the priestly anointing of Christ in the Holy Spirit. In the Church, in fact, "all the faithful form a holy and royal priesthood, offer spiritual sacrifices through Jesus Christ and proclaim the greatness of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (cf 1 Pet 2:5. 9).[4]
In Christ, his entire Mystical body is united to the Father through the Holy Spirit for the salvation of all men. However, the Church cannot carry out this mission alone: all of her work intrinsically needs communion with Christ, the Head of his Body. Indissolubly united to her Lord, she continuously receives from Him the effects of grace and truth, of guidance and support so that she may be for all and for each one "a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men".[5]
The ministerial priesthood finds its reason for being in light of this vital and operative union of the Church with Christ.
As a result, through this ministry the Lord continues to accomplish among his People the work which as Head of his Body belongs to Him alone. Thus, the ministerial priesthood renders tangible the actual work of Christ, the Head, and gives witness to the fact that Christ has not separated Himself from his Church; rather He continues to vivify her through his everlasting priesthood.
For this reason, the Church considers the ministerial priesthood a gift given to Her through the ministry of some of her faithful.
This gift which was instituted by Christ to
continue his own salvific mission was conferred
upon the Apostles and remains in the Church
through the Bishops and their successors.
Through the sacramental
ordination conferred by the imposition of hands
and the consecratory prayers of the Bishop,
"a specific ontological bond which unites the priest
to Christ, High Priest and Good Shepherd"[6] is
established.
Thus, the identity of the priest
comes from the specific participation in the
Priesthood of Christ, in which the one ordained
becomes, in the Church and for the Church, a
real, living and faithful image of Christ the
Priest, "a sacramental representation of Christ,
Head and Shepherd".[7]
Through consecration, the
priest "receives a spiritual 'power' as a gift
which is a participation in the authority with
which Jesus Christ, through his Spirit, guides
the Church".[8]
This sacramental identification
with the Eternal High Priest specifically inserts
the priest into the trinitarian mystery and,
through the mystery of Christ, into the
ministerial Communion of the Church so as to
serve the People of God.[9]
If it is true that each Christian, by means
of Baptism, is in communion with God, One and
Triune, it is equally true that by the power
of the consecration received with the Sacrament
of Holy Orders, the priest is placed in a
particular and specific relation with the Father,
with the Son and with the Holy Spirit.
In fact, "Our identity has its ultimate source in
the charity of the Father. He sent the Son,
High Priest and Good Shepherd, and we are
united sacramentally with the ministerial
priesthood through the action of the Holy
Spirit.
The life and the ministry of the priest
are a continuation of the life and the action
of the same Christ. This is our identity, our
true dignity, the fountain of our joy, the
certainty of our life".[10] Therefore, the
identity, the ministry and the existence of the
priest are essentially related to the three
divine Persons for priestly service to the
Church.
The priest, "as a visible continuation and
sacramental sign of Christ in his own position
before the Church and the world, as the
enduring and ever-new source of salvation",[11]
finds himself inserted into the trinitarian
dynamics with a particular responsibility.
His identity springs from the which is in
essential relation to the mystery of salvific
love of the Father (cf Jn 17:6-9. 24; 1 Cor
1:1; 2 Cor 1:1), to the priestly being of
Christ, who personally chooses and calls his
ministers to be with him (cf Mk 3:15), and to
the gift of the Spirit (cf Jn 20:21), who
communicates to the priest the necessary power
for giving life to a multitude of sons of God,
united in the one ecclesial body and oriented
towards the Kingdom of the Father.
From this, one
perceives the essentially "relational"
characteristic (Jn 12 17:11. 21)[12] Of the
priest's identity. The grace and the indelible
character conferred with the sacramental unction
of the Holy Spirit,[13] place the priest in
personal relation with the Trinity since it is
the fountain of the priestly being and work.
Therefore, the priest must live this relationship
in an intimate and personal manner, in a
dialogue of adoration and of love with the
three divine Persons, conscious that he has
received this gift for the service of all.
The Christological dimension, like the Trinitarian
dimension, springs directly from the sacrament
which ontologically configures the priest to
Christ the Priest, Master, Sanctifier and Pastor
of his People.[14]
The faithful who, maintaining
their common priesthood, are chosen and become
part of the ministerial priesthood are granted
an indelible participation in the one and only
priesthood of Christ.
This is a participation in
the public dimension of mediation and authority
regarding the sanctification, teaching and
guidance of all the People of God.
On the one hand, the common priesthood of the
faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical
priesthood are necessarily ordered one for
the other because each in its own way
participates in the only priesthood of Christ
and, on the other hand, they are essentially
different.[15]
In this sense the identity of the priest is
new with respect to that of all Christians
who through Baptism participate as a whole
in the only priesthood of Christ and are
called to give witness to Christ throughout
the earth.[16]
The specificity of the ministerial priesthood
lies in the need that the faithful have of
the mediation and dominion of Christ which
is made visible by the work of the ministerial
priesthood.
In this unique identity with Christ, the priest
must be conscious that his life is a a mystery
totally grafted onto the mystery of Christ and
of the Church in a new and specific way and
that this engages him totally in pastoral activity
and rewards him.[17]
Christ associates the Apostles to his
own mission. "As the Father has sent me, I
also send you" (Jn 20:21). In Holy Ordination
itself, the missionary dimension is ontologically
present. The priest was chosen, consecrated and
sent to carry out effectively in our time this
eternal mission of Christ; he becomes his
authentic representative and messenger: "He that
hears you, hears me; he that despises you,
despises me; and he that despises me, despises
him that sent me" (Lk 10:16).
One can therefore say that the configuration to
Christ, through sacramental consecration, defines
the role of the priest in the heart of the
People of God, making him participate in his
own way in the sanctifying, magisterial and
pastoral authority of Jesus Christ himself,
Head and Pastor of the Church.[18]
Acting the priest becomes the minister of the
essential salvific actions, transmits the truths
necessary for salvation and
cares for the People of God, leading them
towards sanctity.[19]
In priestly Ordination,
the priest has received the seal of the Holy
Spirit which has marked him by the sacramental
character in order to always be the minister of
Christ and the Church. Assured of the promise
that the Consoler will abide "with him forever"
(Jn 14:16-17), the priest knows that he will
never lose the presence and the effective power
of the Holy Spirit in order to exercise his
ministry and live with charity his pastoral
office as a total gift of self for the
salvation of his own brothers.
It is also the Holy
Spirit who by Ordination confers on the priest
the prophetic task of announcing and explaining,
with authority, the Word of God. Inserted in
the communion of the Church with the entire
priestly order, the priest will be guided by
the Holy Spirit whom the Father has sent
through Christ. The Holy Spirit teaches him
everything and reminds him all Jesus has said
to the Apostles. Therefore, the priest with the
help of the Holy Spirit and the study of the
Word of God in the Scriptures, with the light
of Tradition and of the Magisterium,[20]
discovers the richness of the Word to be
proclaimed to the ecclesial community entrusted
to him.
Through the sacramental character and the
identification of his intention with that of the
Church, the priest is always in communion with
the Holy Spirit in the celebration of the
liturgy, especially in the Holy Eucharist and
the other sacraments. In fact, in each
sacrament, Christ invoked by the priest who
celebrates in acts through the Holy Spirit
with his efficacious power on behalf of the
Church.[21] Thus, the sacramental celebration
finds its efficacy in the Word of Christ who
has instituted it and in the power of the Holy
Spirit which the Church invokes frequently in
the epiclesis. This is particularly evident in
the Eucharistic Prayer in which the priest,
invoking the power of the Holy Spirit on the
bread and on the wine, pronounces the words of
Jesus and actualizes the mystery of the Body
and of the Blood of Christ, really present
through transubstantiation.
It is thus in the communion with
the Holy Spirit that the priest finds the
strength to guide the community entrusted to him
and to maintain it in the unity wanted by the
Lord.[22] The prayer of the priest in the Holy
Spirit can be patterned on the priestly prayer
of Jesus Christ (Jn 17). Therefore, he must
pray for the unity of the faithful so that
they may be one in order that the world may
believe that the Father has sent the Son for
the salvation of all.
Christ, the
permanent and always new origin of salvation, is
the mysterial font from which is derived the
mystery of the Church, his Body and his Bride,
called by his Spouse to be a sign and
instrument of redemption. Through the mystery of
Christ, the priest lives his multiple ministries
and is inserted also into the mystery of Church
which "becomes aware in faith that her being
comes not from herself but from the grace of
Christ in the Holy Spirit".[23] In this sense,
while the priest is in the Church, he is also
set in front of it.[24]
The
Sacrament of Holy Orders, in fact, makes the
priest a sharer not only in the mystery of
Christ the Priest, Master, Head and Shepherd
but, in some way, also in Christ "Servant and
Spouse of the Church".[25]
This is the "Body"
of him who has loved and loves to the point
of giving himself for her (cf Eph 5:25); who
renews her and purifies her continually by means
of the Word of God and of the sacraments (cf
Ibid. 5:26); who works to make her always more
beautiful (cf Ibid. 5:27), and lastly, who
nourishes her and treats her with care (cf
Ibid. 5:29).
The priests, as collaborators of
the Episcopal Order, form with their Bishop a
sole presbyterate[26] and participate, in a
subordinate degree, in the only priesthood of
Christ. Similar to the Bishop, they participate
in that spousal dimension in relation to the
Church which is well expressed in the Rite of
the episcopal ordination when the ring is
entrusted to them.[27]
The priest, who "in the
individual local communities of the faithful
makes the Bishop present, so to speak, to whom
they are united with a faithful and great
spirit"[28] must be faithful to the Bride and
almost like living icons of Christ the Spouse
render fruitful the multi-form donation of Christ
to his Church. By this communion with Christ
the Spouse, the ministerial priesthood is also
founded--as Christ, with Christ and in Christ--in
that mystery of transcendent supernatural love of
which the marriage among Christians is an image
and a participation. Called to the act of
supernatural love, absolutely gratuitous, the
priest should love the Church as Christ has
loved her, consecrating to her all his energies
and giving himself with pastoral charity in a
continuous act of generosity.
The command of the Lord: go to
all the nations (Mt 28:18-20) definitively
expresses the place of the priest the
Church.[29] Sent,-- --by the Father by means of
Christ, the priest pertains "in an immediate
way" to the universal Church.[30] which has the
mission to announce the Good News unto the
"ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).[31] "The
spiritual gift received by priests in Ordination
prepares them for a wide and universal mission
of salvation".[32]
In fact, through Orders and
the ministry received, all priests are associated
with the Episcopal Body and, in hierarchical
communion with it, according to their vocation
and grace, they serve the good of the entire
Church.[33]
Therefore, the membership to a
particular Church, through incardination,[34] must
not enclose the priest in a restricted and
particularistic mentality, but rather should open
him to the service of other Churches, because
each Church is the particular realization of the
only Church of Jesus Christ, such that the
universal Church lives and fulfils her mission
in and from the particular Churches in effective
communion with her.
Thus, all the priests, must
have a missionary heart and mind and be open
to the needs of the Church and of the
world.[35]
It is important that the priest be fully
aware and profoundly live this missionary reality
of his priesthood, in total harmony with the
Church who feels the need to send her ministers
to places where their mission is more needed
and to work toward a more equal distribution of
clergy.[36]
This demand in the life of the
Church in the world must be felt and lived by
each priest, above all and essentially as the
gift of living within the institution and being
at her service.
Therefore, we cannot accept
those opinions which arise from a
misunderstanding of particular cultures, that tend
to distort the missionary action of the Church,
called to fulfil the same universal mystery of
salvation which transcends all cultures and
should vivify them.[37]
It must be said that
the universal expansion of the priestly ministry
today is related to the socio-cultural features
of the contemporary world in which the need to
eliminate all the barriers which divide people
and nations is felt and which, especially,
through cultural exchange, wants to bind people,
despite the geographical distances separating
them. Consequently, today more than ever, the
clergy must feel itself apostolically bound to
unite all men in Christ and in his Church.
Another sign
of the priest placing himself the Church is
his being a guide who works toward the
sanctification of the faithful entrusted to his
ministry, which is essentially pastoral. This
reality, which has to be lived with humility
and coherence, can be subject to two opposite
temptations.
The first is that of exercising his
ministry in an overbearing manner (cf Lk
22:24-27; 1 Pt 5:1-4), while the second is that
of disdaining the configuration to Christ Head
and Shepherd because of an incorrect view of
community.
The first temptation was also strong
for the disciples themselves and was promptly
and repeatedly corrected by Jesus; all authority
is exercised in the spirit of service, as [38]
and as an unselfish dedication for the good of
the flock (cf Jn 13:14; 10:11).
The priest must
always remember that the Lord and Master "did
not come to be served but to serve" (Mk
10:45); he has bent down to wash the feet of
the disciples (cf Jn 13:5) before dying on the
Cross and before sending them out to the whole
world (cf Jn 20:2 1).
The priests will give
authentic testimony to the Resurrected Lord, to
whom was given "all power in heaven and on
earth" (cf Mt 28:18), if they exercise their
own power in a humble, authoritative service to
his own flock[39] and with respect to the
duties which Christ and the Church entrusted to
the lay faithful[40] and to the consecrated
faithful for the profession of the evangelical
counsels.[41]
It often happens that to avoid this first
deviation, one falls into the second, eliminating
all the differences in the roles among the
members of the Mystical Body of Christ, which
is the Church.
This practically negates the
true doctrine of the distinction between the
common and ministerial priesthood.[42]
One of the dangers noticeable today is the so-called
"democratism". In respect to this, it should
be remembered that the Church recognizes all the
merits and values which the democratic culture
has brought to human society.
At the same time,
the Church has always fought with all the means
within its reach for the recognition of the
equal dignity among all men.
With this strong ecclesial tradition the Vatican
Council II openly spoke about the dignity of all
the baptized in the Church.[43]
Nevertheless, it is still
necessary to affirm that the mentality and
current practice in cultural and socio-political
trends of our times cannot be transferred
automatically to the Church.
The Church, indeed,
owes its existence and structure to the salvific
plan of God. She sees herself as a gift from the
benevolence of a Father who has saved her
through the humiliation of his Son on the
cross.
Therefore, the Church, through the Holy
Spirit, wants to be completely consonant and
faithful to the free and liberating will of its
Lord Jesus Christ.
This mystery of salvation
makes the Church by its specific nature, into a
reality diverse from the simple human society.
Hence, the so-called "democratism" becomes a
grave temptation because it leads to a denial
of the authority and capital grace of Christ
and to distort the nature of the Church; it
would be almost just a human society.
Such a
view damages the very hierarchical structure
willed by its Divine Founder as the Magisterium
has always clearly taught and the Church herself
has lived from the start.
The participation in
the Church is based upon the mystery of
communion which, by its nature, sees in itself
the presence and action of the ecclesiastical
hierarchy.
Therefore, the mentality which confuses
the duties of the priests with those of the
lay faithful cannot be permitted in the Church.
It is sometimes manifested in some ecclesial
organizations of participation. In like manner,
it does not distinguish the proper authority of
the Bishop from that of the priests as
collaborators of the Bishops, or denies the
Petrine primacy in the College of Bishops.
To this effect, it should be remembered that the
presbyterate and the Council of Priests are not
an expression of the right of association of
the clergy, and even less can be understood
according to views of a syndicalistic nature
which claim interests of parties foreign to the
ecclesial community.[44]
The distinction
between the common and ministerial priesthood,
far from creating division among the members of
the Christian community, harmonizes and unifies
the life of the Church.
This, in fact, as
regards the Body of Christ, is an organic
communion among all the members, in which each
one serves the community by fulfilling his own
distinct role and specific vocation (I Cor 12:12
ff).[45]
Therefore, no one may licitly change
what Christ has wanted for his Church.
It is indissolubly linked with its Founder and Head
who alone may provide her, through the power of
the Holy Spirit, with ministers in the service
of the faithful.
No community can take the
place of Christ, who is the one who calls,
consecrates and sends forth ministers, through
the legitimate Pastors even in a situation of
particular necessity, when it might consider
granting itself its own priest, in ways contrary
to the dispositions of the Church.[46]
The solution to these cases of necessity is Jesus'
prayer: "pray therefore the Lord of the harvest,
that he send forth laborers into his harvest"
(Mt 9:38).
If to this prayer done with faith,
the fervent life of charity of the community is
added, we can be sure that the Lord will not
fail to give pastors according to his heart (cf
Jer 3:15).[47]
One way to avoid falling into this
"democratistic" mentality is to shun the
so-called "clericalization" of the laity,[48]
which tends to diminish the ministerial
priesthood of the priest.
After the Bishop, the
term "pastor" can only be attributed in a
proper and univocal sense to the priest by
virtue of the ministerial priesthood received
with the Ordination.
The attribute "pastoral", in
fact, refers both to the bishop, and to the priest [49]
It should be remembered that these tendencies do
not favor the true advancement of the laity
because they frequently forget the authentic
ecclesial vocation and mission of the laity in
the world.
In light of the
above-mentioned regarding the priest's identity,
the communion of the priest is fulfilled above
all with the Father, the ultimate origin of all
his power; with the Son, in whose redemptive
mission he participates; with the Holy Spirit,
who gives him the power for living and
fulfilling that pastoral charity which qualifies
him in a priestly way.
In fact, "the nature
and the mission of the ministerial priesthood
cannot be defined except in this multiple and
rich network of relations which spring from the
Blessed Trinity and is prolonged in the
communion of the Church as a sign, in Christ,
of the union with God and the unity of the
whole human race".[50]
The priest's communion-relation with the
Church in its aspect of mystery and ecclesial
community comes from this fundamental
union-communion with Christ and the Trinity.[51]
In fact, it is within the mystery of the
Church, as a mystery of trinitarian communion
with a missionary zeal that the identity of
every Christian is revealed and, therefore, the
specific and personal identity of the priest and
of his ministry as well.
Precisely, the
ecclesial communion of the priest is lived in
diverse ways. In fact, through sacramental
Ordination, he develops special bonds with the church.
Communion as a
characteristic of the priesthood is based on the
unity of the Head, Shepherd and Spouse of the
Church, who is Christ.[52] In such ministerial
communion some precise ties are shaped with the
Pope, the College of Bishops and each one's
diocesan Bishop.
"There can be no genuine
priestly ministry except in communion with the
Supreme Pontiff and the Episcopal College,
especially with one's own diocesan Bishop, who
deserves that filial respect and obedience
promised during the rite of ordination".[53]
Thus, this refers to a hierarchical communion,
that is to say, a communion in that hierarchy
in the same way that it is structured within.
This communion, in virtue of participation
subordinated to the Bishops in the one
ministerial priesthood and mission, also involves
the spiritual and organic-structural bond of
priests with the entire Episcopal order, their
own Bishop,[54] the Roman Pontiff as Pastor of
the universal Church[55] and each particular
Church.
This is strengthened by the fact that
the entire Episcopal order as a whole and each
Bishop individually must be in hierarchical
communion with the Head of the College.[56]
This College, in fact, is composed only of those
consecrated Bishops who are in hierarchical
communion with its Head and members.
Hierarchical
communion is vividly expressed in the Eucharistic
prayers; when the priest prays for the Pope,
the College of Bishops and his own Bishop, he
not only expresses a sentiment of devotion, but
attests to the authenticity of his celebration
as well.[57]
The Eucharistic concelebration
itself, in the circumstances and conditions
foreseen,[58] especially when presided by the
Bishop and with the participation of the
faithful, manifests well the unity of the
priesthood of Christ in his ministers, as well
as the unity of the sacrifice of the People of
God.[59] Moreover, it contributes to the
consolidation of sacramental fraternity which
exists among priests.[60]
Each priest should have
a deep, humble and filial bond of charity with
the person of the Holy Father and adhere to
his petrine ministry of magisterium, of
sanctification and of government, with exemplary
docility.[61]
In his fidelity and service to the
authority of his Bishop, he lives the communion
called for by the practice of his priestly
ministry.
For the pastors with more experience
it is easy to confirm the need to avoid any
form of subjectivism in his ministry and adhere
with responsibility to pastoral programs. Besides
being an expression of maturity, such adhesion
contributes to the building of that unity in
the communion which is indispensable for the
work of evangelization.[62]
With full respect for
hierarchical subordination, the priest will
promote a genuine rapport with his Bishop,
indicated by sincere confidence, cordial
friendship, and true effort towards consonance
and convergence in ideals and programs.
Nothing should take away from the intelligent capacity
for personal initiative and pastoral
enterprise.[63]
By virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders
"every priest is united to the other members of
the priesthood by specific bonds of apostolic
charity, ministry and fraternity".[64]
He is, in
fact inserted into the constituting that unity
which can be defined as a true family in which
the ties do not come from flesh nor from blood
but from the grace of Holy Orders.[65]
This
membership in a specific presbyterate,[66] always
comes within the context of a particular Church,
of an Ordinariate or of a personal Prelature.
In fact, unlike the case of the College of
Bishops, it seems that there are no theological
foundations to affirm the existence of a
universal Presbyterate.
Priestly fraternity and
membership to a presbyterate are, therefore,
elements characterizing the priest.
The rite of
the imposition of the hands by the Bishop and
all of the priests present during the priestly
Ordination has special significance and merit
because it points to the equality of
participation in the ministry, and to the fact
that the priest cannot act by himself; he acts
within the presbyterate becoming a brother of
all those who constitute it.[67]
Incardination in a
particular Church[68] constitutes an authentic
juridical bond[69] which also has a spiritual
value, since from it springs "the rapport with
the Bishop in the sole presbyterate, sharing in
the ecclesial solicitude, in dedication to the
evangelical care of the People of God in
specific historical conditions and settings".[70]
In this perspective, the bond with the
particular Church is rich in meaning for
pastoral action as well. It should not be
forgotten that the secular priests not
incardinated in the Diocese and the priest
members of a religious institute or of a
society of apostolic life who live in the
Diocese[71] and exercise some office therein,[72]
although still placed under their legitimate
Ordinaries, belong by full or a diverse title
to the clergy of such Diocese[73] where "they
have the right to both an active and a passive
voice in an election to the council of
priests.[74]
The religious priests, in particular,
by unity of powers, share the pastoral care
offering the contribution of specific charisms
and "with their presence inspiring the particular
Church to live more vividly its universal
openness".[75]
The priests, then, incardinated in
a Diocese, who are serving an ecclesial movement
approved by the competent ecclesiastical
Authority,[76] are aware of being members of the
presbyterate of their Diocese and must sincerely
collaborate with it. The Bishop of incardination,
on his part, must respect the way of life
required by the membership to a Movement, and
it may be fitting, by the norm of the law, to
permit the priest to lend his services to other
churches, if this forms part of the charism of
the movement itself.[77]
The presbyterate is
a privileged place in which the priest should
be able to find the means of sanctification and
evangelization and of being helped to overcome
the limits and the weaknesses which are proper
to human nature and which are particularly felt
today.
He will therefore make every effort to
avoid living his own priesthood in an isolated
and subjectivistic way, and must try to enhance
fraternal communion in the giving and
receiving--from priest to priest--of the warmth
of friendship, of affectionate help, of
acceptance, of fraternal correction, well aware
that the grace of Orders "assumes and elevates
human relations, psychologically, affectionately,
cordially and spiritually".[78]
All this is
expressed in the liturgy of the Mass of Holy
Thursday which shows how through Eucharistic
communion--born in the Last Supper--the priests
receive the capacity to love one another, as
the Master loves them.[79]
The profound ecclesial sense of the
presbyterate fosters the personal responsibility
of each priest in carrying out the particular
ministry entrusted to him by the Bishop.[80]
The
capacity to develop and profoundly live priestly
friendship is a source of serenity and joy in
the exercise of the ministry, a decisive support
in difficulties and a valuable help in the
growth of pastoral charity.
Priests must exercise
this friendship in a particular way precisely
towards those brothers most in need of
understanding, help and support.[81]
A manifestation of this communion is also
the always supported by the Church, recently
emphasized by the documents of Vatican Council
II[82] and of the successive Magisterium,[83] and
applied in many Dioceses with positive results.
Among the diverse forms of this (communal house,
community of table, etc.) one must look highly
upon the communal participation in liturgical
prayer.[84]
The diversity of forms must be
encouraged according to the possibilities and
practical situations, without necessarily
emphasizing models proper to religious life.
Particularly praiseworthy are those associations
which support priestly fraternity, sanctity in
the exercise of the ministry, and communion with
the Bishop and with the entire Church.[85]
It is necessary that parish priests be available to
encourage common life in the parochial house
with their vicars,[86] effectively considering
them as their cooperators and sharers of the
pastoral care. And the vicars, in order to
build priestly communion, must recognize and
respect the authority of the parish priest.[87]
As a man
of communion, the priest cannot express his love
for the Lord and for the Church without
transmitting it in a real and unconditional love
for all Christians, the object of his pastoral
care.[88]
Like Christ, he must make Christ
"visible in the midst of the flock" entrusted
to his care,[89] having a positive and
encouraging rapport with the lay faithful.
Recognizing in these their dignity as sons of
God, he develops his own role in the Church,
and in their service he offers all his priestly
ministry and pastoral charity.[90]
In the
awareness of the profound communion which binds
him to the lay faithful and to the religious,
the priest will make every effort "to awaken
and deepen co-responsibility in the one common
mission of salvation, with a prompt and
heartfelt esteem for all the charisms and tasks
which the Spirit gives believers for the
building up of the Church".[91]
More specifically, the parish priest, in his
continuous concern for the common good in the
Church, will encourage associations of the
faithful and movements,[92] embracing them all,
and helping them to find among themselves a
unity of goals, prayer and apostolic action.
Insofar as he unites the family of God and
brings about the Church as communion, the priest
becomes the bridge between man and God, making
himself a brother of men who wants to be their
pastor, father and master.[93]
The priest will
guide the man of today, in his search for the
meaning of his existence, to a personal
encounter with Christ, an encounter which is
realized as a message and as a reality already
present, although not in a definitive way, in
the Church.
In such a way the priest, placed
in the service of the People of God, will
present himself as an expert in humanity, a man
of truth and of communion, a witness of the
solicitude of the Only Shepherd for each and
every member of his flock.
The community will
be able to count on his dedication,
availability, untiring work of evangelization and,
above all, his devoted and unconditional love.
Therefore, he will exercise his spiritual mission
with kindness and firmness, with humility and
service,[94] opening himself to compassion,
participating in the sufferings which arise from
the various forms of poverty, spiritual and
material, old and new.
He will know also how
to act with humility and with mercy within the
difficult and uncertain ways of the conversion
of sinners, to which he will exercise the gift
of truth and patience and the encouraging
benevolence of the Good Shepherd, who does not
reprove the lost sheep, but carries it on his
shoulders and celebrates for its return to the
fold (cf Lk 15:4-7).[95]
Particular attention will be
reserved to relations with the brothers and the
sisters engaged in a life of special
consecration to God in all their forms, showing
them a sincere appreciation and a real spirit
of apostolic collaboration, respecting and
promoting their specific charisms.
He will
cooperate, moreover, so that the consecrated life
always appears more luminous for the benefit of
the entire Church and more persuasive and
attractive to the new generations.
In such
spirit of esteem for the consecrated life, the
priest will give particular care to those
communities which, for various reasons, are
greatly in need of good doctrine, of assistance
and of encouragement in the faith.
In his pastoral work, each
priest will take particular care concerning
vocations, encouraging prayer for vocations, doing
his best in the work of catechetics, and taking
care of the formation of the ministers. He will
promote appropriate initiatives through a personal
rapport with those under his care, allowing him
to discover their talents and to single out the
will of God for them, permitting a courageous
choice in following Christ.[96]
Above all, a
clear knowledge of one's specific identity, a
unity of life, a transparent cheerfulness, and a
missionary zeal are the indispensable elements of
the vocational work that must be an integral
and organic part of ordinary pastoral action.
The priest will always maintain relations of
cordial collaboration and of sincere affection
with the seminary, for it is the cradle of his
vocation and the first place in which he
experienced communal life.
2. Sacramental Roots
3. In communion with the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit
4. In the Trinitarian Dynamics of Salvation
5. Intimate Relation with the Trinity
CHRISTOLOGICAL DIMENSION
6. Specific Identity
7. In the Heart of the People of God
PNEUMATOLOGICAL DIMENSION
8. Sacramental Character
9. Personal Communion with the Holy Spirit
10. Invocation of the Holy Spirit
11. Strength to Guide the Community
ECCLESIAL DIMENSION
12. "In" and "in front of" the Church
13. A Certain Participation in the Spousal Nature of Christ
14. Universality of the Priesthood
15. Missionary Nature of the Priesthood
16. Authority as "amoris Officium"
17. Temptation of "Democratism"
18. Distinction between Common and Ministerial Priesthood
19. Only the priests are pastors
PRIESTLY COMMUNION
20. Communion with the Trinity and with Christ
21. Communion with the Church
22. Hierarchical Communion
23. Communion in the Eucharistic Celebration
24. Communion in the Ministerial Activity
25. Communion in the Priesthood
26. Incardination in a Particular Church
27. The Presbyterate: a Place of Sanctification
28. Priestly Friendship
29. Common Life
30. Communion with the Lay Faithful
31. The Communion with Religious and Members of Institutes of
Consecrated Life
32. Pastoral Work and Vocations