Priesthood
is something living beyond their human nature mysteriously. According to
Archbishop Fulton Sheen, “a priest is mysterious, because he lives in two
worlds. He is at his best when he leads a “double life”, at once both human and
divine.”[1] The fact is he remain a
human person even after having been ordained and he has no escape in different
challenges brought by being human: the struggle continues even until the last
part of his priestly life. For example, upon having been ordained his life becomes
the life of everyone and he will become part of the entire church, he becomes
universal. Through consecration, the priest “receives a spiritual ‘power’ as a
gift which Jesus Christ, through his Spirit, guides the Church”.[2] This implies their whole
being automatically rendered towards the faithful especially their time: that
they will take most of their free time. The parishioners will demand most of
their free time and they cannot help it but to spend time with them in
listening their stories: their ups and downs and even their private life which
will be exposed unto them. It will create boredom or even a deep wound within
their human limitations for nothing remain in them, even their most convenient
time will be spent.
Priests
in their ministry will be overshadowed with problems and desperations with
other people and they might forget their own self as human beings also. I could
really attest how hectic their schedule in the parish. At weekdays they will
celebrate mass twice and after that they will attend meetings and entertain
some important matters in the parish. Weekends come when masses to celebrate
will be about seven to eight utmost and finally at ten (10) in the evening he
can take rest. There are many things to do when you’re a priest. “At times, it feels to us as if we “don’t
have a life.”[3]
Upon having all this experiences and
difficulties of being a priest, I could ask, what is really to be a priest? In
the Old Testament “priests are God’s chosen people in the tribe of Levi to
offer sacrifices on behalf of the people of Israel and God was their
inheritance.”[4]
In addition, the New Testament identifies priests as missionaries to the ends
of the earth (cf. Acts 1:8). Moreover, in Pope John Paul II’s message in Pastores Davo Vobis, the missionary
function of the priest, he states that “priesthood is really for service and
for mission to bring the Gospel in to the whole corner of the world.”[5] In line with this, priests
will forget his own for he is Christ representatives sent for a mission. If
this is so, there will be a great challenge on how to reconcile priests’ human
nature and his bond to his mission. Now the difficulty emerged for we cannot
deny his human nature. With all this, having deep concern brought about by
misconceptions with the clergy men made by media and by having the first-hand
experiences how heroic the life of a priest, Fr. Rossetti conducted a survey
from September 2003 to January 2005. There were 1,172 priests and it showed
that 42.9 percent agreed with the statement given: “I fell overwhelmed with the
amount of work I have to do.”[6] And he said that’s a lot
of them who fell like that according to his survey. Moreover, sometimes in
2009, again Fr. Rossetti conducted a survey and he found out that 90 to 92.4 of
the priests agreed or strongly agreed that they are happy priests, and 80 to
88.9 percent say that their morale is good.[7] This shows that there’s
something in the priesthood that in spite of their condition of acting both
sides (being human and at the same time alter
Christus) and being sent for a mission they could be happy. But again the
fact is undeniable. In this manner, Pope John Paul II reminded all priests that
they must have the mind and heart of missionaries -- in order to have a
fruitful mission. On the other hand, Cardinal Schonborn says that priesthood is
the love of the heart of Jesus.[8] Upon pondering these
words, I may arrive at the conclusion that being a priest is something to be
proud of for Christ Himself chose him to be His representative to bring His
people back to Him[9]
(Salus animarum suprema lex). Upon
having this reality, we must have this feeling of being “lucky” for Christ
Himself give His Grace to all His priests.
However, having this God’s Grace in
order for an ordained ministers will be like Christ, his human nature continues
to visit and remind him always in his imperfection that would create different
confusions which more likely, what we call “loneliness”. According to Father
Robert E. Lauder in his book entitled, “Loneliness is for Loving” that
loneliness is part of the human condition. This is one of the problems that
arises when priests is left alone. But it is a matter of authentic responds to
the call and on how you love your vocation. “If priests are truly in love with
God and His people…why should they not take the risk and knowing well their
human limitations?[10]
On the other hand, by sharing His
priesthood to mankind (by way of Baptism and through the Sacrament of Holy
Order), we shared His presence within the priests as “Sacerdos alter Christus”.[11] As St. Ignatius of
Antioch, the Bishop is “typos tuo Patros” he is like the living image of
God the Father.[12]
So, priests have so many reasons to be happy in the ministry for they bring
God’s image in them. Thus in his book “The Joy of Priesthood”, Fr. Rossetti
implied that joy sprouts amidst different issues and struggles of being a
priest which are always entangled in his human nature. He said that joy starts
in the “center” of our hearts, bearing witness that the spirit resides within.
He added that in our times of sorrow, the joy that the spirit brought will
remain and present in our hearts.[13]
Henceforth, Pope Francis urged us
all (Priests, Religious and all the Faithful who had been in Pastoral works) to
be pure and to fight all temptations faced by pastoral workers.[14] Through this, we can
achieve the joy in the ministry despite the weaknesses we have as human beings.
And the best incentive for sharing the Gospel comes from contemplating it with
love[15]…. Pope Francis serves as
our great model in conquering the human weaknesses in doing ministry. Indeed,
according to the book, “Pope Francis: Why He Leads the Way He Leads” of Chris
Lowney, he stated that “we can conquer our being flawed and weak through accepting
such to be so and eventually find courage not just to be yourself, but the best
version of yourself.” Thus, he gives us so much reason to be happy in sharing
the joy in the Gospel.
[1]
Sheen, Fulton J. Those Mysterious Priests. Nagasandra, Banglalore: St.Paul
Press Training School,2012
[2]
Congregation for the Clergy, Directory on
the Ministry and Life of Priests (Libreria Editrice Vaticana)p.8
[3]
Ibid. Those Mysterious Priests
[4]
Cf. Numbers 1:48
[5] Pastores
Davo Vobis
[6] cf.
The Joy of Priesthood
[7] Why
Priests are Happy by: Fr. Stephen J. Rossetti
[8]
The Joy of Being a Priest. by: Christoph Cardinal Schonborn
[9] Code
of Canon Law, 1752
[10]
Ibid. “loneliness is for Loving”p100
[11] Priestly
Spirituality-Treasures and Experiences by:Franz-Josef Eilers
[12]
Cf.CCC 1549
[13]
Cf. The Joy of Priesthood
[14]
Cf. Evangelii Gaudium 76
[15]
Cf. Evangelii Gaudium
