Priests' holiness

At a time where the word holiness seems to have disappeared from everyday vocabulary, the need is felt among the Church's priests to refocus once more on this basic and universal call: to be holy. If holiness is the fundamental calling of every believer, how much more it is to be the challenge and the vocational adventure of every priest?

The last international congress of priests, held in Malta last October, provided a splendid opportunity to every priest to explore his identity. From the various interesting and profound contributions, a renewed priestly identity comes to the fore.

First and foremost, the priest is a witness to the beauty of belonging to God alone. His beauty is a selfless one. Like John the Baptist, rather than being himself the beautiful one, the priest is the one who witnesses to God's beauty. This beauty is itself self-donating all the time. It has its alpha and omega in the Trinity, who continually donates itself to itself and to the entire created universe.

This recurrent self-offering is always available and joyful. It has as its fulcrum the creation of communion. Like the Trinity, a committed priest is by his nature called to be a weaver of communion, precisely by donating himself readily and joyfully to others. Such a communion finds its first and main focus in the Church. Through his constant donating of himself with readiness and joy to others, an authentic priest conveys the living message that the Church is truly the most humble yet powerful servant and seed for the Kingdom of God; a Kingdom of justice, peace, solidarity, reconciliation and love.

If the priest is a "man of God" (1 Tim 6,11), and a living expression of Jesus the Priest and Shepherd, he needs to be continually connected with his Master. How can he form Christians as saints if he is not one with the Holy One? No wonder the priest is called a master of prayer. It is precisely prayer which is his primary task. In his profound relationship with Christ he is to let the latter overshadow him by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Surrounded and protected by the Spirit of holiness, the priest can easily recognise the real needs of his flock. In his prayer the Lord will show him His saving will for him and his people. Therefore, a priest cannot fully live his priestly consecration in spirit and truth, except when he devotes at least a substantial time (say one hour) to personal prayer every day.

Important as it is, pastoral activity is always the result of a deep existential union of the priest with Christ, his divine Shepherd. Today's world needs priests who passionately proclaim by means of their lives and work that Christ has won the world, that God has so much loved the world that He sent His only Son so that those who believe in Him may have eternal life.

The challenge for today's priest is to commit himself to a life-long personal consecrational relationship with Christ, and its effects. Such a relationship includes sharing and imitating his life, becoming like him, and as a result making others know and love him.

Priests are special ministers of holiness. By keeping their gaze fixed on Christ to think, feel, love and act like him, they are giving the people of God the best pastoral service they can ever give them. Let us pray, encourage, and if need be, lovingly correct our priests so that with Christ's loving grace and our fraternal support and fellowship, they can be for us what they are supposed to represent: alter Christus, another Christ.