The praying priest.

Priests are ministers of Christ, the one and eternal high priest. By virtue of their calling, they are to model their lives on Christ, in constant union with the Father in prayer. They are to engage in that assiduous prayer and adoration so that by their consecrating existence God is glorified and humanity will progress in divine life. Such is the challenge and scope of a priestly vocation.

Presently, many priests are encountering the difficulty of not finding enough time to pray. Perhaps pastoral work is consuming that privileged time spent with the Lord Jesus in prayer. In front of new pastoral needs, the obvious temptation is to respond to them haphazardly. Yet, experience is showing that such an approach is a grave obstacle for the life and ministry of a priest. Undoubtedly, this kind of pastoral work is unproductive. Why?

To begin with, pastoral ministry which is devoid of prayer does more harm than good. It is closed to the Spirit of God. If, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, a priest is signed with a special character and is conformed to Christ the Priest in such a way that he can act in the person of Christ the Head, how can he radiate Christ when he is not united with him body and soul? How can he be a model for his fellow Christians when he is not spending time with his Lord to contemplate his face? Moreover, how can he teach his flock how to pray when he does not pray? Hence, there is an urgent need for the priest to delve deeper into the attitudes of Jesus and to learn from him myriad of ways of how to be present and available to his people.

Certainly, the Word of God is essential in this ongoing discovery of the person of Jesus Christ. Because he knows its power, the ordained minister stays focused on the hope and salvation God's Word offers to him. In fact, his life and ministry are strengthened and constantly rejuvenated by that Word which gives life - and life to the full.

In a world where egoism and self-seeking pleasure are rampant, devout and effective celebration and adoration before the Blessed Eucharist teach and instill in the priest's heart an attitude of a caring self-giving and service to God and his people. The Eucharist warms his heart up to the point of making him a continual self-offering to God. It is precisely from the Eucharist that the priest not only cherishes the Church's communion but acknowledges the will of the Father for him and be given the courage to pursue it till the end. Sustained by the Eucharist, a priest is more ready to give Christ the first place and does all he can to cooperate with his pastors and fellow priests in the work of the apostolate and to maintain a spirit of true brotherhood in ministry.

When one speaks of prayer one is speaking of a package of aids that offer valuable and fruitful help to a priest's ongoing union with Christ. Be it the daily colloquy with Christ, a celebration and veneration of the Most Holy Eucharist, spiritual retreats and spiritual direction, mental and vocal prayers or meditation on God's Word, these are all ways by which we as priests seek and fervently pray to God that he will give us the spirit of genuine adoration. It is such a Spirit that intimately unites us with Christ, other brother priests and the entire people of God. For, thanks to this Spirit, we, as adopted children of God, not only can joyfully call out "Abba Father" (Romans 8:15) but are also able to become a living prayer of praise to the Father through Christ.