Just like his great predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI has that great charisma of delivering a very challenging address to the members of the clergy, and through them, to the laity.
No doubt, his address to the Polish clergy in St John's Cathedral in Warsaw (May 25) is considered to be a most inspiring appeal not only to the Polish priests, but also to all priests around the globe.
Since his election to the See of Peter, the Holy Father has kept an ongoing dialogue with all priests, warning them to be on their guard against the temptations of relativism and those of the permissive society. His fatherly appeal to all priests is to reflect in depth and in silence: "Where is the strength?"
It is appropriate to point out that in his very first encounter with the clergy while on holiday in the Alpine diocese of Aosta, in northern Italy, in July 2005, Pope Benedict stressed: "If there is no moral force in souls, if there is no readiness to suffer for their values, a better world is not built; indeed, on the contrary, the world deteriorates every day, selfishness dominates and destroys all... In the end, in fact, love alone enables us to live, and love is always also suffering: it matures in suffering and provides the strength to suffer for good without taking oneself into account at the actual moment."
The Holy Father opened his address to the Polish priests with the words of St Paul's letter to the Romans: "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you... For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine." (Rom. 1: 8-12)
Pope Benedict encouraged the priests to reflect that they can be tempted to cry with Peter: "Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man" (Lk 5:8), "because we find it hard to believe that Christ called us specifically. Could he not have chosen someone else, more capable, more holy? But Jesus has looked lovingly upon each one of us, and in this gaze of his we may have confidence".
Indeed, some parts of his address to the Polish clergy were in the spirit of his address to the clergy of Aosta on July 25, 2005. That day he told the priests: "It is necessary to understand that building life and the future also requires patience and suffering. Nor can the Cross be lacking in young people's lives. And getting them to understand this is far from easy".
To the Polish priests gathered in the Warsaw cathedral the Holy Father said: "Let us not be consumed with haste, as if time dedicated to Christ in silent prayer were time wasted. On the contrary, it is precisely then that the most wonderful fruits of pastoral service come to birth. There is no need to be discouraged on account of the fact that prayer requires effort, or because of the impression that Jesus remains silent. He is indeed silent, but he is at work..."
With the Polish clergy, on May 25, Pope Benedict shared words of wisdom, with much food for deep reflection for all priests: "The faithful expect only one thing from priests: that they be specialists in promoting the encounter between man and God. The priest is not asked to be an expert in economics, construction and politics. He is expected to be an expert in spiritual life.
"With this end in view, when a young priest takes his first steps, he needs to be able to refer to an experienced teacher who will help him not to lose his way among the many ideas put forward by the culture of moment.
"In the face of the temptations of relativism of the permissive society, there is absolutely no need for the priest to know all the latest, changing currents of thought; what the faithful expect from him is that he be a witness to the eternal wisdom contained in the revealed word. Solicitude for the quality of personal prayer and for good theological formation bear fruit in life".