The greatest service priests can offer

The Year of Priests, aimed at deepening the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a more forceful and incisive witness to the gospel in today's world while rediscovering a profound sense of vocational pastoral care, ends on Friday.

The priest is first and foremost the leader of the people entrusted to him.

He is also a teacher of the Word by first being its servant. He is furthermore a minister of the sacraments; indeed, evangelisation cannot be authentic if it does not lead to the celebration of the sacraments.

So which is the way forward?

Among the profound reflections that emerged during the Year of Priests there are those of the European assembly of priests, members of the Jesus Caritas Fraternities of Charles de Foucauld, which met in Malta last July. These reflections, included in a Letter to European Fraternities, speak in favour of a simpler priestly "pastoral style", closer to the life of the people, sharing people's life to bring them the Good News: listening to them, being with them in different moments of their existence, gently, humbly and with a sympathetic look.

The European assembly's Letter states: "This pastoral style invites us to forget our dominant and powerful behaviour of superiority and authority, so that we can become road companions, servants of our brothers in the image of Christ as a servant who got close to the little ones, the poor, the sinners, people considered 'impure'... As priests we must teach our communities to adopt this open attitude, of dialogue, of listening, of mercy towards those we live with."

This inspiring message appears very much in the spirit of what the Holy Father had to say to priests in a document issued precisely for the occasion of their Jubilee Year, namely that, in today's world, the lives and activity of priests need to be distinguished by a forceful witness to the Gospel.

Considering that modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers and if he does listen to teachers it is because they are witnesses, Pope Benedict XVI told priests that "lest we experience existential emptiness and the effectiveness of our ministry be compromised, we need to ask ourselves ever anew: Are we truly pervaded by the Word of God? Is that Word truly the nourishment we live by, even more than bread and the things of this world? Do we really know that Word? Do we love it? Are we deeply engaged with this Word to the point that it really leaves a mark on our lives and shapes our thinking?"

The Holy Father recently also focused on the duty of the priest to "govern and guide - with the authority of Christ, not with his own - that portion of the people which God has entrusted to his care".

Addressing the question on how, within contemporary culture, can one understand this dimension, which implicates the concept of authority and has its origin in the Lord's command to feed his sheep, the Pope said:

"In order to be pastors after God's heart, we need to be profoundly rooted in a living friendship with Christ (not only of our minds but also of our freedom and will), clearly aware of the identity we received at priestly ordination and unconditionally ready to lead our flock where the Lord wills, not in the direction which seems most convenient and easy. This requires, first and foremost, a continuous and progressive willingness to allow Christ Himself to govern the priestly lives of the clergy. No one, in fact, is truly capable of feeding the flock if they do not live in profound and authentic obedience to Christ and the Church; and the docility of the people towards their priests depends on the docility of priests towards Christ."

As regards where can a priest today draw the strength to exercise his ministry in complete faithfulness to Christ and to the Church, with total dedication to his flock, the Pope said: "There is only one answer: in Christ the Lord."

Pope Benedict told priests: "Do not be afraid to guide to Christ each of the brothers and sisters He has entrusted to you, certain that each word, each action, if they come from obedience to God's will, will bear fruit. Appreciate the advantages and recognise the limits of the culture in which we live, in the firm certainty that announcing the Gospel is the greatest service we can do to mankind. In fact, there is no greater good in this earthly life than to lead man to God, to reawaken the faith, to raise mankind from inertia and desperation and infuse the hope that God is close and guides the history of individuals and of the world. This is the profound and ultimate meaning of the task of government the Lord has entrusted to us".