Pope Benedict's Letter Proclaiming the Year for Priests

I can't believe I hadn't read this in its entirety until now. Just beautiful for meditating on the great dignity of this vocation. Read the whole thing here. Excerpts:
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"The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus”, the saintly Curé of Ars would often say.[2] This touching expression makes us reflect, first of all, with heartfelt gratitude on the immense gift which priests represent, not only for the Church, but also for humanity itself. I think of all those priests who quietly present Christ’s words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world, striving to be one with the Lord in their thoughts and their will, their sentiments and their style of life. How can I not pay tribute to their apostolic labours, their tireless and hidden service, their universal charity? And how can I not praise the courageous fidelity of so many priests who, even amid difficulties and incomprehension, remain faithful to their vocation as “friends of Christ”, whom he has called by name, chosen and sent?

…Yet the expression of Saint John Mary also makes us think of Christ’s pierced Heart and the crown of thorns which surrounds it. I also think, therefore, of the countless situations of suffering endured by many priests, either because they themselves share in the manifold human experience of pain or because they encounter misunderstanding from the very persons to whom they minister. How can we not also think of all those priests who are offended in their dignity, obstructed in their mission and persecuted, even at times to offering the supreme testimony of their own blood?

The Holy Father acknowledges the recent unpleasantness:

There are also, sad to say, situations which can never be sufficiently deplored where the Church herself suffers as a consequence of infidelity on the part of some of her ministers.

Then he moves forward:

What is most helpful to the Church in such cases is not only a frank and complete acknowledgment of the weaknesses of her ministers, but also a joyful and renewed realization of the greatness of God’s gift, embodied in the splendid example of generous pastors, religious afire with love for God and for souls, and insightful, patient spiritual guides.
…[The cure of Ars] spoke of the priesthood as if incapable of fathoming the grandeur of the gift and task entrusted to a human creature: “O, how great is the priest! … If he realized what he is, he would die… God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host…”.[4] Explaining to his parishioners the importance of the sacraments, he would say: “Without the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put him there in that tabernacle? The priest. Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest. And if this soul should happen to die [as a result of sin], who will raise it up, who will restore its calm and peace? Again, the priest… After God, the priest is everything! … Only in heaven will he fully realize what he is”.[5] These words, welling up from the priestly heart of the holy pastor, might sound excessive. Yet they reveal the high esteem in which he held the sacrament of the priesthood. He seemed overwhelmed by a boundless sense of responsibility: “Were we to fully realize what a priest is on earth, we would die: not of fright, but of love… Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption on earth… What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of his goods … Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest, and they will end by worshiping the beasts there … The priest is not a priest for himself,

Building Bridges

We are accustomed to popes declaring a holy year and unifying the church toward a single focus. After all, we just closed the Year of St. Paul. But it is much easier to contemplate a single person such as St. Paul than it is to scrutinize a concept like the priesthood. Why the Year for Priests? Pope Benedict, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, recognizes that the renewal of all begins with the renewal of a few. Our Holy Father recognizes that the church has moved away from God’s understanding of the priesthood. He is inviting us, starting with priests, to come back. If we accept the invitation, the consequences will be glorious.

Currently, there is a great divide between God’s intention for the priesthood and our understanding of this office. Reflecting on the call of Peter, we get a hint of God’s perspective. While standing on the shore, Jesus sees ordinary men engaged in their everyday, human employment, and he offers them a supernatural vocation. Fishermen become Fishers of Men, who, with the grace of God, will capture souls in the net that is the church and carry them to eternal happiness in heaven. This is, after all, God’s M.O.- using human instruments to invite others into a relationship with the Divine Creator. John the Baptist invited James and John, who eventually introduced Peter to Our Lord. Continuing this trend, God established a church and instituted the priesthood, elevating certain men to carry on his mission of inviting others to choose eternity in heaven. The first apostles recognized the supernatural dignity of the priesthood with humble acceptance. In fact, one of the earliest acts of the nascent church was to establish the diaconate so the early priests could dedicate themselves to preaching the word and celebrating the sacraments. The first Christians also reverenced the office of the priesthood as they considered it an honor to support the holy ones. Clearly, the early church understood the priesthood from God’s perspective, but this comprehension is eroding with time. As is the case with supernatural realities, unless they are carefully preserved through prayer, sacrifice and sacrament, they are often debased to human realities. Parish priests become administrators who have no time for attending retreats or spending extended hours in the confessional. The laity insists on increased collaboration in parish decisions and calls for an end to celibacy as a means of rectifying a crisis of numbers and morals. These are human attributes, but the priesthood is a supernatural entity. Where is God’s perspective in all of this?

With prayer and sacrifice, each of us, priest, consecrated and lay, must build a bridge crossing the chasm from our perspective back to God’s perspective. This is what the pope is inviting us to do during this Year for Priests. Most notably, he is asking priests to be the foremen in the building project, leading the way through an intense period of personal introspection and renewal. The pope invites priests to take as their model St. John Marie Vianney. By human appearances, this man makes a poor example. He was neither intelligent nor good-looking. He struggled through the academics of formation, and after finally being ordained, he was assigned to a small parish in France. But there, he became the prisoner of the confessional, offering God’s mercy to his parishioners. He offered so many sacrifices for the holiness of his parishioners, that the devil visited him regularly to torment him physically. In his simplicity, St. John understood the essence of the priesthood. He was a conduit of God’s grace. He was casting his nets and bringing in fish. He was giving his life for others. Spending a year reflecting on the virtues of this great saint could be life-changing for any priest. Certainly, such an effort could be the foundation of the bridge back to God’s perspective. As laity, we can assist our priests as they traverse back to supernatural realities by supporting them in prayer and action. We can promote communal prayers for priests and increased adoration. We can support seminarians and attend ordinations. We can care for elderly priests and offer frequent tokens of gratitude to our current priests. Just like the early Christians, we can support the holy ones, verifying the truth that theirs is an elevated dignity, and a gift from God given for our redemption. Through this collaborative effort, we will gradually recognize the priesthood as the mystery that it is – never fully grasping its reality, but persistently seeking a deeper understanding – returning to God’s perspective.

Just the act of seeking supernatural realities has eternal consequences. The pope is placing a lot of hope in this truth. Beginning with this year, those who are closest to Christ, the alter Christus – the priest - will actively conform to the heart of Christ. In doing so, many souls will follow. Again, the pope relies on the example of St. John Vianney to make this hope clear to all priests. The essence of the heart of Christ is in His compassionate forgiveness. A priest who is dedicated to imploring the heart of Christ for his own forgiveness and for the forgiveness of others will lead countless souls to paradise. He will be counter-cultural, a source of renewal in this age. Acting in Persona Christi, as is God’s plan, the priest will be a visible manifestation of God’s love to all he encounters. How can that not have eternal consequences?

So let us thank God for this Year for Priests and actively collaborate with its mission. Let us reflect on the priesthood with the intention of returning to God’s understanding and eliminate the errors of our humanity. And let us join Pope Benedict in joyful anticipation of the hope that lies in the heart of each priest. The heart conformed to the merciful heart of Christ, our Savior. Through prayer, sacrifice and sacrament, we will build the bridge and return to God.

St. John Vianney, pray for us.

Contributed by Christine