0
0
Illustration: Priests lay their hands on the ordinands during a Catholic rite of ordination (Matthias Ulrich)
Pope Francis’ address to the deacons to be ordained priests of the diocese of Rome
Saturday, 24 February 2024
“One can have the idea that, once one has become a priest, it is essentially time
to take matters into one’s own hands,
to personally realise what one has been wanting to do for years,
to finally create situations in one’s own style and according to one’s own ideas,
– the ones that are most dear to one according to one’s personal history and journey”.
Dear brothers,
Thank you for being here. I greet Bishop Di Tolve, and I welcome every one of you, pleased to meet you in this time that precedes your priestly ordination.
I imagine that as you think about this day, you are already “studying” the Rite of Ordination!
Well, the first question you will be asked about the commitments you are about to make is this::
“Do you resolve, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to discharge without fail the ministry of the priesthood in the presbyterate, as a worthy co-worker with the episcopate in the shepherding of the Lord’s flock?”
In these words, I see three essential elements in the ministry:
First, to be faithful co-workers,
then to be in the service of the people of God, and
finally to be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
I will dwell briefly on these three points.
First aspect: Faithful co-workers.
One can have the idea that once one has become a priest, it is essentially time to take matters into one’s own hands, to personally realise what one has been wanting to do for years, to finally create situations in one’s own style and according to one’s own ideas, the ones that are most dear to one according to one’s personal history and journey.
However, Holy Mother Church does not ask you to be leaders in the first place, but co-workers, that is, according to the meaning of the words, those who “work with”.
This with is essential, because the Church, as the Council recalls, is first and foremost a mystery of communion.
And the priest is a witness to this communion, which implies fraternity, loyalty and docility.
Choristers, in short, not soloists. Brothers in the presbyterate and priests for all, not for their own group; ministers always in ongoingformation, themselves as autonomous and self-sufficient.
How important it is today to continue your formation, and not alone, but always in contact with those who, called to accompany you, have travelled further in the ministry; and to do so with openness of heart, so as not to give in to the temptation to manage life alone, thus becoming easy prey to the most varied temptations.
Second aspect: in the service of the People of God.
I am happy to meet you now, while you are deacons, because one cannot become a pastor without having been a deacon.
The diaconate does not disappear with the priesthood: on the contrary, it is the foundation upon which it is built.
You will be priests in order to serve, in conformity with Jesus who “did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life” (cf Mk 10:45).
I would say, then, that that there is an inner foundation of the priesthood to be preserved, which we could call “diaconal conscience”: just as conscience underlies decisions, so the spirit of service underlies being a priest.
It is therefore good to pray every morning asking to know how to serve: “Lord, today help me to serve”; and every evening, with thanksgiving and an examination of conscience, to say: “Lord, forgive me when I thought more of myself than of serving others”.
But to serve, dear friends, is a verb that refuses all abstraction:
to serve means to be available,
to give up living according to one’s own agenda,
To be ready for God’s surprises, which are manifested through people, the unexpected, changes in plans, situations that do not fit into our plans and the “correctness” of what we have studied.
Pastoral life is not a manual, but a daily offering; it is not a desk job, but a “Eucharistic adventure”.
It is a matter of repeating with one’s life: “This is my body, given for you”.
It is a constant attitude of acceptance, compassion, tenderness, a style that speaks with actions rather than with words, expressing the language of closeness.
It is not a question of caring for people with ulterior motives, even the best ones, but of recognizing in them the unique and wonderful gifts that the Lord has given to serve them, with joy, with humility.
It is the joy of accompanying their steps, taking them by the hand, with patience and discernment.
And it is in this light that, with God’ grace, one overcomes the danger of harbouring within oneself a certain bitterness and dissatisfaction with things that do not go as we would like, when people do not meet our expectations and do not conform to our aspirations.
And now we come to the last aspect: under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
It is important to give priority to the Spirit, who will descend on you.
If this happens, your life, like that of the Apostles, will be directed to the Lord and by the Lord, and you will truly be “men of God”.
Otherwise, if you rely on your own strength, you risk finding yourself empty-handed.
To live under the guidance of the Spirit is to move from the anointing of ordination to a “daily anointing”.
And Jesus pours the anointing of the Spirit on us when we are in His presence, when we adore Him, when we are intimate with His Word.
Remaining with Him, abiding with Him (cf. Jn 15), then also allows us to intercede before Him for the Holy People of God, for humanity, for the people we meet every day.
In this way, with a heart that draws its own joy from the Lord and makes relationships fruitful through prayer, we will not lose sight of the timeless beauty of priestly life.
This is what I wish for you, dear brothers, thanking you for your “yes” to God and asking you, please, to pray for me every day.
