I ALWAYS get very moved every time I
attend a priestly
ordination. I can’t help but pray hard for the new priest. With eyes
of faith, I see in that event a radical, miraculous transformation of
a man, usually young, from an ordinary person—yes, already an “alter
Christus” with his baptism—to another kind of being “alter Christus,”
different from the previous one not only in degree but rather in
essence, for this time, he is conformed to Christ as head of the
Church.
And I can’t help but wonder how that tremendous gift,
which bestows on the recipient an equally tremendous dignity and
responsibility, would sit on him, what with all his frailties. We
cannot deny that for all our intelligence, talents, and other natural
assets, we all have our weaknesses, not to mention, our sins and other
unmentionables.
It’s true that when one gets ordained, he already has
undergone many years of formation. He has been tested and is
considered by some standards worthy to receive the sacrament, whose
effectiveness is not so much due to one’s qualities as to what in
theology is referred to as “ex opera operato,” by the mere fact that
it was given.
But that’s no guarantee that he will be a priest as he
should, a priest through and through, and not some priestly
caricature. Many things can spoil that gift. The devil and our
weakened flesh get more challenged, in fact, and can go more vicious
when one becomes a priest.
But there’s always hope. And there are means in abundance
to address whatever difficulties and predicaments a priest can have.
The first one is prayer. I strongly advise a young priest to solidify
his life of prayer.
This will keep his spiritual life healthy and vibrant,
able to cope with all the tasks he has to carry out. And that’s
because prayer makes one personally in contact with God. It can make
one soar to the heavens while firmly rooted on the ground also.
He also has to realize that his priestly formation never
ends. In fact, as a priest, he has to feel all the more urgently the
need for more earnest effort to take his formation seriously.
Ending seminary formation is actually the beginning of a
more serious stage of formation, since one is not anymore taught how
to fly, in a manner of speaking, but he is now obliged to fly himself.
He needs to study the doctrine very well with the aim of
acquiring nothing less than the very mind of God, and the very
sentiments of Christ. He has to pursue without let up the development
of virtues, both human and the theological ones. He should never feel
he is virtuous enough.
In this way, he can approach the ideal of being all things
to all men. In season and out of season, he has to have the passion
for preaching the saving word of God, and not just some smart theories
and popular ideas that for all their sound and fury cannot bring us to
our eternal destination. He should be clear to distinguish between
God’s word and his. The latter should only serve the former with
utmost fidelity.
He has to avail of the sacraments, especially frequent
confession, to make his conscience sensitive as well as strong and
adaptable to the many kinds of penitents whose confessions he himself
should also be most eager to hear.
He has to be most wary of certain temptations and pitfalls
that usually arise at the beginning of one’s priestly life. There’s
usually the desire to impress others, to make a name, to become
somehow like a rock star—all vanity. And this can be aggravated
because people can tend also to spoil a young lovable priest,
pandering to these human weaknesses that all of us can have.
All these should be banished immediately, nipping them in
the bud. Instead, one should reinforce his desire to serve, to be the
last, to be stepped on like a rug, to suffer. All this will certainly
identify the priest with Christ in his most redeeming moment on the
cross. He should learn the art of passing unnoticed while showing the
true face of Christ to the people.
He should be wary of the allure of money and of the wisdom
of the world and of the flesh. The priest is not exempted from these
temptations. On the contrary, he becomes a favorite target. He should
be prepared to do battle with them.
He should avail of spiritual direction. He should not
auto-guide himself.
ordination. I can’t help but pray hard for the new priest. With eyes
of faith, I see in that event a radical, miraculous transformation of
a man, usually young, from an ordinary person—yes, already an “alter
Christus” with his baptism—to another kind of being “alter Christus,”
different from the previous one not only in degree but rather in
essence, for this time, he is conformed to Christ as head of the
Church.
And I can’t help but wonder how that tremendous gift,
which bestows on the recipient an equally tremendous dignity and
responsibility, would sit on him, what with all his frailties. We
cannot deny that for all our intelligence, talents, and other natural
assets, we all have our weaknesses, not to mention, our sins and other
unmentionables.
It’s true that when one gets ordained, he already has
undergone many years of formation. He has been tested and is
considered by some standards worthy to receive the sacrament, whose
effectiveness is not so much due to one’s qualities as to what in
theology is referred to as “ex opera operato,” by the mere fact that
it was given.
But that’s no guarantee that he will be a priest as he
should, a priest through and through, and not some priestly
caricature. Many things can spoil that gift. The devil and our
weakened flesh get more challenged, in fact, and can go more vicious
when one becomes a priest.
But there’s always hope. And there are means in abundance
to address whatever difficulties and predicaments a priest can have.
The first one is prayer. I strongly advise a young priest to solidify
his life of prayer.
This will keep his spiritual life healthy and vibrant,
able to cope with all the tasks he has to carry out. And that’s
because prayer makes one personally in contact with God. It can make
one soar to the heavens while firmly rooted on the ground also.
He also has to realize that his priestly formation never
ends. In fact, as a priest, he has to feel all the more urgently the
need for more earnest effort to take his formation seriously.
Ending seminary formation is actually the beginning of a
more serious stage of formation, since one is not anymore taught how
to fly, in a manner of speaking, but he is now obliged to fly himself.
He needs to study the doctrine very well with the aim of
acquiring nothing less than the very mind of God, and the very
sentiments of Christ. He has to pursue without let up the development
of virtues, both human and the theological ones. He should never feel
he is virtuous enough.
In this way, he can approach the ideal of being all things
to all men. In season and out of season, he has to have the passion
for preaching the saving word of God, and not just some smart theories
and popular ideas that for all their sound and fury cannot bring us to
our eternal destination. He should be clear to distinguish between
God’s word and his. The latter should only serve the former with
utmost fidelity.
He has to avail of the sacraments, especially frequent
confession, to make his conscience sensitive as well as strong and
adaptable to the many kinds of penitents whose confessions he himself
should also be most eager to hear.
He has to be most wary of certain temptations and pitfalls
that usually arise at the beginning of one’s priestly life. There’s
usually the desire to impress others, to make a name, to become
somehow like a rock star—all vanity. And this can be aggravated
because people can tend also to spoil a young lovable priest,
pandering to these human weaknesses that all of us can have.
All these should be banished immediately, nipping them in
the bud. Instead, one should reinforce his desire to serve, to be the
last, to be stepped on like a rug, to suffer. All this will certainly
identify the priest with Christ in his most redeeming moment on the
cross. He should learn the art of passing unnoticed while showing the
true face of Christ to the people.
He should be wary of the allure of money and of the wisdom
of the world and of the flesh. The priest is not exempted from these
temptations. On the contrary, he becomes a favorite target. He should
be prepared to do battle with them.
He should avail of spiritual direction. He should not
auto-guide himself.
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