Spiritual life and preaching

WE have to remind ourselves that the effectiveness of a

priest’s preaching depends mainly on the state of his spiritual life.

More than his intellectual caliber and his speaking and entertaining

skills and all other human charms he possesses, it’s in the health of

his spiritual life where the people can truly hear the word of Christ.

            Let’s remember that Christ said to his disciples, “Whoever

listens to you listens to me.” (Lk 10,16) These words clearly presume

that the priest should be vitally identified with Christ so that his

preaching would actually be the preaching of Christ, and not just his

alone.

            While all his human powers and talents have to be used for

preaching, one has to see to it that that these powers and talents get

truly inspired by the spirit of Christ. In short, the priest has to

assume the very mind and heart of Christ when he preaches. Otherwise,

he will just be preaching himself to the people. And that would be a

very funny and anomalous situation.

            All the legitimate concerns for him to be effective in his

preaching, like he has  to be identified with the people, to be

innovative in order to flow with the times, etc., should come as a

consequence of his indispensable identification with the living Christ

to whom he is sacramentally conformed.

            Let’s remember that Christ is the perfect and lone

mediator between God and men. The priest can only be a good mediating

preacher to the extent that he becomes another Christ.

            The priest should always remember the radical identity

that he has. He is no one other than Christ, head of the Church. Even

when he is playing sports and doing an excursion, this awareness of

this identity should never be lost.

            Imagine if he is truly another Christ, if he has the very

mind and heart of Christ. He would never run out of things to say, he

would know how to read minds and the signs of the times, he would be

full of goodness and mercy, etc.!

            For this, he should always be praying, or at least,

conscious that he is in the presence of God. Everything in his life,

no matter how small and insignificant it is in human terms, should be

a material for his abiding dialogue with God.

            How important therefore it is to do everything just to be

another Christ not only in name and title, but most especially in

vivo! He should avoid simply being some kind of bureaucrat, an

official in the Church, a scholar, an expert in something. He has to

be another Christ, nothing short of that!

            When one strives to be another Christ, even his

limitations and mistakes can be very useful. And the opposite is also

true. When one is not truly another Christ, even the best qualities

and talents he has can be a danger to him and to everybody else. Let’s

remember what St Paul said in this regard.

            “Brothers,” he said, “consider the time of your calling.

Not many of you were wise by human standards. Not many were powerful.

Not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the

world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to

shame the strong. He chose the lowly and despised things of the world,

and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are.” (1 Cor

1,26-28)

            The path to be another Christ is that of humility that in

turn will always nourish our faith, hope and charity, or in short, our

spiritual life. We need to travel this path for one to be a good and

effective preacher.