1. Introduction: There
are three important terms that constitutes and conditions this paper titled
“Towards an integral pastoral ministry for the priests – Problems and
Prospects”. These are Pastoral, Ministry and Priests. The clarification of the
meaning of these three terms could, not only lay good and deep foundation for
this paper, but also, expose the problems and prospects that are encountered in
the priestly execution of an integral pastoral ministry today.
2. Pastoral: The term pastoral is derived from the Latin word pastor / pastoralis meaning shepherd (a guide and a companion). Its biblical usage portrays the loving care of God to bring back the lost sheep into his pasture, to nurture and care for them and as well illustrates the bewilderment and helplessness of mankind.1 The Gospel of John presents Jesus as the “good Shepherd” (John 10, 1-18). From among his flock, Jesus chooses and raises “leaders who are to act as under-shepherds. To them has been given the responsibility of leading, protecting, feeding, and caring for His sheep (Acts 20:28: Eph. 5: 12: 1 Pet. 5: 2-3)” 2 Pastoral activity could thus be defined as the loving care of God for man in history geared towards the salvation of mankind.3 which is exemplified in and realised through Christ (the good Shepherd). Christ himself entrusted this shepherding activity of God in the hands of his Church. The Church carries out this work of God through those appointed by her. The Pastoral activity of and in the church has a ministerial character.
3. Ministry: The concept of ministry takes its origin from the Old
Testament depicting the councillor, servant, court assistant, or a sacred
minister (Is. 61:6). Angels who stand before the throne of God are also
referred to as ministers (Ps. 103:21).4 The New Testament usage of the word derives from the
Greek word “diakonia” meaning service (diakoneo – to serve). Jesus himself is
the exemplary minister of God as he asserts: “For the son of man himself came
not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk
10, 45) While the work of those entrusted with responsibilities among the
followers of Christ are depicted as service (diakonia, ministry) the persons
themselves are referred to as ministers. The term ministry is also used in the
Pauline letters to refer to diversity of services amongst the Christian
community (cf. 1 Corinthians 12, 4-5, 7-10) and to the different charisms given to Believers by the
God which help to build up the body of Christ (cf. Ephesians 4, 11-12,
15-16).5
Biblical understanding of ministry refers
generally to a service rendered to God in and for the community. The executor
of a ministry activity is designated as a minister. This person is either
selected (elected) or anointed for a particular service either from the
community, from another minister or has a direct mandate from God. “Ministry in
the earliest years of the Church, therefore, was of two kinds: (1) ministry
that flowed from the missionary enterprise and involved apostles, prophets, and
teachers; and (2) ministry that consisted of the residential care of local
communities – presbyters… and bishops and deacons…”6 Later developments in the history
of the Church, especially in the Middle ages, experienced a theological shift
of understanding of ministry from service to hierarchical power of leadership.
The Council of Trent restricted formal ministerial functions to bishops,
priests and deacons. The laity became objects of ministerial activity of the
clergy. The reform work of Second Vatican Council reinstated the understanding
of ministry as service thus curbing its long traditional restriction and
understanding as an ecclesiastical status. The Council declares a variety of
ministries which are not restricted to the clergy alone: “For the nurturing and constant growth of the People of God, Christ the
Lord instituted in His Church a variety of ministries, which work for the good
of the whole body.” (Lumen Gentium 18)
We can now posit that the term “Ministry” is closely
linked with the biblical understanding of the term “Pastoral”. Ministry
identifies the pastoral activity of the church, who, through and in Christ, is
entrusted with the salvific work of God and defines it as service. Using the
words of the Council Fathers, Pastoral Ministry can be defined as an activity aimed at making “the divine
message of salvation known and accepted by all men throughout the world.” This
work, which is the responsibility of the church, has, according
to the Fathers of the second Vatican council, a priestly character.
4. Priesthood: Pauline
Theology explicitly identifies the Church and the Christians as the Body of
Christ and Christ as the Head of this body (cf. I Cor. 6, 15; 12, 12-27;
Rom. 12, 5; Eph. 3, 6; 4, 12; 5, 23; Col. 1, 18, 24; 2, 19.), thus depicting a
sacramental unity between Christ and the Church, and between the Christians
with one another.7 This image of the church and the faithful as the
body of Christ could be used to understand (to define and to distinguish
between) the second Vatican Council understanding of the priesthood and the
distinction between the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial
or hierarchical priesthood.
4.1: The Common Priesthood of all the Faithful: The Common priesthood of all Christ’s faithful springs from their being
the body of Christ. As the body of Christ, Christians (and as such the Church)
have a share and partake in the inheritance of Christ (cf.
Gal. 3, 29; 4, 7; Eph. 1, 11.). Since Christ is the true
and eternal high priest (cf. Heb. 4, 14; 5, 5-10),
the Church and Christians being the body of Christ, partake too in the
priesthood of Christ. Thus the first letter of Peter and Book of Revelation
describe the Church and the Christians as a kingdom and a line of priests (cf. 1
Peter, 2, 5, 9; Rev. 5, 9-10). The Priesthood of the Church and of Christians derive its existence
and right as a participation in the priesthood of Christ. The Vatican Council
II Decree on the ministry and life of Priests declares: “The Lord Jesus, ‘whom
the Father has sent into the world’ (Jn. 10:36) has made his whole Mystical
Body a sharer in the anointing of the Spirit with which he himself is anointed.
In him all the faithful are made a holy and royal priesthood; they offer
spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ, and they proclaim the
perfections of him who has called them out of darkness into his marvellous
light. Therefore, there is no member who does not have a part in the mission of
the whole Body; but each one ought to hallow Jesus in his heart, and in the
spirit of prophecy bear witness to Jesus.” 8 Thus all the people of God without distinction are called to this
pastoral mission and as such are subjects and objects of the pastoral ministry
activity of the church as the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity affirms: “The
Church was founded for the purpose of spreading the kingdom of Christ
throughout the earth for the glory of God the Father, to enable all men to
share in His saving redemption, and that through them the whole world might
enter into a relationship with Christ. All activity of the Mystical Body
directed to the attainment of this goal is called the apostolate, which the
Church carries on in various ways through all her members. For the Christian
vocation by its very nature is also a vocation to the apostolate. No part of
the structure of a living body is merely passive but has a share in the
functions as well as life of the body: so, too, in the body of Christ, which is
the Church, ‘the whole body… in keeping with the proper activity of each part,
derives its increase from its own internal development’ (Eph. 4:16)… In the
Church there is a diversity of ministry but a oneness of mission. Christ
conferred on the Apostles and their successors the duty of teaching,
sanctifying, and ruling in His name and power. But the laity likewise share in
the priestly, prophetic, and royal office of Christ and therefore have their
own share in the mission of the whole people of God in the Church and in the
world.” 9
4.2: The Ministerial or Hierarchical Priesthood: The ministerial Priesthood, though deriving from the same analogy of the
body of Christ, applies directly to the function and position of Christ as the
head of his body. A ministerial priest is called to be another Christ, thus is
ordained to carry out the work of Christ as the head of his body (in persona
Christi capitis). José Cardinal Sanchez, Prefect for the Congregation for the Clergy writes: “The
ministerial priesthood finds its reason for being in light of this vital and
operative union of the Church with Christ. As a result, through this ministry
the Lord continues to accomplish among his People the work which as Head of his
Body belongs to Him alone. Thus, the ministerial priesthood renders tangible
the actual work of Christ, the Head, and gives witness to the fact that Christ
has not separated Himself from his Church; rather He continues to vivify her
through his everlasting priesthood. For this reason, the Church considers the
ministerial priesthood a gift given to Her through the ministry of some of her faithful.
This gift which was instituted by Christ to continue his own salvific mission
was conferred upon the Apostles and remains in the Church through the Bishops
and their successors”10
The common priesthood of all the people of God and the ministerial or
hierarchical priesthood are thus both a participation in the priesthood of
Jesus Christ himself – who is the eternal Priest.11 The main
distinction according to the analogy of the body of Christ, lie in the fact
that the common priesthood is a service of a single member of the body of
Christ (the church), while the ministerial priesthood is a service of Christ
himself – the head and as such a service for the whole body of Christ (the
church). It is a service of unification of the whole body of Christ.12
By Ordination the priest receive the three offices of Christ who is prophet,
priest and king13 - the ministry of the word, the ministry of
sanctification and the ministry of governance or pastoral authority.14
Pope Benedict IV further distinguishes two aspects of the ministerial or
hierarchical priesthood. The first aspect derives from a social or functional
perspective as “service” – service to the community in the fulfilment of a
function. The second aspect springs from a sacramental-ontological perspective
as a “sacrament” – anchored to the person of the priest thus based on an
existential gift offered to the priest from Christ.15 While the
aspect of service refers to execution of three fold functions of teaching,
sanctifying and ruling, the aspect of sacramental union with the life of Christ
refers to his own personal life and affirms that the life a ministerial priest
is configured to that of Christ - as St Paul would say - “It is no longer I who
live but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2, 20). Both aspects are linked
and correspond to each other thereby defining the function and meaning of the
catholic ministerial priesthood.
Conclusively, we could define pastoral ministry for
priests as the continuation of the shepherding activity of God for mankind,
which was realised by Jesus Christ16 and entrusted to the church as the body of Christ.
This understanding of pastoral ministry for priests finds a deep definition in
the words of the Second Vatican Council: “the
Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very
closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race”.17
The authority to render pastoral ministry is a gift of the Holy Spirit through
and under the direction of the Church. Through His hierarchical and charismatic
gifts the Holy Spirit directs and leads the Church.18 While the lay faithful as the body of Christ fulfil their
priestly pastoral ministry through living a Christian life and through exercise
of the charism with which the Holy Spirit has blessed them19, the ministerial priest representing Christ as the head of
his body, fulfils his pastoral ministry through service for the whole body and
through living a sacramental life.
5. Integral Pastoral Ministry for Priests: The elaborate definition and understanding of the key terms of this
paper help us to posit the necessary constituents of an integral pastoral
ministry for priests. I would like to identify three urgent areas.
5.1: Jesus Christ is the model and measure of Pastoral
Ministry: The pastoral ministry of Jesus is predominately
one of care and service to people whose life are in misery. His first homily at
his home town demonstrates this vividly: “The spirit of the Lord
is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has
sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord.”
(Luke 4, 18 – 19). Through this interpretation of his pastoral ministry Jesus
is at the same time revealing a God who is deeply touched by the misery of his
people, a God who gets himself involved in a human history tarnished with the
colours of death in other to let life reign. This is salvation.
An Integral pastoral ministry derives its existence, model and measure
from the ministry of Christ Himself. Thus the question if God’s intervention
against the structures of death, his commitment to offer worthy human life,
discernible and operative in the actions of Christians and in the praxis of the
church just as they were in the life of Jesus should serve as guideline for an
integral pastoral ministry. It has to secure that all her actions are geared
towards the realisation of its primary mission – preaching Christ. An integral
pastoral ministry has to assure that the ways and means through which it
carries out its ministry corresponds to and is in line with the spirit of
Christ. The Church is not for itself there, rather, she is essentially Mission.
She has to ensure, that she utilizes her means to respond to the pastoral needs
of the world to which she is called to evangelise.
5.2: The Call to a sacramental life: While service defines integral nature of pastoral ministry for the
priests, the call to a sacramental life - a life configured to that of Christ –
remains the prerequisite (condition sine qua non) for this service and makes
the priestly pastoral ministry possible and integral. An integral pastoral
ministry for the priests calls for an integral human personality and personal
Christian spirituality. “The formula Nemo dat quod non habet” applies here to
the full.20 While explaining the meaning of the special year for the
priests 2011, Pope Benedict IV, admonishes: “Only participation in Christ's
sacrifice, in his kenosis, makes preaching authentic! …Proclamation,
therefore, always involves self-sacrifice, a prerequisite for its authenticity
and efficacy.”21 According to the Fathers of the Second Vatican
Council priests “cannot be ministers of Christ unless they be witnesses and
dispensers of a life other than earthly life… Their ministry itself, by a
special title, forbids that they be conformed to this world… To achieve this
aim, certain virtues, which in human affairs are deservedly esteemed,
contribute a great deal: such as goodness of heart, sincerity, strength and constancy
of mind, zealous pursuit of justice, affability, and others…”22
Article 9 of the same document admonishes: “Priests, therefore, must take the
lead in seeking the things of Jesus Christ, not the things that are their own.
They must work together with the lay faithful, and conduct themselves in their
midst after the example of their Master, who among men ‘came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life as redemption for many’
(Mt 20:28).”23
5.3: Enabling the ministry of the lay Faithful – and
Call to Collaborative ministry: The function of the
head is to nourish and build up the body through the encouragement of its
potentialities. The head should integrate the different talents of the parts to
a unified whole. The body is not there for the head rather the head for the
body and should be ready to risk its “head” for the life of the body. The
Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests gives a definite instruction to
priest on this note thus: “While trying the spirits to see if they be of God,
priests should uncover with a sense of faith, acknowledge with joy and foster
with diligence the various humble and exalted charisms of the laity… Likewise,
they should confidently entrust to the laity duties in the service of the
Church, allowing them freedom and room for action; in fact, they should invite
them on suitable occasions to undertake worlds on their own initiative.”24
6. Problems and Prospects: I would here like to portray the result of a questioner I conducted
during a pastoral theology lecture with third year theologians (2010) of Seat
of Wisdom Seminary Owerri on problems and prospects of pastoral ministry as
experienced from the seminarians in their various parishes and places of
apostolic work. They are to evaluate the different aspects of priestly
ministry.
6.1: Priestly service: Here
the seminarians are of the view that the priests are doing well even though
there are some aberrations and lapses. Some of these are due to lack of
knowledge, and respect for the actual meaning and intention of the sacrament.
There is great need for adequate ongoing formation for priests. The graces of
ordination need to be flamed into flame and its glowing light maintained.25
This need for ongoing formation for priests is one that derives, according to
Pope John Paul II in the Document Pastores dabo Vobis, from the theology of the
Holy Orders itself. Then the call to the priesthood is not a call that ends
with the ordination. Rather, it is a daily and continues call thus demanding a
daily continuous answer. The positive response of the candidate, during the
period of formation and essentially at ordination, is one that “must be
expressed anew and reaffirmed through the years of his priesthood in countless
other responses”26 and encounters in daily life. “Permanent
formation is necessary in order to discern and follow this constant call or
will of God. Thus the Apostle Peter is called to follow Jesus even after the
Risen Lord has entrusted his flock to him…”27 Thus “the ongoing
formation of priests… is the natural and absolutely necessary continuation of
the process of building priestly personality which began and developed in the
Seminary or the Religious House with the training programme which aimed at
ordination. It is particularly important to be aware of and to respect the
intrinsic link between formation before ordination to the Priesthood and
formation after ordination. Should there be a break in continuity, or worse, a
complete difference between these two phases of formation, there would be
serious and immediate repercussions on pastoral work and fraternal communion
among priests, especially those in different age groups. Ongoing formation is
not a repetition of the formation acquired in the Seminary, simply reviewed or
expanded with new and practical suggestions. Ongoing formation involves
relatively new content and especially methods; it develops as a harmonious and
vital process which - rooted in the formation received in the Seminary - calls
for adaptations, updating and modifications, but without sharp breaks in
continuity.”28
6.2: Priestly life: Some
seminarians doubt if some ministerial priests are really convinced Christians.
That suffices and needs no further comments. However it establishes the urgent
necessity for programmes on human and spiritual formation for priests. It is
important not to close our eyes to the fact, that there can be wolves clothed
like shepherds who have be entrusted with pastoral ministry in the Lords flock.
The protection of the Lords flock against such false shepherds is a task of an
integral pastoral ministry of the church entrusted in the hands of priests. It
is an important work of protection of the dignity and Credit of the priesthood.
We are called to be our brother’s keepers and keepers of the flock at the same
time.
6.3: Collaborative ministry: The seminarians are generally of the view that our church is still uka
fada. An Integral Pastoral Ministry needs to work towards a transformation to
“uka ndi mmadu” – the church of the people of God. Such a church will conform
to the understanding of the church as defined by the Fathers of the African
Synod. Uzoukwu writes: “The recognition of the gifts of communities and individuals,
of the rights of communities and individuals, is basic to the understanding of
ministry in the church. It shows that fundamentally all members of God’s family
are graced (filled with God’s particular gifts). All communities have their
particular gifts which they bring to the communion of churches… Ministries and
services are exercised for the well-being of the community; through them the
church-community bears witness to the Reign of God in the world.”29
It is a fact that could be hardly doubted, that most of the leaders of
today independent and charismatic churches stem from the historical or
traditional churches especially from the Catholic Church. These are people who
were either frustrated or not allowed to live out their genuine spirit gifts within
the church. Lack of patience or vision for a possible solution within the
church drive them away. The Church not only looses good and potential
collaborators for the pastoral ministry, but also their good and active members
who are being drawn away by such charismatic personalities. Uzukwu writes:
Often times those of us in the historical or missionary churches wonder why the
sects and the independent churches (called African Christianities by some) have
such success. Compared with the missionary churches, they arouse more
participation and engender more fulfilment among their members despite the fact
that the formation of their church leadership is in many ways rudimentary. We
must appreciate the fact that many of these churches tune into the dimension of
spirit, which is vital to the African notion of person. The “in” of the Spirit
of God, who makes his home in the community and in each individual Christian,
is also the “opening out” of the spirit of the community and of individuals to
creativity…. While the missionary churches (especially the Roman Catholic
church) hold such charisms suspect, the independent churches delight in and
even exaggerate such manifestations of the Spirit. The creativity which is
embodied in the charisms both builds the community and heals the individual
Christian. Aside from their exaggerations the charisms experienced in the
independent or “spiritualist” churches are in tune with the African universe
and with the early experiences of the Christian church-community. The services
that the Spirit of God causes to be rendered to the community and the world are
multiple, and they are communicated through these gifts. Christians become
wholesome persons by the act of rendering this service.”30
7. Conclusion: This
paper did not limit the understanding of priesthood to the ministerial
Priesthood. Such a limitation is improper and against the spirit of the Christ
and the Church. Even when the point of discussion refers exclusively to the
ministerial priests, it has to take into account the ministerial priest as
symbol of Christ the head, does not and cannot exist on its own but always in
reference to and as a service to the body.
Footnotes and Bibliography
1. Hampton
J. Keathley, Critical Concerns for Pastoral Ministry (1 Timothy 1: 3-7)
http://bible.org/article/critical-concerns-pastoral-ministry-1-timothy-13-7
As a
Metaphor for the church (cf. 1 Peter 5, 4, Heb. 13, 20), the flock “is not some unthinking mass or herd but a
community capable of response to an authority of devotedness and love.”
Agnes Cunningham Pastoral Ministry: Overview and Perspective. http://www.womenpriests.org/classic2/cunning.asp
2. Agnes
Cunningham Pastoral Ministry: Overview and Perspective. Ibid.
3. “The
eternal Father, by a free and hidden plan of His own wisdom and goodness,
created the whole world. His plan was to raise men to a participation of the
divine life.” Lumen Gentium 2
4. Agnes
Cunningham Pastoral Ministry: Overview and Perspective. http://www.womenpriests.org/classic2/cunning.asp
5. “The
word diakonia (“service”) is applied beyond the apostolate. It refers also to
certain material services necessary to the community, such as serving at table
(Acts of the Apostles 6:1-4) and the collection for the poor at Jerusalem
(11:29; 12:25; Romans 15:31; 1 Corinthians 16:15; 2 Corinthians 8:4;
9:1,12-13).” Richard P. McBrien, Catholicism, HarperSanFrancisco, 1994, 767.
6. P.
McBrien, Catholicism, HarperSanFrancisco, 1994, 767f.
7. Christ
himself describes this intimate relationship with the symbol of the vine and
it’s (John 15. 1-8).
Cf.
“By communicating His Spirit, Christ made His brothers, called together from
all nations, mystically the components of His own Body.” Lumen
Gentium 7
8. Presbyterorum Ordinis 2.
9. Apostolicam
Actuositatem 2.
Cf. “These faithful are by baptism made one body with
Christ and are constituted among the People of God; they are in their own way
made sharers in the priestly, prophetical, and kingly functions of Christ; and
they carry out for their own part the mission of the whole Christian people in
the Church and in the world.” Lumen Gentium 31.
10. José
Cardinal Sanchez Prefect for the
Congregation for the Clergy, Directory on the ministry and life of Priests.
Libreria editrice Vaticana 1994, Nr. 1
Cf.
“… the priesthood… is conferred by that special sacrament; through it priests,
by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are signed with a special character and
are conformed to Christ the Priest in such a way that they can act in the
person of Christ the Head.” Presbyterorum
Ordinis 2.
“Through
the power of the Holy Spirit, we are united sacramentally to him in the
ministerial priesthood. Our priestly life and activity continue the life and
activity of Christ himself. Here lies our identity, our true dignity, the
source of our joy, the very basis of our life.” Pope John Paul II, Pastores
dabo Vobis 18.
11. “Though
they differ from one another in essence and not only in degree, the common
priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are
nonetheless interrelated: each of them in its own special way is a
participation in the one priesthood of Christ. The ministerial priest, by the
sacred power he enjoys, teaches and rules the priestly people; acting in the
person of Christ, he makes present the eucharistic sacrifice, and offers it to
God in the name of all the people. But the faithful, in virtue of their royal
priesthood, join in the offering of the Eucharist. They likewise exercise that
priesthood in receiving the sacraments, in prayer and thanksgiving, in the
witness of a holy life, and by self-denial and active charity.” (Lumen Gentium
10)
12. “The
same Lord, however, has established ministers among his faithful to unite them
together in one body in which, "not all the members have the same
function" (Rom 12:4).” Presbyterorum
Ordinis 2.
“The
ministry of the priest is entirely on behalf of the Church; it aims at
promoting the exercise of the common priesthood of the entire people of God; it
is ordered not only to the particular Church but also to the universal Church”
Pope John Paul II, Pastores dabo Vobis 16
13. “Priests
by sacred ordination and mission which they receive from the bishops are
promoted to the service of Christ the Teacher, Priest and King. They share in
his ministry, a ministry whereby the Church here on earth is unceasingly built
up into the People of God, the Body of Christ and the Temple
14. “Jesus
Christ is priest, prophet, and king. Through their ordination and its
concomitant ontological change, priests are so formed to Christ that it becomes
theirs to act as "other Christs" in the triple office of sanctifying
(munus sanctificandi), teaching (munus docendi), and governing (munus
regendi).” Michael F. Hull, The Sacramental Leadership of the Priest.
http://www.clerus.org/clerus/dati/2002-04/29-999999/03INS3.html
“In
the exercise of their teaching office it is the duty of pastors to preach God's
word to all the Christian people so that, rooted in faith, hope and charity,
they will grow in Christ, and as a Christian community bear witness to that
charity which the Lord commended… In discharging their duty of sanctifying
their people, pastors should see to it that the celebration of the Eucharistic
Sacrifice is the center and culmination of the whole life of the Christian
community. They should labor without stint that the faithful are nourished with
spiritual food through the devout and frequent reception of the Sacraments and
through intelligent and active participation in the Liturgy... In fulfilling
their office as shepherd, pastors should take pains to know their own flock.
Since they are the servants of all the sheep, they should encourage a full
Christian life among the individual faithful and also in families, in associations
especially dedicated to the apostolate, and in the whole parish community.”
Christus Dominus 30
15. Pope Benedict XVI; On the
Meaning of the Year for Priests. Ibid. (Cf. J. Ratzinger, Ministero
e vita del Sacerdote, in Elementi di Teologia fondamentale. Saggio su
fede e ministero, Brescia 2005, p. 165)
16. “Jesus
Christ is called the sacrament (sign and source) of encounter with God; He is
termed the primordial or original sacrament of the encounter with God. This is
to say that in God's communication with human beings, what comes first is
Christ himself. He is the incarnate Son of God, the human face of God, the
humanity of God, God's own body-language, God's liberating and healing love
made visible.” Brian Gleeson, The Church as Sacrament Revisited: Sign and
Source of Encounter with Christ, In: Australian EJournal of Theology, February
2005 – Issue 4 Australian Ejournal of Theology, February 2005 – Issue 4.
http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/research/theology/ejournal/aejt_4/gleeson.htm
17. Lumen
Gentium 1
18. “He
(The Holy Spirit) both equips and directs with hierarchical and charismatic
gifts and adorns with His fruits.” Lumen Gentium 4
19. “They
exercise the apostolate in fact by their activity directed to the
evangelization and sanctification of men and to the penetrating and perfecting
of the temporal order through the spirit of the Gospel. In this way, their
temporal activity openly bears witness to Christ and promotes the salvation of
men. Since the laity, in accordance with their state of life, live in the midst
of the world and its concerns, they are called by God to exercise their
apostolate in the world like leaven, with the ardor of the spirit of Christ.”
Apostolicam Actuositatem 2.
“One
engages in the apostolate through the faith, hope, and charity which the Holy
Spirit diffuses in the hearts of all members of the Church. Indeed, by the
precept of charity, which is the Lord's greatest commandment, all the faithful
are impelled to promote the glory of God through the coming of His kingdom and
to obtain eternal life for all men-that they may know the only true God and Him
whom He sent, Jesus Christ (cf. John 17:3).” Apostolicam Actuositatem 3.
20. “While it is true that God can
accomplish the work of salvation through unworthy ministers, God nevertheless,
ordinarily prefers to manifest his greatness through those who are more docile
to the promptings and direction of the Holy Spirit, so much so that they can
say of the apostolate, thanks to their own intimate union with Christ and
holiness of life: ‘it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me' (Gal
2, 20).” Congregation for the Clergy. The Priest and the third Christian
Millennium Teacher of the word, minister of the sacraments and the leader of
the community, Vatican City
21. Pope
Benedict XVI; On the Meaning of the Year for Priests In: L'Osservatore Romano; Weekly Edition in
English; 1 July 2009, page 11
22. Presbyterorum Ordinis 3.
“The
priest must never forget that he is a man chosen among men to be at the service
of men. To sanctify himself and carry out his priestly mission, he must present
himself with an abundance of human virtues which render him worthy of esteem by
those around him. In particular he must practice goodness of heart, patience,
kindness, strength of soul, love for justice, even-mindedness, truthfulness to
his word, coherence in the duties freely assumed, etc. It is likewise important
that human virtues be reflected in the priest's social conduct, correctness in
the various forms of human relations, friendships, courtesy, etc.” Congregation
for the Clergy, Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests; Liberia
23. Presbyterorum
Ordinis 9.
24. Presbyterorum
Ordinis. 9.
“For their pastors know how much the laity
contribute to the welfare of the entire Church. They also know that they were
not ordained by Christ to take upon themselves alone the entire salvific
mission of the Church toward the world. On the contrary they understand that it
is their noble duty to shepherd the faithful and to recognize their ministries
and charisms, so that all according to their proper roles may cooperate in this
common undertaking with one mind.” Lumen Gentium 30
25. “I am reminding you to fan into a flame the
gift that God gave you” (2 Tim 1:6)
26. “In this sense one can speak of a vocation
‘within’ the priesthood. The fact is that God continues to call and send forth,
revealing his saving plan in the historical development of the priest's life
and the life of the Church and of society. It is in this perspective that the
meaning of ongoing formation emerges.” Pope John Paul II, Pastores dabo Vobis
70.
27. Ibid.
28. Ibid.
29. E. Uzukwu, A listening Church Maryknoll , New
York
30. Ibid. 109-110