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THE
PRIESTLY LIFE
73. The priest must not
think that ordination makes everything easy for him and screens him once and
for all from every temptation or danger. Chastity is not acquired all at once
but results from a laborious conquest and daily affirmation. Our world today
stresses the positive values of love between the sexes but has also multiplied
the difficulties and risks in this sphere. In order to safeguard his chastity
with all care and affirm its sublime meaning, the priest must consider clearly
and calmly his position as a man exposed to spiritual warfare against
seductions of the flesh in himself and in the world, continually renewing his
resolution to give an ever increasing and ever better perfection to the
irrevocable offering of himself which obliges him to a fidelity that is
complete, loyal and real.
74. Christ's priest will
daily receive new strength and joy as he deepens in meditation and prayer the
motives for his gift and the conviction that he has chosen the better part. He
will ask humbly and perseveringly for the grace of fidelity, never denied to
those who ask it sincerely. At the same time he will use the natural and
supernatural means at his disposal. In particular he will not disregard those
ascetical norms which have been substantiated by the Church's experience and
are no less necessary in modern circumstances than in former times. 121
Intense
Spiritual Life
75. The priest should
apply himself above all else to developing, with all the love grace inspires in
him, his close relationship with Christ, and exploring this inexhaustible and
enriching mystery; he should also acquire an ever deeper sense of the mystery
of the Church. There would be the risk of his state of life seeming
unreasonable and unfounded if it is viewed apart from this mystery.
Priestly piety, nourished at the table of
God's word and the Holy Eucharist, lived within the cycle of the liturgical
year, inspired by a warm and enlightened devotion to the Virgin Mother of the
supreme and eternal High Priest and Queen of the Apostles, 122 will
bring him to the source of a true spiritual life which alone provides a solid
foundation for the observance of celibacy.
The
Spirit of the Priestly Ministry
76. In this way the
priest, with grace and peace in his heart, will face with generosity the
manifold tasks of his life and ministry. If he performs these with faith and
zeal he will find in them new occasions to show that he belongs entirely to
Christ and His Mystical Body, for his own sanctification and the sanctification
of others. The charity of Christ which urges him on, 123 will help him
not to renounce his higher feelings but to elevate and deepen them in a spirit
of consecration in imitation of Christ the High Priest, who shared intimately
in the life of men, loved and suffered for them, 124 and of Paul the
Apostle who shared in the cares of all 125 in order to bring the light
and power of the Gospel of God's grace to shine in the world. 126
77. Rightly jealous of his
full self-giving to the Lord, the priest should know how to guard against
emotional tendencies which give rise to desires not sufficiently enlightened or
guided by the Spirit. He should beware of seeing spiritual or apostolic
pretexts for what are in fact dangerous inclinations of the heart.
Virile Asceticism
78.
The priestly life certainly requires an
authentic spiritual intensity in order to live by the Spirit; 127 it
requires a truly virile asceticism—both interior and exterior—in one who,
belonging in a special way to Christ, has in Him and through Him
"crucified the flesh with its passions and desires," 128 not
hesitating to face arduous and lengthy trials in order to do so. 129 In
this way Christ's minister will be the better able to show to the world the
fruits of the Spirit, which are "charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity,
goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity.''
130
The
Brotherhood of Priests
79. Moreover, priestly
chastity is increased, guarded and defended by a way of life, surroundings and
activity suited to a minister of God. For this reason the "close
sacramental brotherhood 131 which all priests enjoy in virtue of their
ordination must be fostered to the utmost. Our Lord Jesus Christ has taught the
urgency of the new commandment of charity. He gave a wonderful example of it when
He instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist and the Catholic priesthood,
132 and prayed to His Heavenly Father that the love the Father bore for
Him from all eternity should be in His ministers and that He too should be in
them. 133
80. So the unity of spirit
among priests should be active in their prayers, friendship and help of all
kinds for one another. Ore cannot sufficiently recommend to priests a life
lived in common and directed entirely toward their sacred ministry; the
practice of having frequent meetings with a fraternal exchange of ideas,
counsel and experience with their brother priests; the movement to form
associations which encourage priestly holiness.
Charity
For Fellow Priests
81. Priests should reflect
on the advice of the Council, 134 which reminds them of their common
sharing in the priesthood so that they may feel a lively responsibility for
fellow priests troubled by difficulties which gravely endanger the divine gift
they have. They should have a burning charity for those who have greater need
of love, understanding and prayer, who have need of prudent but effective help,
and who have a claim on their unbounded charity as those who are, and should
be, their truest friends.
82. Venerable brothers in
the episcopacy, priest and ministers of the altar, by way of completing and
leaving a remembrance of this written conversation with you, we should like to
suggest this resolution to you: that on the anniversary of his ordination, or
on Holy Thursday when all are united in spirit commemorating the mystery of the
institution of the priesthood, each one should renew his total gift of himself
to Christ our Lord; reviving in this way the awareness that He has chosen you
for His divine service, and repeating at the same time, humbly and
courageously, the promise of our unswerving faithfulness to His love alone in
your offering of perfect chastity. 135
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