Part I

The Common Priesthood of the Faithful

and The Ordained Priesthood

1. Lift up you eyes (John 4, 35)

1.  «I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest» (John 4,35). These words of the Our Lord well illustrate the immense horizon of the incarnate Word’s mission of love. «For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him» (John 3,17). His entire earthly life, which was completely consonant with the Father’s salvific will, is a constant manifestation of that divine will which desires the salvation of mankind and that all come to that salvation eternally willed by the Father. He has bequeathed this historical mission to the Church and consigned it in a special way to her ordained ministers. «Great indeed is the mystery of which we have been made ministers. A mystery of love without limit, for "having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" (Jn 13,1)[¹]. 

The priestly ministers of Jesus Christ, invested with the character and grace of the Sacrament of Orders, and constituted witnesses and ministers of divine mercy, voluntarily undertake to serve all in the Church. In whatever social, cultural or historical circumstances, including contemporary society, heavily marked as it is by an ethos of secularism and consumerism which erode the meaning of Christianity for many of the faithful, the Lord’s ministers should always be mindful of the victory that overcomes the world: our faith» (1 John 5,4). Indeed, contemporary society affords an opportunity to recall the conquering power of faith and of love in Christ, and to be mindful that, notwithstanding difficulties and even a certain diffidence, the Christian faithful - as well as many non-believers - greatly appreciate, and depend on, the pastoral availability of priests. They expect to find that the priest is a man of God, just as St Augustine says: «Our knowledge is Christ and our wisdom is also Christ. He gives us faith with regard to temporal realities and it is He who reveals eternal realities to us»[²]. We live in an era of new evangelization and should therefore go and search out those who await the opportunity of encountering Christ. 

2. In differing degrees, Christ transmitted, his own quality of Pastor of Souls to Bishops and Priests through the Sacrament of Orders so as to render them capable of acting in his name and of representing his potestas capitis in the Church. «The profound unity of this new people does not mean that there are not different and complementary tasks in its life. Those whose task it is to renew in persona Christi what Jesus did at the Last Supper when he instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice, «the source and summit of the entire Christian life» (Lumen Gentium, 11), are linked in a special way to first Apostles. The sacramental character which distinguishes them by virtue of their reception of Holy Orders ensures that their presence and ministry are unique, indispensable and irreplaceable»[³]. The presence of an ordained minister is an essential condition for the Church’s life and not merely for her effective organization.

3. Duc in altum![⁴] Every Christian who experiences the light of faith in his soul and desires to walk at the pace set by the Supreme Pontiff must try to translate into deeds this urgent and decisively missionary call. The Pastors of the Church, whose sense of the supernatural allows for the possibility of discerning the ways in which God desires to guide His people, must especially understand this same call and implement it zealously and readily. «Duc in altum! The Lord invites us to put out into the deep, with trust in his word. Let us learn from the Jubilee experience and persevere in the task of bearing witness to the Gospel with the enthusiasm that contemplating the face of Christ engenders in us!»[⁵]

4. It is important to recall how the Holy Father understands the fundamental goals set out by him at the end of the Great Jubilee of 2000, and offered to the particular Churches for concrete realization. Inviting all the local Churches to undertake this task, the Pope pointed to the need to profit from the grace received, «by putting it into practice in resolutions and guidelines for action».[⁶]

This grace touches upon the Church’s mission of evangelization which requires personal sanctity on the part of both her pastors and faithful, a fervent apostolic sense concordant with their specific states of life which imbues their responsibilities and duties, and an awareness that the eternal salvation of many depends on faithfully manifesting Christ both in word and in deed. Hence, there emerges an urgent need to give greater impulse to the priestly ministry in the local Churches, especially in parishes. Such should be based on an authentic understanding of the ministry and life of priests.    

We priests «have been consecrated in the Church for this specific ministry. We are called in various ways, to contribute, wherever Providence puts us, to the formation of the community of God's People. Our task ...is to tend the flock God entrusted to us, not by constraint but willingly, not as domineering over those in our charge, but by setting them an example (cf. 1 Pt 5: 2-3). (...) This is our way of holiness, which leads us to our ultimate meeting with the "supreme shepherd" in whose hands is the "crown of glory" (1 Pt 5: 4). This is our mission at the service of the Christian people»[⁷].