c). The specific journey to holiness

12. The ministerial priesthood, to the extent that it conforms to the life and priestly work of Christ, introduces a new dimension to the spiritual life of those who receive this most precious gift. It is a spiritual life based on participation in the gratia capitalis of Christ in His Church, which matures through ministerial service to the Church: it is a holiness in ministry and through ministry.

13. Deepening "awareness that one is a minister of Jesus Christ"[⁴¹] is, therefore, of vital importance for the spiritual life of the priest and for the effectiveness of his very ministry. Ministerial relationship with Jesus Christ "gives rise to, and requires in the priest, the further bond which comes from his 'intention', that is, from a conscious and free choice to do in his ministerial activities what the Church intends to do"[⁴²]. The phrase "to do in his ministerial activities what the Church intends to do" is enlightening for the spiritual life of all sacred ministers and invites them to a greater appreciation of personal instrumentality in the service of Christ and the Church, and to give that expression concrete expression through their ministerial activity. "Intention", in this sense, necessarily implies a relationship with the actions of Christ in, and through, the Church. It also implies obedience to His will, fidelity to His commands, and docility to His actions: the sacred ministry is the instrument through which Christ and His Body, the Church, operate.

This is a permanent personal disposition: "This bond tends by its very nature to become as extensive and profound as possible, affecting one's way of thinking, feeling and life itself: in other words, creating a series of moral and spiritual 'dispositions' which correspond to the ministerial actions performed by the priest"[⁴³].

Priestly spirituality requires a climate of proximity to the Lord Jesus Christ, of friendship and personal encounter with Him, of 'shared' ministerial mission, of love for and service to, His Person in the 'person' of His Body and Spouse which is the Church. To live the Church and give oneself to her ministerial service implies a profound love for the Lord Jesus Christ. "This pastoral charity flows especially from the eucharistic sacrifice. This sacrifice is therefore the centre and root of the whole life of the priest, so that the priestly soul strives to make its own what is enacted on the altar. But this cannot be achieved except through priests themselves penetrating more intimately through prayer into the mystery of Christ"[⁴⁴].

In penetrating that mystery, the Blessed Virgin Mary, united with the Redeemer, comes to our assistance because "when we celebrate the Holy Mass, the Mother of the Son of God is in our midst and introduces us to the mystery of His redemptive sacrifice. Thus, she is the mediatrix of all the grace flowing from this sacrifice to the Church and to all the faithful"[⁴⁵]. Indeed, "Mary was associated with the priestly sacrifice of Christ in a singular way by sharing His will to save the world through the Cross. She was the first and perfect spiritual participant in His oblation as Sacerdos et Hostia. As such, she can obtain and give to those who share ministerially in the priesthood of her Son, the grace to respond all the more to the demands of the spiritual sacrifice which the priesthood demands: in particular she can obtain and give the grace of faith, hope and perseverance in the face of trials which stimulate a more generous participation in the redemptive sacrifice"[⁴⁶].

For the priest, the Eucharist must occupy "the truly central place both in his ministry and in his spiritual life"[⁴⁷], because all of the Church's spiritual good derives from the Eucharist, which per se is the source and summit of all evangelization[⁴⁸]. Hence, the importance of proper preparation before offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, of its daily celebration[⁴⁹], of thanksgiving and of the visit to the Blessed Sacrament during the course of the day.

14. In addition to daily celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the priest prays the Liturgy of the Hours, an obligation he freely undertook sub grave. The priest intensifies his love for the divine Shepherd and makes him present to the faithful from the immolation of Christ on the altar to the celebration of the Divine Office with the entire Church. The priest has received the privilege of "of speaking to God in the name of all", indeed of becoming almost "the mouth of the Church"[⁵⁰]. In the Divine Office he supplies what is lacking in the praise of Christ and, as an accredited ambassador, his intercession for the salvation of the world is numbered among the most effective[⁵¹].