Such situations find an answer in ongoing formation, in a continued and balanced checking of oneself and one's activity, constantly looking for motivation and aids which will enable one to carry on one's mission. 12:13; 2 Cor. Their way of life should be fully in keeping with the standards of sound psychology and should include suitable experience of the ordinary affairs of daily life and contact with their own families."(199). The formation of future priests, both diocesan and religious, and lifelong assiduous care for their personal sanctification in the ministry and for the constant updating of their pastoral commitment is considered by the Church one of the most demanding and important tasks for the future of the evangelization of humanity. 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. And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons" (Mk. He gathers and protects them. (200) While they lack the quality of permanence, such groups can offer a systematic guide, in a community context, with which to check the existence and development of vocations. In Iohannis Evangelium Tractatus, 123, S. 216 St. Charles Borromeo, Acta Ecclesiae Mediolanensis, Milan 1599, 1178. The Council's Decree on Priestly Life and Ministry gives us a particularly rich and thought - provoking synthesis of the priest's "spiritual life" and of the gift and duty to become "saints": "By the sacrament of orders priests are configured to Christ the priest so that as ministers of the head and co - workers with the episcopal order they may build up and establish his whole body which is the Church. This priesthood is destined to last in endless succession throughout history. "(198), The Church looks after these seeds of vocations sown in the hearts of children by means of the institution of minor seminaries, providing a careful though preliminary discernment and accompaniment. Your priesthood is absolutely vital. 161. Mt. Indeed, Christian prayer, nourished by the word of God, creates an ideal environment where each individual can discover the truth of his own being and the identity of the personal and unrepeatable life project which the Father entrusts to him. And just as "the Son can do nothing of his own accord" (Jn. Certain distorted ideas regarding human nature, sometimes backed up by specious philosophical or "scientific" theories, also sometimes lead people to consider their own existence and freedom as totally determined and conditioned by external factors of an educational, psychological, cultural or environmental type. A suitable relationship with other candidates to the priesthood and periods spent in the community of the major seminary can be a way of guaranteeing that these vocations are fully inserted in the one presbyterate and are in intimate and heartfelt communion with it.(201). A necessary requirement of this pastoral charity toward one's own particular church and its future ministry is the concern which the priest should have to find, so to speak, someone to replace him in the priesthood. INTRODUCTION. Fulfilling the prophetic proclamation of the Messiah and savior joyfully announced by the psalmist and the prophet Ezekiel (cf. Jn. To today's young people I say: Be more docile to the voice of the Spirit, let the great expectations of the Church, of mankind, resound in the depths of your hearts. She must propose clearly and courageously to each new generation the vocational call, help people to discern the authenticity of their call from God and to respond to it generously, and give particular care to the formation of candidates for the priesthood. Ongoing formation helps the priest to be and act as a priest in the spirit and style of Jesus the good shepherd. And the Church is ready to respond to this grace. Other insights or reference to other traditions of spiritual life can contribute to the priest's journey toward perfection, for these are capable of enriching the life of individual priests as well as enlivening the presbyterate with precious spiritual gifts. "(128), Education for responsible love and the affective maturity of the person are totally necessary for those who, like the priest, are called to celibacy, that is, to offer with the grace of the Spirit and the free response of one's own will the whole of one's love and care to Jesus Christ and to his Church. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything" (2 Cor. After his resurrection, Jesus asked Peter the basic question about love: "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" 1:42). "(9) It is equally certain that the life and ministry of the priest must also "adapt to every era and circumstance of life.... For our part we must therefore seek to be as open as possible to light from on high from the Holy Spirit, in order to discover the tendencies of contemporary society, recognize the deepest spiritual needs, determine the most important concrete tasks and the pastoral methods to adopt, and thus respond adequately to human expectations."(10). This is truly fundamental for a person who is called to be responsible for a community and to be a "man of communion." Candidates for the priesthood should prepare themselves very conscientiously to welcome God's gift and put it into practice, knowing that the Church and the world have an absolute need of them. 5. 21:15ff. The priest must grow in his awareness of the communion existing between the various particular churches, a communion rooted in their very being as churches which make present in various places Christ's one universal Church. Their entire heart and spirit should be filled with an amazed and deeply felt gratitude. Poverty alone ensures that the priest remains available to be sent wherever his work will be most useful and needed even at the cost of personal sacrifice. Cardinal Mauro Piacenza. Every aspect of priestly formation can be referred to Mary, the human being who has responded better than any other to God's call. We are not unmindful of difficulties in this regard; they are neither few nor insignificant. Marymatha gives supreme importance for the pastoral involvement of the students during their formation. Encyclical letter Centesimus Annus (May 1,1991),54: AAS 83 (1991),859-860. To priests taking part in an assembly organized by the Italian episcopal conference (Nov. 4,1980): Insegnamenti III/2 (1980), 1055. By faith we know that the Lord's promise cannot fail. It is rather a source of a presence which constantly regenerates the existential and historical authenticity of the institution. Jn. Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10. 17. 1:23). (95), Indeed, concern for vocations is a connatural and essential dimension of the Church's pastoral work. Paul's witness should be both an example and an incentive for every priest: "We put no obstacle," he writes to the Christians at Corinth, "in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watching, hunger; by purity, knowledge, forbearance, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. 121. 15:15). It rests on the fidelity of the Father to his promises. "Os daré Pastores según mi corazón" (Jer 3, 15). In any event, this is what is demanded of us by the task entrusted to us. Whereas for the one who receives it, it is a spiritual act of humility and trust."(232). In this way the Church feels that she can face the difficulties and challenges of this new period of history and can also provide, in the present and in the future, priests who are well trained to be convinced and fervent ministers of the "new evangelization," faithful and generous servants of Jesus Christ and of the human family. 1:37-39). Nor should it be considered as posterior to the ecclesial community, as if the Church could be imagined as already established without this priesthood. 5:1ff. 38. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd" (Jn. 13:1-20) leaves to his disciples a model of service to one another and who freely offers himself as the "innocent lamb" sacrificed for our redemption (cf. 55. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian Donum Veritatis (May 24, 1990), 11; 40: AAS 82 (1990), 1554-1555; 1568-1569. It must be recognized, moreover, that today' s young people, with the vigor and vitality typical of their age, are also bearers of ideals which are coming to the fore in history: the thirst for freedom; the recognition of the inestimable value of the person; the need for authenticity and sincerity; a new conception and style of reciprocity in the rapport between men and women; a convinced and earnest seeking after a more just, sympathetic and united world; openness and dialogue with all; and the commitment to peace. Thus he will be able to stand at the service of the People of God, helping them to give an account, to all who ask, of their Christian hope (cf. People need to come out of their anonymity and fear. O Mother of Jesus Christ,you were with him at the beginning of his life and mission,you sought the Master among the crowd,you stood beside him when he was liftedup from the earthconsumed as the one eternal sacrifice,and you had John, your son, near at hand;accept from the beginning thosewho have been called,protect their growth,in their life ministry accompanyyour sons,O Mother of Priests.Amen. 28; Jn. Not only is he a 'permanent' shepherd, available to all, but he presides over the gathering of all so that all may find the welcome which they have a right to expect in the community and in the Eucharist that unites them, whatever be their religious sensibility or pastoral commitment."(213). For this reason, but above all in order to put into practice the "radical self - giving" proper to the priest following the example of Christ the good shepherd, the synod fathers wrote: "It is necessary to inculcate the meaning of the cross, which is at the heart of the paschal mystery. Jn. Lastly, we must not forget that the candidate himself is a necessary and irreplaceable agent in his own formation: All formation, priestly formation included, is ultimately a self formation. When Jesus lived on this earth, he manifested in himself the definitive role of the priestly establishing a ministerial priesthood with which the apostles were the first to be invested. She is asked to discern and to live out he proper dynamism of vocation, its gradual and concrete development in the phases of seeking Christ, finding him and staying with him. And he went on to say: "Do not thereby neglect yourself. O Mother of Faith,you accompanied to the Temple the Son of Man,the fulfillment of the promises given to the fathers;give to the Father for his glorythe priests of your Son,O Ark of the Covenant. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil. For this reason, the priest himself ought first of all to develop a great personal familiarity with the word of God. Indeed, an act of true and proper justice: The priest owes it to God's people, whose fundamental "right" to receive the word of God, the sacraments and the service of charity, the original and irreplaceable content of the priest's own pastoral ministry, he is called to acknowledge and foster. Poligl. 4:19). Thus people are invited and led to offer themselves, their works and all creation with Christ."(69). "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Lk. This was what the Second Vatican Council had in mind when it called for a revision of ecclesiastical studies, with a view to "a more effective coordination of philosophy and theology so that they supplement one another in reveling to the minds of the students with ever - increasing clarity the mystery of Christ, which affects the whole course of human history, exercises an unceasing influence on the Church and operates mainly through the ministry of the priest. This fraternity "takes special care of the young priests, maintains a kind and fraternal dialogue with those of the middle and older age groups, and with those who for whatever reasons are facing difficulties, as for those priests who have given up this way of life or are not following it at this time, this brotherhood does not forget them but follows them all the more with fraternal solicitude. Mt. 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