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Pope Benedict XVI- General Audiences |
General
Audience
The Priest's Mission as Guide
"The Authority of Christ, Not His Own"
H.H. Benedict XVI
May 26, 2010
www.zenit.org
Dear brothers and sisters,
The Year for Priests is coming to an end; that is why in the last
catecheses I began to speak about the essential tasks of the priest,
namely: to teach, to sanctify and to govern. I have already given two
catecheses, one on the ministry of sanctification, above all the
sacraments, and one on teaching. Hence, it remains for me today to speak
about the mission of the priest to govern, to guide -- with the
authority of Christ, not his own -- the portion of the people that God
has entrusted to him.
In contemporary culture, how can such a dimension be understood,
involving as it does the concept of authority and with its origin in the
Lord's own mandate to feed his flock? What is authority really for us
Christians? The cultural, political and historical experiences of the
recent past, above all the dictatorships in Eastern and Western Europe
in the 20th century, made contemporary man suspicious in addressing this
concept. A suspicion that, not rarely, is expressed in upholding as
necessary an abandonment of all authority that does not come exclusively
from men and is subject to them, controlled by them. But precisely a
glance at the regimes that in the past century sowed terror and death,
reminds us forcefully that authority, in every realm, if it is exercised
without reference to the Transcendent, if it does away with the supreme
Authority, which is God, ends inevitably by turning against man.
Hence, it is important to recognize that human authority is never an
end, but always and only a means and that, necessarily and in every age,
the end is always the person, created by God with his own intangible
dignity and called to relationship with the Creator himself, in the
earthly journey of existence and in eternal life. It is an authority
exercised in responsibility before God, before the Creator. An authority
thus understood, which has as its only objective to serve the true good
of persons and to lucidity to the only Supreme Good that is God, not
only is not foreign to men but, on the contrary, is a precious help in
the journey toward full realization in Christ, toward salvation.
The Church is called and is committed to exercise this type of authority
that is service, and she exercises it not in her own name, but in the
name of Jesus Christ, who received from the Father all power in heaven
and on earth (cf. Matthew 28:18). In fact, Christ feeds his flock
through the pastors of the Church: It is he who guides it, protects it,
corrects it, because he loves it profoundly.
But the Lord Jesus, Supreme Shepherd of our souls, willed that the
Apostolic College, today the bishops in communion with the Successor of
Peter, and priests, their most valuable collaborators, should
participate in his mission to take care of the People of God, to be
educators in the faith, guiding, animating and sustaining the Christian
community or, as the Council says, seeing to it that the "faithful are
led individually in the Holy Spirit to a development of their own
vocation according to the Gospel, to a sincere and practical charity,
and to that freedom with which Christ has made us free" (Presbyterorum
Ordinis, 6).
Hence, every pastor is the means through which Christ himself loves men:
It is through our ministry -- dear priests -- it is through us that the
Lord gathers souls, instructs them, protects them, and guides them. In
his commentary to the Gospel of St. John, St. Augustine says: "may it
be, therefore, a commitment of love to feed the flock of the Lord"
(123,5); this is the supreme norm of conduct for the ministers of God,
an unconditional love, such as that of the Good Shepherd, full of joy,
open to all, attentive to neighbors and solicitous toward those far away
(cf. St. Augustine, Discourse 340, 1; Discourse 46, 15), gentle with the
weakest, the little ones, the simple, the sinners, to manifest the
infinite mercy of God with the reassuring words of hope (cf. Id. Letter
95, 1).
If such a pastoral task is founded on the sacrament, nevertheless its
efficacy is not independent of the personal existence of the presbyter.
To be a pastor according to the heart of God (cf. Jeremiah 3:15) there
must be a profound rootedness in living friendship with Christ, not only
of the intelligence, but also of liberty and of the will, a clear
awareness of the identity received in priestly ordination, an
unconditional willingness to guide the entrusted flock where the Lord
wishes and not in the direction that, apparently, seems more suitable
and easy. That requires, first of all, the continuos and progressive
willingness to let Christ himself govern the priestly existence of the
presbyters. In fact, no one is really capable of feeding Christ's flock
if he does not live a profound and real obedience to Christ and to the
Church, and the docility itself of the people to their priests depends
on the docility of priests to Christ; because of this, at the base of
pastoral ministry is always the personal and constant encounter with the
Lord, profound knowledge of him, conforming one's will to the will of
Christ.
In the last decades, the adjective "pastoral" has often been used almost
in opposition to the concept of "hierarchical," exactly as the idea
"communion" has also been interpreted in the very same opposition. This
is perhaps the point where a brief observation might be useful on the
word "hierarchy," which is the traditional designation of the structure
of sacramental authority in the Church, ordered according to the three
levels of the sacrament of holy orders: episcopate, presbyterate,
diaconate. Prevailing in public opinion, for this reality of
"hierarchy," is the element of subordination and the juridical element;
because of this for many the idea of hierarchy appears in contrast to
the flexibility and the vitality of the pastoral sense and even contrary
to the humility of the Gospel. But this is a badly understood sense of
hierarchy, caused also historically by abuses of authority and
careerism, which are in fact abuses and do not stem from the very being
of the reality of "hierarchy."
The common opinion is that "hierarchy" is always something linked to
domination and thus does not correspond to the true sense of the Church,
of unity in the love of Christ. But, as I have said, this is a mistaken
interpretation, which has its origin in abuses of history, but does not
correspond to the true meaning of what the hierarchy is.
Let us begin with the word. Generally, it is said that the meaning of
the world hierarchy is "sacred dominion," but the real meaning is not
this, it is "sacra origine," that is: This authority does not come from
man himself, but has its origin in the sacred, in the sacrament; hence
it subjects the person to the vocation, to the mystery of Christ; it
makes of the individual a servant of Christ and only insofar as he is a
servant of Christ can he govern, guide for Christ and with Christ.
Because of this, whoever enters in the sacred order of the sacrament,
the "hierarchy," is not an autocrat, but enters in a new bond of
obedience to Christ: he is tied to him in communion with the other
members of the sacred order, of the priesthood. And even the Pope --
point of reference for all the other pastors and for the communion of
the Church -- cannot do what he wants; on the contrary, the Pope is
custodian of the obedience to Christ, to his word taken up again in the
"regula fidei," in the Creed of the Church, and must proceed in
obedience to Christ and to his Church. Hence, hierarchy implies a triple
bond: first of all, the one with Christ and the order given by the Lord
to his Church; then the bond with the other pastors in the one communion
of the Church; and, finally, the bond with the faithful entrusted to the
individual, in the order of the Church.
Hence, it is understood that communion and hierarchy are not contrary to
one another, but condition each other. Together they are only one thing
(hierarchical communion). Hence, the pastor is pastor precisely when
guiding and protecting the flock and at times impeding its dispersal.
Outside a clearly and explicitly supernatural vision, the task of
governing proper to priests is not comprehensible. But, sustained by
true love for the salvation of each member of the faithful, it is
particularly precious and necessary also in our time. If the goal is to
take the proclamation of Christ and lead men to the salvific encounter
with him so that they will have life, the task of guiding is configured
as a service lived in total donation for the upbuilding of the flock in
truth and in sanctity, often going against the current and remembering
that the one who is the greatest must be made the smallest, and one who
governs, must be as one who serves (cf. Lumen Gentium, 27).
Where can a priest today get the strength for such exercise of his
ministry, in full fidelity to Christ and to the Church, with a total
dedication to the flock? There is only one answer: in Christ the Lord.
Jesus' way of governing is not that of domination, but it is the humble
and loving service of the washing of the feet, and Christ's kingship
over the universe is not an earthly triumph, but finds its culmination
on the wood of the cross, which becomes judgment for the world and point
of reference for the exercise of authority that is the true expression
of pastoral charity. The saints, and among them St. John Mary Vianney,
exercised with love and dedication the task of caring for the portion of
the People of God entrusted to them, showing also that they were strong
and determined men, with the sole objective of promoting the true good
of souls, able to pay in person, to the point of martyrdom, to remain
faithful to the truth and to the justice of the Gospel.
Dear priests, "tend the flock of God in your midst, (overseeing) not by
constraint but willingly, [...] be examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:2).
Hence, do not be afraid to lead to Christ each of the brothers that he
has entrusted to you, certain that every word and every attitude, if
stemming from obedience to the will of God, will bear fruit; know how to
live appreciating the merits and acknowledging the limits of the culture
in which we find ourselves, with the firm certainty that the
proclamation of the Gospel is the greatest service that can be done to
man. In fact, there is no greater good in this earthly life, than to
lead men to God, reawaken faith, raise man from inertia and despair, to
give the hope that God is near and guides personal history and that of
the world.
This, in sum, is the profound and ultimate meaning of the task of
governing that the Lord has entrusted to us. It is about forming Christ
in believers, through that process of sanctification that is conversion
of criteria, of the scale of values, of attitudes, to let Christ live in
every faithful. St. Paul thus summarizes his pastoral action: "My
children, for whom I am again in labor until Christ be formed in you!"
(Galatians 4:19).
Dear brothers and sisters, I would like to invite you to pray for me,
the Successor of Peter who has a specific task in governing the Church
of Christ, as well as for all your bishops and priests. Pray that we
will be able to take care of all the sheep of the flock entrusted to us,
also those who are lost. To you, dear priests, I address a cordial
invitation to the closing celebrations of the Year for Priests, next
June 9, 10 and 11, here in Rome: we will meditate on conversion and
mission, on the priestly gift, sustained by all the People of God. Thank
you!
[Translation by ZENIT]
[The Holy Father then greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English,
he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In these final days of the Year for Priests, I would like to speak of
the priest's ministry of governing, in the name of Christ, the flock
entrusted to his care. Authority, in the Christian understanding, is a
service to the true, ultimate good of the person, which is our salvation
in Christ; exercised in the Lord's name, it is an expression of the
constant presence and care of the Good Shepherd. The spiritual authority
conferred in Holy Orders should be matched by the priest's interior
fidelity to his pastoral mission and his personal readiness to follow
obediently the lead of Christ. Understood in the light of faith, this
authority, while involving the exercise of power, remains a service to
the building up of the Church in holiness, unity and truth. Christ's
power was expressed in the washing of the feet, and his kingship by the
wood of the Cross; so too, the priestly ministry of governance must be
expressed in pastoral charity. I ask all of you to support your priests
in their ministry of leading men and women to God, bearing witness to
the truth of the Gospel and its message of hope. In a special way I also
ask you to pray for my own ministry of governance in the Church, and for
the spiritual fruitfulness of the celebrations at the conclusion of the
Year for Priests.
I welcome all the English-speaking visitors present at today's Audience,
especially those from England, Ireland, Sweden, Australia, India,
Barbados, Canada and the United States of America. Upon you and your
families I cordially invoke Almighty God's blessings of joy and peace!
©Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[In Italian, he said:]
Finally, I address my greeting to young people, to the sick and to
newlyweds. Today the Church remembers St. Philip Neri, who is
distinguished for his joy and for his special dedication to youth, whom
he educated and evangelized through the inspired pastoral initiative of
the Oratory. Dear young people, look at this saint to learn to live with
evangelical simplicity. Dear sick, may St. Philip Neri help you to make
of your suffering an offering to the heavenly Father, in union with
Jesus crucified. And you, dear newlyweds, supported by the intercession
of St. Philip, be inspired always in the Gospel to build a truly
Christian family.
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