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Pope Benedict XVI- General Audiences |
General
Audience
On the Priest's Mission to Sanctify
"Be Conscious of the Great Gift that Priests are for the Church"
H.H. Benedict XVI
May 5, 2010
www.zenit.org
Dear brothers and sisters,
Last Sunday, in my pastoral visit to Turin, I had the joy of pausing in
prayer before the Holy Shroud, joining the more than 2 million pilgrims
that during the solemn exposition of these days, have been able to
contemplate it. This sacred Cloth can nourish faith and reinvigorate
Christian piety, because it impels one to go to the Face of Christ, to
the Body of Christ crucified and resurrected, to contemplate the Paschal
Mystery, the center of the Christian message. Of the Body of the
resurrected Christ, living and operating in history (cf. Romans 12:5),
we, dear brothers and sisters, are living members, each one in our own
function, namely, with the task that the Lord has entrusted us.
Today, in this catechesis, I would like to return to the specific tasks
of priests, which, according to tradition, are essentially three: to
teach, to sanctify, to govern. In one of the preceding catecheses I
spoke about the first of these three missions: teaching, the
proclamation of the truth, the proclamation of the God revealed in
Christ or, in other words, the prophetic task of putting man in contact
with the truth, of helping him to know the essential of his life, of
reality itself.
Today I would like to reflect briefly with you on the second task the
priest has, that of sanctifying men, above all through the sacraments
and the worship of the Church. Here first of all we must ask ourselves:
what does the word "saint" mean? The answer is: "Saint" is the specific
quality of God's being, that is, absolute truth, goodness, love, beauty
-- pure light. Hence, to sanctify a person means to put him in contact
with God, with his being light, truth, pure love. It is obvious that
this contact transforms the person. In ancient times there was this firm
conviction: No one can see God without dying right away. The force of
truth and light is too great! If man touches this absolute current, he
does not survive. Moreover, there was also this conviction: Without a
minimum contact with God, man cannot live. Truth, goodness, love are
fundamental conditions of his being. The question is: How can man find
this contact with God, which is fundamental, without dying, overwhelmed
by the grandeur of the divine being? The faith of the Church tells us
that God himself creates this contact, which transforms us little by
little into true images of God.
Thus we return again to the task of the priest to "sanctify." No man on
his own, by his own strength, can put another in contact with God. An
essential part of the grace of priesthood is the gift, the task to
create this contact. This is done in the proclamation of the Word of
God, in which He comes to meet us. It is done in a particularly profound
way in the sacraments. Immersion in the Paschal Mystery of the death and
resurrection of Christ happens in baptism, is reinforced in confirmation
and in reconciliation, is nourished in the Eucharist, the sacrament that
builds the Church as People of God, Body of Christ, Temple of the Holy
Spirit (cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation 'Pastores Gregis,' No.
32).
Hence, it is Christ himself who makes us saints, namely, who attracts us
to the sphere of God. But as an act of his infinite mercy he calls some
to "be" with him (cf. Mark 3:14) and to be converted, through the
sacrament of Holy Orders, despite human poverty, into participants in
his own priesthood, ministers of this sanctification, dispensers of his
mysteries, "bridges" of the encounter with him, of his mediation between
God and men and between men and God (cf. po, 5).
In the last decades there have been tendencies oriented to having the
dimension of proclamation prevail in the identity and mission of the
priest, separating it from that of sanctification: It has often been
affirmed that it would be necessary to surmount a merely sacramental
ministry. But, is it possible to genuinely exercise the priestly
ministry "surmounting" the sacramental ministry? What does it mean
exactly for priests to evangelize, in what does the so-called primacy of
proclamation consist?
As the Gospels state, Jesus affirms that the proclamation of the Kingdom
of God is the objective of his mission; this proclamation, however, is
not only a "speech," but includes, at the same time, his very action;
the signs, the miracles that Jesus does indicate that the Kingdom comes
as a present reality and that it coincides in the end with his very
person, with the gift of himself, as we have heard today in the reading
of the Gospel. And the same is true for the ordained minister: he, the
priest, represents Christ, the One sent by the Father, he continues his
mission, through the "word" and the "sacrament," in this totality of
body and soul, of sign and word. In a letter to Bishop Honoratus of
Thiabe, St. Augustine says, referring to priests: "The servants of
Christ, the ministers of his word and of his sacrament must, therefore,
do what he commanded or permitted" (Epist. 228,2). It is necessary to
reflect if in some cases this undervaluing of the faithful exercise of
the munus sanctificandi did not represent, perhaps, a weakening of the
faith itself in the salvific efficacy of the sacraments and, in short,
in the present action of Christ and of his Spirit, through the Church,
in the world.
Who, therefore, saves the world and man? The only answer we can give is:
Jesus of Nazareth, Lord and Christ, crucified and resurrected. And where
is the mystery realized of the death and resurrection of Christ, which
brings salvation? In the action of Christ through the Church, in
particular in the sacrament of reconciliation, in which from the death
of sin one returns to the new life, and in every other sacramental act
of sanctification (cf. po, 5). Hence, it is important to promote a
suitable catechesis to help the faithful to understand the value of the
sacraments, but it is also necessary, following the example of the Holy
Curé d'Ars, to be available, generous and attentive in giving the
faithful the treasure of grace that God has placed in our hands, and of
which we are not the "owners," but custodians and administrators. Above
all in this our time in which, on one hand, it seems that faith is
weakening and, on the other, that a profound need and widespread search
of spirituality is emerging, it is necessary that every priest remember
that in his mission, the missionary proclamation, worship and the
sacraments are never separated, and that he promote a healthy
sacramental ministry to form the People of God and to help them live the
liturgy, the worship of the Church, the sacraments in fullness as free
gifts of God, free and effective acts of his saving action.
As I reminded in the Holy Chrism Mass of this year: "At the centre of
the Church’s worship is the notion of 'sacrament.' This means that it is
not primarily we who act, but God comes first to meet us through his
action, he looks upon us and he leads us to himself. (...) God touches
us through material things (...) that he takes up into his service,
making them instruments of the encounter between us and himself" (Holy
Chrism Mass, April 1, 2010). The truth according to which in the
sacrament "it is not we men who do something" also affects, and must
affect, the priestly awareness: Every presbyter knows well that he is a
necessary instrument of the salvific action of God, but always as an
instrument. This awareness must make one humble and generous in the
administration of the sacraments, in respect of the canonical norms, but
also in the profound conviction that one's mission is that of making all
men, united to Christ, able to offer themselves to God as a living and
holy host agreeable to him (cf. Romans 12:1).
Exemplary, on the primacy of the munus sanctificandi and of the correct
interpretation of sacramental ministry, continues to be St. John Mary
Vianney, who, one day, before a man who said he had no faith and wanted
to debate with him, the parish priest answered: "O, my friend, you
conduct yourself very poorly, I don't know how to reason ... but if you
are in need of some consolation, place yourself there (his finger
indicated the immobile footstool of the confessional) and believe me,
that many others placed themselves on it before you, and they did not
have to regret it" (cf. Monnin A., Il Curato d'Ars. Vita di Gian
Battista Maria Vianney, vol. i, Turin, 1870, pp. 163-164).
Dear priests, live the liturgy and worship with joy and love: It is
action that the Risen One carries out through the power of the Holy
Spirit in us, with us and for us. I would like to renew the invitation I
recently made to "return to the confessional as a place in which to
celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but also as a place in which
'to dwell' more often, so that the faithful may find compassion, advice
and comfort, feel that they are loved and understood by God and
experience the presence of Divine Mercy beside the Real Presence in the
Eucharist" (Address to the Apostolic Penitentiary, March 11, 2010). And
I would also like to invite each priest to celebrate and live the
Eucharist with intensity, which is at the heart of the task of
sanctifying; it is Jesus who wants to be with us, to live in us, to give
himself to us, to show us the infinite mercy and tenderness of God; it
is the only Sacrifice of love of Christ that makes itself present, is
realized among us and reaches the throne of grace, the presence of God,
embraces humanity and unites us to him (cf. Address to the Clergy of
Rome, February 18, 2010).
And the priest is called to be minister of this great Mystery, in the
sacrament and in life. If "the great ecclesial tradition has rightly
separated sacramental efficacy from the concrete existential situation
of the individual priest and so the legitimate expectations of the
faithful are appropriately safeguarded," this does not take anything
away from the "necessary, indeed indispensable, aspiration to moral
perfection that must dwell in every authentically priestly heart": There
is also an example of faith and witness of sanctity that the People of
God rightly expect from their pastors (cf. Benedict XVI, Address to the
Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Clergy, March 16, 2009).
And it is in the celebration of the Holy Mysteries where the priest
finds the root of his sanctification (cf. po, 12-13).
Dear friends, be conscious of the great gift that priests are for the
Church and for the world; through their ministry, the Lord continues
saving men, making himself present, sanctifying. Know how to thank God,
and above all be close to your priests with your prayer and support,
especially in difficulties, so that they will be increasingly shepherds
according to the heart of God. Thank you.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[In English, he said}
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
During my recent visit to Turin, I prayed before the sacred Shroud,
which invites us to contemplate the face of Christ and to ponder the
mystery of his death and resurrection. As members of Christ's Body, the
Church, all the baptized are called to share in his saving work. In
these final days of the Year for Priests, however, I would like to
return to the specific ministry of the priest and, today, to his
ministry of sanctification. Holiness, as we know, is proper to God, who
is himself absolute truth, goodness, love and beauty. As ministers of
Christ, priests bring us into life-giving contact with the mystery of
God's holiness. Thanks to the priest's preaching of the Gospel and his
celebration of the sacraments, we are enabled to approach God and to be
transformed gradually into the divine image. In the celebration of the
sacraments, and in particular the Eucharist and the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, Christ's sanctifying work is constantly made present and
effective. In their devout celebration of the sacraments, priests
sanctify the faithful and are themselves sanctified and configured ever
more closely to Christ. I ask all of you to pray for priests and their
ministry of sanctification, that they may be true shepherds according to
God's heart.
I offer a cordial welcome to the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims
present at today's Audience. My warm greetings go to the teachers and
students of the Institute of Saint Joseph in Copenhagen. Upon all of
you, including those from England, Scotland, Canada, Indonesia and the
United States of America, I invoke Almighty God's blessings of joy and
peace!
I send cordial greetings to all who will be taking part in the congress
on the Family in Jonkoping, Sweden, later this month. Your message to
the world is truly a message of joy, because God's gift to us of
marriage and family life enables us to experience something of the
infinite love that unites the three divine persons -- Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. Human beings, made in the image and likeness of God, are
made for love -- indeed at the core of our being, we long to love and to
be loved in return. Only God's love can fully satisfy our deepest needs,
and yet through the love of husband and wife, the love of parents and
children, the love of siblings for one another, we are offered a
foretaste of the boundless love that awaits us in the life to come.
Marriage is truly an instrument of salvation, not only for married
people but for the whole of society. Like any truly worthwhile goal, it
places demands upon us, it challenges us, it calls us to be prepared to
sacrifice our own interests for the good of the other. It requires us to
exercise tolerance and to offer forgiveness. It invites us to nurture
and protect the gift of new life. Those of us fortunate enough to be
born into a stable family discover there the first and most fundamental
school for virtuous living and the qualities of good citizenship. I
encourage all of you in your efforts to promote a proper understanding
and appreciation of the inestimable good that marriage and family life
offer to human society. May God bless all of you.
©Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[In Italian, he said]
Last May 3 in New York opened the eighth review conference for the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The process toward a concerted and
secure disarmament is closely connected with the full and solicitous
fulfillment of related international commitments. Peace, in fact, rests
on the trust and respect of the obligations assumed, and not only on the
balance of forces. In such a spirit, I encourage the initiatives that
pursue a progressive disarmament and the creation of areas free of
nuclear arms, in the prospect of their complete elimination from the
planet. I exhort, finally, all the participants in the meeting in New
York to surmount the conditionings of history and to knit patiently the
political and economic fabric of peace, to help integral human
development and the authentic aspirations of peoples.
Finally, I greet young people, the sick and newlyweds. Dear young
people, especially you students of Palermo, with your presence you
witness faith in Jesus Christ who calls you to build his Church together
with your pastors, each one according to his responsibility. Correspond
with generosity to his invitation. Dear sick, you are also here today to
fulfill an act of faith and ecclesial communion. The daily weight of
your suffering, if offered to Jesus Christ Crucified, gives you the
possibility of cooperating in your salvation and that of the world. And
you also, dear newlyweds, with your union are called to be expression of
the love that binds Christ to the Church. Be always conscious of the
high mission to which the sacrament you received commits you.
[Translation by ZENIT]
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