|
In the Heart of the Church |
"Our Holy Father … Knows the
Importance of Holiness"
on the Year for Priests
Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia
Address to Eucharistic Congress
June 4, 2009
The article was originally
presented June 4 in the archdiocesan newspaper, The Catholic
Standard and Times.
Pope Benedict XVI has declared a "Year of the Priest," which will
begin on June 19. Since this will be a time of special prayer by and
for our priests, this week we will dwell on this topic given to us
by our Holy Father.
Saint John Vianney
Saint Pius X (1903-1914) was the first Pope to be photographed
regularly. Some of the photographs show him giving an instruction on
the Gospel to the faithful of Rome, which he liked to do each
Sunday. Others show him explaining the catechism to children, which
was also a favorite apostolate of his. Some photographs show him
seated at his desk in the Vatican.
Looking at the photographs of the Pope at his desk, we see something
quite interesting. On his desk, along with the crucifix, is a large
statue. It is not an image of one of the Apostles or of a great
Doctor of the Church. It is a statue of John Marie Vianney, a humble
French parish priest, whom Pius X beatified in 1905. It was another
Pope, Pius XI (1922-1939) who declared Saint John Vianney the Patron
of Parish Priests throughout the world.
This year is the 150th anniversary of Saint John Vianney's death in
1859 and Pope Benedict is using this occasion to declare a Year
dedicated to the mission of the priest. It is interesting to note
that Pope Benedict XVI, who is universally acknowledged as one of
the greatest minds of our time, has brought such attention to Saint
John Vianney, a priest who came very close to never being ordained
because of his poor marks in the Seminary. This is because our Holy
Father not only possesses intellectual knowledge but also knows the
importance of holiness, especially for the priest. Saint John
Vianney is a great model and example of that holiness and that is
why all the popes of this century have called attention to him as a
model for priests. This includes Saint Pius X, who had been a parish
priest himself, and Pope Benedict XVI, who never served in a parish
on a regular basis.
Saint John Vianney was born at a very unfortunate time in the
history of his native France. Three years after his birth in 1786,
the French Revolution broke out. The spirit of this Revolution was
filled with a hatred for the Church. Many French churches were
destroyed and bishops, priests and Religious Sisters were massacred.
He received his First Holy Communion in secret as the public
celebration of the Mass by loyal priests was forbidden. When he
first expressed his desire to be a priest, his father would not
allow it because young John was needed to work on the farm. He was
twenty when he was finally able to pursue his studies for the
priesthood, under the direction of a priest who ran a small school.
Once the Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic wars were over, he
eventually was able to enroll in a seminary. He found the studies
very difficult and, although the authorities recognized his goodness
and made special provision for his slowness in learning, after doing
poorly in his studies, he was about to be dismissed from the
seminary. The Vicar General of the Diocese allowed his studies to
continue by asking the Rector: "Is Monsieur Vianney good?" The
Rector replied: "He is a model of goodness." The Vicar General said:
"Let him be ordained. The grace of God will do the rest." Later, at
John Vianney's ordination in 1815, the same Vicar General said: "The
Church wants not only learned priests but, even more, holy ones."
In 1817, young Father Vianney was sent to the small town of Ars,
whose parish consisted of 230 people. He took upon himself a life of
great penance and prayer as one of the means of drawing the people
of his village away from sin and closer to God. He became a great
apostle of the confessional and his fame for sanctity and for being
a wise but challenging confessor eventually made it necessary for
him to spend upward of eighteen hours a day in the confessional. The
little town of Ars became famous throughout France and, eventually,
throughout the world because of the holiness of its Pastor. It is
this necessity for priestly holiness that Pope Benedict wants to
draw attention to during this Year of the Priest.
The Heart of Jesus
It is appropriate that Pope Benedict will begin the Year of the
Priest on June 19 which, this year, is the Solemnity of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus. Saint John Vianney said: "The Priesthood is the love
of the Heart of Jesus," and so we see the intimate connection among
these concepts of the Sacred Heart, the Priesthood and Saint John
Vianney. The love of the Heart of Jesus culminates in the events of
the Last Supper and the Death of Jesus. With great anxiety, Jesus
approaches His "hour," as He calls it. He says to His Apostles: "I
have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer"
(Luke 22:15).
The Gospel of Saint John tells us that Jesus "loved His own in the
world and he loved them to the end" (John 13:1). His love overflowed
when He gave to the Apostles, and to all of us, the gift of His very
self in the Holy Eucharist. This reminds us that the love of Jesus
is not a static love. It is living and enduring. Likewise, we are
reminded that we do not believe only in a book or in a set of rules,
nor do we believe only in an institution. We believe above all in a
Person, Jesus who loves us with an everlasting love and asks that we
love Him in return with an individual and personal love. We love His
words, His commandments and His Church because they are an extension
of Him.
Since the love of Jesus is living and perduring, it must continue in
the world until the end of time. The Eucharist is the ongoing gift
of the love of Jesus. According to God's plan, the Eucharistic
Presence is brought about through the Priesthood. Jesus chose a
marvelous means to give us His love in the Holy Mass, in Holy
Communion and in the Tabernacle. He makes use of human instruments,
imperfect men, whom He calls to continue the role and mission of the
Apostles, to do what He did. For two thousand years, this "gift and
mystery," as Pope John Paul II called the priesthood, has been
transmitted to those whom God mysteriously calls so that His love
may be known in the world through His Word and through the Word made
Flesh in the most Blessed Sacrament.
The priest in relation to Christ and the Church
The theme of the Year of the Priest, according to the wishes of our
Holy Father, is: "Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of Priests."
In this way, the ongoing love of Christ and His fidelity to His
promises, which are manifested in the Eucharist, given to us through
the Priesthood, are also seen as a challenge to the priest to live a
life worthy of the calling to which he has received (cf. Ephesians
4:1). The Year of the Priest is not a "pep rally" for individuals or
groups; it is a loving challenge to follow the example of Saint John
Vianney, whose intense love for Jesus expressed itself in his
zealous and faithful living out of his priestly vocation.
In announcing this special year, Pope Benedict explained what it
means for the priest to live out his vocation in the midst of and at
the service of, the Church. He said: "The priest's mission is
carried out ‘in the Church.' This ecclesial, communal, hierarchical
and doctrinal dimension is absolutely indispensable to every
authentic mission and alone guarantees its spiritual effectiveness.
The four aspects mentioned must always be recognized as intimately
connected: the mission is ‘ecclesial' because no one proclaims
himself in the first person. Every priest must be well aware that he
is bringing to the world Another, God himself. God is the only
treasure which people ultimately desire to find in a priest. The
mission is ‘communal' because it is carried out in unity and
communion (with the Church). Moreover, these derive essentially from
that divine intimacy in which the priest is called to be an expert,
so that he may be able to lead the souls entrusted to him humbly and
trustingly to the same encounter with the Lord. Lastly, the
‘hierarchical' and ‘doctrinal' dimensions suggest reaffirming the
importance of discipline, doctrinal training and theological and
continuing formation" (Address to the members of the Congregation
for the Clergy announcing the Year of the Priest, 16 March 2009).
Throughout this year, the priests and bishops of the Archdiocese,
along with me, will reflect more deeply on the calling to which we
have been called. We will make use of the example of Saint John
Vianney and attempt to follow his example of prayer, penance,
humility and apostolic zeal in the service of Jesus and you, our
people. At the same time, we ask you to pray for us. As Cardinal
Claudio Hummes, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy,
recently wrote in reflecting on this upcoming Year of the Priest:
"May this year be an occasion for a period of intense appreciation
of the priestly identity, of the theology of the Catholic
priesthood, and of the extraordinary meaning of the vocation and
mission of priests within the Church and in society with the warm
participation of our Catholic people who undoubtedly love their
priests and want to see them happy, holy and joyous in their daily
apostolic labors."
© Innovative Media, Inc.
Back to In the Heart of the Church...
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
