Articles

Priesthood is a Challenge in the 21st Century

Opinion | Articles | Joseph M Thohrii | 15-Apr-2021

“A priest is the greatest gift God can give to a family” (Don Bosco)

  When we hear about priests or priesthood, we naturally think of a person or persons of dedicated life and service. In the pages of the New Testament, the Church not only recognizes such a priest in the person of Jesus Christ, but also in whom “everything the priesthood of the Old covenant prefigured finds fulfilment, the ‘one mediator between God and men.” The Christian tradition considers Melchizedek, ‘the priest of the most high, as a prefiguration of the priesthood of Christ, the unique high priest after the order of Melchizedek, holy and blameless, unstained, by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified, that is, by the unique sacrifice of the cross.” (CCC 1544). We commemorate this when we celebrate the Last Supper of the Lord on Holy Thursday in which instituted Priesthood when he celebrated the Eucharist offering his own flesh and blood and commanded his apostle to continue it for ages to come: “Do this in memory of me”

 This unique priesthood of Christ is shared by the whole community of believers by baptismal priesthood through their participation, each according to his own vocation, in Christ mission as priest, prophet and king. Through the sacrament of Baptism and Confirmation, the faithful are consecrated to be … a holy priesthood (CCC 1546). This divinely instituted ecclesiastical ministry is exercised in different degrees by those who were even from ancient times have been called bishops, priests and deacons (CCC 1554).

 Who is a priest?

A priest as most of us would say is a holy person, a messenger of God, a charitable and God fearing person or God’s ambassador on earth. Yes, they are and it is true. One could simply say in brief a priest is “Alter Christus” (Other Christ). In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “in the ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself who is present to his Church as Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high priest of the redemptive sacrifice, Teacher of the Truth. This is what the Church means by saying that the priest, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, acts in persona Christi Capitis (in the person of Christ, the Head) (CCC 1548). He reflects the image of Christ to the whole world. Priest should radiate the love, compassion and kindness of the personality of Christ to the people and it is this that the other Christ (alter Christus), the priest has to give and proclaim to the world. A priest should be generous with his life and time for the people. Life of priest is a life of giving more than receiving as Archbishop Fulton Sheen says: “A priest is not his own”.

Priesthood is a Call by Christ to be with Him

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI), in his book, Ministers of Joy: Reflections on Priestly Spirituality” says priesthood is primarily a call to discipleship of the Lord to be with him. The call of the disciples in Mark 3: 13-19, places a great emphasis on the initiative of Jesus. Of the eleven main verbs used, nine report actions of Jesus, while only two refer to the actions of the disciples. Another emphasis on the call scene is: He called those whom he wanted (Mk 3: 13). There is no right to priesthood. One cannot choose it as one chooses one’s job; one can only be chosen. To be a priest does not belong to the list of human rights and no one can sue to obtain it. Of course, the disciples, on their part, have to respond to the call: They came to him.  So priesthood is a response to a call, a “yes” to the call. A priest is a person who has said ‘Yes’ to Christ and this ‘Yes’ should be generously said and freely willed. Priesthood is more than celebrating Mass and telling people about God. It is about knowing the central call of their life and giving their all for this call. Priests are called to be forthright messengers of hope, animators of communities and spiritual guides for Christians who are faithful to their faith as well those who have lost their faith. He has to go out in search of the lost sheep.  Priests are called not to be successful but faithful. St. Richard of Chichester had rightly said: “God is faithful and if we serve Him faithfully He will provide for our needs”.

 There are no perfect priests except Jesus Christ as the Letter to the Hebrews says: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4: 15). The consoling thing is as the Letter says, He has been tested in everything like us and so the Letter carries on: “let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4: 16).

 Priesthood and Prayer

The Catechism of the Catholic Church presents the whole catechism as four pillars of faith: the faith we profess in the creed, the faith we celebrate in signs and symbols (sacramental life), the faith we live by (commandments and the faith we pray (prayer life for which the Lord’s Prayer is the model. Prayer is living these mysteries of the creed, sacramental life and the commandments in terms of a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God (CCC 2558). So prayer in short is cultivating or practicing a vital and personal relationship with a living and true God. It is not so much saying some or plenty of prayers but cultivating a personal relationship with the help of prayers. The model chosen is the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father the most familiar to us it expresses an intimate relationship with a personal God who cares for our daily needs for food, forgiveness for others and for ourselves and others and to keep us from daily dangers.

Hence, prayer should be the breath of a priest. The Church needs priest who are in depth in prayer life and who have close communion with God. For the “Holiness of the priest is the holiness of the Church”. St. John Paul II once said while addressing the priest that, ‘the constant danger with Priests, even zealous priests, is that they become so immersed in the work of the Lord that they neglect the Lord of the work’. Priesthood is indeed significant and marvelous, without priests; there would be no Holy Eucharist. Holy Eucharist is the centre in the life of a priest as Mother Teresa had said;

“O priest of God, celebrate this mass as your first mass, as your last mass and as your only mass in your life”.

 Priests are Weak Human Beings

The recent scandals in the Church might have shaken the vocation of many priest and those who are aspiring to be priests and this might had made them to rethink the way of life they have chosen. Priests are chosen from among men. They are human too. Sometimes we look only at the talents and strengths of priests. Priests have weaknesses which show they are really human and like any one of us.

 The history of the Church is full of examples of weak human beings. Fortunately, the Church is not founded on the weakness and sinfulness of human beings. It is founded on the holiness and strength of our Lord Jesus Christ. Judas, one of the close disciples of Jesus betrayed him and sold his master for money. Peter too betrayed him saying he does not know Him, Jesus. However the difference between Judas and Peter was that Peter repented but Judas never repented. John and his brother James were looking fame and name (cf. Mark 10: 35-45; Mt 20: 20-28). There were times when rival Popes and numerous heretics plaguing the Church but as promised by Jesus, the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church (Matt 16: 18).

 Formation or training period to priesthood are years of being with Him and learning from him so that we may be able to go out and proclaim his message. Sometimes the trainees are broken and even to the point of being crushed. These days there are many scandals, allegations and accusations against priests. Some true and not all. In spite of this we are brave enough to be priests and also brave enough to stand for God and defend our faith.

 We priests must be afraid of sin, lust, stealing money from people, hypocrisy, comfort and convenience because these things destruct us from our real vocation. God knows more than we know ourselves. God in spite of knowing us true and truer, God still holds his priests. When you come across a priest who has cause scandal and does not live his priestly life properly, weaken and living in sin then tell God about this priest and ask God to touch him. After telling God don’t tell anyone about this priest but rather talk to him personally that something wrong is with you and I am praying or you. And let us work together. Gossip kills the sayer, hearer and the one who commits. There are few whom you encounter whose priestly life is not exemplary life. But there are many who are sincere and genuine priest’s who are struggling in their ministry and sacrificing for the mission quietly and living in piety. Pray that this kind of priest may increase. Pray for priest that they may become saints because when priest are saintly their parishioner will also become saintly with them and among them.

 Priesthood and the Challenges Today        

We are living in a challenging age, in the midst of economic crisis and the terror threat making impact in every sphere of our lives. This age is an age where the Christian faith had declined and a drastic change in our belief and outlook towards religion have crept in. This is also an age where the Church had to face various scandals and people had to look for even an option to other faith. It is in such a horrible and distressing times that priests are called to be a ray of hope and a guiding star to our people. A priest may not have always answers to every questions and problems of the people, but by being with them and hearing to them, they must encourage and support and thereby bringing hope to the hopeless, joy to the sorrowful, love to the unloved and comfort to the dying. People all over the world today believe that a priest is remarkably shaped in the footstep and life of Jesus Christ Himself.

 The priests are herald of good news, joy and peace. We will surely agree that they have significant role in our spiritual and intellectual growth. Many of us would agree the marvelous and wonderful contribution they have made to our lives in various ways. Even in our own families we should earnestly pray to God to shower seeds of vocation to our children to work in His vineyard and for His greater glory. A good catholic home is the most fertile soil for a priestly vocation. That is why the document of Vatican II on the Church, Lumen Gentium, Light of the Nation, call the family, the “domestic Church:” In what may be regarded as th domestic Church, the parents, by word and example, are the first the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children. They must foster the vocation which is proper to each cild, and this with special care if it is to be religious” (LG 11). When parents create in their home a truly Christian atmosphere, surely the seed of priestly vocation will sprout and bloom in the Church. With mother Mary as his guide and Christ as the model and the centre of his life, the priest should journey in his priestly mission, convinced that in danger Christ is there and in joy endure it for His sake. For Christ Himself have said:

“Anyone who starts to plough and then keeps looking back is of no use to the kingdom of God”. (Lk 9:62)

Life is but once and you are privileged to be a priest in a particular moment of history. I conclude saying: “Treasure your vocation by building an authentic priestly identity”.

(The Author is a Priest in the Archdiocese of Imphal and can be reached on mtjo89@gmail.com. Views expressed are personal)

 

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