Sr Lini Sheeja MSC, Germany –
As I was inspired to write an article on “Priesthood”, the first thing that I could visualise about the priests was the final blessing in the Holy Mass. When a priest stretches out his hands to give a final blessing, the Faithful in the Church together bows down. We believe that we are blessed by the Trinitarian God through Priests. Every priest who is called by God is a human being, a human being with His weaknesses and strengths. As I pen down this article, I would like to quote the writing of St Paul, The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24). Never give up in your ups and downs. From my own experience and together with Prophet Isaiah I say with deep conviction, Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear Isaiah 59:1.
Dear Priests, as you scroll down the pages of this article, you will find the comforting and challenging words of your elder brother, Pope Francis, the comments of two lay people of what they feel about priests, and a small write-up of a priest from Germany in his own words.
Bless me Father and Pray for me
“A good priest can be recognized by the way his people are anointed: this is clear proof. When our people are anointed with the oil of gladness, it is obvious: for example, when they leave Mass looking as if they have heard good news. Our people like to hear the Gospel preached with “unction”, they like it when the Gospel we preach touches their daily lives, when it runs down like the oil of Aaron to the edges of reality, when it brings light to moments of extreme darkness, to the “outskirts” where people of faith are most exposed to the onslaught of those who want to tear down their faith. People thank us because they feel that we have prayed over the realities of their everyday lives, their troubles, their joys, their burdens and their hopes.
And when they feel that the fragrance of the Anointed One, of Christ, has come to them through us, they feel encouraged to entrust to us everything they want to bring before the Lord: “Pray for me, Father, because I have this problem”, “Bless me Father”, “Pray for me” – these words are the sign that the anointing has flowed down to the edges of the robe, for it has turned into a prayer of supplication, the supplication of the People of God. When we have this relationship with God and with his people, and grace passes through us, then we are priests, mediators between God and men”, said Pope Francis during the Chrism Mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica on Holy Thursday, 28 March 2013.
“The Lord said to Aaron, ‘You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood’ (Numbers 18:1). This reminds us that our priests who serve the Lord at the altar are responsible for maintaining the Holiness and sanctity of the Church. We respect you and trust in your holiness, come to you for guidance in our spiritual journey and pray for each one of you that you may hold on to Him who called you and assured you of His unconditional love and everlasting presence”, says Mrs Amber Joshi from Bangalore.
Moments of Praise and Solitude: Part of Priesthood
“A priest is called above all to cultivate this closeness, this intimacy with God, and from this relationship, he will be able to draw all the strength needed for his ministry. Our relationship with God is, so to speak, what “grafts” us to him and makes us fruitful. Without a meaningful relationship with the Lord, our ministry will prove fruitless. Closeness to Jesus and daily contact with his Word enables us to learn not to be scandalized by whatever befalls us and protect ourselves from “stumbling blocks”. Like the Master, you will experience joy, wedding feasts, miracles and healings, multiplications of loaves and repose, and moments of praise. But you will also experience ingratitude, rejection, doubt, and solitude, to the point of crying out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46).
Many crises in the priesthood originate precisely in a poor life of prayer, a lack of intimacy with the Lord, and the reduction of the spiritual life to mere religious practice. Even in formation, I want to point this out: spiritual life is one thing, and religious practice is another. “How is your spiritual life going?” “Good, good. I do my meditation in the morning, I pray the rosary, I pray the breviary, and all the rest. I’m doing everything. No, this is a religious practice. But how is your spiritual life going? I can think of important moments of my life, where closeness to the Lord proved decisive in sustaining me in dark moments. The intimacy born of prayer, the spiritual life, concrete closeness to God through listening to his Word, the celebration of the Eucharist, the silence of adoration, entrustment to Mary, the wise accompaniment of a guide and the sacrament of Reconciliation.
Without these concrete “forms of closeness”, a priest is merely a weary hireling who has none of the benefits of the Lord’s friends. In my former diocese, I liked to ask priests: “Tell me,” – they told me about all their work – “Tell me, how do you go to bed?” They did not understand. “Yes, yes, at night, how do you go to bed?” “I come home tired, I have a bite to eat and I go to bed, but before bed, a little television.” “Ah, good! But you don’t stop before the Lord, at least to tell him good night?” This is the problem. A lack of closeness. Being tired from work is normal, going to rest and watching television are legitimate, but without the Lord, without this closeness? Praying the rosary, praying the breviary, but without intimacy with the Lord. Feeling no need to say to the Lord, “Goodbye, until tomorrow, many thanks!” These are little acts that reveal the attitude of a priestly soul”, shared His Holiness Pope Francis from his own life experience during the International Theological Symposium on the Priesthood at Paul VI Audience Hall on 17 February 2022
“Priesthood is a group of ordinary human being beings who make a life-long commitment to live and die for God, to serve God’s people in all their abilities and graces. Sometimes they are appreciated and many times criticised. Dear priests, you have sacrificed your worldly life to show us the ways to God through the Sacraments and help us to experience God on a deeper scale. We are proud of your priesthood as you have been called by the Almighty Himself to proclaim the Word of God and explain it to our small little brains which cannot comprehend the love and compassion that God has for us. Thank you for helping us to lead the ways of life that God has asked us to live and guiding us through all our hardships, pain, sorrow and misery by getting us to know that God is always on our side even in our darkest times. Thank you for all your hard work and sacrifices to make the world a better place,” says Mrs Julin Babu from Mumbai, my childhood best friend.
Gratitude: A Powerful Weapon of Priesthood
“Only if we are able to contemplate and feel genuine gratitude for all those ways we have experienced God’s love, generosity, solidarity, and trust, as well as his forgiveness, patience, forbearance, and compassion, will we allow the Spirit to grant us the freshness that can renew (and not simply patch up) our life and mission. Like Peter on the morning of the miraculous draught of fishes, may we let the recognition of all the blessings we have received awaken in us the amazement and gratitude that can enable us to say: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Lk 5:8). Only then to hear the Lord repeat his summons: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be fishers of men” (Lk 5:10). “For his mercy endures forever”.
Dear brother priests, I thank you for your fidelity to the commitments you have made. It is a sign that, in a society and culture that glorifies the ephemeral, there are still people unafraid to make lifelong promises. In effect, we show that we continue to believe in God, who has never broken his covenant, despite our having broken it countless times. In this way, we celebrate the fidelity of God, who continues to trust us, to believe in us and to count on us, for all our sins and failings, and who invites us to be faithful in turn”. Is the letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to priests on the 160th Anniversary of the Death of the Holy Curé of Ars, St John Vianney, 4 August 2019.
“I have been a priest for 22 years, ministering the priestly services in India and Germany. The lifestyle of priests is different in Germany than in India. But the Priesthood is the same. I had experienced ups and downs in my priestly journey. But, in all these, I had experienced the powerful hands of God upon me and the faithfulness of God who called me to be His own. I am grateful for this very vocation of priesthood, every person whom I encounter in my priestly journey and the services that I do for the glory of God,” says Fr Veilankanniraja Mandela from Vijayawada Diocese and currently serving in Muenster Diocese, Germany for the last 10 years.
Sr Lini Sheeja MSC, belongs to the Congregation of Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. She worked as the team member of Child-line, BOSCO Bangalore. She served as the Geriatric Medical Social Worker at St John’s Medical College Hospital, Bangalore. Her motto My God provides and so no child should go uneducated makes her to reach out many orphan and children in distress. She served as the National Secretary of Prison Ministry India. She also served as the Chief-Editor for Prison Voice, a national monthly magazine and is the author of five books. In her fifth book named, Holy Warriors in Prisons, she invites the readers to heed to the cries of the innocents and act on it. Contact: [email protected]