"The true priest loves souls, gives himself to them, sacrifices himself for them for the love of God. He gives himself to souls as he gives them the Eucharist. He gives them Jesus by teaching and by Holy Communion. All of his priestly life thereby becomes a Mass. The holy priest lives his Mass and brings all those around him to live it, as well. He leads them to understand that all of our lives ought to be a Mass, a total oblation, a continual sacrifice of ourselves, out of love of God and out of love of neighbor. That is the ideal of the true priest, an ideal which brings him a lasting joy and peace of soul." Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s own words in his book Priestly Holiness. Catholic priests are expected to be caring, compassionate and understanding. They should be exemplary as they are looked up to as good role models and are often asked for their opinion or advice. They are approachable and friendly, someone people will not be afraid to go to. We address priests as Fathers, and fatherliness is one of the virtues I love in a priest. Because as children we look up to and rely on our fathers, so we need a father in our spiritual life to guide us well, to nurture us into what God intends us to be - holy. "The life of the priest is the continuation of the life and action of Christ," St. John Vianney Priests serve the Catholic Church here on earth daily through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the other sacraments. The Roman Catholic Church also teaches that her priests are "Alter Christus," which means literally "another Christ." "The priest is indeed another Christ, or in some way he is himself a continuation of Christ." (Pope Pius XI, Encyclical on the Priesthood). In confession they stand in persona Christi and work with Christ to bring us forgiveness from our sins. In our Catholic faith, we are taught to be holy in order to attain heaven. If a priest is not holy, how can he inspire his flock to be holy; how can rectors in seminaries inspire the seminarians to be holy. Without holiness there will be no sainthood and all who attained heaven are saints. Therefore they should be holy to inspire holiness. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “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 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,” (CCC 1548). It states further, “This priesthood is ministerial. That office…which the Lord committed to the pastors of his people, is in the strict sense of the term a service. It is entirely related to Christ and to men. It depends entirely on Christ and on his unique priesthood; it has been instituted for the good of men, and the communion of the Church. The sacrament of Holy Orders communicates a ‘sacred power’ which is none other than that of Christ. The exercise of this authority must therefore be measured against the model of Christ, who by love made himself the least and the servant of all,” (CCC 1551). There are of course also bad priests which throughout the history of the Church you can find them even the Popes. It is because of our human nature and the influences in each individual’s life, like how one was brought up as children and how well was one’s formation as a priest. A bad priest may simply be arrogant, self-centred, inconsiderate, insensitive, selfish, rebellious, etc. These characteristics come about due to the lack of humility and charity in his conduct and speech. More people leave the church because of bad priests rather than because of disagreements over dogma. Thankfully, bad priests are not the norm, but when they do surface, they can wreak havoc. A good priest can spend years building a parish community, inspiring fervour and active participation in the liturgy, recruiting volunteers for the parish ministries and to help the neighborhood poor. A new pastor (a bad one) can destroy all that work in a few weeks. Whether they are good or bad, as one sees them, out of respect for the office of the priesthood, we should pray for them because they are chosen by God to be priests to serve the Church and her communities. Why say prayers for priests? Because, as St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, once said “After God, the priest is everything.” Not so long ago, Pope Benedict XVI asked for many prayers for priests and for an increase of vocations to the priesthood, reminding us all that “the priest is a man totally belonging to the Lord, because it is God himself who calls him and who establishes him in his apostolic service. And precisely being totally of God, he is totally of mankind, for all people.” Priests can be strengthened by our prayers to live their vocation well and as God calls them to live it in a way that is holy and pleasing to Him. We should pray for priests daily - especially because of the deep hatred Satan has for priests. Daily offer up a special prayer, like a litany or a short prayer, for a priest that you know or who is your spiritual director. It would be of great help to him. May the prayers of the whole Church lead all priests to a greater holiness of life so that they may ever more resemble Christ the true priest and truly represent Christ in the salvation of souls. A good example of a priest is in this little story of Rev. Fr. Giuseppe “Beppi” Sarto (Pope St. Pius X), a loving caring selfless priest.
Giuseppe Sarto was born on June 2, 1835 in the little Italian town of Riese. He was the second of ten children of Giovanni Battista and Margherita (Sanson) Sarto. His family circumstances were humble. His father was a village messenger and postman, and his mother helped out as a seamstress. Especially from his mother, he received a deeply religious formation, and even as a child, he felt a strong call to the priesthood. He helped to form young men with the caring heart of Jesus. In 1884, Pope Leo XIII named him as bishop of Mantua. The following paragraphs describe a period of his life when he was Bishop of Mantua in 1884 to 1893. In the diocesan circular he announced his coming visit. Many a good pastor had tears in his eyes as he read the message: My visit with you is a consolation for the Bishop; nothing can give a father more pleasure than to visit his children and know them. If you have up till now shown me your loyalty, I cannot return love and gratitude better than by coming to you. I want to talk to you face to face, and to confirm mutual confidence when I bless your children. I want to observe your need, to dry your tears; to advance your temporal as well as spiritual welfare. Every pastor should know that when he invites me to his table and shares with me his daily bread I will depart from him completely satisfied. I know the distressed conditions of my dear pastors; therefore, I wish that at my visit just the ordinary meal be served. (The Bishop also forbade any demonstration at his receptions.) But I would greatly rejoice to find the faithful at early morning preparing for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and Holy Communion. I come to you to remind you that Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end of our faith, the same today as yesterday, the same from eternity to eternity. They may like it or not, but I will recall the erring, I will seek the wandering even if thorns tear me; I will go into the wilderness to call back the lost sheep which the Lord has entrusted to me. In the summer months of 1885, Bishop Sarto started the visitation of his diocese. The scorching sun seemed to wither all life. The Bishop manifested everywhere his love and goodness although much was disheartening. In many places he noticed a lack of proper training of the children; the non-observance of Sunday; lack of fervour; the reception of the Sacraments; lack of right family spirit; the pastor’s lack of zeal for souls. Again and again he listened patiently to the complaints of the pastors, many of whom were discouraged about their parishes. Bishop Sarto advised, criticized, and encouraged; but all was done with charity and patience. More than once his hand tightened into a fist when he met indecency. Often a threatening frown appeared between the sharp observing eyes; but always he forced himself to suppress the harsh word that threatened to escape his lips. Even his admonitions were given in a tone that bespoke a loving heart. Sometimes the Bishop appeared before the pastor was aware of his presence. Thus it would happen that the pastor found the Bishop in the confessional when he entered the church. “O dear Brother,” the Bishop would console the embarrassed pastor, “allow yourself a little more rest. I heard the confessions because I didn’t want the faithful to wait longer.” It was impossible not to notice a hint to greater punctuality, but even that was seasoned with love. The Bishop suffered much on these trips. The bad weather and the drought of summer caused exceedingly great damage. With depressed heart the RIESE village boy saw the disaster in the fields, the thirsty cattle in dry meadows, the destruction in gardens and vineyards. Here and there he stopped the wagon and spoke to the farmers about their scanty crops and sympathized with them in their need. Now and then he observed how the fear of the oncoming winter showed in their eyes. Occasionally he heard hard words from people who were tempted to doubt the goodness of God. “The Lord gives and the Lord takes, as His Judgement sees best. We can do nothing but beg Him for mercy,” he cautioned again and again. In the villages he wanted to be taken to the poorest families. He went to the bed of the sick, and though he could not always help them physically, he always left words of consolation that gave new courage. In Castelbelforte the worried pastor told him that within a few days three hundred of his parishioners intended to depart for America. The Bishop had tears in his eyes when from the pulpit he addressed the emigrants: “ I am not judging whether your new home will give you bread and work, but my heart is heavy to see so many of my children leaving their country and going to a strange land. You want to leave your home, depart from the parish in which you have been baptized and received the Bread of Heaven for the first time, where you spoke your holy vows in matrimony, and where thousands of times you heard the word of God. How could it be otherwise than that I experience deep grief and sincere heartache.” He extended to them words of warning and the promise that his love, his interest, and his prayers would follow them no matter into what land they might go. A bad winter and heavy spring rain brought hunger into the land. Mothers came to Bishop Sarto leading their children who had hollow cheeks from hunger. Bishop Sarto gave what he could, changing into money whatever he could pawn. He was soon well acquainted with the pawn dealer in Mantua. Again and again he robbed his sister’s storeroom. One day shortly before mealtime Maria stepped into her brother’s office and exclaimed very excitedly: “There must be thieves in the house. Someone has taken the roast from my stove.” “Perhaps it was the cat,” responded the Bishop nonchalantly. “But a cat wouldn’t steal both roast and pot,” objected the cook. “It seems to me that you do not sufficiently supervise the house or the thief could not have taken even the pot. But I know the thief.” The Bishop smiled. “I will tell you who executed the villainy.” “Where is the thief?” demanded Maria. “He is sitting before you, child.” “You , Brother?! Well I should have guessed it. You are up to your old tricks.?” “Yes , I have not improved. But do not be disturbed, little sister. A man who has a sick wife came and begged for help. I had no money. What else could I have done? So I took the pot with roast and gave it to him.” “But what shall I put on the table?” Maria complained. “Anything at all,” said the Bishop casually. “Luckily, I am just now without my secretary. Don Santimon has returned to his own diocese. His place will be taken by Don Giovanni Bressan, one of my dearest pupils from Treviso. Moreover, he was born in Castelfranco.” “Yes but there is nothing for us two to eat,” bemoaned the unhappy cook. “Have yo some bread and cheese?” “Yes, but that is all.” “that will suffice for us two, or won’t it?” “For me it is enough; but you cannot keep your strength with such food.” “Go through the streets of Mantua, and you will see many people who have very little strength. God will provide for us.” “Had I known that in the Bishop’s palace I would have nothing to cook, I would have remained with Mother,” sighed Maria. “Would you like to go home?” asked the bishop clasping her hand. “No, no, I shall remain; or you will completely ruin yourself,” answered the girl in a gentle voice. The seminary was the bishop’s serious worry. During the time of the greatest scarcity the clerics has to be sent home as there was nothing fr them to eat. Occasionally a person brought something in answer to the Bishop’s pleading. Especially did the poor and needy help, but what they offered was not nearly enough for so many hungry students. One day a poor woman appeared at the palace door and brought the Bishop a single egg for the clerics. “Well, if 149 eggs would be added to this one, there would be enough for one meal in the seminary,” smiled the Bishop sadly. But he accepted the gift with the same gratitude as he accepted the ducats which Senator Dibagno, or Count Gonzago, handed him. As usual, hunger was followed by a plague in parts of the country. Again the “Blue Death” swung his scythe. Luckily, the diocese of Mantua was practically spared, but the pest raged in the bishopric of Treviso. The Bishop anxiously inquired in his letters about his dear ones at home and about his former students. Finally the doors of the seminary were opened again. A good harvest had helped matters a great deal. Bishop Sarto himself went daily to the classes where he conducted lessons in moral theology and in other subjects. With particular zest Bishop Sarto devoted himself to Church music which up until that time had received little attention. He gathered the seminarians around him and practiced the scales to determine the best voices. He composed Masses which the clerics sang the plain chant, the true music of the Church. Gradually, Bishop Sarto was able to give the seminary the proper guidance and to provide the necessary faculty members but it was a long and hard pull and was accomplished only through great sacrifices. The school for future priests always remained in his heart of hearts His great love and care. Excerpts taken from Chapter 20: According to his on heart; From the book Flame of White. .................................................................................................................................................................... Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre was well-known, throughout his life, to be a man of great integrity. He was unwavering in his principles, honest in all of his dealings, and charitable to a fault. |
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