Faithfulness, the priesthood and an opportunity for renewal
Monday, May 25, 2009
*Bishop Felipe Estevez
Stephen Rossetti of the St. Luke Institute in Washington polled the priests
of our country a while back and his findings were startling: When asked about
their level of satisfaction, these men gave the highest score above any other
profession, and with big margins. This data revealed that celibate priesthood is
truly affirmed by the vast majority of priests in our country — a far cry from
what we hear in the media.
Benedict XVI surprised us March 16 when he announced a special year of the
priest beginning June 19 (the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus) and
ending June 19, 2010. This initiative for the whole Church is an opportunity for
renewal, not only for priests, but for all members of the community of faith; to
truly affirm priests is not a form of clericalism but a demonstration of
love for the Eucharist and the Church. Thank goodness, Vatican II has helped us
to recognize the dignity of the laity and to bring back the permanent diaconate.
Now is the time to invigorate the ministry of priests.
The theme for the year will be “The faithfulness of Christ, the faithfulness of
the Priest.” Like a married man, a priest makes solemn promises to God and to
the community. Both priests and married men face temptations and discouragement,
but they are called to overcome them. In the case of priests, they are called to
remain in a type of love that conquers all because its ultimate strength is
rooted in the love of Christ.
The patron saint of all priests is a humble pastor of a tiny parish in the city
of Ars near Lyon, France. This pastor was known as the Curé of Ars. He was a man
of deep personal prayer who sat at the confessional for hours receiving sinners
with words of truth and mercy. The evil one pursued him day and night to make
him fail. This year is the 150th anniversary of his death. St. John Marie
Vianney will be the special patron of the year of the priest. This is very
opportune for us here in the Archdiocese of Miami because our local
seminary is celebrating the
50th anniversary of its foundation. Archbishop Coleman Carroll named it after
St. John Marie Vianney as his first initiative on behalf of the newly created
diocese.
Our Church chooses as candidates for the priesthood those men who are willing
to love Christ with an undivided love (celibacy). I can understand how many
people might not understand this link between priesthood and celibacy. In some
cases it may be because they have not personally experienced this total love for
the heart of Christ. In the case of some commentators, I could certainly say
that they do not have a clue what celibacy is. Many give opinions favoring a
change for pragmatic reasons such as “we would have many more priests”, “we
would have more happy priests”, “we would adapt better to modernity,” etc.
Pragmatism will never win the minds of Church leaders, even at the price of
having fewer priests. The leaders of the Church know that quality candidates are
there, that generous youths are saying yes to this total love which makes
credible the ministry of priest-fathers for the sake of the family of God.
It is important to go back to the foundation of the priesthood by Christ. The
Lord desired to renew his impending sacrifice for all ages. At the Last Supper,
He asked the apostles to “do this” — the sacred meal — as a memorial of His
sacrifice. He founded the Eucharist and, for its extension, he founded the
priesthood. For me, this sequence is highly important: The Eucharist is the
priest’s raison d'etre. Priests exist for the Eucharist. The Church
cannot live without the Sunday Eucharist and thus needs the indispensable care
of priests. For those communities who do not have priests, their prayer is
intensified in asking for the gift of a priest to come and serve them the
Eucharist.
It is known that in those parishes where the Eucharist is truly revered, where
visits to the Blessed Sacrament are encouraged, where the practice of adoration
happens, priestly vocations grow. This is logical. Where the Eucharistic love is
intensified, this love touches the hearts of youths to the point of leading them
to love Christ to the highest degree of self-giving disposition. Mother Teresa
understood this so well that as the needs of the poor grew, she ordered more
dedication to the Eucharistic Christ — and the results confirmed her vision.
When a marriage fails, both families suffer the pain of the separation and
termination. The children bear the consequences for life. When a priest fails to
keep his promises, the family of God experiences deep pain and sorrow. But when
couples separate we do not question marriage and the value of children, for we
know the future of humanity passes through the institution of marriage. So I was
a bit surprised that the actions of one of our priests recently led to a media
campaign questioning the Church’s celibacy policy. To be honest, this situation
has convinced me even more that priestly ministry needs faithful celibacy for
its enduring credibility.
What will you do to affirm priests? How will you contribute to their fidelity? How will you grow in understanding their identity as the Church understands it? The year of priests could not come at a better time for us!
Most Reverend Felipe J. Estévez
Auxiliary Bishop of Miami
Comments from readers
Let's assume that Father Albert was entirely in the wrong, that his manner of separation and his failure to fulfill his vows were unpardonable. Why was it necessary to drive a dagger in the hearts of those who loved Father Albert? Was it to shore up support for the Church, because certainly the exact opposite effect was achieved? It is shocking to think that the Archbishop would go to such lengths to wound a flawed man who "erred" by falling in love and who sought to serve God another way! Where was the public outrage from his office when it was discovered priests molested children and the Church chose not to defrock those priests but to silently transfer them to other locations? How many of His Excellency's letters were read to congregations around Miami to proclaim the "abandonment" and betrayal of those priests and to call for the punishment of those priests?? I don't seem to recall any. Apparently, molestation of children is a far less serious crime against the Church than choosing to serve God through another denomination of Christianity.
If the Church wishes to diminish the impact of Father Albert's departure, it might begin by expression some human compassion. All I felt today in Church was shame.
THEN the lecture read a letter from the bishop....
It sounded so harsh and so bad. It would be better to have had a low key statement by the church and that;s that.
NOW this makes the church sound SO BAD....I am a devoted catholic despite the church!
People are leaving and not becoming less religious BUT GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE where they can truly whorship and become spiritual.....
the church has lost their spirituality and are more concerned about harshness and dogma......
So catholics are forced to leave and churches get empty and parishes have to close......well bishop You have done a good job and more catholics can get a chance to leave too!
He leido su articulo con detenimiento y en fe estoy totalmente convencido que lo que es de Dios siempre prevalecera. Doy gracias al Senor porque a traves de mi vida siempre me ha amado con un amor que lo considero especial, al proveerme en los momentos que mas lo he necesitado, a Sacerdotes fieles que siempre me han guiado y ayudado a continuar la lucha, porque no podemos dejar de entender que vivimos en una lucha espiritual.
Me siento muy orgulloso porque siempre me ensenaron a amar a la Iglesia y a alegrarme con las buenas noticias y tambien a sufrir con las malas, porque siempre me ensenaron que mi Iglesia es mi familia y lo miembros de nuestra familia nos cuidamos y protegemos unos a los otros.
Oro por todos los Sacerdotes y termino con este pensamiento que espero sea alentador: Por mas de 2000 anos no han podido destruirnos ni podran porque tenemos una cabeza invencible, Cristo Jesus!
Agradezco siempre su bendicion.
Still, I can assure you that the anger and disappointment over clergy sexual abuse runs as deep, if not deeper, among bishops and priests as any anger or disappointment expressed at this moment. I can also assure you that, unlike other organizations, the Catholic Church both in the archdiocese and at the national level is taking the lead on child sexual abuse prevention, establishing training and screening programs to make sure the vulnerable are protected and potential perpetrators are not allowed to groom victims within church walls. The Catholic Church is also funding in-depth comprehensive studies of what happened and why it happened in order to avoid the mistakes of the past. No other religious or secular organization is doing as much on this issue as the Catholic Church.
Anyone wishing to learn more should click on the "Protecting God's Children" tab of this Web site or to the US bishops' Web site, www.usccb.org.
I am disappointed, though, at the Archbishop's public comments on the "topic de jour". When compared to public statements issued by the Church hierarchy over the transgressions against chastity that were committed by wayward priests against children over the years ("Celibacy is the renunciation of marriage implicitly or explicitly made, for the more perfect observance of chastity, by all those who receive the Sacrament of Orders in any of the higher grades"-definition from this website), I never saw similar anger, disappointment and outrage expressed. I am bothered and disappointed by what appears to be a public double standard and what the Church appears to see as the greater wrong.
Respectfully,
Joseph F. Brennan
Es gratificante para un cat�lico, leer articulos como el suyo que reavivan nuestra fe y nos animan en perseverar en el amor a Nuestro Se�or. Pertenezco al Grupo Emaus, de la Parroquia Santa Rita de Casia, en Lima, Peru. movimiento que fue traido al Peru, por hermanos de la parroquia de St. Louis de Miami, hace mas de 15 a�os.
Los sucesos acaecidos en las ultimas semanas con relacion al padre Cutie, mas que desmoralizarnos, nos hacen sentir mas fuertes en nuestra fe. Es una lastima que un sacerdote que ha manejado medios, no haya enraizado su fe y prefiera escoger una iglesia que le acomode a su conveniencia personal. El amor de Dios exige sacrifcios de la misma forma que nos exige sacrificios, la vida matrimonial. Hasta ahora no entendemos que la pasion y los sentimientos en el amor, son solo una parte; lo mas importante es el compromiso y la decision de amar a Dios y a nuestros hermanos sin esperar nada a cambio.
Es una lastima tambien , que algunos fieles, movidos por un sentimentalismo elemental, hayan optado por seguira este padre " a la iglesia que se vaya".
Oremos juntos por estas personas de debil fe, para que el Se�or las ilumine y las haga recapacitar su decision.
Nuevamente felicitaciones por su articulo.
Que el Se�or lo bendiga siempre y que la Virgen Maria lo proteja.
Jorge Fernandez Maldonado
Allow me to congratulate you on your 39th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood and to thank you for the gift of your priesthood.
Closing those schools hurts me deeply but at the same time we must wake up and start fresh again, work and contribute with the Catholic Church more than ever and getting together and support all kind of funds raising that the parish may come up with. Lets leave depression and start new avenues looking to the future where we may open more schools and parishes again.
I do think that if we could have more convents where the nuns and priests orders stay together and protect themselves from the world we could see a parade of new vocations joining in. The priests and nuns, even when they belong to the same order, are being sent to different parishes and they are too lonesome. I think that they should, at least each order, have the same place for living that they can call home, even if during the day they go to work to different parishes. This union will make the Church stronger as it used to be. I have witness nuns dispersed and living in different places and I do not see them as happy as they were when they were living all together at the convent of my school. Thank you.
Maria Carmen Regalado
Maria E. Semper
Enhorabuena, Bishop Estevez, for your writing and your ministry and all what our Church stands for.
Carlota E. Morales
As I read Mons. Est�vez article, with tears in my eyes and bursting love in my heart, the names and faces of so many priests that have touched my whole life came to my mind. The concept of the priest as "alter Christus" in the celebration of the Mass is something I learned very early in my life. However, I did not grasp this fully until the constitution "Sacrosanctum Concilium" of the Vatican Council II, that in its section 7, states that during the celebration of the Mass, Christ is present not only in the consecrated bread and wine but also in the Word proclaimed, in the assembly gathered and praying together but also He is present in the person of the minister. That�s why a priest can say �This is my body��, �this is my blood�� instead of merely saying His body and His blood.
As a married man, the celibacy of the priests is very important to me. When a priest promises to observe celibacy, he does it with full awareness that he is giving up something good, not only physically, emotionally or human but mainly spiritually, because the sacrament of marriage is a �great mystery� as St. Paul calls it in his letter to the Ephesians (5.32). He does that for something even greater. The celibacy of the priests affirms to the married couples the value of their matrimony and it is a challenge for married couples to live their sacrament to the fullest. There are many interrelations and parallel between these two sacraments at the service of communion: Holy Orders and Matrimony. They both are directed towards the salvation of others and they serve to build up the People of God as we learn from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Both sacraments are based on the love of God and the love for each other. Let us keep in mind that real and mature love is not a feeling that is here today and gone tomorrow, but a decision that we have to make daily for the rest of our lives... priests and married couples the same. That�s the only way we can be faithful to God and to our spouse.
I want to use this opportunity to thank all our priests for their loving dedication and prophetic presence among us. This �is right and just� to be done more openly and frequent during the course of the special year of the priesthood that will start in jiust few weeks. This should be part of our plan to affirm our priests. It is very easy to let a priest know when something in his homily touched us or answered any of our doubts or difficulties. Let us celebrate the anniversaries of our priests� ordination. Invite them to your homes occasionally. Let them know that they are part of your family and circle of close friends. Pray for them and let them know that you have them in your prayers� Love them and everything will be real and evident.