Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests (Ascension)

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Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (5:1-4). 216 Such a priest desires to understand the interior dispositions of those he serves and to accompany them on their road to holiness. “A priest who is close to his people,” Pope Francis said in his 2018 Chrism Mass homily, “walks among them with the closeness and tenderness of a good shepherd; in shepherding them, he goes at times before them, at times remains in their midst and at other times walks behind them. Not only do people greatly appreciate such a priest; even more, they feel that there is something special about him: something they only feel in the presence of Jesus.” 184 He is not satisfied with being a mere caretaker or maintainer of an institution but strives with holy ambition to plant the faith more deeply in the hearts of his people and to evangelize those who do not yet know Christ. In fact, his gaze extends beyond the confines of his immediate apostolate to the needs of the whole Church, because “every priestly ministry shares in the universality of the mission entrusted by Christ to His apostles.” 185 217 Because the primary means of fulfilling the priest’s evangelical mission is through the sacraments, an important marker for pastoral formation is a love for administering them faithfully, reverently, and generously, especially the Mass and the Sacrament of Penance. 186 A priest can find no more effective way to promote the salvation of souls. 187 Beyond the sacraments, he faithfully intercedes for the people

184 Francis, Homily, 2018 Chrism Mass, March 29, 2018. 185 PO, no. 10.

186 “The ministry itself, by which the priest brings Christ’s redemptive gifts to his people, transforms the priest’s own life. In a particular way, the celebrations of the sacraments lead the priest to a holy encounter with God’s all-transforming, merciful love.” PPF, no. 41. 187 “While the service of the Word is the fundamental element of the priestly ministry, its heart and vital center is undoubtedly the Eucharist, which is above all the real presence in time of the one and

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