Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests (Ascension)

GOFP 231

Chapter 6: Pastoral Formation

such as finance, human resources, and organization, he can become a more able administrator and manager of the temporal goods of the Church. In addition, the priest can find a great deal of guidance and formation from the many people he is serving, including the parish staff, the various councils and commissions, the volunteers, and other organizations in the parish. The laity involved in these groups bring talent and expertise that a priest is wise to acknowledge and learn from. The priest may also wish to take advantage of the expertise of his bishop’s collaborators in the curia. Fraternal Means 230 Brother priests help each other grow in the pastoral dimension in many ways. Priest friends can encourage, affirm, and hold each other accountable for personal growth in holiness as well as pastoral generosity and competence. 212 Such friendships are most helpful when they stimulate intentional conversations about pastoral methods, the care of souls, preaching, and the handling of difficult pastoral situations. Even friendships that have less explicitly apostolic origins, such as those emerging from common human interests, can foster priestly conversation. Such friends find that they have lost none of their common interests while they put their friendship on an even deeper and more stable foundation: their mutual growth as Christians and as priests. 231 Mentoring relationships can also be a powerful means to grow in the pastoral dimension of formation. Fraternal consultations with seasoned priests give younger priests an opportunity to draw from the wisdom of experience and avoid many pitfalls to which they are otherwise prone. Priests willing to receive and give such assistance

212 It is particularly recommended that groups of priests read and discuss the DMLP.

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