Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests (Ascension)

GOFP 30

Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

as the good judgment needed to maintain healthy friendships with both men and women. 20

30 Finally, a thriving human life is one that keeps in balance the legitimate needs of both soul and body. Finding the time and energy to pray, to establish a healthy lifestyle, to get enough sleep, to exercise, and to relax without shirking our priestly duties demands prudence and discipline. We might not always get it right, but the mature individual always strives for that balance and rhythm. Priestly Identity 31 Our masculine identity is given a specific direction through our Christian discipleship. Neither our faith nor our manhood can be understood in isolation from the other. The same can be said of our vocation as priests. The priesthood is not an isolated part of our lives; it is not merely our professional work or a set of pastoral responsibilities that we fulfill. The priesthood penetrates every aspect of our lives, touches every moment of our day, and gives purpose and meaning to our existence. 32 This is not to say that priests do not have a personal life with family and friends, interests and hobbies, and time away from pastoral work. To the contrary, as mentioned above, such components of a healthy life contribute to a thriving priesthood. At the same time, we became priests knowing that the priesthood is a vocation that would demand much of us. A priest does not belong entirely to himself; he has given himself in a radical and sacrificial way to be “anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord” (1 Cor 7:32). This self-giving is the pastoral charity of the priest. 21 It is intrinsic to

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PPF, nos. 187g and 186. See CIC, c. 277 §2.

21 “Pastoral charity is the virtue by which we imitate Christ in his self-giving and service. It is not just what we do, but our gift of self, which manifests Christ’s love for his flock. Pastoral charity determines

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