Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests (Ascension)

45 GOFP

Chapter 1: Priestly Life

change, and openness to healing and grace. These, too, are essential elements of a priest’s self-identity if he is to build a habit of ongoing formation. 43 Committing ourselves to ongoing formation can be arduous. It would be easier simply to coast through our priesthood without ever challenging ourselves to keep growing. But living organisms that do not grow do not produce. This undertaking, difficult as it may be, is a means to flourish as a priest, as a Christian, and as a man. It is the road where we will continually meet the Lord, ever eager for our true good, and hence it is the way to genuine joy. 44 The qualities of a holy, healthy priesthood explored in the preceding paragraphs constitute the goal of ongoing formation, the ultimate fruit of the divine Farmer’s labor. Although none but the Lord ever attained the perfection of life represented in all these qualities, with the assurance of grace we can continue pressing onward toward their fulfillment in our lives, however imperfect the result may be. 45 Nevertheless, in addition to this goal, we must consider those obstacles that can choke the seed from growing properly. Every priest encounters some of these difficulties. The purpose of this document is not to give specific instructions to resolve them, but rather to encourage priests to live the kind of lives that can best meet them. The descriptions of these obstacles, then, are intentionally cursory. They offer just a glimpse, but they are an important acknowledgment of the kinds of challenges that any personal plan of ongoing formation should address. CHALLENGES TO LIVING THE PRIESTHOOD TODAY

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