Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests (Ascension)

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Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

confession, daily mortifications, sincerity with close priest friends and with a spiritual director, and filial devotion to Our Lady and St. Joseph. Continued progress in chastity is a lifelong endeavor, but countless celibate priests have lived their vocation with integrity and peace and have demonstrated that it can be a joyful, healthy way of life. 136 More generally, candid self-awareness and sincerity with a spiritual director or trusted friend will help identify where the priest needs other growth, especially in the markers of human maturity. Fears, blind spots, and bad habits can hamper his free exercise of the will, and such limitations are important topics of examination for personal prayer and spiritual direction. Gaps in maturity, especially affective maturity, need to be addressed methodically and energetically so that the priest can approach pastoral ministry with well-governed emotions. 137 At times, the struggles and wounds that emerge (sometimes, reemerge) in the pursuit of human formation are best addressed in the context of regular pastoral counseling by a therapist who adheres to the Catholic understanding of the human person, or at least understands the Catholic concept of the human person and will assist the priest in the context of that understanding. No priest should hesitate to take advantage of these resources when they are needed, because addressing his struggles courageously and growing in human maturity makes him a better instrument in the hands of the Lord for the service of souls. Fraternal Means 138 During his visit in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the bishops of the United States as a body. It is noteworthy that the Holy Father chose that important occasion to offer these words about priestly fraternity and ongoing formation. “Each of us knows how important

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