Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests (Ascension)

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Chapter 4: Spiritual Formation

promote authentic bonds of charity and understanding among Catholics. A priest who is spiritually mature strives to rise above the din of competing ideologies and overwrought websites in order to remain focused on what is important. He does not shy away from exposing sin, error, or corruption, but neither does he take morbid delight in doing so. He is a man who genuinely desires the good of all, whatever their past, and who receives with warmth and affection all those seeking Christ. He strives to emulate the Good Shepherd, who seeks out the one lost and straying sheep, however far it may have wandered. 129 161 The personal means of spiritual formation are the behaviors and habits that allow the priest to grow in holiness, so that souls entrusted to him may be drawn to Christ. Just as he should avoid near occasions of sin, where he is more likely to fall into immorality, so he should seek out occasions of grace, where he is more likely to fall in love with the Lord. The personal means of spiritual formation are those occasions of grace that draw the priest into deeper relationship with the Lord. MEANS OF SPIRITUAL FORMATION Personal Means 162 For a priest, indeed for all Catholics, the most important means of formation is the daily celebration of Holy Mass. 130 The Second 129 “Priests have been placed in the midst of the laity to lead them to the unity of charity, that they may ‘love one another with fraternal charity, anticipating one another with honor’ (Rom 12:10). It is their task, therefore, to reconcile differences of mentality in such a way that no one will feel himself a stranger in the community of the faithful. Priests are defenders of the common good, with which they are charged in the name of the bishop. At the same time, they are strenuous defenders of the truth, lest the faithful be tossed about by every wind of opinion. To their special concern are committed those who have fallen away from the use of the sacraments, or perhaps even from the faith. As good shepherds, they should not cease from going after them.” PO, no. 9. 130 See CIC, cc. 276 §2, 2°, 904, and 906. For the priest, the daily celebration of the Holy Mass has irre placeable value—it is the “source and summit” (see LG, no. 11; PO, no. 18) of the priestly life—even if it is not possible to have the faithful present. In this regard Pope Benedict XVI teaches: “To this end I join the Synod Fathers in recommending ‘the daily celebration of Mass, even when the faithful are not present.’ This recommendation is consistent with the objectively infinite value of every cele bration of the Eucharist, and is motivated by the Mass’s unique spiritual fruitfulness. If celebrated in a faith-filled and attentive way, Mass is formative in the deepest sense of the word, since it fosters the priest’s configuration to Christ and strengthens him in his vocation.” Benedict XVI, Sacramentum

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