Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

CHAPTER 2: ONGOING FORMATION | 29

his brother is like a strong city” (18:19, translated from the Vulgate). The Church herself reflects this emphasis on solidarity in its visible structure, its bonds of charity, and its life of prayer. Our Catholic faith is a family affair, not a solitary path to individual enlightenment. 55 What is true of the faith in general is true of a priest’s life. Our life is intimately bound up with the lives of our brothers in the priesthood. Friendships forged in the seminary and after ordination reflect the natural bonds of companionship that should enrich every human life. “Life is stronger than death,” Pope Francis taught in Fratelli Tutti, “when it is built on true relationships and bonds of fidelity. On the contrary, there is no life when we claim to be self-sufficient and live as islands: in these atti tudes, death prevails.” 56 In the priesthood, however, these friendships have the potential to be a great deal more. United by a common faith, outlook on life, commitment to virtue, and mission in the world, brother priests understand and can support each other in a unique way. 57 At the heart of priestly fraternity is the common bond of men seeking to follow Christ as his priests and committing to support one another on the path. When we rely on each other to travel this sometimes arduous road, we forge friend ships of mutual respect, trust, and affection; in these friendships, open ness about our struggles is possible. While not all priests in a presbyterate can have deep friendships with each other, they should be always aware that they are called to a friendship with their brothers characterized by a fraternal spirit of kindness, welcome, and openness to relationship. This is true of priests of all ages and perspectives. All priests share particular brotherhood in Christ and should relate to each other in accord with this familial identity. If we are grappling with challenges in our ministry, for instance, another priest often can offer us the best advice. If our hearts are full of gratitude for the conversion of a parishioner, another priest can share that 76. 77. 55 “Unity among the priests with the Bishop and among themselves is not something added from the out side to the nature of their service, but expresses its essence inasmuch as it is the care of Christ the priest for the people gathered in the unity of the Blessed Trinity.” PDV, no. 74. “By its very nature, the ordained ministry can be carried out only to the extent that the priest is united to Christ through sacramental participation in the priestly order, and thus to the extent that he is in hierarchical communion with his own bishop. The ordained ministry has a radical ‘communitarian form’ and can only be carried out as ‘a collective work.’” PDV, no. 17. 56 Francis, Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship), October 3, 2020, no. 87, www.vatican.va/content/ francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html. 57 “Priestly fraternity is the first setting in which ongoing formation takes place.” Ratio Fundamentalis, no. 82.