Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

42 | GUIDE TO ONGOING FORMATION FOR PRIESTS

of life is daily prayer, which encounters Jesus as the source of priestly life. Surrounding those key spiritual exercises is a balanced life of work, recre ation, exercise, diet, and vacation. 86 The priest has a healthy love for the world and fosters an interest in culture, beauty, and nature without falling into the superficiality of secularism. In addition, unity of life includes the way a priest approaches the various moments and situations of his life. It means that the priest is always the same person in all his dealings with others, whether those occur in person or through digital communication. Unity of life excludes any sense of a double life, obscuring of one’s identity, or any other behavior that conflicts with being a priest. This unity of life is not just about avoiding duplicity and scandal. The priest is a public person, which means that he accepts the need for a great deal of transparency in his life. It also involves knowing and embracing at all times who one is and intentionally living in accord with one’s identity both alone and with others. The priest’s unity of life springs from gratitude at being personally called by Jesus; it is an over flow of that joy into the decisions and interactions of his life. A priest with unity of life knows he shares the pastoral charity of Christ and always seeks to care for souls. Of course, he prudently considers the circumstances of his interaction and may not always speak explicitly about the faith—but in all his encounters, the priest who possesses unity of life seeks to treat others with a refined kindness that reflects the charity of Jesus. The priest’s spiritual fatherhood is more than a mere metaphor for his ministry. Like a natural father, he shares in the Fatherhood of God by generating life and loving in a distinctly paternal way. 87 For example, the priest provides for his people in the order of grace, particularly by adminis tering the sacraments. He guides them along the way of truth and salvation, especially in his preaching and teaching. He protects them from harmful spiritual and moral influences through his courageous and loving counsel and personal sacrifice. These and other paternal responsibilities depend upon a constellation of human virtues that natural and spiritual fathers 113. CAPACITY FOR FATHERHOOD 114.

86

See CIC, c. 283, §2.

87 “Through the gift of celibacy the priest also acquires that spiritual yet real fatherhood which is universal in dimension and assumes concrete expression particularly towards the community entrusted to him.” DMLP, no. 80.