Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

80 | GUIDE TO ONGOING FORMATION FOR PRIESTS

loving concern, and know them and be known by them. 172 In the words of the Second Vatican Council, as priests assume “the role of the Good Shepherd, they will find in the very exercise of pastoral love the bond of priestly perfection which will unify their lives and activities.” 173 The first three dimensions of formation—human, spiritual, and intellectual—converge in the pastoral dimension. 174 The human nature of the priest needs to be well formed so that it constitutes “a bridge and not an obstacle for others in their meeting with Jesus Christ.” 175 The spiritual life of the priest ensures that his ministry is rooted in a deep interior union with Jesus the Good Shepherd. The intellectual life of the priest forms his mind to grasp the saving truths of the faith and to hand them on faithfully, nourishing his people with “pure spiritual milk” that will help them “grow into salvation” (1 Pt 2:2). All these dimensions of formation, culminating in the pastoral, orient a priest toward the salvation of souls and pastoral charity. In whatever part of the vineyard a priest is asked to exercise his ministry, he will find that applying himself to ongoing pastoral formation will yield much fruit in his own life and in those entrusted to his care. 209.

MARKERS OF THE PASTORAL DIMENSION

FREEDOM FOR MINISTRY

210. The first marker of pastoral formation is the absence of glaring interior barriers to priestly ministry. These might be human barriers: for instance, compulsive behaviors, unhealthy relationships, narcissistic tendencies, or an escapist disposition to feed on entertainment and distrac tion. They can also be spiritual barriers, such as interior superficiality, scru pulosity, or a frenetic activism. A priest who does not find his joy in Christ, after all, frequently tries to find it instead in exterior accomplishments or comforts. These human and spiritual barriers all represent forms of slavery

172 “Pastoral charity constitutes the internal and dynamic principle capable of uniting the priest’s multiple and diverse pastoral activities and bringing men to the life of Grace. The ministerial activity must be a manifestation of the charity of Christ, whose bearing and conduct the priest will know how to project, and this unto the ultimate donation of self for the good of the flock entrusted to him.” DMLP, no. 54. 173 PO, no. 14. 174 See PDV, no. 57. 175 PDV, no. 43.