Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

82 | GUIDE TO ONGOING FORMATION FOR PRIESTS

precondition for a fuller embrace of simplicity of life and preparation for priestly ministry. 179

213. The first marker of pastoral maturity, then, is the freedom to live as a man for others; to be chaste, humble, and simple; and to live as a shep herd prepared to defend his sheep from the wolves and care for them with an authentic and Christlike love.

SPIRITUAL SONSHIP

214. A second marker of pastoral formation in a priest is the eager embrace of our primary vocation to Christian discipleship. To be good spiritual fathers, priests must first be good spiritual sons. When priests fail to remember that they are beloved sons of God, 180 disciples of Christ before all else, they easily lapse into the errors of clericalism. Moreover, since they share in the priesthood of the very Son of God himself, it is fundamentally important that they be deeply aware of being “sons in the Son” and share in his outlook and desires. Priests will then be ready, with all the force and attractiveness of their personality and personal witness, to communicate the love of Christ to those whom they serve, as spiritual fathers and good shepherds.

PRIMACY GIVEN TO SALVATION OF SOULS

215. One of the defining features of a man called to the priesthood, a necessary quality of his interior and apostolic life, is a desire for the salva tion of souls. St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, expressed his own burning desire when he boldly prayed to God, “Grant me the conversion of my parish; I consent to suffer whatever you wish, for as long

179 “Lastly, even though the priest does not make a public promise of poverty, it is incumbent upon him to lead a simple life and abstain from whatever may smack of worldliness, thereby embracing voluntary poverty in order to follow Christ more closely. In all aspects (living quarters, means of transportation, vacations, etc.) the priest is to eliminate any kind of affectation and luxury. In this sense the priest must battle every day in order not to lapse into consumerism and the easy life that pervade society in many parts of the world. A serious examination of conscience will help him to assess his tenor of life, his readiness to attend to the faithful and perform his duties; to ask himself if the means and things he uses respond to true need or if he may not be seeking convenience and comfort, taking flight from sacrifice. Precisely at stake in the consistency between what he says and what he does, especially with respect to poverty, are the priest’s credibility and apostolic effectiveness.” DMLP, no. 83. See also CIC, c. 282 §1. 180 See DMLP, no. 3.