Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

86 | GUIDE TO ONGOING FORMATION FOR PRIESTS

A HEART OPEN TO ALL

220. A final marker of pastoral formation in the life of a priest is a magnanimous openness to other souls. He must be a man for others. 196 Such a disposition reveals itself in a priest’s life in many ways. Of primary importance is a pastoral zeal that is open and free of constraints. In forming his Apostles for their priestly ministry, Jesus begins and ends with a fishing expedition (see Mt 4:18-22 and Jn 21:1-14). He invites them, and each of us: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt 4:19). The faithful priest is therefore dedicated to the work of evangelization; he extends himself to reach those who do not know Jesus or who have fallen away from his Church. An evangelically committed priest will not be content to simply receive whoever comes to the parish but will actively promote efforts, in his own life and among his parishioners, that have proven effective in drawing souls to the Lord. 197 Such a priest will also be generous in his service to those who are poor, elderly, lonely, abandoned, or rejected and to others on the periph eries of society. 198 His deep concern for social justice is motivated not only by temporal needs but above all by supernatural ends: the salvation of souls. 199 A wideness of heart and a broadness of mind enable him to work readily and competently with people from different cultures, outlooks, and theological and ecclesial points of view. 200 This work includes openness to the unique, popular cultural Catholic traditions among diverse Catholic populations. He is particularly keen to address deep-seated injustices such as racism and other chronic prejudices. He can work in different ministerial settings, for instance among youth and young adults as well as the elderly; 196 “If the priest lends to Christ, the Most Eternal High Priest, his intelligence, his will, his voice and his hands so through his ministry he may offer to the Father the sacramental sacrifice of redemption, he is to embrace the dispositions of the Master and, like him, live as a gift for his brothers. He is therefore to learn to unite himself intimately to the offering, placing on the altar of the sacrifice his whole life as a revealing sign of God’s gratuitous and prevenient love.” DMLP, no. 66, emphasis original. So too, it is good to remember that the priest was first ordained a deacon and, as such, was conformed to Christ the Servant. The priest must never forget this diaconal aspect of his ministry. 197 See, for example, CIC, c. 528 §1, pertaining to the parish pastor. 198 “Friend of the poorest, he will reserve his most refined and delicate pastoral charity for them, with a preferential option for all the old and new poverties so tragically present in the world, ever recalling that the first misery from which man must be liberated is sin, the ultimate root of all evil.” DMLP, no. 83. See CIC, c. 529 §1. 199 See CIC, cc. 222 §2 and 287 §1. 200 “A distinctive manifestation of this dimension in building up the Christian community consists in tran scending any particularist attitude: in fact, priests must never place themselves at the service of a particular ideology insofar as this would wane the efficacy of their ministry. The priest’s relationship with the faith ful must always be essentially priestly.” DMLP, no. 41. 221.