On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Council decrees Optatam totius y Presbyterium ordinis, The Pope issued the Apostolic Letter "The Pope's Message to the Church", promulgated on October 28 and December 7, 1965. Loyalty that generates future, reflecting on fidelity in service, fraternity, synodality, mission and the future.
Although this letter may seem to be addressed only to priests, all the Christian faithful have a priestly soul. We summarize the main points of the apostolic letter.
Fidelity: This is what priests are called to do; to persevere in the apostolic mission is to ask oneself about the future of the ministry and to help others to perceive the joy of the priestly vocation.
They are two texts born of a single inspiration of the Church, aware that the longed-for renewal of the Church depends to a great extent on the ministry of priests, always animated by the spirit of Christ.
With this apostolic letter, Pope Leo XIV invites us to «reconsider together the identity and function of the ordained ministry in the light of what the Lord is asking of the Church today».
The Pope warns that: «especially in times of trial and temptation, we are strengthened when we do not forget that voice, when we are capable of remembering with passion the sound of the Lord's voice who loves us, chooses us and calls us, We also entrust ourselves to the indispensable accompaniment of those who are experts in the life of the Spirit.
The Pope invites that priests continue to be trained and that this formation does not stop at the time of the seminary. Ongoing, permanent formation, in such a way that it constitutes a constant dynamism of human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral renewal. The CARF Foundation is dedicated body and soul to this work.
And reflecting on fidelity and fraternity, the Pope quotes the decree Presbyterorum ordinisThe priests of the New Testament, although by reason of the sacrament of Holy Orders they exercise the ministry of father and teacher, a most important and necessary ministry among the people and for the people of God, are nevertheless, together with all the Christian faithful, disciples of the Lord, made sharers in his Kingdom by the grace of God who calls.
With all those regenerated in the fountain of Baptism priests are brothers among brothers, since they are members of the one Body of Christ, whose edification is required of all».
«The priestly fraternity, therefore,» says the Pope, "rather than being a task to be carried out, is a gift inherent in the grace of Ordination. We must recognize that this gift precedes us: it is not built up by good will alone and by virtue of a collective effort, but is a gift of Grace, which makes us sharers in the ministry of the bishop and is realized in communion with him and with our brothers and sisters".
Then, when speaking of the identity of priests, he emphasizes what is indicated by the decree Presbyterorum ordinis on the link with the priesthood and the mission of Jesus Christ (cf. n. 2) and further points out three fundamental coordinates: the relationship with the bishop, sacramental communion and fraternity with other priests; and the relationship with the lay faithful.
In this way he also invites us to live fidelity together with the exercise of synodality. «The impetus of the synodal process is a strong invitation of the Holy Spirit to take decisive steps in this direction.».
«In an increasingly synodal and missionary Church, the priestly ministry loses none of its importance and relevance, but, on the contrary, will be able to focus more on its proper and specific tasks,» says the Pontiff.
Fidelity and mission
«The identity of priests is constituted around their being for and is inseparable from their mission,» says the Pope reflecting on fidelity and mission. As a «priestly vocation develops between the joys and labors of a humble service to the brethren, which the world is often unaware of, but for which it has a deep thirst: to find believing and credible witnesses of the Love of God, faithful and merciful, constitutes a primary means of evangelization.».
He warns of two temptations against fidelity to the mission in a fast-paced, hyper-connected world. The first would be to fall into «a efficiency mindset according to which the value of each one is measured by performance, that is, by the number of activities and projects carried out». And secondly, «a kind of quietism: frightened by the context, We become self-absorbed, rejecting the challenge of evangelization and adopting a lazy and defeatist approach.
Looking to the future, Pope Leo XIV hopes that «the celebration of the anniversary of the two conciliar decrees and the journey we are called to share in order to implement and update them will result in a renewed vocational Pentecost in the Church, by raising up holy, numerous and persevering vocations to the ministerial priesthood, so that there will never be a lack of workers for the Lord's harvest».
The Pope concludes by thanking the Lord who is always close and walks with his people through the priest, «and I thank all of you, pastors and lay faithful, who open your minds and hearts to the prophetic message of the conciliar decrees. Presbyterorum ordinis y Optatam totius and are ready, together, to nourish and stimulate each other for the journey of the Church».
Agustín Velázquez Soriano.
Table of Contents
carf@fundacioncarf.orgLandline: +34 914 029 082Mobile: +34 638 078 51145 Conde de Peñalver Street.
