A hermeneutic of (priestly) continuity

From the Vatican News Service:

VATICAN CITY, 12 MAR 2010 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy Father received participants in a theological congress promoted by the Congregation for the Clergy, and which is being held on 11 and 12 March in the Pontifical Lateran University on the theme: "Faithfulness of Christ, faithfulness of Priests".

In a time such as our own, said the Pope, "it is important clearly to bear in mind the theological specificity of ordained ministry, in order not to surrender to the temptation of reducing it to predominant cultural models. In the context of widespread secularisation which progressively tends to exclude God from the public sphere and from the shared social conscience, the priest often appears 'removed' from common sense". Yet , the Pope went on, "it is important to avoid a dangerous reductionism which, over recent decades ... has presented the priest almost as a 'social worker', with the risk of betraying the very Priesthood of Christ.

"Just as the hermeneutic of continuity is revealing itself to be ever more important for an adequate understanding of the texts of Vatican Council II", he added, "in the same way we see the need for a hermeneutic we could describe as 'of priestly continuity', one which, starting from Jesus of Nazareth, Lord and Christ, and over the two thousand years of history, greatness, sanctity, culture and piety which the Priesthood has given the world, comes down to our own day".

Benedict XVI affirmed that "it is particularly important that the call to participate in the one Priesthood of Christ in ordained Ministry should flower from the 'charism of prophecy'. There is great need for priests who speak of God to the world and who present the world to God; men not subject to ephemeral cultural fashions, but capable of authentically living the freedom that only the certainty of belonging to God can give. ... And the prophecy most necessary today is that of faithfulness" which "leads us to live our priesthood in complete adherence to Christ and the Church".

Priests, the Holy Father continued, "must be careful to distance themselves from the predominant mentality which tends to associate the value of Ministry not with its being, but with its function". Our "ontological association with God", he said "is the right framework in which to understand and reaffirm, also in our own time, the value of celibacy which in the Latin Church is a charism imposed by Holy Orders, and is held in great esteem by the Oriental Churches. ... It is an expression of the gift of the self to God and to others".

"The vocation of priests is an exalted one, and remains a great mystery. ... Our limitations and weaknesses must induce us to live and safeguard this precious gift with great faith, a gift with which Christ configured us to Himself, making us participants in His mission of salvation. Indeed, the understanding of priestly ministry is linked to faith and requires, ever more strongly, a radical continuity between formation in seminaries and permanent formation".

The Holy Father concluded by telling his audience that "the men and women of our time ask us only to be priests to the full, nothing else. The lay faithful will be able to meet their human needs in many other people, but only in the priest will they find that Word of God which must always be on his lips, the Mercy of the Father abundantly and gratuitously distributed in the Sacrament of Penance, and the bread of new life".

H/T to Rich Leonardi.

Bl. John XXIII on St. John Vianney

Fifty years ago, Pope John XXIII wrote an encyclical about St. John Vianney.  Back in June, Pope Benedict XVI began the Year for Priests and drew attention to this priest-saint, whom he named the patron saint of all priests.

Bl. Pope John XXIII's encyclical was Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia, and I recommend it if you'd like a papal "biography" of St. John Vianney and an explanation of why he is such a model for priests.

May God Who has begun this good work in you...

... now bring it to fulfillment. (cf. Phil. 1:6)

This is the absolutely stunning New York City ordination video from Grassroots Films.

"As we praise God that these five men
– Anthony, Christopher, Vincent, Jacob, and Louis –

have so generously accepted the invitation from Jesus himself
to serve him and his Church as priests;

that their ordination is God's doing, not ours;
that this is a pure gift from God, not an earned trophy;

that His call trumps our curriculum vitae;
that His grace lifts up our nature. ...

You will have the very character of Christ, the High Priest,

the Good Shepherd, branded on your hearts as your very identity. ...

May God who has begun this good work in you now bring it to fulfillment."

— Archbishop Timothy Dolan

Plenary Indulgence offered tomorrow, the Feast of St. John Vianney

From ZENIT:

For the faithful, a plenary indulgence can be obtained on the opening and closing days of the Year for Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean-Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.

To obtain the indulgence the faithful must attend Mass in an oratory or Church and offer prayers to "Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mould them to his heart."

The conditions for the faithful for earning a plenary indulgence are to have gone to confession and prayed for the intentions of the Pope.

...

A partial indulgence is offered to the faithful when they repeat five times the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, or any other duly approved prayer "in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life."

The Pope's intentions this month are:

• General: That public opinion may be more aware of the problem of millions of displaced persons and refugees and that concrete solutions may be found for their often tragic situation.
• Mission: That those Christians who are discriminated against and persecuted in many Countries because of the name of Christ may have their human rights, equality and religious freedom recognized, in order to be able to live and profess their own faith freely.

I make a habit of praying three Hail Mary's for priests (one for the purification of those in Purgatory, one for the sanctification and conversion of priests living today, and one for future priests that their vocations be fostered and encouraged). Now that I'm aware (again) of the partial indulgence offered, I should "upgrade" that habit to five Our Father's, five Hail Mary's, and five Glory Be's.

[H/T to Diane at Te Deum laudamus]

Reading List for the Year for Priests

My suggestion is to start at the bottom of this list and work your way up.

Indulgences offered during the Year for Priests

Read the proclamation here.