Year of the Priesthood
by Fr. Roger Landry - June 19, 2009
Today we begin the Year of the Priesthood on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Benedict XVI called for this year back on March 16 to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the birth into eternal life of St. John Vianney, whom Pope Pius XI declared in 1929 the patron saint of parish priests and whom Pope Benedict will soon name the patron saint of all priests. St. John Vianney once famously said that the priesthood is "the love of the heart of Jesus," and so, today, as we celebrate the love of Christ's Sacred Heart, we are called to see in the ministerial priesthood one of its most powerful manifestations.
Although a little confusing, it's altogether fitting that the Year of the Priesthood will overlap for ten days with the Year of St. Paul, since St. Paul was one of the greatest priests in the history of the Church. St. Paul's example of correspondence to grace, personal holiness and invincible apostolic zeal serve as a compelling spiritual prelude for priests and faithful as we initiate the Year of the Priesthood. The basic theme of the Pauline year has been, "Imitate me just as I imitate Christ" (1 Cor 11:1), and clerics in the year just commencing would do well to imitate the St. Paul the priest as he imitated Christ, the eternal high priest.
The Year of the Priesthood comes at an important time. While the whole Church has suffered as a result of the shame of the clergy sexual abuse scandals and the evil that caused them, good priests — after victims and their families — have probably suffered the most. For several years, these honorable men have frequently been suspected or accused of being wicked instead of holy, perverted instead of chaste, rapacious wolves rather than self-sacrificial shepherds. While this has been a time of obvious reparation for them for the sins of their brother priests and bishops and an opportunity for greater union and identification with Christ — who himself was falsely accused, mistreated, despised and even killed by those he was seeking to save — it's not exaggeration to say that the image of the holiness of the priesthood has taken a massive hit, one that will likely take generations to repair.
The Year of the Priesthood is an opportunity for the whole Church to make strides along that path, by focusing together on the true identity of the priest, celebrating the gift and mystery of his vocation in the Church, committing to help them live up to their holy mission, and thanking them — and the Lord who called them — for all they do for God and for us. This year is by no means an attempt to divert ecclesial attention from the types of hard reforms that need to occur to prevent and remedy the sins that caused the scandals. It is, rather, an opportunity to address them at their deepest roots. Every true reform in the Church has begun with a reform of the clergy. The Year of the Priesthood is, to quote Cardinal Claudio Hummes of the Vatican's Congregation for Clergy, a "positive and propositive" means to achieve it, by facilitating what Pope Benedict describes as the year's purpose: "to encourage priests in their striving for the spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends." The goal of the year is to help priests become genuinely holy, and holy priests, on fire with love for God and those entrusted to their care, will be the adequate response to the culture of spiritual imperfection that made the scandals possible.
To live this year well, there are a couple of things that all Catholics are called to do.
The first is, by prayer and study, to grow in love and appreciation for the gift and mystery of the priesthood. Many Catholics today view the priest the way most of our Protestant brothers and sisters view their ministers: as professional experts in Sacred Scripture and theology who are sanctioned by the community to teach and preach the faith, preside over worship services, provide counseling and other assistance to members in need, and help in the governance of Church goods. The priest, however, is so much more than a glorified functionary. He is one whose very being has been changed by God, consecrated to Him by vocation and ordination, and made capable of acting in the very person of Jesus Christ. This does not make the priest better than anyone else, but it does make him different. Some in the modern world are uncomfortable with this consecration and essential differentiation, believing that if God loves us all the same he should treat us all the same. But it is clear from the actions of Jesus in the Gospel that while God calls all of us to be perfect as our father is perfect, he chooses some to special forms of consecrated service, leaving father and mother, wives and family, property and lands for the sake of the total dedication to the kingdom. Once the essential difference of the priest is obscured, it becomes more difficult to understand all-male priesthood, which flows, among other things, from the original differentiation of man and woman and the reality that Jesus, the Bridegroom, was a male. Once one loses a sense of priestly consecration, it becomes harder to appreciate the gift of priestly celibacy for the sake of the kingdom. The first way to live this Year of the Priesthood well is to grow in understanding and appreciation of the priesthood and priestly identity, especially through the study of solid Catholic theology.
But growing in esteem for the ideal of the "priesthood" is not enough. The second thing this priestly year is meant to effectuate is an increased love and gratitude for priests in particular. The point is not to return priests to an artificial pedestal or inaugurate a year-long series of pep rallies for priests, but, after years in which priests have suffered, to focus on loving them and saying thanks. It's a happy occurrence that in the United States the beginning of the Year of the Priesthood coincides with Father's Day weekend. Just as we use this day to pray for, thank, and express our love for our natural or adoptive fathers, it is also a good occasion to do the same for our supernatural fathers, those who have made us children of God through baptism, fed us with Jesus' body and blood, wiped away our filth in confession, joined our hands in marriage, prepared us to meet the Lord at the end of our lives, nourished us with the Word of God, encouraged us when we're down, and sustained us when family members have died. The Year of the Priesthood is a good time to ensure that we're all praying for the priests they know each day; a holy card is provided on pages 1-2. It's a time to encourage priests in their work by coming with enthusiasm to receive the fruits of their labor, such as frequenting daily Mass, going to the sacrament of confession, volunteering when the priest asks and even when he doesn't, taking responsibility for some of his pastoral initiatives, attending at adult educational opportunities, and so him. It's a time to drop him a note to say thanks for who he is and what he does, to invite him over to have dinner with your family, and maybe even to give him constructive feedback about how he can more effectively achieve his goals. It's a time to pray for and encourage those with the vocation to continue his priestly work.
At the Anchor, we are beginning today on page 7 a year-long series of vocational reflections from priests working throughout our Diocese so that all the faithful might be able to appreciate the gift of mystery of the priesthood from the inside. We will also regularly be sharing news of various resources prepared for by the Vatican, the U.S. Bishops' Conference and other means.
May this year of grace we begin today renew our priests in holiness so that, through them, the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus may renew us all!
Father Roger J. Landry is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in New Bedford, MA and Executive Editor of The Anchor, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River.
