A
RENEWED VISION OF PRIESTLY MINISTRY AND IDENTITY
Cl. Mario D’Couto SDB
In
the first place, I must acknowledge that this short reflection comes from an
article written by a certain priest named Fr. Thomas Rosica and consequently, I
have used the original title of this article as the title of this short
reflection. There were many things that inspired me in this article, most of
which were the various statements made by Fr. Thomas Rosica on the priesthood.
To
begin with, he says, “Priesthood is not,
first and foremost, something we do, but someone we are.” If we are
speaking about who a priest is called to be, then a priest is first and
foremost, one who spends himself gladly for others. Authentic priests are first
washers and servants, who have patterned their living and dying on Jesus
Christ, the eternal priest of compassion and service. There was a nice
statement which he makes in this regard, “If
I am a ministerial priest and am called ‘Father’, it is not simply because I
have a prestigious academic background, a good formation, a title, a place of
privilege or an important office in the Church.”
The
Gospel of St. Matthew highlights this aspect of service very beautifully as it
is seen in 23: 11, “The greatest of you
must be the servant.” This leads us to the next topic of sacrifice. The priest is a Eucharistic
person and the Eucharist is nothing but the sacrifice of Jesus’ Body and Blood.
The Body of Jesus was not simply slain, but “given
for you.” In fact, Paul’s consistent emphasis is that Christ died “for others” (1 Cor 8:11; 1 Thess 5:10).
Now
when we speak about sacrifice, it does not mean that we have to go around with
long faces and brood over each and every negative circumstance that befall us.
No, absolutely not! Somehow, we do not have many pictures depicting Jesus
Christ as smiling or laughing. Always we see the picture of Jesus as a stern,
reflective person. Nowhere in the Bible do we find a smiling or laughing Jesus.
Many people prefer the grief-stricken bloody Jesus. However, this was a picture
that came up during the medieval ages and this has ever since been the
predominant way of depicting the face of Christ.
Although
there is no explicit statement in Scripture about Jesus smiling or laughing,
the Sacred Scriptures do mention about Jesus’ other emotions. If we truly
accept the fact that Jesus Christ was fully human and fully divine, it is but
obvious that He certainly did display a wide range of emotions. He cried at the
tomb of Lazarus, He showed His anger when the Temple of God was turned into a
‘shopping mall.’ He expressed fear of dying on the Cross at the Garden of
Gethsemane. These are certainly human emotions. But yet, it is not mentioned
that Jesus smiled or laughed. Can we therefore assume that Jesus was a stern
person? Certainly not! He was very much human at heart. When he was in the
company of little children it is but obvious that He was smiling and laughing
with them. When He stared at Zacchaeus hiding in the sycamore tree, there must
have been a smile or at least a smirk on Jesus’ face. What then do we say about
ourselves as priests, religious, or clerics? Why should we be joyful?
Precisely, because it is and should be in our “DNA” as priests and
religious to be bearers of joy! No wonder why the frail St. John Marie Vianney
who was otherwise popularly known as the Cure of Ars would take a lost little
boy and show him the way to heaven! No wonder Maximillian Kolbe could answer
the Gestapo commandment with such tranquillity, “I am a Catholic priest.” This is the reason why people expect us
to be men of joy.