A renewed vision of Priestly ministry and identity


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.

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