Priests need five values to serve successfully, be fulfilled personally

BY BISHOP HOWARD J. HUBBARD

Based on my 43 years of priesthood, let me cite five values that I believe must become an integral part of their ministry if priests are to serve successfully and be fulfilled personally.

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CHOSEN BY GOD

First, remember the words of Jesus, spoken to His Apostles at the Last Supper: "It was not you who chose me, but I chose you and sent you forth to bear rich fruit" (John 15:16).

What dignity that gives to the priestly vocation, namely, that priests have been chosen by God and are responding to a divine initiative.

Singled out

That does not mean that priests are better than others; but, in God's plan, they have been singled out to serve His people as one who acts in the person of Christ and in the name of the Church.

That cherished gift should not be the source of privileged clericalism and elitism, of powerful authoritarianism, or of aloof isolationism, but a basis for humility and selfless service.

Further, priests must appreciate that, once ordained, God is far from done with them. Rather, they must continue to grow and mature.

Christ's cross

In a special way, priests must be willing to embrace the cross, for Jesus said to His chosen disciples, "The cup that I drink you will drink" (Matthew 18:39). As sharers in the priesthood of Jesus, then, priests must be prepared to carry:

* the cross of representing a Church that is increasingly polarized, satirized and ridiculed;

* the cross of being criticized, second-guessed and misjudged;

* the cross of living a celibate life (while celibacy is both a gift and a charism of the Spirit, it is also largely misunderstood and looked upon with suspicion in today's society, which places such a high premium on sexual intimacy, and precluding as it does the joy of marriage and having children of one's own);

* the cross of being taken for granted or unappreciated by parishioners, fellow priests and one's bishop; and

* the cross of facing our own humanity, vulnerability, sinfulness and "not measuring up."

Those and other crosses too numerous and unpredictable to mention are an inevitable part of priestly ministry. As God the Father did not spare His only begotten Son, neither will priests be spared.

Called by God

On the other hand, those crosses -- when borne patiently and accepted willingly -- will help priests grow as persons, redound to the benefit of others and contribute to God's loving plan of salvation for humankind.

In times of difficulty and challenge in priestly ministry -- when they may feel overwhelmed by the demands placed upon them or weighed down by the crosses they may be asked to bear -- priests must always remember and be consoled by the fact that they are truly called and chosen by God.

Earthen vessels? No doubt. Weak instruments? Of course. Doubting Thomases and fretting Marthas sometimes? Yes. Faint-hearted in adversity and failing in love, like the Apostle Peter? Inevitably.

But, even with all of this human frailty, priests must remember that they have been called and chosen by God, and that will make all the difference in the world.

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JOYOUS PEOPLE

Second, priests must be people of joy. In His Last Supper discourse, Jesus not only told His Apostles, "You did not choose me; rather, I chose you," but also said: "I give you my joy, that your joy may be complete."

Joy, therefore, must be the hallmark of a priest's life. Not the rib-tickling joy of the sitcoms or zinging one-liners emanating from stand-up comics; not the hilarious joy of children playing, of teenagers dancing, or of couples experiencing the first blush of a romance; not the spontaneous joy that wells up when your favorite team scores an upset victory or you hit the Lottery or you score an A on a dreaded test.

It is a deep inner joy that can never be disturbed or destroyed because it springs forth from the awesome privilege priests have:

* of preaching the Good News;

* of reflecting upon the wonder of the Father's creation, the beauty of the Redeemer's love and the pulsating presence of the Spirit within ourselves and others; and

* of translating that reflection into words and deeds which speak to contemporary realities.

In "The Joy of the Priesthood," Father Stephen Rosetti suggests that the look on a priest's face, flowing from his inner joy, is the best homily he will ever preach. Therefore, priests should smile, be happy and show there is joy in what they are doing -- for the effectiveness and credibility of their ministry depends upon it.

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LISTENERS, LEARNERS

Third, priests must be listeners, learners and collaborators. They must be attentive to the Scriptures, to the teaching of the Church, to their people and, above all, to their own pastoral heart.

We are living in an age of upheaval, turmoil and confusion; a time when people are experiencing much anxiety, uncertainty and bafflement. So many today lack a sense of rootedness in faith, and are being tossed about on the waves of narcissism, individualism, secularism and moral relativism. They are drowning in the sea of fickle fads, fashions and movements of the moment that constitute the contemporary culture.

So, when people seek out priests, or when priests seek them out, they must be prepared to listen in order to hear where the people are, what they are experiencing and what they are searching for.

As Jesus would

Priests must approach their people not as walking theology manuals, and not as spiritual gurus with pat answers and facile solutions to questions and problems they don't have, but with the pedagogy of Jesus, who invites: "Come and see"...who assures, "Do not be afraid"...who does not judge, "Has no one judged you, woman? Neither will I condemn you."

It is a pedagogy that reaches out in friendship and love; a pedagogy that enables priests to walk with people without condemning them, to liberate them without making them dependent, and to forgive them while saving them embarrassment.

Learning

Priests must also be learners. They cannot serve God's people effectively unless they are life-long learners, seeking to make the ancient word of God, and the teachings and traditions of the Church applicable and relevant to the needs of people in the contemporary milieu.

We are living in a time of immense change and complexity. People are being inundated by new technologies and by a knowledge explosion that is unprecedented in the history of civilization.

To pastor the flock, then, priests must seek to understand the language people speak; the cultural, social and political forces which are shaping them; and how to make the Good News resonate with their lives in ways that are fresh, attractive and alive...in ways that prick the conscience, that touch the heart and stir the soul.

That requires priests to keep abreast with what's happening in Scripture, theology and liturgy, as well as in contemporary literature, philosophy, science, sociology and psychology.

Working together

Once priests have listened to God's people and learned from them and the signs of the time, priests must be collaborators in working with them to build up the body of Christ.

Priests cannot function as Lone Rangers or as the sole ministers within the Church; they must interact with others as brothers among brothers and sisters, encouraging them, supporting them, enabling them and empowering them to fulfill their role as God's priestly people.

The priesthood exists not for itself, but for the sake of assisting the people of God to fulfill their baptismal call to holiness and ministry, so that -- enlivened by the Eucharist and the sacraments that priests celebrate -- the laity might be about the transformation of society and the world, imprinting it with the values and ideals of Jesus Christ.

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CARE OF SELF

Fourth, priests must make self-care a priority. The human task of listening, learning and collaborating can be overwhelming. It involves multi-tasking: preparing homilies, preaching, teaching, counseling, visiting hospitals and nursing homes, healing, mediating, reconciling, organizing, prioritizing, fundraising, preparing budgets, attending to broken boilers and leaking pipes, and, as Woody Allen says, "Just showing up."

If we are not careful, such demands can become exhausting and lead to workaholism or escapism; to burnout or dropout.

That is why priests must attend to their own needs, and make time for days off and vacations, for hobbies and recreation. They must spend time with family and friends, both lay and clerical -- people who love them for themselves, and not solely as their pastors or spiritual leaders; people with whom priests can be themselves, in whom they can confide and from whom they can receive honest feedback and constructive criticism.

Finding time off for leisure, and personal and familial/friendship relationships is not being self-centered or self-indulgent; rather, it is essential for being healthy, mature human beings.

Saying 'no'

In particular, priests must learn to say "no." This is especially true as their numbers become fewer, while the demands and challenges grow ever greater.

Sometimes, saying "no" is reasonable and, indeed, required: refusing to witness the marriage of a couple who walk into the rectory for the first time on a Monday evening and want to wed on the following Saturday because they booked the catering hall four months previously; or telling the leaders of the parish's senior club that it is not appropriate to sponsor a trip to Foxwoods or Turning Stone on Good Friday.

But, more often, saying "no" will be a matter of setting priorities and establishing boundaries. Priests cannot attend every wedding rehearsal dinner or every spaghetti supper sponsored by the women's guild.

Painful as it may be, priests may have to refuse to chaperon the youth group's overnight trip to New York City if it means canceling or cutting short a long-planned retreat. A priest may have to say "no" to a parishioner's invitation to attend a New Year's party when there will be too much drinking taking place.

The art of saying "no" entails learning to do so graciously and compassionately, but, equally as important, without any lingering feelings of guilt, or "could have's," "should have's" and "would have's."

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MEN OF PRAYER

Finally, of course, priests must be men of prayer. Again, in His Last Supper discourse, Jesus said to His disciples, "I no longer call you servants but friends."

Priests are called to a deep, intimate friendship with God. But such a friendship will be possible only if priests devote the time necessary to cultivate that friendship -- to share with God through prayer their innermost thoughts, feelings, hopes, fears, joys and anxieties; and to allow God to speak in the silence of their hearts.

Without prayer, priests cannot be who God wants them to be and which they themselves want to be.

Prayer at heart

The ministry of prayer is the foundational work of the priest. Canon law insists that the pastor must offer a "missa pro populo" (Mass for the people) each Sunday. The Church requires that priests pray the Liturgy of the Hours daily.

And there is nothing the priest hears more frequently than the request, "Father, please pray for me -- for an exam I'm taking...a job interview I've got coming up...for my family...for my wife who is dying...for my son who is strung out on drugs."

Priests are beseeched incessantly to pray for a myriad of intentions. Those are requests that should never be taken lightly or dismissed easily.

Prayer is what people desire most from priests -- and not only the most efficacious prayer we offer, the Eucharist, or the Liturgy of the Hours, but also their own personal prayer when they stand before the Lord as the mediator of the people and commend their needs to His mercy and love: the needs of the newly widowed...the families struggling with divorce...the troubled teenager...the laid-off worker...the homeless man who haunts the rectory each day...the catechist having a crisis of faith.

I hope that all priests will strive to integrate these five values into their lives, and that our people will pray both for priests and for vocations so that the ministry of Jesus, the eternal high priest, will grow and flourish in our day.

(This column is based on the homily Bishop Hubbard delivered at the priesthood ordinations that were held in June at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany.)

(7/12/07)