Resist him, firm in your faith
1 Peter 5:9
There was a French tightrope walker named Charles Blondin.[1] He was able to do incredible tricks on the tightrope. All throughout Paris he performed his acrobatic acts at great heights, which both entertained and frightened his spectators. He performed act after act, doing acrobatics with his eyes closed on the tightrope, and even crossing from one end of the tightrope to the other, pushing a wheelbarrow while blindfolded. An American theater owner and entrepreneur, William Niblo, read about Blondin in the newspapers and wrote a letter to him saying: “Mr. Tightrope Walker, I don’t believe that you can do it, but I am willing to make you an offer. For a considerable sum of money, in addition to the costs of transportation, I would like to challenge you to perform your act over Niagara Falls.” To which Blondin replied: “Sir, although I have never been in America, nor seen the Falls, I would love to go.” So, after lots of promotion by Niblo and having made all the necessary preparations over Niagara Falls, many people gathered to witness the spectacle. The tightrope walker was to start from the Canadian side of the falls and walk towards the American side. The drums started to sound, and he advanced on the tightrope which was 340 meters (1115 ft) long, suspended 49 meters (160 ft) over a dangerous part of the waterfalls, and all this while blindfolded! Blondin crossed to the other side without a problem on June 30, 1859. The crowds went wild, and the tightrope walker went up to the theater owner and asked him: “So, now do you believe that I can do it?” “But, of course I believe! I just saw it!” “No,” Blondin said, “you, do you really believe that I can do it?” “Yes! Of course I believe it, you just did it!” “No, no, no,” the tightrope walker went on, “Do you truly believe that I can do it?” “Yes,” said the entrepreneur, “I believe that you can do it.” “Very good, then,” replied Blondin, “get into the wheelbarrow.”
In Greek to believe means “that which one lives for,” that is, it should be the driving force which directs our actions, decisions, and ultimately, our overall conduct as well as the smallest details, because faith without works is dead[2] to the point that faith is not only “that which one lives for” but also “that which one dies for.”
Nevertheless, reality shows us –and we are not exempt from this same reality– that “One of the gravest errors of our time is the dichotomy between the faith which many profess, and the practice of their daily lives”[3] as the Second Vatican Council pointed out years ago.
How many of those who claim to profess no formal religion can say what it is that they don’t believe in? It’s worth asking because, only a few years ago, many of those who said they had no faith knew what it was that they didn’t believe; nowadays, those who are without faith, don’t even know what they don’t believe in. They have abandoned all certainties, they don’t have limits, or principles, or even standards with which to judge their own agnosticism.
These days, with the pandemic, conflicts between nations, scandals and uncertainties that follow, these same people have begun to question their own doubts. The words progress, evolution, and science, which at one point motivated and gave them courage through an illusion of faith, now leave them cold.
“Faith is not that which many people believe,” Fulton Sheen said, “an emotional trust,” such as that of the American entrepreneur mentioned above. “It is not the belief that something will happen to you, nor the will to believe even amidst difficulties. Rather, faith is the acceptance of a truth based on the authority which comes from God, who reveals that truth. And, as such, it presupposes reason.”[4] It is in this sense that our proper law notes that “faith itself cannot do without reason or the effort to ponder over the contents of faith.”[5]
Hence, we can note that the condition for converting to Catholicism and persevering in it is the total, complete, and absolute submission to the authority of Christ and his prolongation in the Church. Therefore, “a Catholic can be defined as someone who made the incredible discovery that God knows more than he does.”[6]
Faith is related to reason as the telescope is to the eye, as it does not destroy vision, but opens it up to new worlds which were otherwise hidden as if by a veil. And because faith is a virtue, it is a habit –not acquired, like that of swimming, but one infused by God at the moment of Baptism– and it grows with practice: that is, God makes it grow by means of our exercising it, which disposes for its increase. And even if faith is a gift from God, it doesn’t work alone: we have to freely move our will in each act of faith. Our ideal is to get to the point in its practice where, like our Lord on the Cross, we give witness to God even in the midst of the abandonment and agony of a crucifixion. That is “the spirit of faith and love with which all our members should live the mystery of the Incarnate Word.”[7]
“We are called to be men of faith who should bring our brethren to, and strengthen them in, the faith.”[8] That is who we are. For this reason, it seemed fitting to us to dedicate these pages to the crucial topic of the faith of the priest and religious, who has to repeatedly endure the crucible of arduous trials, and who at other times finds himself shaken, weakened, questioned, and who runs the risk of falling prisoner to routine, becoming too rigid or even, God forbid, reaching breaking point. Faith is essential to being saints and to evangelize culture, and without it, our missionary work, as praiseworthy as it may seem, would be nothing more than just that: a great work, but without soul, without merits, and without strong roots.
1. Faith
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the virtue of faith in the following way: “Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith ‘man freely commits his entire self to God.’[9] For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God’s will.”[10] Now, in the priest, the virtue of faith takes on a particular specificity.
In today’s world there is an alarming decrease in faith. Fulton Sheen, decades ago speaking of his own country (although we believe that it is something that can be applied to many countries) said: “The principle cause for the decline in religion in America is the irrational and unfounded character of belief. Unless the foundation is solid, the superstructure will also quickly wobble and fall. Carry out this experiment and ask those who call themselves Christians why they believe, and the majority of them will find themselves incapable of giving a reason.”[11] That is why it’s almost natural to recall the phrase of the Incarnate Word: When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?[12] Of course this isn’t a new problem. Already in the 19th Century, Kierkegaard was able to write: “For a long time now there is not enough faith in the world, and that is the reason why faith does not move the world.”
Now, if the life of faith is far from being vigorous in our contemporaries, it should at least shine forth in priests, called as we are “to live, believe, and communicate the Christian faith,”[13] that is, called to “being witnesses,”[14] to be teachers when the time comes to not “lose sight of the eminently supernatural character of the faith and of the Christian life.”[15]
For this reason Saint Paul said: This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.[16] Being “faithful” means being a man of faith. What people expect of us is “fidelity.” We will only be capable of offering such a witness if we are men of faith. Years ago now, Cardinal Ratzinger affirmed: “The world is thirsty for knowledge, not of our ecclesial problems, but the fire that Jesus came to bring to earth.”[17]
As members of the Institute, which prides itself in having as a ‘non-negotiable’ element related to the charism that of having a providential vision of life, we should not limit ourselves to seeing only errors and dangers. Certainly, neither can we ignore the negative or problematic aspects, but we should make the effort to immediately seek out the ways of faith and of hope.
“In the heart of a changing world –said John Paul II– in which unheard-of injustices and sufferings persist and are worsening, you are called to give a Christian interpretation [thus, one of faith] to events and to historical and cultural phenomena. In particular, you must be harbingers of light and hope in contemporary society. Do not let yourselves be deceived by ingenuous optimism, but remain faithful witnesses of a God who certainly loves this humanity and offers it the necessary grace to work effectively building a better world, more just and more respectful of the dignity of every human being. The challenge to the faith of contemporary culture seems precisely this: to give up the facile tendency to paint dark and negative scenes, in order to mark out possible paths that are not deceptive, of redemption, liberation and hope.”[18]
▪ The faith of a priest
While faith is proper of every baptized person, priestly faith is to be distinguished from the faith common to all Christians.
You all know well that by virtue of the sacramental grace that the priest receives together with the sacramental character, there is a sort of modification of sanctifying grace, by which the newly ordained becomes able to act as “another Christ”, that is he is “enabled” for the moral configuration with Christ through the imitation of His virtues, being likeminded with Him.[19]
It is clear as day that the priest, whoever he is, and whether he exercises his ministry in the jungles of an island, in the silence of a cloister, prostrate on a sickbed or running through rural towns or big cities, needs a faith far beyond ordinary to be up to the task of such an elevated mission. The faith of the priest, which is inserted into that of the ordinary faithful, is preeminently directed towards the mysteries that the priest celebrates, and it is united with the personal gift of self to the Lord which delights in utilizing faith for the glory of God and the sanctification of men.
Archbishop Adolfo Tortolo once affirmed: “As priests, we are born of a mystery of faith, we are a mystery of faith, and we should be perennial witnesses of the Faith. Faith encompasses us, it penetrates us, it nourishes us. A priestly life without faith would be a true contradiction. A priest who did not live by faith would become incomprehensible, even to himself. And, in addition, he would be entirely disappointed in his vocation, of which he would only experiment the sensible privations without enjoying, as a counterpart, the immense supernatural riches it entails.”[20]
Referring to such priests Saint John Paul II said the following in Luxemburg in 1985, addressing the clergy: “We cannot deny that there are many brothers who feel insecure in their priesthood.[21] The evolution of numerous aspects regarding people’s mindsets and among social structures makes it such that there arises in many of you the self-questioning of whether or not you are in the right place or if your priesthood will continue to have meaning. That uncertainty is increased even more so due to the terrible question of who will continue the work when priestly vocations are so scarce; a worry for the future which weighs all of us down. In response to these interior tensions one can react, for example, by going to the extremes of being overly rigid or overly permissive, being disillusioned or being resigned, limiting oneself to the bare minimum in the routine exercise of the priestly mission.
From a human perspective, these forms of behaving might be understandable. But the response which is in keeping with our priesthood is an entirely different one: faith in the Lord, present even in our days; trust in his word: Cast your nets, words that have a special meaning for us priests. It is also important that we be men of firm faith. Let us remember what Jesus said to Peter shortly before going out to the Mount of Olives: Simon…I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren.[22] This is not a function which only belongs to Peter; it is also the task of every single priest before his brothers in the priesthood and before the faithful to whom he has been sent. Faith fortified by the fire of trials and reconciled in forgiveness is a force that even in our days is capable of moving mountains. That faith encourages us to go time and time again with a missionary spirit in search of the lost sheep. With such a faith, our life follows the way of Christ, dead and risen; only in Christ does our priestly existence find its meaning and its mission.”[23]
Faith is everything for a priest, it rules his life, it gives him the principles which serve as a guide when he needs to act, decide, and enlighten; it puts him in lively contact with that indissoluble union which exists between him and the Incarnate Word, as taught by the Magisterium of the Church: there is a “specific ontological bond which unites the priesthood to Christ the high priest and good shepherd.”[24]
For this reason our priesthood can only come to fulfillment and endure if it is rooted in the Paschal mystery. The determining element of our priesthood is not earthly success, but rather the law of the grain of wheat which needs to fall to the ground and die so as to bear fruit.[25] As such, the mystery of redemption should be the central theme of our lives. The message of salvation, which the priest is entrusted to proclaim so that all who hear it might believe in it, should be the favored topic of his preaching. And for that to happen, he must first intensely believe in that message himself.
Priestly faith is directed before all else to the Person of Jesus Christ. That is why our Constitutions say that in order that the effects of redemption might come down upon souls: “it is absolutely essential to be united with His Person.”[26] It follows that the devotion a priest should have towards Christ must be centered on the Incarnate Word as God and Savior and as the one and only Mediator of salvation. A minister of Christ, called to become like him both in his interior life as well as his outward ministry and to live intimately united to Him, should possess in his heart a living faith in the mystery of the Incarnate Word and Redeemer. Faith will make his encounter with Christ a continual one, and the encounter with Christ will necessarily transform him. In other words: faith moves us to live in “a holy familiarity with the Word made flesh.”[27]
2. The ‘avatars’ of the faith of a priest
As we mentioned a few paragraphs ago, and as our proper law also reminds us: “By faith man freely commits his entire self to God.”[28] That said, that gift of self is continued, ever renewed, progressive, and implies a supernatural contact which can always be more greatly intensified.
This is seen simply by bringing to mind the call of the apostles. From the moment of the first calling they were won over by Jesus. We have found the Messiah,[29] they said, full of joy. That was already an act of faith. Nevertheless, that faith was just the beginning and continued to grow as they grew in intimacy with Christ, and only after having passed through the scandal of the cross did their faith flourish into a full configuration with Christ through martyrdom.
So too, the faith of a priest should normally increase with the passing of time.
Now, in this process of the growth and intensification of faith, there will be numerous battles to face; battles that can be summed up as fighting to safeguard not only the deposit of faith, but also always maintaining that deposit of faith in our own thoughts, notwithstanding the numerous contradictions with what is fashionable, as well as remaining faithful to the commitments we have taken on. That is, fidelity to our priestly character, fidelity to our mission, fidelity to the Truth, fidelity to our priestly role in the Church, fidelity to the charism of the Institute in which we have been consecrated to God.
We don’t have to look too far to figure out that maintaining this fidelity is not an easy task. The enemy of our souls, the spirit of the world and our own misery are always attacking to weaken, numb, and strike the death blow to this very fidelity. One of the most common obstacles for the intensification of our faith, especially when one has been a priest for several years, is routine which becomes like a moth in regard to our priestly faith. Routine in ministry is what most often paralyzes our faith or leaves it dormant. That is why we must always ask –as our proper law so eloquently teaches– “spiritual fervor, the joy of evangelizing, even when we have to sow among tears.”[30] And not only do we have to ask for this grace, but we have to dispose ourselves for it, striving to work against falling into routine. Let us not forget that, as Saint John Paul II often repeated “faith is strengthened when it is given to others!” and we must have initiative and incentives so that faith might reach as many souls and in the best way possible. And for that to happen, we must sacrifice ourselves.
Likewise, it is of the utmost importance to continually nourish ourselves from the riches of our faith so that the joy that is proper to it might not be compromised in moments of difficulty, dryness, or sufferings. Our faith is not some type of deposit which can be owned and conserved without any effort, independent of one’s will, nor is it immune to adverse circumstances or the environment in which we live. Rather, it is a treasure that we have to protect, defend, and share with everyone.
In this battle to remain firm in the faith[31] we should not be frightened by trials, because they are a part of the program. Too often, those trials, which God as a loving Father not only permits but even directly wills for us, place us in crisis, leaving us in the dilemma that the American entrepreneur from the anecdote faced: either we turn and run, or we make the act of faith.
That is one side of it. Regarding another aspect, we would like to warn about one of the obstacles that can come to us from the enemy of our souls, and which is an highly effective obstacle along our journey of faith, and that is, discouragement.
The Magisterium of the Church points this out: “Having before our eyes the joys of the priestly life, this holy synod cannot at the same time overlook the difficulties which priests experience in the circumstances of contemporary life. […] the new obstacles which oppose the faith, the seeming unproductivity of work done, the bitter loneliness which men experience can lead them to the danger of becoming spiritually discouraged.”[32]
Discouragement is a powerful weapon in the hands of the devil.[33] Discouragement, if it ends up invading us and insistingly stays with us, can detain us or paralyze us on our path towards God. Christ himself warned about this to St. Faustina: “My child, know that the greatest obstacles to holiness are discouragement and an exaggerated anxiety. These will deprive you of the ability to practice virtue.”[34]
This strategy of the evil one is particularly insidious because at times the hand of the devil is not so easily perceived, just as it is not obvious that we are growing apart from God. There are many situations, states of soul, particular circumstances and snares of the devil which can lead the soul to being discouraged. To some souls he shows them all their defects and ineptness to leave them entirely paralyzed: to these souls he insinuates how the soul is not perfectly ordered in its thoughts, its inclinations, its affections, so there must not be any spiritual progress. In fact, the devil denies the pilgrim character of our lives. He falsely establishes this norm: either total progress or none at all. The message of the malignant one in this case is that there is no future, there is no potential along this path. Consequently, he paralyzes us, he immobilizes us, and we can give in to the most overwhelming discouragement.
In other souls, discouragement comes from weariness. The tempting aspect comes into this physical weariness when the devil takes hold of being tired and uses it to tell us that we should give up doing what we are called to do: sit down to hear confessions before Mass, study as a part of ongoing formation, persevere in prayer in spite of times of great dryness, carry out enthusiastically our apostolates, follow good initiatives… In other words, the devil seeks to push the soul towards being disheartened and a state of discouragement such that abandoning his commitments (religious vows, activities proper to our ministry) and the mission that has been entrusted to him is only a step away.
We must recognize that the devil likes to exploit our tiredness for the duration of the trial as if it were a mine of discouragement, of burden, frustration, seeking to put a stop to our initiatives, filling our path with uncertainties, planting throughout our days and nights temptations of the future while in the depths of our soul rings out the cry of: How long, Lord, how long?
Another way that discouragement works in our lives is by feeling overwhelmed. The soul experiences a sort of helplessness, for example, when a certain combination of circumstances (apostolate, health, family, community, lack of time, whatever it might be) seem to work together to confound us and keep us weighed down. Certainly, all these things create a perfect breeding ground for discouragement. The devil knows this and of course wants to lead us to the point of ‘breaking free’ from all of that making us feel powerless and exhausted in the face of the demands and requirements of our priestly ministry.
Discouragement can also come from intimidation, that is, as an effect of persecution, hostility, scandals within the Church, and from all those circumstances that can become intimidating and leave us unstable. Take note that the devil works on both sides, on the persecutors and on the persecuted. In the persecutors encouraging them on to persecution; in the persecuted, he tempts with discouragement. He does not want our faith to be proclaimed, nor does he want Christ to be praised throughout all the ends of the earth: he wants to make missionaries stray away from the sublime task of the salvation of souls, he wants to cause division and disperse missionaries.
Lastly, we can also mention here how the devil plants seeds of discouragement upon considering our ineffectiveness in bringing about change. Pay attention, following what we have said until now, that discouragement especially attacks those persons who have great ideals and who want to do something good. Precisely because they know what could come to be and they perceive some potential for the future, the failure in the achievement of those aspirations leads them to be greatly discouraged. It happens to those who serve the poor, who see that poverty doesn’t end in spite of their continuous efforts; consequently, as they are not bringing about an effective change, possibility turns into impossibility and discouragement arises.
We, religious, are especially inclined to this type of discouragement. Because it often happens that the results which we can hope for from our pastoral work do not reach the full heights of our expectations. But we have to realize how one plants the seed and it might take a long time and much patience until some fruit is seen: it depends on God. Blessed Charles de Foucauld (who will soon be canonized), for example, died in 1916 at the hands of some rebels from the same tribe which he had gone to serve. He apparently had very few apostolic fruits during his lifetime, but he remained faithful to his commitment. He stayed in his ‘little Nazareth’ in the Sahara desert serving those souls that God had entrusted to him. And of course, he was also tempted to disenchantment, but pay attention to his response: “One seems so miserable even after having received so many blessings. Nevertheless, we should not be saddened but rather look above all to our Beloved Lord… Hope is an obligation –because charity hopes all things– hope is nothing other than faith in the goodness of God.”[35] In another place he says: “we have to work continuously, without getting discouraged, against ourselves, the world, and the devil even to the end of time. Work, pray, and suffer, this is our method.”[36] We could also add being greatly devoted to the Blessed Virgin, without whom the work of evangelization is impossible for us.
Certainly there are many and diverse ways in which our faith can be tried because as our proper law wisely points out to us “only God knows…the hidden means which need to be moved in order to bring us to heaven.”[37] We must not be frightened. The faith of the apostles was also put to the test on many varying occasions, but above all before the spectacle of the cross. Our faith also, even if we are priests, will always have a character of trial. Let us not forget that we are a part of the Church militant. The exercise of the priesthood is a continuous exercise of faith: believing in the presence of Christ beyond the poverty of the sacramental signs, believing in the Kingship of Christ in spite of the unworthiness of his representatives on earth. For the very reason that we are more closely united to the ministry of the Church, we know the misery of men much better than do most of the faithful, and in this sense our act of faith become all the more heroic, more bare, more independent of the human foundations, and therefore, it involves greater renunciations.
Well aware of this, Saint John Paul II on his visit to Argentina in 1982, in a cathedral in Buenos Aires full of priests and religious said: “The guarantee of the ecclesial character of our life is our union with the bishop and with the Pope. Such union, faithfully and continuously renewed, can at times be difficult and even often implies renunciation and sacrifice. But do not hesitate to accept both one and the other when it is necessary. This is the ‘price,’ the ‘ransom’[38] which the Lord asks of you, for Him and with Him, for the good of the multitude as well as for your own good.”[39]
This test of faith which we have been speaking of, at times highlighted amidst scandals within the Church, existed, exists, and will exist until the end of time for all priests throughout history. But it might be even more difficult for priests of our times who have to exercise their ministry in an environment which is often de-Christianized or agnostic. These days, “the ministers of the Church and sometimes the faithful themselves feel like strangers in this world, anxiously looking for the ways and words with which to communicate with it.”[40] Ideological and practical materialism and hedonism have invaded everything, and are imposed upon the peoples through social media and mass communication. Therefore, we shouldn’t be surprised that our message of conversion is not always well received or if it does not seem to leave a mark on souls. That is why the first thing, the most important thing that is asked of a priest is that he remain firm in his faith, that he valiantly resist being infected by worldly criteria. Do not be conformed to this world,[41] as Saint Paul said. The world is not that which should “conform” the priest; but, on the contrary, the priest should “conform” the world, giving it a coherent conformation according to the spirit of the Gospel. For, that is why he is in the world, that is why he is a priest. And, secondly, we should keep doing all that is within our reach to present the Truth, Church teaching, and the Word of God with the greatest efficacy possible. Without ever getting discouraged! The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how.[42] “To spend your lives in the service of the People of God, through word and sacrament: this is your great task,” our Spiritual Father paternally affirmed, “your glory, and your treasure.”[43]
Faced with the apparent victory of the world –of the spirit of the world– the priest will affirm his conviction that by means of his fragile hands a divine, supernatural power comes through, capable of pulverizing the entire world, a world which is, regardless of appearances, ultimately empty and superficial; he will affirm his conviction that he holds in his hands the sling capable of bringing down the giant Goliath. He will have to remember the example of Saint Paul, who was never ashamed of the Gospel[44] and said I know whom I have believed.[45] He should repeat the phrase of the beloved disciple: This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.[46] Before a world who rejects him, who tries to seclude him, who considers him as a fool, the priest’s faith must be heroic, in order that he not renounce, not resign, not let up, not give into the temptation to get comfortable with the world, to serve two masters. Only then can he say, when the moment of his death arrives: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.[47]
Faith assures us that the last word is that of God’s victory.
3. The qualities of the faith of a priest
From what we have said until this point, we can see how the faith of a priest should be much more perfect than that of the lay faithful. And in our particular case –as priests of our dear Institute– our proper law lists in particular characteristics of our faith as taught by the Virgin Mother of God: living, firm, unshaken, eminent, heroic, convinced, in absolute harmony with the doctrine proposed by the Catholic Church, penetrating, triumphant over the world and over evil, capable of building great things, that illuminates life, one that strengthens, encourages, comforts and casts out fear.[48]
That is to say, it is neither the world nor unmortified sensibility that should be the source of the priest’s criteria, but rather he should do what he ought to, because he has been called to be pleasing not to the world but to God, such that whatever the task, he is to work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men.[49]
Fr. Alfredo Sáenz affirmed that there should be three qualities that mark the faith of a priest: it should be solid through its firmness, enlightened by its depth, and operative by its radiance.
▪ Solid
“We priests have been called not only to live by faith but also to serve as points of reference for the faith of our people, ‘being courageous witnesses to the truth taught by the Church, so that Christians might not be carried away by all sorts of teaching.’[50] Our faith should be as pure as a lily, but as strong as an oak tree. Upon the solid foundation of our faith the faith of the people who have been entrusted to us will be built up.”[51] And we should remain united in the firmness of the truth which rests on the cornerstone who is Christ, ultimate foundation of our faith and supreme motivation of our lives. “We cannot be like those whom the apostle bashed who will listen to anybody and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth.[52] Before being Pope, John Paul I said: ‘Truth is not a hare behind whom one runs but never catches.’ A priest who does not live based on certainties, but who is always testing the path or mixing his faith with human subtleties will end up weakening the faith of his flock.”[53]
“There is nothing more compromising than faith. To believe means to give of oneself, without reserve. ‘For that reason –writes Abp. Adolfo Tortolo– half-hearted faith, just like superficiality in faith, are states which are in themselves anomalies, which are contradictory, destructive, and sterilizing.’ The robustness of our faith is in close relation with the integrity of our faith. […] John Paul II said it with his characteristic clarity: ‘Your people, simple yet intelligent, await from you that integral preaching of the Catholic faith, sown with full hands in the fertile ground of faith that is traditional and welcoming, a popular piety which, although always in need of evangelization, is a field furrowed by the Spirit to receive that same evangelization and catechesis.
The painful circumstances which your countries are undergoing, do they not demand an intensification of that work of sowing? Do not the people ask for reasons to believe and to hope, motives to love and to build up, which can only come from Christ and his Church?
Therefore, do not deceive the Lord’s poor who seek the bread of the Gospel, the solid nourishment of the sure and integral Catholic faith, so that they know how to discern and to choose when faced with other preaching and ideologies which are not in keeping with the message of Jesus Christ and his Church’[54] […] ‘The people who have been entrusted to you look to you to have solid certainties, words which do not pass away, values which are absolute. God is the only thing that is sure…My dear brothers, I beg you to defend that faith, to nourish it and reenforce it each day. You all are the ‘professionals’ when it comes to faith, the specialists of God. […] May the snare of doubt not get to you, nor may exhaustion or disenchantment cast shadows over the freshness of the self-gift that your priestly vocation demands of you.’[55]”[56]
This is what is asked of us: that we be strong in the faith.[57]
▪ Enlightened
Enlightened because it is a faith which is illustrated, theological, and capable of illuminating. For this reason, “The portrait of the Catholic priest […] would be unfinished were we to omit another most important feature, learning. This the Church requires of him; for the Catholic priest is set up as a ‘Master in Israel’; he has received from Jesus Christ the office and commission of teaching truth: Who could ever utter a word in praise of sacerdotal learning more weighty than that which divine Wisdom itself once spoke by the mouth of Hosea: Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee that thou shalt not do the office of priesthood to Me.[58]”[59] If this can be said of every Catholic priest, how much more can it be said of us, who have been entrusted with the work of evangelization of culture which of itself “demands a faith on the part of responsible Christians that is illumined by continual reflection when confronted with the sources of the Church’s message, and a continual spiritual discernment pursued in prayer.”[60]
From there we see the necessity of being well formed doctrinally, never thinking ourselves to be done with intellectual formation. As a matter of fact, Presbyterorum Ordinis, in number 19, exhorts us to remember that during the rite of ordination the bishop recommends that the priests be “mature in learning,” because “piety without the truth is weak, and the truth without piety is arid and dry.”[61]
It is a reality that often times our study of the faith remains somewhat on the sidelines of our interior and personal life. How often do we see priests who live in constant contact with the mysteries of the faith, but don’t think about them, nor bother to go ever deeper into those mysteries? How many priests spend their lives surrounded by divine realities: on the altar, in the confessional, at the pulpit, preaching Exercises, being in touch in a permanent way with the supernatural world, but because their faith is not enlightened nor does it have theological roots, live hungry in the midst of an abundance.
▪ Operative
Enlightened faith does not stay idle nor remain sterile. It becomes operative. It is like a lit ember which irradiates light and heat. The faith of a priest is put into action when it is capable of irradiating the truth and expelling error.
In this sense, our first duty should always be the proclamation of the truth. Saint John Paul II, in a discourse to a group of seminarians, which seems like it could be directed to a group of our religious, said: “You must prepare yourselves to be able to illuminate in a Christian fashion the human situations of our times, above all in the areas of basic human rights, the family, among the youth, in the ideological and cultural spheres, etc., until having imbued the neurological centers of our society with the Gospel.”[62]
The great love for truth which we should profess implies, as a counterpart, combatting error with all our strength in a world that believes that error deserves the same rights as truth does among men.[63] For this reason it is characteristic of every priest of the Institute to make great efforts to be “men of suitable discernment who are rich in spirit.”[64]
Hence the fact that Saint John Paul II recommended to priests: “Sustained by the Word of God, the priest should manifest himself as a man of discernment and an authentic teacher of the faith.
Yes, he should be, above all in our times, a man of discernment. And this is so because, as we all know, the modern world has achieved great progress in the fields of learning and the promotion of man, but is also inundated by a great number of ideologies and pseudo-values that, by means of false language, are too often capable of seducing and confusing many of our contemporaries. We must not only know how not to give into them, which is more than evident, but the role of Pastors is also to form the Christian judgment of the faithful[65] so that they too might be capable of setting themselves apart from the cunning fascination of these new ‘idols’.”[66]
Along the same lines, Pope Pius XI mentioned in his writings: “It is the priest’s task to clear away from men’s minds the mass of prejudices and misunderstandings which hostile adversaries have piled up; the modern mind is eager for the truth, and the priest should be able to point it out with serene frankness; there are souls still hesitating, distressed by doubts, and the priest should inspire courage and trust, and guide them with calm security to the safe port of faith, faith accepted by both head and heart; error makes its onslaughts, arrogant and persistent, and the priest should know how to meet them with a defense vigorous and active, yet solid and unruffled.”[67]
When the faith of a priest is solid, enlightened, and operative, then it will become communicative and conquering, with the overwhelming strength which is proper of deeply rooted conviction.
“The good priest,” said Saint Manuel González, “knows well that, as long as he still has eyes which can cry, hands with which to practice mortification, and a body to afflict, he does not have the right to say that he has done all that he had to do for the souls that have been entrusted to him.”[68]
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During our journey through this vale of tears we, members of the Institute, “must follow the Most Holy Virgin’s example,”[69] especially in the exercise of the faith. The earthly existence of Mary was a journey of faith, hope, and charity, an exemplar journey of holiness, who like us knew the impulse of her fiat, the joy of the Magnificat, but also knew how to preserve her spirit of recollection amidst her daily activities and persevered in the deep night of the Passion which led to her participation in the joy of her Divine Son at the radiant dawn of the Resurrection.
“Live in a spirit of faith and hope, even if it is dark, for in that darkness God shelters the soul,”[70] as St. John of the Cross advises.
And when the trials of our faith assault the soul with all their strength, let us fly to the Heart of Jesus who from the Tabernacle says to us: “Behold I am with you…Yes, there He is. You already know who He is. He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and son of Mary, living, real, as he is in the heavens, with eyes that look to you and smile upon you; with a mouth that, without moving, speaks to you; with hands that raise up to bless you and come down to rest upon your weary head; with arms that open wide to embrace you, and above all, with a Heart crowned with forgetfulness, ingratitude, and sacrileges…and with flames of love…untiring, eternal…
So, that same Jesus Christ in his entirety with his greatness as God and his eyes, mouth, hands and Heart as man, with his virtues of a Saint, with his merits as Redeemer, with his Fatherly promises, with his Victim’s blood, is yours! Just like that, without hyperboles, without lengthy exaggerations, he is yours! And that means that when you feel weak in the face of the pressure of your enemies, you have the right to count on his omnipotence. That when men’s ingratitude or their sins lead you to tears, you have the right to lay yourself at his feet and throw your arms around his knees and beg him that, placing his blessed hands on your head, he might forgive you and forgive them. It means that, when you encounter a heart, as cold and hard as marble, who doesn’t want to convert, you have the right to take a small part of that fire of his Heart and melt that stony heart. It means that, when you sow but do not harvest, when you preach and they don’t listen to you, when you bless and they curse, you have the right to ask him for miracles of patience, humility, charity, zeal…It means, in short, that when the bitterness overcomes you and you can’t even lift your hand to bless those who have been so ungrateful, and you have cried so much that your tears have dried up, when you have no more strength, and there is not a sane part of your body left after such beatings, nor one healthy fiber of your heart from so much suffering, you have the right to ask him to carry you away…that he transport you to Heaven to live with him forever, forever…tell me, my brother, whoever you are or whatever you are suffering, would you still dare to say that you are alone?”[71]
For all of these reasons we can conclude this letter asking the grace which is expressed in the counsels of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr, which he wrote to his friend Saint Polycarp of Smyrna (also a bishop and martyr) saying: “These times demand that you strive to reach God, together with those who have been entrusted to you, as a pilot longs for good winds, and the captain, surprised by a storm, longs to reach the port. Be sober, as an athlete of God. The prize is incorruptibility and eternal life, of which existence you are also convinced… You must not be panic-stricken by those who have an air of credibility but who teach heresy. Stand your ground like an anvil under the hammer. A great athlete must suffer blows to conquer. And especially for God’s sake must we put up with everything, so that he will put up with us. Show more enthusiasm than you already do. Mark the times. Be on the alert for him who is above time, the Timeless, the Unseen, the One who became visible for our sakes, who was beyond touch and passion, yet who for our sakes became subject to suffering, and endured everything for us…Stand firm!”[72]
May the Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother obtain for us the grace to remain firm in our faith, as she did at the Foot of the Cross. So be it.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Blondin
[2] James 2:17.
[3] Gaudium et Spes, 43. Cited in Constitutions, 26.
[4] The Seven Virtues, Cited in The Cries of Jesus on the Cross, An Anthology, pg. 196.
[5] Constitutions, 220.
[6] The Seven Virtues. Cited in The Cries of Jesus on the Cross, An Anthology, pg. 196.
[7] Cf. Constitutions, 33.
[8] Constitutions, 223.
[9] Dei Verbum, 5.
[10] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1814.
[11] The Seven Virtues, Cited in The Cries of Jesus on the Cross, An Anthology, pg. 196.
[12] Lc 18:8. From here on we will loosely follow Alfredo Sáenz, In Persona Christi, pp. 97-114
[13] Constitutions, 226.
[14] Constitutions, 265.
[15] Directory of Spirituality, 120.
[16] 1 Cor 4:1-2. [“Faithful” taken from the Douay-Rheims translation]
[17] Speech during the 10th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 6 October 2001.
[18] To the participants in the World Congress of Secular Institutes, 28 August 2000.
[19] Cf. Phil 2:5.
[20] Cited by Alfredo Sáenz, In Persona Christi, pg. 99.
[21] Emphasis from original text from the Holy Father.
[22] Lc 22:31-32.
[23] To the clergy, religious and laity in Luxemburg, 16 May 1985.
[24] Pastores Dabo Vobis, 11.
[25] Cf. Jn 12:24.
[26] Constitutions, 210.
[27] Constitutions, 231.
[28] Dei Verbum, 5; cited in Directory of Spirituality, 73.
[29] Jn 1:41.
[30] Directory of Ad Gentes Missions, 144.
[31] 1 Pet 5:9.
[32] Presbyterorum Ordinis, 22. [Editor’s Translation]
[33] Cfr. Louis Cameli, The Devil You Know Not.
[34] St. Faustina’s Diary Divine Mercy in My Soul, [1488] (Dialogue between the God of mercy and the soul striving for perfection.)
[35] Blessed Charles de Foucauld, Writings Selected with an Introduction, ed. Robert Ellsberg (New York: Orbis, 1999), pp. 72-73.
[36] Ibidem.
[37] Cf. Directory of Spirituality, 67.
[38] Cf. Mk 10:45.
[39] To priests and religious in Buenos Aires, 11 June 1982.
[40] Presbyterorum Ordinis, 22.
[41] Rm 12:2.
[42] Mk 4:26-27.
[43] Saint John Paul II, To the priests and religious of Scotland, 31 May 1982.
[44] Cf. Rom 1:16.
[45] 2 Tim 1:12.
[46] 1 Jn 5:4.
[47] 2 Tim 4:7.
[48] Cf. Directory of Spirituality, 76.
[49] Cf. Col 3:23.
[50] Saint John Paul II, To priests in France, 30 May 1980.
[51] Alfredo Sáenz, In Persona Christi, p. 108.
[52] 2 Tim 3:7.
[53] Alfredo Sáenz, In Persona Christi, p. 108.
[54] Speech to priests in Central America, El Salvador 16 March 1983.
[55] Saint John Paul II, Speech to priests and religious in Bari, Italy, 11 March 1984.
[56] Alfredo Sáenz, In Persona Christi, p. 109.
[57] Cf. 1 Pet 5:9.
[58] Hos 4:6.
[59] Ad Catholici Sacerdotii, 57.
[60] Directory of Spirituality, 51.
[61] Suárez; cited by Alfredo Sáenz, In Persona Christi, Ch. 4.
[62] To a group of Spanish seminarians, 1982.
[63] Cf. Constitutions, 178.
[64] Constitutions, 268.
[65] Cf. 1 Tim 5:21; 1 Jn 4:1.
[66] Speech to priests and religious in Kinshasa, Zaire, 4 May 1980.
[67] Ad Catholici Sacerdotii, 57.
[68] El Rosario Sacerdotal, 2479. [Editor’s translation]
[69] Directory of Spirituality, 76.
[70] Epistolary, Letter 20 to a scrupulous Discalced Carmelite for Pentecost of 1590.
[71] Saint Manuel González, Lo que puede un cura hoy, 1639. [Editor’s translation]
[72] Chpts 1, 1-4, 3. [Editor’s Translation]
