Rome, Italy, March 1, 2018.

“Above all, the priest should be a father”

Constitutions, 119

Dear Fathers, Brothers, Seminarians, and Novices,

A little over a month ago, we celebrated the feast of Saint John Bosco, priest, patron saint of our Oratories, and distinguished inspiration of many pages of our proper law. His biographers write about him one of his alumni, Felix Reviglio, once asked him: “Don Bosco, tell us: How can we repay you for all that you have done and suffered for us?” To which the saint replied: “Always call me father, and you will make me happy.”

Whoever reads his writings will not take long to be convinced that each page allows one to see “a father who gives free reign to his paternal sentiments while he speaks to his beloved sons, to whom he completely opens his heart to fulfill their petition and to instruct them in the practice of virtue.”

Motivated by his example and hoping to reach you all with words of exhortation and affective encouragement, I thought it convenient to dedicate this circular letter to the topic of priestly fatherhood. 

1. Participation in the divine paternity

Fray Luis of Leon in his books “The names of Christ” wrote: “by the force of the correlative terms which respond with one another, it follows very clearly that where there is birth, there is a son, and where there is a son, there is also a father. In such a way that if the faithful, being born again [according to the words of Christ to Nicodemus: Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again from above] we begin to be new children, we necessarily have a new Father whose virtue generates us; whose Father is Christ. And for this reason, is called Father-Forever  because he is the original principle of this blessed generation and secondly of the innumerable multitude of descendants which are born through it.”

And for this reason, Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen said that the be fertile and multiply of Genesis is a law which applies to priestly life just as it does to the biological life. And he goes on to say: “God hates sterility. He punishes disobedience with barrenness. When He promises His people a blessing, it is expressed in terms of fecundity. There shall be no unfruitfulness in the land. But the one who has no spiritual children is under a curse. Only those who walk with the Lord and yield to the Spirit are gifted with fruitfulness.”

In fact, fecundity, generation and being fruitful mark the teachings of our faith and the entire life of the Church.  In an analogous way to how God generated his Only-Begotten Son, and countless adopted children through grace, as well as how the Most Holy Virgin conceived not only Christ, but also his members—all those other children who would later on be entrusted to her on Calvary in the person of John, so too the Apostles knew how to generate spiritual children and we should do the same thing. 

Saint Paul, for example, describes converts as the fruit of his apostolic sowing: for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. And writing to St. Timothy he calls him my true child in faith.

Similarly, the Apostle James assures us that God has generated us in the truth, as he says: He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

John emphasizes the theme of redemption reminding us that physical generation is as nothing compared with the spiritual generation through grace: who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

Hence, speaking of spiritual paternity means, before all else, speaking about the mystery of the person of God the Father, from whom comes forth all being and from whom each of us has proceeded. Each of us who, at one point didn’t exist, and at another given moment, were brought into existence.  Therefore, all paternity, which strives to imitate that of God, is a paternity which brings to being and accompanies, which solicits, values, and safeguards the freedom of the other. 

Spiritual fatherhood is not exclusively reserved to priests, but it can also be carried out by any religious.  In fact, our proper law mentions how our missionary religious brothers should translate “their consecration of poverty, chastity, and obedience for the Kingdom in abundant fruits of fatherhood according to the Spirit.”

Therefore, we can affirm that our spiritual fatherhood is also “a singular sharing in God’s fatherhood.” For this reason, there is no manner more appropriate by which one should address a priest than that of calling him “father,” for it emphasizes the intimate relation between the priest and God the Father, He from whom every father on heaven and earth is named.

We, by being priests, take on “the obligation of perfect continence observed in celibacy,” not because procreation according to the flesh is something evil, but because we want to be “the man for others.” Pope Pius XII said “by this law of celibacy the priest not only does not abdicate his paternity, but increases it immensely, for he begets not for an earthly and transitory life but for the heavenly and eternal one.”

“It can be said that we renounce fatherhood ‘according to the flesh,’ in order that there may grow and develop in us fatherhood ‘according to the Spirit’, which, as has already been said, possesses at the same time maternal characteristics,” with this last aspect being related to “pain in childbirth close to all of us in the many situations in which we too are involved in the spiritual process of man’s ‘generation’ and ‘regeneration’ by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Giver of life.”

The undivided love for Christ is the motive for which “we freely renounce marriage, in order to be better dedicate ourselves with greater ease and more completely to the salvation of our neighbors.” Our religious find in their love of Christ the ultimate reason for consuming their lives serving the poor and sick, associating themselves with disgraces and sufferings, being affected in a paternal way with each one of them. “It is that very love, which carries the religious, especially those in the contemplative life, to offer not only their prayers and supplications to God for the salvation of their brothers, but also the very oblation of themselves.”

This is why the pastoral vocation of priests is great, because it “is directed towards the entire Church,” and it is, consequently, also missionary. Saint John Paul II in one of his letters to priests told us: “if one of you doubts the meaning of his priesthood, if he thinks it is ‘socially’ fruitless or useless, reflect on this!”

In one of the passages which I find to be most charitably exhortative, our Constitutions say: “Above all, the priest should be a father, because he generates children through the cross, by prayer, apostolic zeal and preaching.”

It is understood, then, that this spiritual fatherhood of which we are speaking is not founded on the bonds of flesh and blood, but on the sacred bond of charity, and for this reason, it is a more powerful union, to such a point that, in regard to the participation of the beatitude of charity, “ but as regards the participation of happiness, our neighbor’s soul is more closely associated with our own soul, than even our own body is.” All that a priest does is similar to that which a natural father does in generating, aiding in growth and educating his offspring, protecting them, giving them the proper nourishment at all times. 

With an eloquent pen, Saint John of Avila expressed this truth saying: “Of such an art, I know no book, word, painting, nor similarity which so well brings one to the knowledge of God with men as this attentive and strong love which He places in a son of his with other men, as strange as they may be; and do I say strange! Love them even if you are unloved; seek life for them, although they seek death; love them more intensely in the good sot that no man, as obstinate and hardened as he may be with others, be unloving in that which is evil. God is stronger than sin; and for this reason, he places a greater love in spiritual fathers than the lack of love which sin can instill in bad sons. Here in lies the reason why we love more those who we generate through the Gospel than those which nature and flesh engender, because it is stronger than they, and grace is stronger than flesh.”

I would like to pause to consider the mode of generation “through the cross, by prayer, apostolic zeal and preaching” which our Constitutions explicitly list in detail and of that which our proper law echoes regarding these themes on various occasions. 

-Through the cross: That is to say, through “the cross of the humility of reason in the face of mystery; the cross of the will in the faithful fulfillment of all moral, natural, and revealed law; the cross of one’s own arduous, and at times less than gratifying, duty; the cross of patience in illness and in everyday difficulties; the cross of the tireless zeal to respond to our own vocation; and the cross of the struggle against the passions and attacks of evil.” In a “true holocaust of oneself” 

for he who truly wants to be a father “must die to himself in everything so that his child may live.”  Exercising our priestly paternity according to the model of the Incarnate Word, that is, according to the condition of a servant which is “manifested in the solicitous accompaniment, at the same time being respectful and discrete towards the other’s personal growth,” “consoling and having compassion towards the miseries of his sons as Christ, who for our salvation took on human nature becoming similar to us in all things but sin.” “It deals with a very delicate and even fatiguing work,” our proper law admits, “which demands painstaking preparation and psychological sensibility; nevertheless, it is absolutely necessary.”  

“At the cost of tears and offering of one’s life, God gives children to those who are truly fathers, and not one time, but many times they offer their lives so that God might grant life to their children, as natural fathers tend to do.”

-By prayer: “What constant and courageous praying he must do to God, begging that his child not die!!”  Prayer is so necessary that it should even precede all dealings with spiritual children as our proper law teaches us so well: “It is precisely prayer which permits one to turn better towards the service of men; because prayer permits one to encounter God in his neighbor.” Furthermore, we are reminded that “we must pray for them.” And as our priestly fatherhood implies being “open to the needs of the Church and the world, with concern for those farthest away, and especially for the non-Christian groups in their own area. They should have at heart, in their prayers and particularly at the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the concern of the whole Church for all of humanity.”

-By apostolic zeal: Each of us “like the incarnate and crucified Word, we must have “thirst for souls.” We must concretely love the man who is materially or spiritually needy.” Therefore, “A thirst for souls must be part of the vocation from the very beginning of religious life that gradually and prudently cements itself in the life of the candidate, the novice, and the professed.” 

Our proper law brings us to face this reality: “The number of those who do not yet know Christ nor form part of his Church grows constantly.” For this reason the words that Pope Pius XI wrote to priests are so actual: “The Good Shepherd said: And other sheep I have that are not of this fold; them also I must bring; and again, See the countries for they are white already to the harvest. How can a priest meditate upon these words and not feel his heart enkindled with yearning to lead souls to the Heart of the Good Shepherd? How can he fail to offer himself to the Lord of the harvest for unremitting toil? Our Lord saw the multitudes lying like sheep that have no shepherd. Such multitudes are to be seen today not only in the far distant lands of the missions, but also, alas! in countries which have been Christian for centuries. How can a priest see such multitudes and not feel deeply within himself an echo of that divine pity which so often moved the Heart of the Son of God?”

This “zeal for souls” which is expected of us and which is inspired in us by the very charity of Christ should then be translated into attention, tenderness, compassion, welcoming, disposition, interest in the people’s problems,” etc.  In one word, to lay down our lives for our brothers, in imitation of the Incarnate Word. 

It seems important for me to point out in this point that which our Directory of Works of Mercy says in speaking of the ardent zeal which is asked of us: “All apostolic work needs men who consecrate themselves entirely to it.  Even when one has all the material means, if he does not have one man who assumes the responsibility in its execution, who carries it out with zeal and who seeks to give his entire life to the work, it will be very difficult to make the work grow, and even more difficult to make it last.  Every work or collective endeavor needs a man to take on the work as his own life. A man who, day and night, working, going out, eating, playing, and even dreaming becomes that very work and nothing more than it.  A man who in all things finds a motivation or a pretext to better the work, to praise it in its benefits; a man who has so much faith in the work that he does not know what it means to faint or to be bored, and with so much love for the spirit of the work that his presence alone is as an undefeatable stronghold in the defense of its good traditions, and as a defense against the dangerous innovations.” 

“We must increasingly convince ourselves that we do not work for ephemeral or fleeting things, but “for the most divine work among the divine ones,” which is the eternal salvation of souls and the glorious resurrection of bodies.”

-By preaching: Practically from the beginning, our Constitutions establish preaching as one of the proper and adequate means for the achievement of our proper end, on account of our charism: “In a special way, we will be devoted to preaching the Word of God,” clarifying: “in all its forms.”   Let us be alluded! “We must be anxious to preach the Word in every way, following St. Paul’s advice: Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching^.  We must not be dumb dogs that cannot bark.  We must look for the sheep, using the method of dialogue, testimony and solidarity, to correct sinners, to teach doctrine: Faith comes from what is heard, to visit the sick and to bring souls to the sacrament of Reconciliation. “Show by the depth of your convictions and by the consistency of your behavior that Jesus Christ is our contemporary.”

This work is so important, so impossible to miss, that our proper law, citing Pope Benedict XV does not hesitate to affirm: “Preaching of Christian wisdom is something that, by the decree of God himself, is carried out to continue the work of the eternal salvation of men, for which it is considered among the things of greatest importance and value within our Religion.” That is why we are highly recommended that our preaching be accompanied by the persuasive strength of the witness of life, coherence, and authenticity.”

2. Raising children in the spiritual life

The Chapter Fathers in the last General Chapter pointed out that we are asked to have “a true spiritual fatherhood which accompanies, forms, encourages, and leads on the path of a greater fidelity to grace.”

Aware that we have been given “a spiritual authority” in order to bring men to “Christian maturity,” it is also fitting for us to ask ourselves as St. John of Avila wrote: “If such an agony takes place in generating…what do you think, Father, will happen in raising them?”

In this respect, our Constitutions, making use of the magnificent writings of the Doctor of Avila, enumerate the virtues which one should have who exercises this spiritual fatherhood, either as superior towards subjects; or as a religious towards the souls entrusted to him: whether these be the sick in a hospital, parishioners, catechism children, religious sisters, members of the Third Order, University classmates, etc. These are: 

-Keep quiet: so necessary for the “patient building up of fraternal life.” “It implies an ascetic commitment which is necessary and irreplaceable…It is a response which demands a patient training and a battle to overcome the simple spontaneity and the volubility of one’s desires.” “Only through the effort of a mutual comprehension and tolerance is it possible to conserve peace and hope among men.” One must “know how to suffer in silence, [to] know how to give his life up for his sheep” as well as “show a greater complaisance with those who walk at a slower and more painful pace.” 

-Not make preference of persons: “‘Preference of persons’ is a type of injustice explicitly prohibited in Sacred Scripture: You shall not be partial in judgment, since in God there is no partiality.” Acting “in such a way that we will truly care for others: that the members may have the same care for one another.”  Blessed Paolo Manna instilled the same teachings in his sons by telling them: “let us not make discriminations, let us take the luxury of being good towards those who seem to least merit it, overcoming evil with good…that is to do as Jesus has always, tirelessly done with us.”

-Nourish the soul: With the Eucharistic bread, with the Word of God which “is the nutriment which nourishes, guide that leads, medicine that cures, sweetness that inebriates,” and leading us to “a worthy reception of the sacraments” by means of which one is communicated “the divine grace making of men new creatures vitally united to Christ and to the Church” because One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. 

Nourishing them also with a sound and solid doctrinal formation, knowing how to maintain a vigilant attitude over one’s children: For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. Let us always keep in mind that as “spiritual fathers, we must treat our children, not according to the approval of men, but in accord with the demands of doctrine and the Christian life, teaching them and admonishing them as beloved children, following the words of the apostle: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.” Regarding those who are pastors, our proper law especially establishes that he “should pasture them, attending to them and giving them not only bodily food but also nourishment for their souls,” meaning “with his word and example, so as to nourish them with good pastures: he walks ahead of them and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.” And to the missionaries ad gentes they are warned: “the poor are hungry for God, not only for bread and freedom; missionary activity before all else must give witness to and announce the salvation of Christ.”

-Forget about oneself: “a father should be forgetful of himself for the benefit of his spiritual children.” This implies, according to our proper law: “denial of oneself, by which religious to whom are entrusted a work of charity, forget about themselves for the good of those who Divine Providence has deigned to entrust to them.” “denial of one’s proper work: religious who take on a work should work themselves, and show to the world that not only is one the owner or administrator, but that he is ready to get his hands dirty in the work, that he is not afraid of touching a poor sick person, of serving a plate of food, etc,” and finally, “denial of one’s own name: not working to gain a good name for oneself. The work is a work of the Institute, and more than that, it belongs to the Church.” Let us always remember that “he who dedicates himself to the care of souls, should sacrifice himself in all things; being ready to give of his time and energy, to renounce even the most legitimate rest.” 

-Self-control: “The expression and the external aspect of the priest should reflect the peace that is within his soul.  He should conserve his self-control in every circumstance, in every action.” For this reason, we are reminded of the great need that “the will…be appropriately formed through constant practice of the virtues and control of passions, so that we are seeking and choosing only the greater good, always and everywhere.” “The inconsistent mood and a bad temperament, on the other hand, distance souls.” It is fitting to remember the beautiful teaching of John Bosco which we take as our own: “Remain firm in seeking good and impeding evil; be, nevertheless, always sweet and prudent. Be persevering and amiable, and you will see how God will make you masters over even the least docile souls…” When John Bosco founded a school outside of Turin (1863) and sent Miguel Rua as the director he left him in writing “those very things which you have seen practiced” as the saint explained to him. And in an introductory letter he said: “receive them as an expression of the desire that I have that there be many souls which you win for the Lord.” Here we must remark that our proper law has never doubted about making his teaching our very own: “charity and patience must always accompany you when you command and correct, working in such a way that everyone make take from your actions and your words that what you seek is the good of souls.” 

-Widsom: “In the school brought forth from the Incarnate Word, we learn…divine wisdom.” That means, the delicacy of his love: he loved them unto the end; the magnanimity and generosity of his way of working: where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more; in a word, the folly of the Cross, that which “makes wiser than the wisdom of all men.” “Blessed be these fools for Christ! No worldly wisdom will ever be able to deceive them.”

-Patience: “that is, outdo one another in showing honor; bear their weaknesses, both physical and spiritual, with unlimited patience.” If this virtue is necessary for all people in all areas of life, it is truly indispensable for those who are formators: “the task of forming others demands… interior

serenity, availability, patience, understanding, and true affection toward those who have been commended to him.” To him who is father of souls, it is greatly recommended that “even when he has many other things to do, he never make it seem to his son that his visit is inopportune, for a soul in need is most sensitive, and it is enough to receive a unwarm and impatient welcome for that son never to come again to ‘disturb.’” All of us, whether we are superiors or not, missionaries ad gentes or contemplatives, should be coated in this virtue in imitation of the Incarnate Word: “knowing how to wait for the moment of grace,” being “patient in long vigils” of arduous missionary work, in enduring “with utmost patience both physical and moral weaknesses,” patient to “encourage in a fatherly way” and to “start again from the beginning” if necessary, patient in “enduring injustices,” etc. 

-Spirit of Prayer: Because the service of charity which implies the most worthy task of “generating and raising spiritual children” demands that the ‘father’ “allow himself to be constantly trained by the Spirit in the charity of Christ. This charity in the priest springs forth from prayer and from contemplating the mystery of divine mercy.” Therefore, at all times, the most central role of prayer is noted: “The missionary must be ‘a contemplative in action’ who finds answers to his problems in the light of the Word of God through personal and community prayer.” Our proper law also goes on to say: “The ‘center of vocational pastoral work’ is prayer.” Therefore, we are asked not only to pray so that God might raise up vocations, but, as a way of paternal accompaniment “imploring God the grace of perseverance” and even if they had the misfortune of not persevering: “to have a certain concern for them, through prayer and with every gesture and help that they might need and that is within one’s ability to give.”

* * * * *

Finally, dear brothers, and to conclude I would like to cite here the example of Saint Alberto Hurtado, a priest refined in the arduous apostolic work and one of enflamed charity, who would write with the greatest simplicity that what is ultimately meant by this work of generating and raising spiritual children, and which is, in my opinion, the living application of what we have said until now.  I reckon that, keeping aside particularities to which the saint makes reference, this teaching can be applied to every exercise of fatherhood over souls: 

“First of all: love them: Love the good that is within them, their simplicity, their curtness, their audacity, their strength, their frankness, their fighting qualities, their human qualities, their joy, the mission that they carry out within their families… Love them to the point of not being able to endure their misfortunes… Seek to avoid the causes of their disasters, distance from their homes alcoholism, venereal diseases, tuberculosis. My mission cannot only be to console them with beautiful words, leaving them in their misery, while I have lunch in an environment of tranquility, where nothing is lacking for me.  Their pain should do me harm: the lack of hygiene in their houses, their malnutrition, the lack of education of their sons, the tragedy of their daughters: all that makes them lesser should also tear me apart as well. Love them so that they may live, so that human life might develop in them, so that their intelligences may be opened, and they not be left behind. May the errors which are rooted in their hearts sting me continuously. The lies and the illusions which they are high on, must torment me; the materialistic newspapers which they exemplify should irritate me; their prejudices are an incentive for me to show them the truth. This is nothing more than a translation of the word love.”

Spiritual fatherhood understood this way is nothing other than “being willing to die, like the grain of wheat, in order to see Christ in all things.” This is why we say that “pastoral work is a cross for us.”

May each one of our hearts always be filled with the immeasurable riches of the spiritual paternity-maternity of which many of our brothers and sisters are in great need of!

We have not been called to carry out the work of an officer of the Gospel, but to be ‘fathers,’ and this demands of us an ever-growing love towards those who have been entrusted to us.  What type of love are we talking about? Much more than that of a pedagogue; it is the love of a father; even more so, that of a mother. Such is the love that the Lord expects of each preacher of the Gospel, each builder of his Church. We should keep in our heart the same sentiment which Saint Paul preserved in his heart when he said: With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us.

May it be said of each of us that we are priests and religious who are “generous souls…found laboring among men of every age and condition, and when they fall worn out or sick, they bequeath their sacred mission to others who take their place. Hence it often happens that a child, immediately after birth, is placed in the care of consecrated persons, who supply in so far as they can for a mother’s love; at the age of reason he is entrusted to educators who see to his Christian instruction together with the development of his mind and the formation of his character; if he is sick, the child or adult will find nurses moved by the love of Christ who will care for him with unwearying devotion; the orphan, the person fallen into material destitution or moral abjection, the prisoner, will not be abandoned. Priests, religious, consecrated virgins will see in him a suffering member of Christ’s Mystical Body […] Who can ever praise enough the missionaries who toil for the conversion of the pagan multitudes, exiles from their native country, or the nuns who render them indispensable assistance.”

To all of you, who with great forgetting of self, and true hearts of fathers dedicate yourselves to concerning yourselves with others, to help them, heal them, form them, guide them, and console them may the Incarnate Word grant that you be, through the intercession of his Most Holy Mother “exceptionally fruitful in your apostolic and vocational efforts.”

A big hug for all of you. 

In the Incarnate Word, 

Fr. Gustavo Nieto, IVE