Today we meet
Letter to Priests
Message of Pope John Paul II for Holy Thursday 1994 (March 13, 1994)
TODAY
WE MEET one another in the celebration of the Eucharist, in which, as the
Second Vatican Council recalls, is contained the whole spiritual treasure of
the Church.1 As we commemorate the institution of the Eucharist in
the liturgy of Holy Thursday, we see very clearly what Christ has left us in
this wondrous sacrament: "Having loved his own who were in the world, he
loved them to the end" (Jn 13:1). In a sense, these words of St. John
contain the whole truth about the Eucharist: the truth which is at the same
time the heart of the truth about the Church. In a certain sense the Church is
daily born from the Eucharist, celebrated in so many places all over the world,
in so many different situations, among such diverse cultures, and so the
re-enactment of the Eucharistic mystery becomes as it were a daily
"creation." Thanks to the celebration of the Eucharist, the
evangelical awareness of the people of God grows ever more profound, both in
nations of age-old Christian tradition and among peoples who have only recently
entered the new dimension imparted to human culture in all times and places by
the mystery of the incarnation of the Word, and by the mystery of the
Redemption accomplished by His death on the cross and His resurrection.
The
sacred Triduum leads us into this mystery in a way which is unique for the
whole liturgical year. The Liturgy of the institution of the Eucharist is a
singular anticipation of Easter, which continues through Good Friday and the
Easter Vigil, up to the Sunday of the Resurrection and its octave.
At
the threshold of the celebration of this great mystery of faith, dear brothers
in the priesthood, you gather today around your respective bishops in the
cathedrals of the diocesan Churches, in order to re-live the institution of the
Sacrament of the Priesthood and that of the Eucharist. The Bishop of Rome
celebrates this liturgy surrounded by the presbyterate of his Church, just as
my brother bishops do with the priests of their diocesan communities.
This
is the reason for today’s letter. It is my wish on this occasion to address a
special word to you, so that all of us together may live to the full the great
gift which Christ has bestowed on us. For us priests the priesthood is the
supreme gift, a particular calling to share in the mystery of Christ, a calling
which confers on us the sublime possibility of speaking and acting in his name.
Every time we offer the Eucharist, this possibility becomes a reality. We act in
persona Christi when, at the moment of the consecration, we say the words:
"This is my Body which will be given up for you... This is the cup of my
Blood, the Blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you
and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me." We do
precisely this: with deep humility and profound thanks. This exalted yet simple
action of our daily mission as priests opens up our humanity, so to speak, to
its furthermost limits.
We
share in the mystery of the incarnation of the Word, "the first-born of
all creation" (Col 1:15), who in the Eucharist restores to the Father the
whole of creation: the world of the past and the world of the future, and above
all the world of today. In this world He lives with us, He is present through
us, and precisely through us He offers to the Father the sacrifice of our
redemption. We share in the mystery of Christ, "the first-horn from the
dead" (Col 1:18), who by His Passover unceasingly transforms the world,
bringing it ever closer to "the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom
8:19). In this way the whole of reality, in all its aspects, becomes present in
our Eucharistic ministry, which at the same time embraces every concrete personal
need, all suffering, expectation, joy or sadness, in accordance with the
intentions which the faithful present for Holy Mass. We receive these
intentions in a spirit of charity, thus introducing every human problem into
the dimension of universal redemption.
Dear
brothers in the priesthood! This ministry forms a new life in us and around us.
The Eucharist evangelizes our surroundings and confirms us in the hope that
Christ’s words will not pass away (cf. Lk 21:33). His words will remain, for
they are rooted in the sacrifice of the cross: we are special witnesses and
privileged ministers of the permanence of this truth and of God’s love. We can
therefore rejoice together when people feel the need for the new Catechism, or
are prompted to read the encyclical Veritatis Splendor. All of this
strengthens us in the conviction that our ministry of the Gospel becomes
fruitful through the power of the Eucharist. As Jesus said to His apostles at
the Last Supper: "No longer do I call you servants
but
I have called you friends You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed
you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide"
(Jn 15: 15-16).
What
unfathomable riches the Church offers us during the sacred Triduum, and
especially today, Holy Thursday, in the Chrism Mass! My words are but a partial
reflection of the feelings which each of you undoubtedly experiences in his
heart. Perhaps this letter for Holy Thursday will help to ensure that the many
different manifestations of Christ’s gift implanted in so many hearts will come
together before the majesty of the great "mystery of faith" in a
meaningful sharing of what the priesthood is and will always be within the
Church. May our union around the altar embrace all those who are marked by the
indelible sign of this sacrament, including those brothers of ours who in some
way or other have distanced themselves from the sacred ministry. I trust that
this remembrance will lead each of us to live ever more deeply the excellence
of the gift which is the priesthood of Christ.
Today
I wish to entrust to you, dear brothers, the letter which I have addressed to
families in the year dedicated to the family. I believe it to be providential
that the United Nations Organization has set aside 1994 as the International
Year of the Family. The Church, fixing her gaze on the mystery of the Holy
Family of Nazareth, is taking part in this initiative, seeing it as an
exceptional opportunity to proclaim the "gospel of the family."
Christ proclaimed this gospel by His hidden life in Nazareth in the bosom of
the Holy Family. It was then proclaimed by the apostolic Church, as is clear
from the New Testament, and it was later witnessed to by the post-apostolic
Church, which has taught us to consider the family as the ecclesia
domestica.
In
our own century the "gospel of the family" has been taught by the
Church through the voices of very many priests, pastors, confessors and
bishops. and in particular through the voice of the Successor of Peter. Almost
all my predecessors have devoted a significant part of their "Petrine
magisterium" to the family. The Second Vatican Council showed its
love for the institution of the family in the pastoral constitution Gaudium
et Spes, in which it reaffirmed the need to uphold the dignity of marriage
and of the family in today’s world.
The
1980 Synod of Bishops inspired the apostolic exhortation Familiaris
Consortio, which can be considered the magna charta of the apostolate to
families. The difficulties of the contemporary world, and particularly of the
family, courageously faced by Pope Paul VI in his encyclical Humanae Vitae, demanded
an overall examination of the human family and the ecclesia domestica in
today’s society. The apostolic exhortation sought to do precisely this. It was
necessary to develop new methods of pastoral activity in order to meet the
needs of the contemporary family. in a word, it may be said that concern for
the family, and particularly for married couples, children, young people and
adults, requires of us, as priests and confessors, a deep appreciation and a
constant promotion of the lay apostolate in this area. The pastoral care of the
family — and I know this from personal experience — is in a way the
quintessence of priestly activity at every level. All of this is discussed in Familiaris
Consortio. The Letter to Families simply takes up and gives renewed
expression to this heritage of the post-conciliar Church.
It
is my wish that this letter may prove helpful to families both inside and
outside the Church, and that it may assist you, dear priests, in your pastoral
ministry to families. It is rather like my 1985 Letter to Youth, which prompted
numerous apostolic and pastoral initiatives on behalf of young people in every
part of the world. An expression of this movement is the World Day of Youth,
celebrated in parishes and dioceses, and at the level of the whole Church —
like the one recently held in Denver, in the United States of America.
This
Letter to Families is broader in scope. The problems of the family are in fact
more complex and wide-ranging. In preparing the letter, I was confirmed in my
conviction that the magisterium of the Second Vatican Council, and the pastoral
constitution Gaudium et Spes in particular, represents a truly rich
source of Christian thinking and life. I hope that the letter, inspired by the
Council’s teaching, will be no less helpful to you than to all the families of
good will to whom it is addressed.
For
a correct approach to this letter, it will be useful to turn to that passage in
the Acts of the Apostles where we read that the first communities
devoted themselves "to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and the prayers" (2:42). The Letter to Families is not
so much a doctrinal statement as a preparation for and an exhortation to prayer
with families and for families. This is the first task through which you, dear
brothers, can begin or carry forward the apostolate to families in your parish
communities. If you find that you are asked: "How are we to attain the
objectives of the Year of the Family?", the exhortation to prayer
contained in the letter will show you the simplest direction in which to
proceed. Jesus said to the apostles: "Apart from me you can do
nothing" (In 15:5). It is clear that we must "do as he does,"
that is, pray on bended knee. "For where two or three are gathered in my
name, there I am in the midst of them" (Mt 18:20). These words of Christ
should be translated into concrete initiatives in every community.
A
good pastoral program can be drawn from them, indeed a fruitful one, even when
very few resources are available.
There
are so many families in the world which pray! Children pray; they are the ones
to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs before anyone else (cf. Mt 18:2-5).
Thanks to them not only do mothers pray, but fathers too, and sometimes return
to religious practice after having fallen away. Is this not often the case at
the time of First Holy Communion? And do we not notice how there is a rise in
the "spiritual temperature" of young people, and not merely young
people, during pilgrimages to holy places? The age-old routes of pilgrimage in
East and West, whether those to Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela, or
those to the Marian shrines of Lourdes, Fatima, Jasna Góra and many others,
have in the course of the centuries become a way for great numbers of believers
and certainly many families to discover the Church. The Year of the Family
should confirm, broaden and enrich this experience. Pastors, as well as all
agencies responsible for the family apostolate, should be attentive to this, in
cooperation with the Pontifical Council for the Family, which is entrusted with
this apostolate at the level of the universal Church. As you know, the
President of that Council inaugurated the Year of the Family at Nazareth on the
Solemnity of the Holy Family, December 26, 1993.
"They
devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of
bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42). According to the constitution Lumen
Gentium, the Church is "the household of God (cf. 1 Tm 3:15), in which
His family lives, the dwelling-place of God in the Spirit (cf. Eph 2:19-22),
‘God’s dwelling with men’ (Rv 21:3)."2 The image of "God’s
household," among the many other biblical images, is used by the Council
to describe the Church. This image, moreover, is in some way contained in all
the others. It figures in the Pauline analogy of the Body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor
12:13, 27; Rom 12:5), to which Pope Pius XII referred in his historic
encyclical Mystici Corporis. It is also found in the notion of the
people of God, to which the Council made reference. The Year of the Family is
for all of us a call to make the Church ever more "the household of God,
in which his family lives."
This
is a call, an invitation, which could prove extraordinarily fruitful for the
evangelization of the modern world. As I wrote in the Letter to Families, the
fundamental dimension of human existence constituted by the family is under
serious threat from various quarters in contemporary society.3 And
yet this aspect of life, which is "being a family," represents a
great good for every individual. The Church wishes to be at its service. The
Year of the Family thus represents an important opportunity for renewing the
Church’s "being a family" in all areas of her life.
Dear
brothers in the priesthood! Each of you will surely find in prayer the light
necessary for knowing how to make all this come to pass: you yourselves in your
parishes and in your different fields of evangelical work; the bishops in their
dioceses; and the Apostolic See through the Roman Curia, in accordance with the
apostolic constitution Pastor Bonus.
The
Church, in fidelity to the will of Christ, is striving to become ever more a
"family," and the Apostolic See is committed to encouraging this
growth. Bishops making their visits ad limina apostolorum are well aware
of this. Their visits, both to the pope and to the different curial offices,
while fulfilling what canon law prescribes, are less and less
juridical-administrative in tone than was the case in the past. More and more
there is the atmosphere of an "exchange of gifts," in accordance with
the teaching of the constitution Lumen Gentium.4 My brother
bishops often mention this at our meetings.
On
this occasion I wish to mention the Directory prepared by the Congregation for
the Clergy which will be presented to bishops, priests’ councils and all
priests. It will certainly make a providential contribution to the renewal of
their life and ministry.
The
call to pray with families and for families, dear brothers, concerns each one
of you in a very personal way. We owe our life to our parents and we owe them a
permanent debt of gratitude. Whether they are still alive or have already
passed into eternity, we are united with them by a close bond which time does
not destroy. While we owe our vocation to God, a significant role in it is also
to be attributed to our parents. The decision of a son to dedicate himself to
the priestly ministry, particularly in mission lands, is no small sacrifice for
his parents. This was true also in the case of our own dear ones, yet they
offered their feelings to God, letting themselves be guided by a deep faith.
They then followed us with their prayer, just as Mary did with Jesus when He
left the home at Nazareth in order to carry out His Messianic mission.
What
an experience it was for each of us, and, at the same time, for our parents,
our brothers and sisters and those dear to us, when we celebrated our first
Holy Mass! What a great thing that celebration was for our parishes and the
places where we grew up! Every new vocation makes the parish aware of the
fruitfulness of its spiritual motherhood: the more often it happens, the
greater the encouragement that results for others! Every priest can say of himself:
"I am indebted to God and to others." There are many people who have
accompanied us with their thoughts and prayers, just as there are many who by
their thoughts and prayers accompany my own ministry in the See of Peter. This
great prayerful solidarity is a source of strength for me. People really do
place their trust in our vocation to serve God. The Church prays constantly for
new priestly vocations and rejoices at their increase; she is saddened at the
lack of vocations in certain places, regretting the lack of generosity of many
people.
On
this day every year we renew the promises we made in connection with the
Sacrament of the Priesthood. These promises have great implications. What is at
stake is the word we have given to Christ himself. Fidelity to our vocation
builds up the Church, and every act of infidelity is a painful wound to the
Mystical Body of Christ. And so, as we gather together and contemplate the
mystery of the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood, let us implore
our High Priest who, as sacred Scripture says, showed himself to be faithful
(cf. Heb 2:17), that we too may remain faithful. In the spirit of this
"sacramental brotherhood" let us pray for one another —priests for
priests! May Holy Thursday become for us a renewed call to cooperate with the
grace of the Sacrament of the Priesthood! Let us pray for our spiritual
families, for those entrusted to our ministry. Let us pray particularly for
those who in a special way expect our prayers and are in need of them. May our
fidelity to prayer ensure that Christ will become ever more the life of our
souls.
O
great Sacrament of Faith, 0 holy Priesthood of the Redeemer of the world! Lord
Jesus Christ, how grateful we are to you for having brought us into communion
with you, for having made us one community around you, for allowing us to
celebrate your unbloody sacrifice and to be ministers of the sacred mysteries
in every place: at the altar, in the confessional, the pulpit, the sickroom,
prisons, the classroom, the lecture hall, the offices where we work. All praise
to the most Holy Eucharist! I greet you, the Church of God, his priestly people
(cf. 1 Pet 2:9), redeemed by His precious blood!
From
the Vatican, on March 13, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, in the year 1994, the
sixteenth of my pontificate.
Pope
John Paul II
Notes
1 Cf.
Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 5
2 N. 6.
3 Cf. n.
13.
4 Ibid.