(Prof. Jose Vidamor Yu, Manila)

The responsibility of actualizing the very nature of the Church as missionary (cf AG 2) as well as the task of the new evangelization in the Third Millennium, should be primarily carried out by the priests. The Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests serves as a helpful document to provide a reminder, an updating, and a profound theological reflection on the vocation to the ministerial priesthood in the context of the present generation. According to the document, the Third Millennium requires new emphasis, new fervor, new methods, and new expressions of proclaiming and witnessing of Christ in the world today. 

The source of the priesthood is Christ. The ministerial priesthood draws its foundation in the mission of Christ. It actualizes and makes tangible the mysteries of Christ in the Church. Through the ministry of the priests, Christ continues to accomplish his work on earth. He is the Head of the Mystical Body, the Church. The existence and life of the Church are primarily reflected in the everlasting ministerial priesthood shared by some in the Christian community. The document emphasized that: "the life and the ministry of the priest are a continuation of the life and the action of the same Christ. This is our identity, our true dignity, the fountain of our joy, the certainty of our life."

The priests are in communion with Christ manifested through the constant celebration of the sacraments and prayer. The priest responds to the call of Christ who unconditionally loves him. It is essential that the priests be in total harmony with the Church. The document reminds the priests to love and care for the Church as Christ loves Her "consecrating to her all his energies and giving himself with pastoral charity in a continuous act of generosity." The ministerial priesthood is founded "through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ." Likewise, the ministerial priesthood becomes an opportunity of service imitating Christ who came "to serve and not to be served." The faithful are entrusted to the care of the priest who becomes the instrument of unity in the Church. The ministerial priesthood can never be a sign of communion without being an image of God among the faithful. Among the faithful, he should be "the counselor, the mediator of peace, the faithful and prudent friend, the sure guide to confide in during the more difficult moments in life to find encouragement and security."

Priests are agents of renewal. The Church in the Third Millennium has to focus on the new evangelization. This new evangelization which John Paul II speaks of, requires new evangelizers. They should be equipped with doctrinal and theological formation so that they may be able to interpret the "signs of the times." A new emphasis on the evangelical counsels of poverty, obedience, and chastity will establish firmly the identity of the priest as well as exude God’s presence in contemporary society. The challenge towards new evangelizations needs new emphasis on the formation of the candidates for the priesthood. The document exhorts that the diverse areas of the apostolate which require a deep spirituality and generosity, intellectual preparedness and total dedication to God and the Church on the part of the priest, should be rooted in pastoral charity. Through the work of the Holy Spirit the priests become agents of renewal that would bring about the sanctification of the world.