The priest’s
identity and the function of the ecclesiastical habit
1.
Continuity in the
theological criteria that inspire the rules relating to clergy discipline, before and after the Council
The ecclesiastical magisterium and the canonical rules de disciplina cleri have always treated
the ecclesiastical habit within a suitable theological context, that which has
as a fundamental premise the supernatural (divine) character of the vocation
and mission of the presbyter in the Catholic Church. The ecclesiastical habit
is prescribed in the Church as an external “sign” of an internal “quality”, of
a capacity for “public service” which is not to be regarded as a human trait of
the presbyter but as an aptness deriving from the supernatural “character”
which the sacrament of the Order confers on the sacred minister forever. So with
the ecclesiastical habit the presbyter publicly “professes” his complete and
unwavering devotion to serving God and the community where he exercises his
ministry: his service is directed first and foremost to believers, who form the
“mystical body” of Christ, but necessarily extends to all people indiscriminately,
insofar as they are destined to be part of it, according to God’s eternal plan.
This purely theological justification of the rules relating
to the habit that the presbyter must wear coram
populo, that is in public – before the people and for the spiritual
wellbeing of the people – is found not only in the ecclesiastical documents of
the period preceding the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, but in the ones of
the conciliar period as well. In this regard, it is worth recalling the acts of the popes that convoked and
presided over the Council and subsequently enforced its pastoral instructions: suffice
it to mention the strict rules relating to the ecclesiastical habit issued by
the blessed John XXIII for the diocesan clergy during the Roman Synod of 1961; the
clear theological-pastoral directives contained in the council decree Presbyterorum Ordinis on the way and the
ministry of presbyters, approved by the Council and promulgated by Paul VI[1];
the disciplinary norms contained in the new Codex
iuris canonici, promulgated by the blessed John Paul II (soon to be
canonized also), which he often referred to during the years of his pontificate,
in the speeches addressed to the clergy as well as in the disciplinary measures
regarding the staff of the pontifical dicastries.
2.
Ministry of the Word and
ministry of the Sacraments
In order to
truly comprehend the theological reasons for this close connection between the
external “sign” and the internal “quality” of the priestly ministry specifically
(that is of the “ordained” ministry, which is ontologically superior to that of
the “common priesthood” of all the faithful), it is necessary to clearly define
what the presbyter “professes” before the community of men and women when he
makes himself recognizable as a minister of God in the Catholic Church. He
professes himself a sacramental instrument in the hands of Christ, the high and
eternal Priest, the one and only true Teacher and Saviour. He professes himself
an instrument, knowing, out of faith in divine revelation, that he is such only
because divine providence so freely desired: he knows he is not absolutely
necessary (he knows that he, together with all the other apostles of Christ,
must consider himself as a “useless servant”), but he is also aware that he was
chosen “among men” for a mission whose outcome depends entirely on grace but
also requires his complete and constant “availability”: his availability – every
presbyter knows this well – is what God’s mercy intends to avail itself of in
order to bestow upon all men and women the grace of faith and redemption, for
eternal salvation.
In order to better understand this dialectic of grace –
the almightiness of the divine Love that avails itself of the availability of
the priest to make him, albeit in his human unfitness, a visible instrument of
the mysteries of salvation – it is useful to refer to an ecclesiological
reflection of Saint Augustine, the great “doctor of grace”, found in one of his
commentaries to the Scriptures which the liturgical reform included among the
patristic readings of the Liturgy of the Hours:
“Except the Lord build
the house, their labour is but lost that build it”. The Lord, therefore,
buildeth the house, the Lord Jesus Christ buildeth His own house. Many toil in
building: but, except He build, “their labour is but lost that build it.” Who
are they who toil in building it? All who preach the word of God in the Church,
the ministers of God’s mysteries. We are all running, we are all toiling, we
are all building now; and before us others have run, toiled, and built: but
“except the Lord build, their labour is but lost” [Gal 4, 10-11]. We,
therefore, speak without, He buildeth within. We can observe with what
attention ye hear us; He alone who knoweth your thoughts, knoweth what ye
think. He Himself buildeth, He Himself admonisheth, He Himself openeth the
understanding, He Himself kindleth your understanding unto faith; nevertheless,
we also toil like workmen; but, “except the Lord build”»[2].
This
text, if understood correctly, strips every presbyter of any pretext for
denying the Lord his availability: either by withdrawing into the confined
ecclesiastical spaces where he feels humanly gratified, renouncing reaching out
to those who may have recourse to his ministry; or by stepping out from that confined
space but without allowing himself to be recognized, for fear that he may be
mocked or attacked by those who see in him the symbol of a Church that one
wants to eliminate from the public life; or by wearing plain clothes as if to
set aside his ecclesial function and show that he wants to share with the
people who no longer seek salvation in God a life based only on worldly
interests. The text of Saint Augustine reminds the presbyter of the ecclesial
meaning and the supernatural end of his specific vocation, which is to be
professed interiorly with the willingness to live the life of sacrifice,
sometimes even heroic, of the vir apostolicus,
but also externally with the habit that makes him recognizable among the
people. One must always bear in mind that the work of men who are consecrated
in the Church, with the sacrament of the Order, at the service of God as «humble
workers in the vineyard of the Lord» (as Benedict XVI referred to himself just
after his election to the papal Throne), is not primarily an exclusively human effort
(albeit required by the need to witness charity) like the “corporal works of
mercy” and all forms of solidarity and human promotion, but is primarily an
effort whose efficacy is exclusively divine. It is an effort that consists in
proclaiming the Word (catechesis) and bestowing the sanctifying grace
(administration of sacraments).
The term “catechesis”,
in its original ecclesial meaning, coincides with the term “kerigma”, which is currently preferred
by many theologians, since both refer to the Church’s proclamation of the truth
revealed by Christ. In the light of Saint Augustine’s words, the term
“catechesis” is preferable since it suggests the logical subordination of human
actions to divine initiative; in fact, the Greek etymology of kathekesis (from the verb kathekein, which means “to resonate” or “to
echo”) expresses very well the true role of the Ministers of the Word, who are
conveyors of a doctrine which does not come from them but directly from God. If
the only true Teacher, Christ, underscored the entirely supernatural character
of the salvific doctrine when he said «My teaching is not my
own but is from the one who sent me» (Jn 7:16), the
disciples of the Teacher also must speak in the name of divine wisdom and not
in the name of their presumed human knowledge, relying on the salvific
almightiness of the Gospel rather than on their own presumed human authority or
communicative efficacy. Through the Christian announcement, the Church echoes a
proclamation of the truth, the only truth that saves, made by him who
incarnates it in himself: Jesus, the Christ, the Word of God, the revealer of
the Father. Jesus Christ is him who speaks with authority, because he speaks of
what he knows directly, first hand: he is consubstantial with the Father and he
alone can reveal to people the supernatural mysteries which are absolutely
inaccessible to them. Christ is the «faithful witness» (Rev 1:4), him who conveys
faithfully to men and women what the Father ordered him to say, that is his
intimate nature (the mystery of the Trinity) and his plans of salvation (the
Incarnation and Redemption in Christ)[3].
Vatican II solemnly confirmed the substantially supernatural character that the
presence and activity of the presbyter must have among people, as willed by
Christ himself:
«To all
men, therefore, priests are debtors that the truth of the Gospel which they
have may be given to others. And so, whether by entering into profitable
dialogue they bring people to the worship of God, whether by openly preaching
they proclaim the mystery of Christ, or whether in the light of Christ they
treat contemporary problems, they are relying not on their own wisdom for it is
the word of Christ they teach, and it is to conversion and holiness that they
exhort all men. But priestly preaching is often very difficult in the
circumstances of the modern world. In order that it might more effectively move
men's minds, the word of God ought not to be explained in a general and
abstract way, but rather by applying the lasting truth of the Gospel to the
particular circumstances of life» (Vatican
Council II, Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 4).
The
“profession of service” that the ecclesiastical habit implies refers to this
sacramental ministeriality. With his recognizable presence among people, the
presbyter announces or recalls the salvific event of the Incarnation, Redemption
and the institution of the Church as a «universal sacrament of salvation» through
the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments.
Regardless of whether or not he is understood and accepted by everyone, the
presbyter must present himself as God’s minister in the Church, for the supernatural
ends for which Christ willed the Church. It is the presbyter’s duty to present
himself, in all of his actions, for what God had in mind when he entrusted to
the Apostles the «keys of the Kingdom». Then it will be the Lord, who has given
him the mission and the grace to accomplish it, to see to it that, on a case by
case basis, all people «destined for eternal life» (cfr Acts 13:48) will truly
understand, albeit in different ways and to varying degrees, the identity of
the presbyter as a mediator of the love of Christ for every member of the
Church and every person that can be reached by the Christian announcement and
the grace of Baptism.
3. The presbyter’s dignity (conferred by divine grace) is
not thwarted by his personal unworthiness (caused by human misery)
The presbyter’s mediation is in fact felt by the
Church’s faith conscience, through the work of grace, especially in the
preaching of the word of God, in the administration of the sacraments and in
the guidance of the Christian community, all actions that he can carry out in persona Christi capitis, insofar as
they are directly linked to the three-fold ministry of Christ – the teaching
ministry (munus docendi), the sanctifying
ministry (munus sanctificandi) and
the shepherding ministry (munus regendi)
― who, by the will of God and through the work of the Holy Spirit, is the
only Teacher of truth, Redeemer of all men and King of kings. The vocation and
mission of the priest are intimately characterized by these actions, which the
priest can carry out legitimately and effectively not by virtue of his personal
qualities but because it was Christ himself who, once the Paschal mystery was
fulfilled and as he was preparing to return to the Father, revealed that he wanted
to remain effectively present in his Church, until the end of time, through the
priestly ministry, endowed with the necessary charisms and the divine authority
which he himself bestowed (cfr. Lumen Gentium, n. 28). Such an authority (a term which in the Church is
equivalent to the Greek diakonia, insofar
as auctoritas, in the Latin of late
antiquity, meant the capacity to feed and make grow) maintains all of its
salvific strength of truth in every Christian who has received the priestly
consecration, whatever it may be, in the different stages of his life among the
People of God, his personal holiness, his inner virtues and his external
conduct, the visible works that may have earned him a well-deserved “bona
fama”.
Ever
since the Middle Ages, with Saint Peter Damiani, theological doctrine and canon
law have reassured the faithful as to the validity of the sacraments
administered by priests who may even appear to be unworthy. The same applies to
the transmission of the Catholic faith (which is the faith of the Church, not
so much and only the subjective faith of the priest), which in itself is always
capable of enlightening the minds and kindling the hearts, making them open to
fruitful participation in the Eucharistic celebration and to receiving the
sacraments. In both cases – the efficacy of the sacraments and the efficacy of
the doctrine – the Gospel itself establishes the criterion according to which
the supernatural power of the res sacrae
cannot be limited to the personal flaws of him who, from time to time, is its
minister. Suffice it to recall the teaching of Jesus when he says that the
teachings of the doctors of the Law (whose hypocrisy he stigmatized) is to be
heeded and put into practice, even though their bad conduct must by no means be
regarded as a model[4]. Surely the
presbyter has the serious duty and the fundamental responsibility to conform
his existence ever more (his inner life and external, visible actions, which
characterize his conduct among the people of God) to the needs of his ecclesial
mission, and for this the minister of the sacrament of Penance himself shall
often have recourse to the grace of reconciliation and purification: but never shall
his personal unworthiness (which is felt internally by his conscience or is
denounced externally by the people) be a pretext for holding back from humbly
offering his specific service. Such a
renunciation corresponds to “burying the talent” that God has entrusted to him
in the Church of Christ, rendering unusable the charism that he has received
from God through the priestly ordination. One way to bury the talent – that is
revoking one’s willingness to serve – consists precisely in disobeying the
Church, which, in a wise and holy way, has laid down the canonical rules relating
to the ecclesiastical habit.
Antonio Livi
[1] See the text of the decree Presbyterorum Ordinis published in 2013
by Cantagalli di Siena with an introduction and comment by Cardinal Mauro
Piacenza, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.
[2] Saint Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos, 126, 2 : Corpus Christianorum Latinorum, vol. 40,
p. 1858.
[3] Cfr Ecumenical Vatican Council I,
dogmatic constitution Dei Filius on
the Catholic faith, 24 April 1870 : «God, the beginning and
end of all things, can be known with certitude by the natural light of human
reason from created things; "for the invisible things of him, from the
creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that
are made" [Rom 1:20]; nevertheless, it has pleased His wisdom and
goodness to reveal Himself and the eternal decrees of His will to the human
race in another and supernatural way, as the Apostle says: "God, who at sundry times and in divers
manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in
these days hath spoken to us by His Son" [Heb 1:1 f]».
[4] It is necessary to
quote the Gospel pericope in its entirety, in order to better grasp its meaning
in relation to what we are discussing here: «Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and
to his disciples saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their
seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever
they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not
practice. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people's shoulders, but
they will not lift a finger to move them. All
their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and
lengthen their tassels. They love places of
honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and
the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be
called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one
on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called
'Master'; you have but one master, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be
your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles
himself will be exalted. "Woe to you,
scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the kingdom of heaven before
human beings. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those
trying to enter.» (Mt 23 : 1-13).