Professor Antonio Miralles, Rome (28 april 2004)

John Paul II’s commitment to priestly vocations

1. Priestly vocations, a gift and a mystery

John Paul II’s testimony about his vocation on the 50th anniversary of his ordination, published in the book Gift and Mystery, provides us with precious indications, filled with personal feelings, of his solicitude for priestly vocations. "How often — he writes — does a bishop return to the seminary with his thoughts and his heart! It is the first of his worries. One says that the seminary for the bishop represents the ‘apple of his eye’. […] hence, in a sense, the bishop sees his Church through the seminary, because such a large part of ecclesial life depends on priestly vocations" (pages 109-110). A large and fundamental part, since the presence of the ministerial priesthood guarantees the Eucharist and the other sacraments needed by the faithful, and also guarantees the preaching of the Gospel and guiding the Christian community. Hence the Holy Father’s testimony: "I became a bishop twelve years after being ordained a priest: Most of these fifty years have been marked by concern for vocations" (p. 110).

The bishop is not alone in this solicitude: it involves all the faithful, but in particular, as the Pope states in the Apostolic Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis: " its priests are united to him and share his responsibility in seeking and fostering priestly vocations" (PDV 41/4). This is not a commitment to be taken lightly, with the self-assurance of one looking at a field with an abundant harvest. There has in fact been a serious crisis over the past decades. John Paul II, however, observing with faith the Church as a whole, finds reasons for being optimistic: "Thanks to God, a certain crisis in priestly vocations within the Church is now improving. Each new priest carries a special blessing with him (p. 111). No one however ignores that the situation is not uniform throughout the Church and in many places the absence of a sufficient number of priests is really dramatic. This is yet another reason for listening more carefully to the Pope’s testimony.

It is a good idea to reflect upon the gift of priestly vocations. A vocation "is a mystery. It is the mystery of a ‘wonderful exchange’ — admirabile commercium — between God and man. This provides Christ with His humanity, so that He may use this as an instrument of redemption, almost making this man another Self" (p. 84). It means that man perceives a divine call to make a gift of himself, a call that appears as a priceless gift that precedes his answer. This is why the Pope warns us that: "If one does not perceive the mystery of this ‘exchange’, one cannot understand how it happens that a young man, hearing the words ‘Follow me!’, can reach the point of giving everything up for Christ, certain that in following this path his human personality will be completely fulfilled" (p. 84).

God the Father’s eternal plan implemented with the baptismal vocation, acquiring further determination becoming fulfilled with each baptised person, is at the basis of the priestly vocation. It is the plan proclaimed in the first hymn of the letter to the Ephesians: "as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favour of his will" (Eph 1, 4-6). This is the basis of the radicalism of the Christian vocation: God’s plan is not addressed at achieving anything less than being saintly and immaculate in His presence. It is an eternal plan, hidden within the intimacy of Trinitarian life, that then resounds throughout the time of man’s personal history and in the intimacy of his heart, when he perceives that this is a real path for him to follow, in identification with Christ and the strength of the Holy Spirit, to reach the supreme goal he is called to by his Father, God.

The Holy Father tells us how his perception of the divine call to priesthood came about: "My conscience […] increasingly perceived a light: the Lord wants me to become a priest. One day I perceived this extremely clearly; it was like an inner enlightment, bringing the joy and the certainty of another vocation [referred to previous plans]. And this awareness filled me with great inner peace" (p. 44).

A free answer to Christ’s call and the following faithful confirmation along the formative path of preparation for priesthood renders progressively stronger both the persuasion of one’s own call to priesthood and the decision to answer with a definite gift of oneself. Hence one reaches the moment of Ordination, where the conviction enlightened by the faith becomes a certainty. It is to this moment that the Holy Father refers clearly speaking of himself: "Those about to receive Holy Ordination prostrate themselves totally and lean their brows on the temple’s floor, thereby showing a total willingness to undertake the ministry entrusted to him. This ritual has profoundly marked my life as a priest" (p. 53). Willingness to undertake a series of functions that could be listed as rules is not enough, because the priest is called upon to serve Christ, the eternal Priest, with his whole life In fact, as the Pope writes: "The priesthood of all presbyters lays in the mystery of Redemption. This truth about Redemption and the Redeemer has become deeply rooted at the very core of my conscience, it has accompanied me for all these years, it has saturated all my pastoral experiences, always revealing new contents to me" (p. 92).

Although in the time available today I have only been able to offer you a few fragments, this testimony provided by the Pope is also an excellent portrait of experiences and doctrine for better understanding his teachings, more systematically and completely, in the Pastores dabo vobis, which I shall discuss in the second part of my speech today.

2. The priestly vocation in the Church’s pastoral work

The 1990 Synod of Bishops and the post-synod Apostolic Exhortation entitled Pastores dabo vobis about the formation of priests in current circumstances provide a clear signal of John Paul II’s commitment to priestly vocations. Chapter 4 of the Exhortation, in fact, addresses the subject of priestly vocation in the Church’s pastoral work and Chapter 5 discusses the formation of candidates to priesthood. I will centre my remarks on Chapter 4 to respect the time available today.

The main statement made in the first paragraph of the chapter is important: "Pastoral work […] is not a secondary or marginal matter, or the business of one group only, as if it were but a ‘part’, no matter how important, of the entire pastoral work of the Church. It is rather […] an essential part of the overall part of the pastoral work of each Church, a concern that demands to be integrated into and fully identified with the ordinary ‘care of the souls’" (PDV 34/4). This means that in no particular Church can the pastors and the faithful consider themselves exempt from constant commitment to ensuring that a suitable number of young people may accept the grace of a priestly vocation.

To better define pastoral work in this field, one must carefully bear in mind the fundamental aspects of a priestly vocation previously discussed in the first part of my talk; but I must add that among them one must also consider the ecclesial element: "Not only does it derive [the vocation] "from" the Church and her mediation, not only does it come to be known and find fulfillment "in" the Church, but it also necessarily appears -- in fundamental service to God -- as a service "to" the Church" (PDV 35/5). Therefore, "the Church is also truly present and at work in the vocation of every priest." (PDV 38/1); and it is especially through the bishop’s call.

In the vocational dialogue between God and man, man’s freedom is irrepressible, however one must acknowledge as a priority the free and gratuitous intervention of God’s call. "Vocation is a gift of God's grace and never a human right, such that "one can never consider priestly life as a simply human affair, nor the mission of the minister as a simply personal project." (PDV 36/4). The Pope comes to an important conclusion: "Those who have been called know they are rooted not to their own strength, but in the unconditional faithfulness of God who calls" (PDV 36/4). This same grace of God animates and supports human freedom in answering a vocation, "a freedom which, when it gives a positive response, appears as a deep personal adherence, as a loving gift -- or rather as a gift given back to the giver who is God who calls, an oblation" (PDV 36/7).

Acknowledging the great positive value of a freely given answer to a divine call does not prevent from becoming aware of the existing obstacles. The Pope specifically refers to those identified by the Synod Fathers when they recognised "that the crisis of vocations to the priesthood has deep roots in the cultural environment and in the outlook and practical behavior of Christians" (PDV 37/5). And to oppose them he emphasises "the urgent need that the Church's pastoral work in promoting vocations be aimed decisively and primarily toward restoring a "Christian mentality," one built on faith and sustained by it. More than ever, what is now needed is an evangelization which never tires of pointing to the true face of God, the Father who calls each one of us in Jesus Christ, and to the genuine meaning of human freedom as the principal driving force behind the responsible gift of oneself" (PDV 37/6).

As I mentioned previously, a priestly vocation has a fundamental ecclesial dimension, that leads to this important conclusion: "The Church, as a priestly, prophetic and kingly people, is committed to foster and to serve the birth and maturing of priestly vocations through her prayer and sacramental life; by her proclamation of the word and by education in the faith; by her example and witness of charity" (PDV 38/3). In this brief synthesis it is not hard to identify the main points of a real program for vocational pastoral work: prayer, the sacraments of ordinary life (the Eucharist and Repentance) organic catechesis, spiritual guidance and the testimony of an authentic Christian life. All this is addressed at obtaining from God abundant graces of calls to priesthood and generous answers from those who are called. This spirit in which this program should be implemented is described by the Pope with the following words: "Educators, and priests in particular, should not be afraid to set forth explicitly and forcefully the priestly vocation as a real possibility for those young people who demonstrate the necessary gifts and talents. There should be no fear that one is thereby conditioning them or limiting their freedom; quite the contrary, a clear invitation, made at the right time, can be decisive in eliciting from young people a free and genuine" (PDV 39/2).

Vocational pastoral work is a duty involving the whole of the Church. John Paul II is very clear: "There is an urgent need, especially nowadays, for a more widespread and deeply felt conviction that all the members of the Church, without exception, have the grace and responsibility to look after vocations" (PDV 41/2). The bishop holds the first responsibility, helped by priests; however, "a very special responsibility falls upon the Christian family" (PDV 41/5). Vocational pastoral work and family pastoral care develop alongside each other.