Pastoral Formation: Communion With the Charity of Jesus
Christ the Good Shepherd
57. The whole formation imparted to candidates for the
priesthood aims at preparing them to enter into communion with the charity of
Christ the good shepherd. Hence their formation in its different aspects must have a fundamentally pastoral character. The Council's decree Optatam Totius
states so clearly when speaking of major seminaries; "The whole training
of the students should have as its object to make them true shepherds of souls
after the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, teacher, priest and shepherd.
Hence, they should be trained for the ministry of the word so that they may gain
an ever - increasing understanding of the revealed word of God, making it their
own by meditation and giving it expression in their speech and in their lives.
They should be trained for the ministry of worship and sanctification so that
by prayer and the celebration of the sacred liturgical functions they may carry
on the work of salvation through the eucharistic sacrifice and the sacraments.
They should be trained to undertake the ministry of the shepherd, that they may
know how to represent Christ to humanity, Christ who 'did not come to have
service done to him but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for
the lives of many ' (Mk. 10:45; Jn. 1 3:12-17), and that they may win over many
by becoming the servants of all (1 Cor. 9:19)."(179) The Council text
insists upon the coordination of the different aspects of human, spiritual and
intellectual formation. At the same time it stresses that they are all directed
to a specific pastoral end. This pastoral aim ensures that the human, spiritual
and intellectual formation has certain precise content and characteristics; it
also unifies and gives specificity to the whole formation of future priests.
Like all other branches of formation, pastoral formation
develops by means of mature reflection and practical application, and it is
rooted in a spirit, which is the hinge of all and the force which stimulates it
and makes it develop.
It needs to be studied therefore as the true and genuine
theological discipline that it is; pastoral or practical theology. It is a
scientific reflection on the Church as she is built up daily, by the power of
the Spirit, in history; on the Church as the "universal sacrament of
salvation,"(180) as a living sign and instrument of the salvation wrought
by Christ through the word, the sacraments and the service of charity. Pastoral
theology is not just an art. Nor is it a set of exhortations, experiences and
methods. It is theological in its own right, because it receives from the faith
the principles and criteria for the pastoral action of the Church in history, a
Church that each day "begets" the Church herself, to quote the
felicitous expression of the Venerable Bede: "Nam
et Ecclesia quotidie gignit Ecclesiam."(181) Among these principles and
criteria, one that is specially important is that of the evangelical
discernment of the socio - cultural and ecclesial situation in which the
particular pastoral action has to be carried out.
The study of pastoral theology should throw light upon its
practical application through involvement in certain pastoral services which
the candidates to the priesthood should carry out, with a necessary progression
and always in harmony with their other educational commitments. It is a
question of pastoral "experiences," which can come together in a real
program of "pastoral training," which can last a considerable amount
of time and the usefulness of which will itself need to be checked in an
orderly manner.
Pastoral study and action direct one to an inner source,
which the work of formation will take care to guard and make good use of: This
is the ever - deeper communion with the pastoral charity of Jesus, which - just
as it was the principle and driving force of his salvific action - likewise,
thanks to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of orders, should
constitute the principle d driving force of the priestly ministry. It is a
question of a type of formation meant not only to ensure scientific, pastoral
competence and practical skill, but also and especially a way of being in
communion with the very sentiments and behavior of Christ the good shepherd:
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus"
(Phil. 2:5).
58. And so pastoral formation certainly cannot be reduced to
a mere apprenticeship, aiming to make the candidate familiar with some pastoral
techniques. The seminary which educates must seek really and truly to initiate
the candidate into the sensitivity of being a shepherd, in the conscious and
mature assumption of his responsibilities, in the interior habit of evaluating
problems and establishing priorities and looking for solutions on the basis of
honest motivations of faith and according to the theological demands inherent
in pastoral work.
Thanks to an initial and gradual experience of ministry,
future priests will be able to be inserted into the living pastoral tradition
of their particular church. They will learn to open the horizon of their mind
and heart to the missionary dimension of the Church's life. They will get
practice in some initial forms of cooperation with one another and with the
priests alongside whom they will be sent to work. These priests have a
considerably important role, in union with the seminary program, in showing the
candidates how they should go about pastoral work.
When it comes to choosing places and services in which
candidates can obtain their pastoral experience, the parish should be given
particular importance(182) for it is a living cell of local and specialized
pastoral work in which they will find themselves faced with the kind of
problems they will meet in their future ministry. The synod fathers have
proposed a number of concrete examples such as visits to the sick; caring for
immigrants, refugees and nomads; and various social works which can be
expressions of charitable zeal. Specifically, they write: "The priest must
be a witness of the charity of Christ himself who 'went about doing good' (Acts
10:38). He must also be a visible sign of the solicitude of the Church who is
mother and teacher. And given that man today is affected by so many hardships,
especially those who are sunk in inhuman poverty, blind violence and unjust
power, it is necessary that the man of God who is to be equipped for every good
work (cf. 2 Tm. 3:17) should defend the rights and dignity of man.
Nevertheless, he should be careful not to adopt false ideologies, nor should he
forget, as he strives to promote its perfecting, that the only redemption of
the world is that effected by the cross of Christ."(183)
These and other pastoral activities will teach the future
priest to live out as a "service" his own mission of
"authority" in the community, setting aside all attitudes of
superiority or of exercising a power if it is not simply that which is
justified by pastoral charity.
If the training is to be suitable, the different experiences
which candidates for the priesthood have should assume a clear
"ministerial" character and should be intimately linked with all the
demands that befit preparation to the priesthood and (certainly not neglecting
their studies) in relation to the services of the proclamation of the word, of
worship and of leadership. These services can become a specific way of
experiencing the ministries of lector, acolyte and deacon.
59. Since pastoral action is destined by its very nature to
enliven the Church, which is essentially "mystery,"
"communion" and "mission," pastoral formation should be
aware of and should live these ecclesial aspects in the exercise of the
ministry.
Of fundamental importance is awareness that the Church is a
"mystery," that is, a divine work, fruit of the Spirit of Christ, an
effective sign of grace, the prescience of the Trinity in the Christian
community. This awareness, while never lessening the pastor's genuine sense of
responsibility, will convince him that the Church grows thanks to the
gratuitous work of the Spirit and that his service - thanks to the very grace
of God that is entrusted to the free responsibility of man - is the Gospel
service of the "unworthy servant" (cf. Lk. 17:10).
Awareness of the Church as "communion" will
prepare the candidate for the priesthood to carry out his pastoral work with a
community spirit, in heartfelt cooperation with the different members of the Church:
priests and bishop, diocesan and religious priests, priests and lay people.
Such a cooperation presupposes a knowledge and appreciation of the different
gifts and charisms, of the diverse vocations and responsibilities which the
Spirit offers and entrusts to the members of Christ's body. It demands a living
and precise consciousness of one's own identity in the Church and of the
identity of others. It demands mutual trust, patience, gentleness and the
capacity for understanding and expectation. It finds its roots above all in a
love for the Church that is deeper than love for self and the group or groups
one may belong to.
It is particularly important to prepare future priests for
cooperation with the laity. The Council says: "They should be willing to
listen to lay people, give brotherly consideration to their wishes and
recognize their experience and competence in the different fields of human
activity. In this way they will be able to recognize with them the signs of the
times."(184) The recent synod too has insisted upon pastoral solicitude
for the laity: "The student should become capable of proposing and
introducing the lay faithful, the young especially, to the different vocations
(marriage, social services, apostolate, ministries and other responsibilities
in pastoral activity, the consecrated life, involvement in political and social
leadership, scientific research, teaching). Above all it is necessary that he
be able to teach and support the laity in their vocation to be present in and
to transform the world with the light of the Gospel, by recognizing this task
of theirs and showing respect for it."(185)
Lastly, awareness of the Church as a "missionary"
communion will help the candidate; for the priesthood to love and live the
essential missionary dimension of the Church and her different pastoral
activities. He should be open and available to all the possibilities offered
today for the proclamation of the Gospel, not forgetting the valuable service
which can and should be given by the media.(186) He should prepare himself for
a ministry which may mean in practice that his readiness to follow the
indications of the Holy Spirit and of his bishop will lead him to be sent to
preach the Gospel even beyond the frontiers of his own country.(187)
65. Given that the formation of candidates for the
priesthood belongs to the Church's pastoral care of vocations, it must be said
that the Church as such is the communal subject which has the grace and
responsibility to accompany those whom the Lord calls to become his ministers
in the priesthood.
The first representative of Christ in priestly formation is
the bishop. What Mark the evangelist tells us, in the text we have already
quoted more than once, can be applied to the bishop, to every bishop: "He
called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. And he appointed twelve
to be with him, and to be sent out" (Mk. 3:13-14). The truth is that the
interior call of the Spirit needs to be recognized as the authentic call of the
bishop. Just as all can "go" to the bishop, because he is shepherd
and father to all, his priests who share with him the one priesthood and
ministry can do so in a special way: The bishop, the Council tell us should
consider them and treat them as "brothers" and friends."(202) By
analogy the same can be said of those who are preparing for the priesthood. As for
"being with him," with the bishop, the bishop should make a point of
visiting them often and in some way "being" with them as a way of
giving significant expression to his responsibility for the formation of
candidates for the priesthood.
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