2011-06-18 11:30:00

Fr Lombardi’s weekly editorial: Priest for 60 years


June 29th marks the 60th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s priestly ordination. The Church prepares to celebrate this event with joy. The Congregation for the Clergy has encouraged Bishops’ Conferences to promote celebrations of thanksgiving as well as prayers, centred especially on Eucharistic Adoration, for priestly vocations – asking the Lord of the Harvest to send new labourers into His vineyard.

The life of Benedict XVI is truly a priestly life. He received his vocation when he was very young, his seminary training was interrupted only by the dramatic experience of the 2nd World War, and he was ordained when he was 24, along with his older brother and a large group of young people who had already proved their loyalty to God and the Church. Their examples were priests like the young Alojs Andrìtzki, who was killed at Dachau in 1943 at the age of 31, and who was beatified just a few days ago. As he entered the concentration camp he swore: “We will never forget our priesthood, not even for a moment”.

Pope Benedict has given some sublime reflections on the priesthood: like last year, at the conclusion of the Year for Priests. It’s obvious that his words spring from the very depths of his own personal experience of grace, received and cultivated with loyalty. One phrase of his, in particular, comes to mind:

“This audacity of God who entrusts Himself to human beings – who, conscious of our weaknesses, nonetheless considers men capable of acting and being present in His stead – this audacity of God is the true grandeur concealed in the word "priesthood"”.

We join the Pope’s prayer in spirit, we ask for the grace to follow his example of humility and joyful loyalty in serving this audacious God, in effectively inspiring new vocations and promoting the holiness of all priests.







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