Cardinal Dias highlights 3D-ministry for priests

As priests carry out the mission of the church, it is important for them to remember well the 3Ds – namely, doctrine, discipline and devotion. This was the message delivered by Indian Cardinal Ivan Dias to the general assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies which concluded on Friday in Rome. "In his journey of growth and in his ministry, every priest must take care of three dimensions: Doctrine, Discipline, Devotion," the Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples explained. For him, "to look at doctrine means to be faithful to the Word of God, to the magisterium of the Church, in the observance of the words of the Holy Father."
He said that mental and corporal discipline is a sign and fruit of human and spiritual maturity. Part of this is ‘formation in chastity and in correct relations with the opposite sex; the management of discord and conflicts in relationships and in the community; the management of free time and of the use of the new technologies." As regards devotion, Cardinal Dias stressed that "the priest, in every small daily action, must be deeply aware of his being a man of God, he must give primacy to the spirit, remembering that he is in the world but not of the world." "Above all,” he said, “priests must be persons that 'exude the sacred,' … helping their neighbour to encounter the living and operating person of Jesus Christ."