Bigard memorial seminary, enugu. Spiritual theology
STH 315:
APOSTOLIC VOCATIONS
Priestly
and religious Vocations: Nature, Signs, Care/Fostering of vocations (Read
Optatam Totius no. 2; Cans. 232 – 235; Pastores Dabo Vobis nos. 34 – 59).
Vocations to which everyone is called from all
eternity: the vocation to be “holy and blameless” (Eph. 1:4-5; LG. 39, 40) are
of various kinds, but the most commonly distinguished in the Church are those
of the lay, the clerical and
religious states of life. Marriage is also a special divine call, (LG
35) and cannot be answered together with the priestly and religious vocations.
Both have the characteristics of vocation in general but also have their own
peculiarities.
PRIESTLY VOCATION: NATURE
Every Christian vocation is founded on God, because
it comes from God and is God’s gift and is never given outside the Church
(Pastores Dabo Vobis 35). The Church by her nature is a vocation and a begetter
and educator of vocation, “because she is a sacrament, a sign and instrument in
which the vocation of every Christian is reflected and lived out” (PDV, ibid).
The priesthood is a call not a career, a
re-definition of the self, not just a new ministry, a way of life not a job, a
state of being, not just a function; a permanent lifelong commitment, not a
temporary style of service, an identity, not just a role (Cardinal Dolan).
“Every high priest is taken from among human beings
and is appointed to act on their behalf in relation with God, to offer gifts
and sacrificed for sins’ (Heb 5:1).
SIGNS OF VOCATIONS
The Ration Fundamentalis for the training of priests
(No, 39) describes and lists the human and moral qualities of those who are
candidates for the priesthood; the spiritual and intellectual gifts which they
must have to apt for the priestly ministry. Such attitudes that one must have
before any call from the Lord is established include:
a.
Right intention:
This involves motives of intention. A right intention is absolutely necessary
b.
Spiritual
qualities – piety and sacramental practices
c.
Human and moral
qualities
d.
Pastoral
qualities
e.
Intellectual
qualities (can 1029)
f.
Health (can
1029)
Continue Reading........ Emotional maturity may be summed up in the following
four points:
1.
The capacity to
feel what one is feeling; to be aware of the depth and intensity of one’s
feelings at any particular moment and the direction they are pointing one
towards.
2.
This is turn
implies freedom to feel what one is feeling. This freedom comes about through the dismantling, at least to
some degree, of one’s unconscious defense mechanisms which protect one from the
painful effects of being aware of what one is feeling.
3.
The ability to
control one’s feelings so that one does not act on the basis of an emotional
urge when this is moving one in a direction that is contrary to one’s
vocational commitment and inconsistent with one’s values.
4.
The capacity to
empathize with what another is feeling in order to create an emotional forum in
which the other will find the freedom to express himself or herself in spiritual
direction, counseling, simple friendship and other human relations.
Such
considerations make it possible to judge whether candidates are suitable for
priestly ministry.
CARE
AND FOSTERING OF VOCATION
Vocation
to the priesthood, like other vocations, is not a thing in terms of tangibility, it is a free gift
which, like grace, can be possessed and retained, or lost. It requires
attention and special care. The Church lays much emphasis on the proper care
and fostering of vocation to the priesthood and has involved every member of
the Church, according to his/her position and status, to contribute to this
purpose. (cf. PDV 34#5, 38). Families, parishes, teachers, priests, and of
course Bishops – in their various capacities – must co-operate to foster
priestly vocations (cf. can 233# 2 & 3; PDV 41).
FORMATION
OF CANDIDATES FOR THE PRIESTHOOD
The Church is concerned that candidates for
orders be properly formed for the exercise of the priestly ministry. Since the
Vatican II Council, National Episcopal Conferences have been asked to have
their own Programme of Priestly formation which will be adapted to the
circumstances of place and time, so that priestly training will always answer the pastoral
requirements of the particular area in which the ministry is to be exercised
(cf. OT 1; PDV 42 #4).
The
different areas of formation are emphasized by the Church, namely, the human
)PD 3 #3; PDV 43-44), spiritual (DV 45 -50), intellectual (PDV 51) and pastoral
areas (PDV 57-59) Special attention
should be given to Spiritual Formation.
THE
DISCERNMENT OF VOCATIONS
An
indispensable aspects of formation is the process of vocation discernment, by
both the formation and those under formation. Potential candidates for the
priesthood must be prayerful dialogue with God and with the Church in the
discernment of their vocation. (Read Pastores Dabo Vobis, no. 37). This
dialogue, properly conducted, may bring candidates to the admissions process,
completing the first phase of vocational discernment.
Discernment is the activity of determining the value and quality
of a certain subject or event, particularly the activity of going past the mere
perception of something and making detailed judgments about that thing. As a
virtue, a discerning individual is considered to possess wisdom, and be of good
judgment; especially so with regard to subject matter often overlooked by
others.
VOCATIONAL
DISCERNMENT AND CHOICE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Vocational
discernment is the process in which men or women in the Catholic Church
discern, or determine, their vocation in the Church, that is, vocation to the
priesthood or religious life, as well as vocations to marriage or to life as a
single person. Discernment of vocations follows a number of steps.
Step One: have the right understanding of Happiness
What
is happiness? What will make me happy?
If
I want to discern God’s will for my life, I must surrender my idea of what will
make me happy, and become focused on doing the father’s will.
-
Give up my idea of what will make me happy
-
Seek to do what
will make God happy – doing the father’s will
Step Two: Know that God has created
you for a specific mission in this world
The
Lord has had a plan for your life since the beginning or the world. There is no
one else in the world quite like you. Jesus Christ has called you and you alone
for some specific mission. He invites you to help save the world. Of course He
alone is the Saviour but He is calling you to help him in his salvation of the
world. So the second step in discerning your vocation is to understand that God
has created you out of love and in his love invited you to share in his work of
saving the world.
Step Three: Accept His love and
choice of you
The
next step in discerning the vocation is to open yourself to the Lord’s love. He
told his disciples and now he is saying to you “it is not you who chose me, but
I chose you”. In order to hear his call we have to receive his love. He asks
you to accept his love in spite of your past mistakes, your weakness, your
ignorance, your confusion …. In spite of everything …. Your task is to open to
receive.
Step Four: Make yourself available
to listen to the Lord
If
a vocation is a calling from God, then we must attune ourselves to His voice so
that we can hear his call. Prayer is how we primarily listen to the Lord’s
voice.
-
Liturgical
prayer.
-
We also need to
develop habits of personal prayer, especially meditation (lectio divina).
-
Prayers which
honour our Blessed Lady are indispensable for finding your vocation (eg. The
Rosary).
Attuning
ourselves to the voice of the Lord also means becoming aware of the means to
hearing His voice. Sin and Noise are the two major obstacles to
hearing His voice.
To
answer God’s call in life we must be free, and being free to say “yes” entails
being freed from Sins (mortal and venial) and attachments to sin. Freedom from
sins is accomplished primarily through the Sacrament of Confession.
Noise
is another obvious obstacle to hearing the voice of the Lord. Often when we
come to discern we are already immersed in noise; habits of watching a lot of
television, home videos, pornography, idle conversations with others, computer
games, listening to music all the time, etc., rarely do we have silence
(exterior and interior) in our day.
If
you want to know your vocation, begin to develop habits of silence. The first
way to develop silence I to limit our time to T.V., video and computer games,
the internet and using music as an incessant background noise. TURN IT OFF!
Those things are not evil in themselves, but without using them with virtue of
moderation, they create spiritual static in our hearts and dull our spiritual
sensitivity. The second way to develop silence is to develop habits of quiet
prayer, reading (especially the works of our spiritual raditions and just
thinking and pondering.
Step Five: Cooperate with Jesus in clearing away obstacles to free you to say
‘Yes’
Am
I free to say ‘Yes’ to Him? What keeps me from giving my entire self, even in
love to Him?
i. Past Hurts can be complicated and
complicating in the discernment process. They can impair our ability to trust,
and saying “Yes” to Jesus requires a lot of trust and can also interfere with
our ability to receive love and to give love in return. Past hurts have a way
of creating an environment of anger and fear in one’s life. They can be
difficult to forgive, and any lack of forgiveness prevents us from giving
ourselves over complete to Jesus.
ii. Fear also inhibits our complete gift of
self to Jesus in love. The fear we are talking about is not the awe and wonder
of holy fear, but rather a crippling fear. Crippling fear is never from God but
rather from the devil; and we should resist it and allow Jesus to cast it out
of us. A person cannot discern in fear
Step Six: Give yourself entirely to
Christ in love – Be Holy!
The
next step then is to respond to that love with all that we are. Receiving his
love and striving to get ourselves back to him in love is called “personal
relationship” with Jesus. In order to understand the meaning of your life and
what you are supposed to do with your life requires a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ. It is in this relationship with him as Lord and Redeemer and
as his intimate friend where we can hear his call to us.
Loving
Jesus means to strive after holiness. Holiness means to live a life of God here
and now. The life of holiness involves the use of sacraments, prayer
(contemplating God), virtue (living God’s life) and asceticism (opening up
ourselves to God’s life).
Sacraments
given us sanctifying grace. This is God’s own power and life at work within us.
The sacraments communicate God’s own life to our souls.
Prayer
is our vital, daily and ultimate contact with the Lord. It entails the lifting
up of our hearts and mind to him who is with us throughout the day. A man must
be praying if he wants to know his vocation. A personal relationship is built
upon personal prayer. Therefore you must make time in your day to be with him
exclusively and not just when it is convenient.
Virtue
is a habit of doing good. It is not something we do now and again, but
something we do regularly, even without thinking about it. Part of the life of
virtue is that we strive to live according to God’s commandments and to develop
habits that will help us keep his commandments.
Asceticism
(making sacrifices; self-denying way of life; austerity and self-denial,
especially as a principled way of life). Asceticism helps to open up our human
nature to receive the Lord’s life. Asceticism also shapes our senses. To love
means to give oneself, and giving ourselves in love involves sacrifices. In its
most basic sense asceticism means curbing our earthly desires (pleasures,
things, my own way, etc.) in order to open up our spiritual desires (prayers,
good works, etc). asceticism is not an end in itself, it is only good in so far
as it opens us up to love and leads us to more loving to Jesus and our
neighbor. We do not do ascetical works to earn Jesus’ love or grace, we do them
to accept more deeply his love and grace that he already offers. Asceticism
will help to sharpen our sensitivity to him and his voice.
Step Seven: Begin to distinguish
the “Four Voices” of discernment.
In
the process of discernment we can become aware of four voices, and learning to
distinguish them from one another helps tremendously in discernment. The four
voices are:
-
The voice of
Lord
-
Our own voice
-
The voice of the
world and
-
The devil’s
voice
i) The Voice of the Lord
The
voice of the Lord is that which is communication his constant and unfailing
love to us. We hear his voice in his Divine Revelation both in Holy Scriptures
and in Holy Tradition and in the Magisterium of the Church. We hear his voice
urging us to do good in our actions, to trust in him, to sacrifice out of love.
Discouragement and confusion are never the voice of Jesus even when we sin. His
voice always communicates confidence and hope in Him. His voice is also
challenging because He is always calling us to a deeper conversion to Him.
With
regard to your vocation you can be sure He is calling you as a man to the
vocation of marriage, the priesthood or consecrated life (religious life or
consecrated virginity in the world. His voice is never deceptive, nor does He
play games. Therefore you can be confident that to which ever vocation He calls
you, He will also give you the graces to accomplish it and the desire to do it.
ii) The Voice of Oneself
our
voice is expressed in the deep down desire of our heart. Part of growing up is
becoming aware of who we are and what the deep desires of our heart are.
Sometimes our deepest desires are in conflict. Our own sinfulness, that part of
ourselves that is still under the dominion of Satan can clamour loudly.
Sometimes our voice is in conflict with the voice of the Lord. Sometimes the
conflict can lie in choosing between the good things: I want to be a priest,
and I want to be married. Our always stands in need of more conversion.
Your
trust self are those desires which have been placed thereby Jesus and are in
harmony with the desire that Jesus has for you one way to become attuned to
your own voice is to become aware of what you think about when your mind is
free. When you have a moment to yourself, what do you think about? Is there
something that comes to mind often or even constantly? That is the beginning
indicating your own voice. After becoming aware of what you think about during
the day, ask Jesus and yourself, “why do I think about these things? What is
the motivation behind these things?
iii) The voice of the devil
the
voice of the devil is that voice that is always trying to lead us away from
Jesus and to remain slaves to him. His voice always tells us to doubt the
Lord’s goodness and not to trust in him. It is the voice that says, “I know
better than He does.” It is the voice that tells us to say “no” to Jesus. The
most obvious example of the voice of the devil is the temptation to sin, but he
can be very cunning, and as St. Paul says, can appear as the angel of light. If
the devil cannot get us to listen to sin, he then will try to get us to choose
something good, but which is not the good that Jesus wants for us. In other
words, the devil’s voice can try to make us choose a lesser good over the
greater good that Jesus has for us.
iv) The Voice of the World
the
voice of the world is a voice that is under the dominion of jthe devil, and
thus could be considered extension of the voice of Stan. The voice of the world
calls us to put our trust in things of the world: prestige, money, fame,
relationships, to be famous, to become important, to own a big house, expensive
car, money-making career. It is the voice we hear in advertising, on TV shows,
and in much of the music and radio. The “noise” that is mentioned above is part
of the voice of the world. The voice tempts us to forget about heaven, our
salvation and God’s call in our life. It tries to drown out the voice of Jesus
and His love.
In
the discernment process it can be confusing to figure out whose voice is whose.
Sometimes there is so much confusion in the heart because we have not yet been
able to distinguish the Lord’s voice from one’s own or the devil’s.
Great
progress is made in finding your vocation when you can begin distinguish those
four voices with regard to vocational choice. By turning away from and ruling
out the voices of the world and he devil, greater clarity and less confusion
are gained. We are sounds the one vocation and our own echoes the same vocation.
For
the most part, we cannot distinguish these voices very well without the help of
a spiritual director. A spiritual director is one who is familiar with the
spiritual life and who also leads a life a=of conversion and prayer in his
vocation.
Step Eight: Making a choice
Proper
discernment leads us to hear and understand which vocation the Lord Jesus would
like us choose for his greater glory and the salvation of our souls and the
souls of others. At some point the discernment about your vocation is supposed
to end, and you are asked by Jesus to make a life-long choice for a state of
life. In making a choice. We move from discerning our vocation to PREPARING FOR
OUR VOCATION.
THE THREE FUNDAMENTAL STATES OF
LIFE IN THE CHURCH
All
the states of life in the Church are based upon marriage and involve entering
some sort of spousal relationship. This is so, because the Church is the Body
and Bride of Christ and we are in relationship with Christ through the Church.
If the fundamental relationship of Jesus with the Church is a nuptial one, then
all the states of life within the Church are fundamentally nuptial.
Jesus
wedded the Church to Himself on the Cross, and so at the center of every state
of life in the Church is the Cross. Every vocation will involve the cross, and
so there will be times when living the vocation will be difficult and will
require sacrifice. But the suffering of the Cross always leads to the glory of
the Resurrection. Every state of life is an image of the nuptial union of
Christ and His Church (marriage) or points to the eschatological fulfillment of
this relationship (priesthood and religious life). In other words, some men and
women who would normally enter into the vocation to marriage are called by
Jesus to prefigure its final consummation in Heaven where men and women are no
longer given in marriage (cf. Lk. 20:35).
Vocation to marriage
Marriage
is the “natural vocation”, the original vocation that was not lost in the Fall.
The Lord Jesus elevated this natural and noble vocation to the level of a
Sacrament, and the well being of the Church depends upon good and holy
marriage. Out of the vocation come the domestic Church and the family as the
basic building block of the human society. Marriage can be thought of as the
“default vocation” in that one does not need an explicit call from God to enter
into the state of Holy Matrimony, in fact, without an explicit call to the
priesthood or some form of consecrated life in the course of discernment, one
can assume that one is being called to the married state.
Matrimony
is an image of the nuptial relationship between Christ and the Church. It is a
relationship between one man and one woman that is 1). Exclusive, 2). Life-
long and 3) open to children. The vocation is intended for the union of
spouses, the beginning and rearing of children, the sanctification of spouses
and children and to be salt and light in the secular world.
Vocation to the Priesthood
The
priest is a man who is called by Jesus to share in his spousal relationship
with the Church, to be conformed in persona Christi capitis ecclesiae (the person of Christ, the
head of the Church). He is a christian, a member of the Church, who is called
by God to proclaim the “Good News” of salvation to the world and to lead God’s
people in worship, especially in making present the saving sacrifice of Jesus
on the cross in the Eucharist. He is privileged to act “in persona Christis”
(in the person of Christ), especially in the celebration of the Sacraments: he
gives the life Christ to people in
Baptism; he forgives their sins in Reconciliation; he anoints the sic, he
witnesses vows as a couple is joined together in Marriage.
The
priest is a real man who is made a husband to the Church and spiritual father
to all. Through the grace of Holy Orders a man is ontologically changed, that
is, changed on the level of his being to be in the person of Christ. He
exercises this spiritual fatherhood following that of Jesus as prophet, priest
and king; that is, teaching/preaching, sanctifying and shepherding. The priest
is a man, spiritual husband and spiritual father. The priest witnesses to the
presence of God by his daily lived faith, especially in the midst of a parish
community. He encourages, consoles, rejoices, and supports his parishioners in
their lived experience of faith.
It
is important to note that the priest is not “singles” nor did his vocation
discernment lead him away from marriage but rather leads him to share in Jesus’
spousal relationship with the Church.
Consecrated life
Consecrated
life involves taking the three evangelical vows of poverty, chastity and
obedience. These evangelic counsels initiate Christ’s life on earth and
prefigure our final state in Heaven. In this way religious life shares in the
nuptial banquet of the Lamb.
There are many ways of living the consecrated
life, in a community or in a solitary. Consecrated life can also be more active
or more contemplative. More contemplative communities would include
Benedictines, Carthusians. Trappists, or Carmelites. More active communities
would be the Dominicans, Franciscans, or Jesuits. Consecrated life that is more
solitary would be a hermit, a consecrated Virgin and sometimes as a member of
secular institute. Each type of consecrated life involves the living of the
evangelical counsels according to the particular charism of the founder who is
often a saint.
Other vocations
It
has been argued that associating vocation with particular states of life such
as marriage or religious life is too narrow and that many Christian vocations
do not fit neatly into those categories.
The single life
Sometimes
in vocation circle, we hear of a vocation to the “single Life”. However we
should understand this in the correct sense. Jesus always calls His followers
into a permanent state of life which involves the making of promises or vows.
With this understanding, the single life would mean some sort of consecrated
life in the world. If a person is “single” it is because he or she has made
vows either public or private, of consecration to the Lord.
THE
MISSION OF THE FAITHFUL
The
Canon Law describes the Christian faithful as “those who, since they are
incorporated into Christ through baptism, are constituted the people of God.
For this reason they participate in their own way in the priestly, prophetic
and Kingly office of Christ. They are called, each according to his or her
particular condition, to exercise the mission which God entrusted to the Church
to fulfill in the world”. (Can. 204 #1). Canon 96 also states that “by baptism
one is incorporated into the Church of Christ and is constituted a person in
it, with the duties and rights which, in accordance with each one’s status, are
proper to Christians, in so far as they are in ecclesiastical communion and
unless a lawfully issued sanction intervenes”.
In
these descriptions, Baptism is the fundamental element that separates
Christians from non-Christians. By baptism, the believer is clothed with
Christ. “All of you who are baptized in Christ have been clothed with Christ,”
says St. Paul to the Galatians (Gal. 3:27). The Baptized becomes a “new
person.” A “new life” animates him/her, and this life is truly that of Christ
with whom the baptized is identified in the mystery of his death and
resurrection. The baptized is grafted on Christ”: he/she lives his/her life;
Christ lives on in him/her. This is the true reality of Christian identity.
The
baptized are made participants in the priestly, prophetic and kingly missions
that Christ continues to exercise in the world. The second consequence of
baptism is that the baptized is called to the mission that the people of God
carry but as the church of Christ, a mission God has given the Church to
fulfill in the world until the end of time. The first consequence,
participating in Christ’s function is a personal responsibility and comes unconditionally
with baptism. The second, a call to exercise the mission of the church, is a
social responsibility and varies according to one’s juridical condition.
Member
of the Christian faithful is at the same time incorporated into the Church of
Christ by baptism. There is no baptism without the social juridical effect –
at least constitutionally.
The
Christian faithful as persons in the Church have the duties and rights that are
proper to Christians in keeping with their “condition”. The specific condition is
that all Christians share the same “freedom of the children of God” as the L.G.
no. 9 teaches.
The
Christian faithful are said to participate in the functions (munera) of
Christ that is the three dimensions of
Christ’s mission, namely teaching, sanctifying, and ruling by which the people
of God – the Church – continue Christ’s
mission. Paragraph 2 of canon 204 points out that such participation in
the Church’s mission for a Catholic is within the context of the Catholic
Church in which the Church of Christ subsists: “This Church, established and ordered in this world as a
society, subsists in the catholic church, governed by the successor of Peter
and the bishops in communion with him”.
And
what is the Church? This paragraph which is a direct quote from Lumen Gentium 8
distinguishes the Catholic Church as the one in which the church of Christ
subsists. There are various organized bodies of baptized Christians, and they
are not in full communion with one another. In which then, does Christ’s Church
continue, carrying out the mission of Christ as described in par. 1 of this
canon? Both the canon law and the vat. II council make a positive claim
regarding the Church in which Christ’s Church subsists. The text does not make
an exclusive or negative judgment on other churches and ecclesial communities.
Although the Council went on to provide
an evaluation of these others in terms of the degrees of their communion with
the Church of Christ, the Code has a more restricted purpose and focuses on the
Catholic Church alone.
The
“true Church” refers specifically to those churches in union with the successor
of Peter and one another, both Eastern and Western. Because of the significance
of union with the Bishop of Rome, the Western Church has also been termed the Roman
Catholic Church. The Council Churches as well, particularly in this context.
The Council developed the meaning of catholicity in terms of universality and
variety (LG 13). The church is universal both in the sense that it is to spread
throughout the world and also because it is for every age, nation and culture.
The Church is catholic in that it is a communion of various parts of the
Church, sharing resources and solicitude for each other and the whole Catholic
Church (LG. 13). The Church is also catholic in that it is composed of various
ranks, whether of hierarchical service (cf. cans. 207 and 336) or of spiritual
witness (cf. can. 207 #2).
There
exists a true equality of all Christians by virtue of baptism; they share a
common dignity of the children of God. They also have a common responsibility
for building up the body of Christ although they carry out that task in keeping
with personal abilities and in light of each one’s respective functions (can.
208). Although they are theologically equal through baptism, people differ in
their capacities and involvement in the Church, and indeed in their role in
society at large. Children for example, do not carry out the responsibility to
build up the body of Christ in the same way that adults do; those who live in
areas where the gospel is not known have different challenges from Christians
in already evangelized settings. Yet the task is common – to build up the body
of Christ; the dignity each shares in view of baptism is also common regardless
of other offices and dignities one may have in the Church or civil society.
It
is both an obligation and a right for each and every Christian to spread the
gospel. This is a universal Christian obligation binding in all times and
places until the end of time (L.G. 33). It is a fundamental right of all
Christians.
EVANGELIZATION AND MISSION
Evangelization
can be referred to as Jesus’ mission and ministry, his life and preaching. It
also refers to an activity of Christians usually implying outreach to
non-believers but also includes shared belief among Christians. Other
vocabularies used in this wider sense include preaching, witnessing,
proclaiming, presentation of the gospel message, and announcing the good news.
Thus evangelization is understood as the proclamation of salvation in Jesus
Christ to non-Christians, to convert them and to establish a local Church. But
it includes the whole ministry of the word and not only missionary preaching.
In other words, Evangelization is the proclamation of Christ by word and the
testimony of life.
Missionary
activity is a matter for the Church and for all Christians, for all dioceses
and parishes, Church institutions and associations (John Paul II, Redemptoris
Missio no. 2). Canon 211 is the basis for a variety of obligations and rights.
It locates every Christian in the heart of the mission of the Church –
proclaiming the gospel which is usually termed evangelization.
In
the 1917 Code, the work of spreading the gospel was primarily the
responsibility of the pope and bishops. Others participated in this work by
designation from higher authority, and the presumption was that average
Christians had a more passive role of supporting the missionary endeavour, or
at least they will not remain silent when the faith is endangered. Otherwise
spreading the gospel was not specifically theirs. The work of evangelization
was also considered in terms of missionary work to foreign territories whereby
a body of truths was to be proclaimed to them; although local ordinaries and
pastors were called to show consideration for non-Catholics in their own
territories.
In
Vatican II there are two senses to
“mission” and “evangelization.” One
reflected the traditional meaning of bringing to areas where it was not yet
known and in that sense the council deals with missionary lands (see Ag 6).
It broadened the concept of what was involved, however, and included the
responsibility of the whole Christian community in those areas – even while
recognizing the special role of missionaries (AG 19 – 27).
A
second sense of mission, which include the narrower meaning but extended to the
entire world, viewed all activity of the Church in some sense as missionary; the
Church is missionary by nature (AG 2) and even traditionally Christian areas
are ever in need of re-evangelization. In this sense “the obligation of
spreading the faith is imposed on every Christian, according to his ability (LG
17).
OBLIGATION
AND RIGHT
Spreading
the gospel is not only a duty incumbent upon each of the faithful; it is also a
right. As a duty it binds Christians to bear witness to the gospel whenever it
is in question or being attacked. It also calls for more active initiative in
spreading the good news. Parents have the special obligation of
proclaiming the gospel to their children (cans 226, 2; 783), and if
they violate this duty they may be subjected to sanctions (can. 1366).
Similarly, those who actively work against the gospel in a public forum are
subject to sanctions (can. 1369).
Evangelization
is also a right which extends to all Christians. They need no further
authorization or commissioning to exercise this right in the various
circumstances of their lives. This does not mean, of course, that the right can
be used contrary to the common good of the Church. Its exercise is under the
supervision of church authorities (cans. 754, 756), particularly if one were to
claim to act in the name of the Church or to carry on evangelization within the
church properly. It , for the sake of order, that those who speak in the name
of the Church or preach in church buildings obtain appropriate authorization
(see cans. 756 – 759, 764, 766, 812, 823, 832).
OBEDIENCE
In
imitation of Christ whose obedience to the Father was unto death, the Christian
faithful are to obey their bishops when these act specifically in their role as
Christ’s representatives (can. 212). The bishops do this when they teach
formally, exercising the Church’s Magisterium, or when they establish binding
discipline as pastors of the Church. The canon is based on Lumen Gentium
37 which applied this obligation to lay
persons but indicated it was common to all the faithful. It calls for active
participation by all the Church in coming to a determination of what the
pastors do teach or establish as discipline. Obedience is owed to what they
intend as specially binding in virtue of their role as representatives of
Christ, that is, with the full responsibility of office. Personal opinions or
matter in which genuine freedom exists within the Catholic communion are not
included.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH
The Spirit manifests himself in a special way
in the Church (Redemptoris Missio, no. 28). The Church is a prophetic
institution in the sense that she has within herself this Spirit that animated
Jesus. It is this presence of the Holy Spirit within the Christian community
that produces the effect of her evangelization. The Spirit has an intense
influence on the Church’s life. By the power of the Spirit the community of the
faithful is enabled to understand Christ, to recognize him as her Lord and to
call him faithfully without any danger of going astray in the events of her
life (1 Cor. 12:3). The Christian community which has received the Holy Spirit
has an infallible sense of the faith, as stated in Lumen Gentium 12, such that
the Risen Christ is now at work in human heart through the strength of his
spirit who sows the seeds of the Word present in various customs and cultures,
preparing them for full maturity in Christ.
The
Magisterium (the teaching authority of the Church) especially that of the
Supreme Ponitff, is infallible. But the infallibility of the Head of the Church
presupposed the infallibility of the Church. The whole people of God are moved
by the Spirit to receive the word of
God, to accept it and apply it to one’s life. The role of the Magisterium does
not negate this fundamental spiritual capacity; rather it presupposes it and it
is its main manifestation. Fidelity inspired by the Spirit belongs to the
people of God, which is the Body of Christ. Within the Church communion, the
function of the Magisterium is to proclaim “infallibly” what is common belief.
It does this authoritatively and authentically.
THE
SPIRIT GRANTS SPECIAL CHARISMS TO BELIEVERS
Some of the members of the community have special
spiritual gifts or charisms that enable them to serve the community in a
special way. LG 12 reminds us that each one of us, whether a member of the hierarchy
or not, can be granted special gifts of the Spirit for the renewal and the
progress of the Church. “Allotting his gifts according as he wills, he
also distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank” (LG 12). St.
Paul gives us a number of lists of special gifts that contribute to making a
community a living one. The faithful who are granted those charisms
cannot isolate themselves from the others or dominate the community, simply
because they have such gifts. The Apostles, and therefore the hierarch,
being the first to be granted these gifts, and the leaders of these
communities, can exercise a certain control over the charisms granted to others
(1 Cor 14:37-40), judge the genuineness and proper use of these gifts through their office but not
subdue them. They are to test all things and hold fast to what is good.
The
communities that live a genuine faith do not impede the action of the Holy
Spirit by their sins and infidelities; they are truly charismatic and given
over to the action of the spirit. Those gifts of the Holy Spirit given to any
one are not extraordinary gifts but everyday phenomena; they are not all the
same but take many forms; they are not reserved to certain special groups but
are for the benefit of the whole Church. They are a free gift to the believer
so that he/she may be useful to the community and do his/her work zealously. At
the same time, this gift enables the beneficiary to perform his/her duty and
obliges the individual to adapt to situations and to be faithful in spite of
difficulties. In the mind of St. Paul, charisms, vocation and service are more
or less interchangeable terms. In fact, any gift is for the development of the
whole body. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to individuals for the good
of all.
In
as much as Christ’s faithful allow themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit,
they are filled with a real dynamism that make them to be witnesses of Christ
(Acts 1:8; 13:1-4). “The Spirit leads the company of believers to ‘form a
missionary community’ to be the Church” (Redemptoris Missio, no. 26). It is in
this way that they share in the mission of the one who proclaimed the Kingdom
of God by the testimony of his life and the power of his word. It is the
community as whole which is sent to spread the Good News all over the earth
until the end of time. The Church’s essential vocation is to evangelize and she
is called to live in such a way that she witnesses to the Gospel in all the
events that take place among the human societies.
THE
MISSION OF THE CHURCH
Christ
instituted his Church with the mission “to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all
the earth for glory of God the Father, to make all men partakers in redemption
and salvation, and through them to establish the right relationship of
the entire world’ (Apostolicam Actuositatem, Decree on the Apostolate of the
Laity, AA no. 2). From the above statement it should be noted that the Lord
Jesus Christ inaugurated his Church by preaching the Good News, that is, the
coming of the Kingdom of God (LG 5), and the Church is the instrument through
which he continues his salvific work. Secondly, the mission of the Church is not
restricted to the ministry of the hierarchy, as only the hierarchy is not the
church.
The
concept of mission has deep roots in the Trinitarian life of God. The
incarnation (God the Son), Pentecost (the Holy Spirit) and the mission of the
Church are all manifestations of the divine mission (God the Father who sends).
Likewise,
mission locates us in salvation history as part of a long line of persons called
and sent by God. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, Amos,
Micah, Isaiah, Jeremiah and many more – all form links in the series of divine missions that culminated in
Jesus Christ. In the Holy Spirit and in the Church, we participate in this
culminating mission of Christ. Furthermore, mission places the person sent in a
special relationship with the God who sends. The person sent is the one who is
open and committed to:
-
God, author of
the plan of salvation for all people
-
The needs of
others, as manifested through historical challenges
-
Making himself
or herself an instrument of the communication of salvation
-
Discerning the
signs of the times and applying God’s gift to one’s era.
Every
Christian is a receiver of the mission of the Church because Christ alone is
the source of salvation for the whole world” (LG 17) … p. 42
Summary
the mission of the Church has a double aspect, the first of which is the
extension of the kingdom of God throughout the world, so that all the
nations may be brought into
relationship with Christ. This is done through the preaching the Gospel, and in
this way renewing the face of the earth. This aspect of the church’s mission
stresses the external activities of the church to teach, to sanctify to govern
the Christian community. The second aspect of the Church’s mission is
to bring men and women to share in Christ’s saving redemption. This aspect must
touch the lives of individual Christians and inspire them to strive for the
perfection of the Christians life, as Christ commanded all his followers to be
perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. And as the numbers of such
Christians increase, the example of their Christian witness will be much more
effective in promoting the mission of the church than can be achieved by words
or actions.
MISSIONARY
VOCATION OF ALL BELIEVERS
The
mission that Christ communicated to the Church is therefore, shared by all
Christians though in different ways and degrees. Although the hierarchy has a
particular well-defined role in the Church’s mission, Vatican II Council states
that there should be a looser collaboration between the hierarchy and the
laity. Through the command of charity and baptism, every Christian is a Gospel
worker within the ecclesial communion and, at times, through a special
appointment from the Church herself (hierarchical mission). Thus the way in
which an individual participates in this mission, as a missionary worker, can
be the result of a sacrament, of a particular charism, of a special appointment
from the Church, etc.
All
believers are called to practice Christian holiness in a particular manner,
which corresponds to a particular way of exercising the apostolate (Can 201).
This canon draws from chapter V of Lumen Gentium which deals with the call of
the whole Church to holiness, the holiness the Council emphasized is common to
all (LG 32, 33 and 40). The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states thus:
“The fidelity of the baptized is a primordial condition for the proclamation of
the Gospel and for the Church’s mission in the world. In order that the message
of salvation can show the power of its truth and radiance before men, it must
be authenticated by the witness of the life of Christians” (CCC 2044). Thus
regardless of their state in life all Christians are bound by obligation
arising from their union with Christ to live a life worthy of their calling
according to their abilities and the circumstances of the ecclesial community,
which reveal a new way of living … it is the only possible way of being a
missionary” (R.M 42). The Second Vatican states it is another way “The faithful
who by baptism are incorporated into Christ, are placed in the People of God,
and in their own way share the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ,
and to the best of their ability carry on the mission of the whole Christian
people in the Church and in the world” (LG 31; can 204). The Church is built up
by the constancy of the convictions and the moral lives of Christians, so that
she increases, grows and develops through their holiness.
There
are no two kinds of holiness; there is one common calling to perfection (Mt.
48). But there can be additional reasons why some Christians are more urgently called
to seek holiness. The clergy are expected to seek holiness for the special
reason that they are dispensers of divine mysteries to the people of God.
(Can. 6 #1).
The
principal means of evangelization and sanctification is the ministry of the
word and the sacraments to which the clergy is committed in a special way.
But exist also many opportunities for
the laity to exercise the apostolate of evangelization and sanctification,
namely “the very witness of a Christian life, and works done in a supernatural spirit ,,,
effective in drawing men to the faith in God” (AA 6).
MISSIONARY
VOCATION OF THE LAITY, CONSECRATED PEOPLE AND PRIESTS
Pastoral workers can be divided into:
laity, religious or consecrated” persons and priests – ministers. Every
Christian participates in Christ’s mission according to his/her own vocation and
situational circumstances. In the early Church’s missionary work, there were,
alongside the Apostles other figures, which included individuals, groups and
communities. So too today, work of Evangelization is shared by the various
members of the Church, who are sent as missionaries to proclaim the Gospel all
over the world in response Christ’s mandate.
THE
PRIESTS
Just
as Christ gave the universal mandate to the College of the Apostles with Peter
as its head, so this same responsibility rests primarily on the College of the
Bishops, headed by the successor of Peter – the Pope – and then the rest of the
clergy. The ministerial priesthood is a service that represents Christ the Head
and Good Shepherd in the guidance and promotion of the ecclesial community (cf.
PO 2, 6, 9, and 12). The Lord appointed certain men as ministers, in order that
they might be united in one body, but do not have the same function. They hold
in the community of the people of God the sacred Order of offering sacrifice
and forgiving sins, and in the name of Christ, exercise the priestly office
publicly on behalf of men. So Christ sent the apostles, and through them made
them their successors, the bishops, sharers in his consecration and mission.
The function of the bishop’s ministry was handed over in a subordinate degree
to priests so that they might be appointed in the order of the priesthood and
be co-workers of the Episcopal order for the proper fulfillment of the
apostolic mission that has been entrusted to it by Christ (PO 2). It is
therefore, “the first task of the priests as co-workers of the bishops to
preach the Gospel of God to all men … in this way they carry out the Lord’s
command, … and thus set up and increase the People of God” (PO 4). By
reason of their particular vocation, priests are principally and expressly
ordained to the sacred ministry, although they may sometimes be engaged in
secular activities, or even practice a secular profession.
MISSIONARIES
AND MISSIONARY INSTITUTES
There
are among those involved in missionary apostolate, those whom the Council
refers to as Missionaries (AG, 23-27). These have a special vocation patterned
on that of the apostles, and they undertake the duty of evangelization, which
is the responsibility of the whole Church as their special task. “Sent by the
legitimate authority”, they “go out in faith and obedience, to those who are
far from Christ”, and are under the guidance of the Bishops, who ensure their
fidelity to the founding charism (cf. RM, 66). Missionary Institutes have been
the means employed by the Congregation of Propaganda Fidei for the spread of
the faith and the founding of the new Churches.
The
Consecrated/Religious life in its various forms is called to signify the very
charity of God in the language of our time, and take their place among the
collaborators of the diocesan bishop in his pastoral duty (CCC 926 – 927).
Through the permanent practice of the evangelical counsels (in the
contemplative or active life, or even in the secular, the consecrated life is a
service and powerful sign that shows “that the world cannot be transfigured and
offered to God without the spirit of the beatitudes” (LG 31; Perfectae
Caritatis 1; LG 42-43; CCC 914). They too, the consecrated men and women, participate
in the priestly, prophetic and kingly offices of Christ.
The
lay state is a state of life in which a person chooses to “contribute to the
sanctification of the world, as from within like leaven,” animating and
directing the temporal order from within, so that everything is always carried
out in accordance with the will of God (LG 31; can 204; CCC 897 – 900). Thus
the term “laity” means “all the faithful except those in holy orders and those
who belong to a religious state approved by the Church. That is, the
faithful who by Baptism are incorporated into Christ, live in the world and are
incorporated into the people of God, are made sharers in their particular way
in the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ, and have their own part
to play in the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the
world” (LG 31; see also LG 33 – 36; Can. 230 #1; LG 35 AA 6 #3; AG 15; CCC 897,
901, 903, 904-913).
Catechists
have a place of honour among the laity who evangelize (RM 73). They are
referred to as “that arm of catechesis, both men and women, worthy of praise, to whom missionary work among the
nations owes so much … with apostolic spirit, they make a singular and
absolutely necessary contribution to the spread of the faith and of the Church
by their strenuous efforts” (Ad Gentes Decree on the Missionary Activity of the
Church, 17; see also Can. 785).
PRAYER
FOR MISSIONARY VOCATIONS
Every
vocation is a gift from God. In fact, the prayer and sacrifice of the community
that desires missionary vocations is also necessary. In order to awaken
apostolic vocations, especially for the field of the first evangelization and
for the more difficult sectors, gratitutde for the faith that has been received
must be encouraged. In introducing the fields for the apostolate (prophecy, worship,
kingship or pastoral offices and services) preference must be given to the most
important and urgent necessities: the poor, young people, families, non-believers,
The
term Mystical Body of Christ, therefore refers to all who, through baptism are
member of that body of which Christ is the Head. Christ and the church thus
together make up the whole Christ. And since it is a body with various member
and functions, all the members share in that life which comes from Christ, but
in greater or lesser degree. And as a member of the Mystical Body each Christian
has specific functions to perform in the church, but all aim at the same goal,
namely to extend the kingdom of God on earth. This is clearly expressed by Paul
in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 12:12-22).
In
the Church therefore, there is unity of mission and diversity of ministries.
Thus what is needed in the Church is unity without uniformity and pluralism
without division. There is need
to achieve a proper balance between the quality of all the people of God and
the differences among the members of the Body of Christ. As Pope John Paul it
put it in his opening talk to the Synod on the laity in 1987.
The
Church is the Body in which Christ life flows into the faithful who unite
themselves in a mysterious and real way through the sacraments. She is at the
same time a People, the new people of God, which has Christ as its Head, the
dignity and freedom of the sons of God as its condition, the new precept of
love as its law, the kingdom of God as its end.
If
it is by reason of their baptism that there is a basic equality among all the
members of the Church there must be something in addition to baptism that
account by the diversity of functions and ministries.
Palestine through the personal
initiative of a few fervent individuals. The Apostles were nothing in their
time. From a human point of view they were neither rich nor learned, nor
heroes. Jesus places on the shoulders of a handful of disciples an immense,
divine task: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you
should go and bear fruit and that your
fruit should abide; so that whatever you
ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you” (Jn 15:16).
The apostolic succession has been
preserved in the Church since two thousand years of history. The Council of Trent,
declares: The bishops, have succeeded in the place of the Apostles and are
placed, as the Apostle (Paul) himself says, by the Holy Spirit to rule the
Church of God (Acts 20:25. Council of Trent, Doctrine on the Sacrament of Holy
Orders, Dz-Scu 1768 (960). And, among the Apostles, Christ himself made Simon
the object of special attention. You are Peter and on this rock I will build my
church. (Mt. 16:18). I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail :32).
The priest’s presence as a minister
in the community is a service to make the whole ecclesial community missionary.
It is an active and fundamental presence in the field of missionary promotion.
He become a sign and stimulus for the Church’s missionary dimension due to the
fact that he is a special sign of Christ’s presence.
The missionary dimension of the
priest comes from the essence of the priesthood itself and from the “sequel
Christi” (following Christ) or “apostolic life” which is consecration to
mission, shared by the Lord. In fact the universal missionary dimension is a
part of his identity.
The apostolic call of the twelve,
of their successors and immediate collaborators, has a its immediate objective
the “following of Christ” and participation in the consecration and mission of
Christ. The fact that he appointed apostles “to be with Him” (to follow him) is
intimately related to the fact of “being sent out to preach” (Mk 3:14). It is
the whole life of the apostle that is immersed in the life and mission of
Christ, through the action of the Holy Spirit: “As the Father sent me, so am I
sending you ... receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:21-22).
“laity” means “all the faithful
except those in holy orders and those who belong to a religious state approved
by the Church. That is, the faithful who by Baptism are incorporated into
Christ, live in the world and are incorporated into the people of God, are made
sharers in their particular way in the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of
Christ, and have their own part to play in the mission of the whole Christian
people in the Church and in the world” (LG 31; see also LG 33 – 36; Can. 230
#1LG 35 AA # 6 #3; AG 15; CCC 897, 901, 903, 904 – 913).
Catechists have a place of honour
among the laity who evangelize (RM 73). They are referred to as “that arm of
catechesis, both men and women, worthy of praise, to whom missionary work among
the nations owes so much … with apostolic spirit, they make a singular and
absolutely necessary contribution to the spread of the faith and of the Church
by their strenuous efforts” (Ad Gentes, Decree on the Missionary Activity of
the Church, 17; see also Can. 785).
Prayer for Missionary Vocations
Every vocation is a gift from God.
In fact, the prayer and sacrifice of the community that desires missionary
vocations is also necessary. In order to awaken apostolic vocations, especially
for the field of the first evangelization and for the more difficult sectors,
gratitude for the faith that has been received must be encouraged. In
introducing the fields for the apostolate (prophecy, worship, kingship or
pastoral offices and services) preference must be given to the most important
and urgent necessities: the poor, young people, families, non-believers, etc.
In introducing the missionary vocation it is necessary to start from the
evangelizing dimension of every vocation and then go on to introduce the specific
missionary vocation (AG 23).
The Church is apostolic in nature.
Our Lord founded the Church on the weakness but also on the fidelity – of a few
men, the Apostles, to whom he promised the constant assistance of the Holy
Spirit. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the
age” (Mt 28:18-20). The preaching of the Gospel does not arise in priestly life
is participation in the Good Shepherd’s mission of totality and universalism: he
“lays down his” serving all without forgetting the “other sheep’ (Jn 10:1-18;
15:1-7).
The saving mediation between God
and man is perpetuated in the Church through the sacrament of Holy Orders,
which gives to men the power – through sacramental character and consequent
graces – to act as ministers of Jesus Christ on behalf of all souls. That one
person can carry out an act that another cannot does not stem from a difference
of goodness or malice, but from an acquired power, which one possesses and the
other does not. Therefore, since the layman does not receive the power to
consecrate, he cannot bring about the consecration, no matter what his personal
goodness may be.
The Vatican II gathers together the
biblical and ecclesial tradition, presents the priesthood as participation in
the being, mission and life style of the Good Shepherd. The purpose of priests’
ontological configuration to Christ, as “sharers in his consecration and
mission” (PO 2), is so that they may be his “living instruments” (PO12). The
goal of this priestly configuration to Christ is to build up the Body of
Christ, the Church” (PO 12). Only in the light of this missionary dimension can
the reality of “working in the name and “person” of Christ the Head and Good
Shepherd be understood (cf. PO 2-6).
The priest jis the qualified
promoter of the missionary ecclesial community, especially starting from the
particular Church or diocese, always in the perspective of the universal
Church. The purpose of the ministerial service in the particular Church is to
make it an echo and an expression of the whole Church since “the local Church
must represent the universal Church as perfectly as possible” (AG 20). It is in
her that “the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church of Christ is truly
present and operative” (CD 1). The priest helps the ecclesial community to
reach the maturity of being an
“implanted” Church and hence
responsible for her universal missionary dimension (AG 6).
The priest’s mission is exercised
in cooperation with the Episcopal order (cf. LG 28; AG 39) in the particular
Church and in the brotherhood of the Presbyterium. The Bishop the diocese and
the Presbyterium, by their very nature, have local and universal missionary
activity as their goal. This is the sense in whichc the missionary
responsibility of the Bishop is to be understood, as the head of the particular
Church and of the clergy: “As the sponsors of the universal Church and of al
the Churches, all the Bishops are to have a special solicitude for missionary
activity, especially by arousing, fostering and sustaining missionary
initiatives in their own particular Churches” (can 782).
The sacerdotal mission embraces
“the whole diocese… and the whole Church” (LG 28). In this way priests “render
the universal Church visible” (LG 28) in every universal community. “Membership
in and dedication to a particular Church does not limit the activity and life
of the presbyterate to that Church: a restriction of this sort is not possible,
given the very nature both of the particular Church and of the priestly
ministry … (cf. PO 10) … it thus follows that the spiritual life of the priest
should be profoundly marked by a missionary zeal and dynamism” (PDV 32).
Priestly spirituality is related to
his ministry: “Priests will acquire holiness in their own distinctive way by
exercising their functions sincerely and tirelessly in the Spirit of Christ”
(PO 13). This conciliar orientation on spirituality includes availability for
the universal mission as an integral part of “apostolic life” evangelical
generosity, brotherhood, missionary availability.
The priestly power of the Church,
which proceeds directly from Christ, stand out in all its greatness. Christ is
the source of every priesthood: for the priesthood of the Old Law was as its
figure, but the priesthood of the New Law acts in the person of Christ, as Paul
states in his Letter to the Corinthians: “what I have forgiven, if indeed I
have anything to forgive, has been forgiven for your sake in the presence of
Christ” (2 Cor. 2:10).
Priestly and Religious Vocations
Vocations to which everyone is
called all eternity: the vocation to be “holy and blameless” (Eph. 1:4-5; LG.
39, 40) are of various kinds, but the most commonly distinguished in the Church
are those of the lay and of the clerical and religious states of life.
Marriage, that is, the state of life that is sanctified by a special sacrament
– is also a special divine call, (LG 35) and cannot be answered together with
the priestly and religious vocations. Both have the characteristics of vocation
in general but also have their own peculiarities.
Priestly vocation
Nature,
Signs, Care/fostering of vocation (cf. Optatam Totius no. 2; cans. 232 – 235)
Every Christian vocation is founded on God, because it comes from God
and is God’s gift and is never given outside the Church (Pastores Dabo Vobis
35). The Church by her nature is a vocation and a begetter and educator of
vocation, “because she is a sacrament, a sign and instrument in which the
vocation of every Christian is reflected and lived out” (PDV, ibid).
The Ratio Fundamentalis for the
training of priests (No, 39) describes
and lists the human and moral qualities of those who are candidates for the priesthood;
the spiritual and intellectual gifts which they must have to be apt for the
priestly ministry. Such attitudes that one must have before any call from the
Lord is considered, include:
i. Right
intention (can 1029): This involves
- Motives
of intention. A right intention is absolutely necessary
- a
proper idea of the priesthood and its demands (can 235)
- Desire
to serve Christ and the Church, not to advance one’s social status.
- a
decision to enter the Seminary taken in all free will (cf. PDV, 36). According
to canon 1026, no one is to be ordained without freedom, that is, “it is
unlawful to force someone to receive orders or to deter one who is canonically
suitable for receiving them by whatever means and for whatever reason”.
ii. Spiritual
qualities
-
Love of God and others
-
Spirit of fellowship and self-denial, docility,
well-tried chastity
-
A sense of faith and of the Church (can. 1029)
-
An adequate piety and sacramental practices
iii. Human and moral qualities
-
Sincerity, emotional maturity and ability to assume
celibate chastity, good manners, keeping their word, steady concern for
justice, feeling for just freedom, friendship (i.e, ability to enter into human
relationships), commitment and sense of responsibility, industry, the will to
work with others, good reputation, good gorals and proven virtues
iv. Pastoral
qualities
-
Integration into a Christian community
-
Apostolic and missionary commitment
v. Intellectual
qualities (can 1029)
- academic
level: has completed the level of studies necessary for entering university
(can 234 # 2).
- correct
and sound judgment
- adequate
intelligence and ability to complete ecclesiastical studies
Vi. Health
(can. 1029)
-
Psychological stability
-
Sufficient physical and mental health to follow the
Seminary schedule
Such consideration makes it
possible to judge whether or not candidates are suitable for priestly ministry.
In his declaration of the year for
priests the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XIV
said, among other things:
“The root of every genuine call to
the priesthood must necessarily be a call from Jesus: “you did not choose me, I
chose you!” (Jn. 15: 16). Before “choosing” to become a priest, a man must
first of all realize that he has been chosen by Christ Jesus alone choose and
calls and this he does through the mediation of the Church. A genuine vocation
is not simply intuition, it needs to be nourished and grafted onto the
centuries old tree of the church.
Developing awareness that Jesus is
calling us usually demands a period of discernment which can be short or long.
It is necessary to become aware of sublime truth. Jesus is calling me to
become, like Him, a priest! Without a suitable journey which usually begins in
the family, the domestic Church, how could a man discover this truth which
brings about a total change in his life?” (Benedict XVI, Homily 19 June 2009)
(Agenzia Fides 17/7/2009)
The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II
had earlier stated this, that: “The vocation of each priest exists in the Church
and for the Church; through her this vocation is brought to fulfillment. Hence
we can say that every priest receive his vocation from our Lord through the
Church as a gracious gift, a gratia data. It is the task of the Bishop or the
competent superior not only to examine the suitability and the vocation of the
candidate but also to recognize it. This ecclesiastical element is inherent in
a vocation to the priestly ministry as such. The candidate to the priesthood
should receive his vocation not by imposing his own personal conditions, but
accepting also the norms and conditions which the Church herself lays down, in
the fulfillment of her responsibility” (Pastores Dabo Vobis, 35 #7; Optam
Totius no. 2)
The priestly vocation demands
sacrifice, detachment, and even segregation (cf Phil 12: 7ff, Acts 12:12). It
imposes a king of life difference from the ordinary one not designed r esteemed
in ordinary social classes.
St. Paul gives us a brief summary
of what his response to the Lord’s call on road to Damascus entailed by way of
a life of suffering and sacrifice (2 Cor 11:23-29). This vocation demands
dedication to prayer, dedication to the good of others and concern for their
spiritual needs, to unreserved service of men, with preference for those most
in need of love, assistance and consolation.
Vocation to the priesthood, like
other vocation, is not a thing in terms of tangibility, it is a free gift
which, like grace, can be possessed and retained or lost.
Care/Fostering of vocation
Although the priesthood is a call,
requires attention and special care. The church lays much emphasis on the
proper care and fostering of vocation to the priesthood and has involved every
member of the Church, according to his/her position and status, to contribute
to this purpose. According to Canon 233 # 2 “it is the duty of the whole
Christian community to foster vocations so that the needs of the sacred
ministry are sufficiently met in the entire Church. The document of Vatican II
on the training of priests (Optam Toius), also states that: “The duty of
fostering vocations falls on the whole Christian community, and they should
discharge it principally by living full Christian lives” (O.T 2). It is part of
the pastoral work and mission of the Church “to care for the birth, discernment
and fostering of vocations, particularly those to the priesthood” (PDV 34 #5,
38). Families, parishes, teachers, priests, and of course Bishops – in their
various capacities – must co-operate to foster priestly vocations (can 233 #2
& 3; PDV 41).
Formation of Candidates for the priesthood
Aware of her duty and proper and
exclusive right to train those who are deputed to sacred ministries (can 232),
the Church is concerned that candidates for orders be properly formed for the
exercise of the priestly ministry. “Those who aspire to the deaconate or the
presbyterate are to receive an accurate formation, in accord with the norm of
law” (canon 1027). “In accord with the norm of the law” here prominent, because
since the Vatican II Council, national Episcopal Conferences have been asked to
have their own programme of Priestly formation which will be adapted to the
circumstances of place and time, so that priestly training will always
answer the pastoral requirements of the
particular area in which the ministry is to be exercised (OT 1; PDV 42 #4).
While insisting that in the
formation of priests, “the candidates should be correctly instructed on the
nature and obligation of the order they are to receive” (can. 1028), greater
attention should, however, be give to spiritual training, closely associated
with doctrinal and pastoral formation (OT. 8).
The difference areas of formation
are emphasized by the Church, namely, the human (PO 3 #3; PDV 43-44), spiritual
(DV 45 -50), intellectual (PDV 51) and pastoral areas (PDV 57-59), as well as
the settings and the persons responsible for the formation of candidates for
the priesthood (Read PDV 43ff).
Religious Vocations (consecrations)
Religious consecration is life
consecrated through profession of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty
and obedience, and is a stable form of living, in which some Christian faithful
follow Christ more closely and dedicate themselves to God, and seek perfection
of charity in the service of God’s kingdom, for the honour of God the building
up of the Church and the salvation of the world. This manner of life is assumed
in institutes of consecrated life which are canonically established by the
competent ecclesiastical authority (Can. 573).
Institutes of Consecrated life and
Societies of Apostolic life
1. Institutes of
Consecrated life (can. 573-730; LG 43ff; Pertectae Caritatis)
Considering the place of the
religious and the importance of their way of life in the body of the Church the
Vatican Council affirmed: “The state of life, then, which is constituted by the
profession of the evangelical counsels (of chaste and self-dedication to God,
of poverty and of obedience), while not entering into the hierarchical
structure of the Church, belongs undeniably to her life and witness” (LG 44). This form of life, the “pursuit of
perfect charity by means of the evangelical counsels traces its origins to the
teaching and the example of the Divine Master, and is a very clear symbol of
the heavenly kingdom” (PC 1; LG 43 #1). Some men and women, from the very
beginning of the Church, set out to follow Christ with greater liberty, and to
imitate him more closely, by practicing the evangelical counsels. They led
lives dedicated to God, each in his/her own way, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, founded
religious families. Thus, in keeping with the divine purpose, a variety of
religious communities, which has considerably contributed towards enabling the
Church to be equipped for every good work and to be prepared for the work of
the ministry unto the building-up of the Body of Christ, came into existence.
The religious-life is therefore, “a form of life to which some Christians, both
clerical and lay, are called by God so that they may enjoy a special gift of
grace in the life of the Church and may contribute, each in his own way, to the
saving mission of the Church” (LG 43 #4).
The canon Law also referring to the
religious life states, “Life consecrated through profession of the evangelic
counsels is a stable form of living, in which the faithful follow Christ more
closely …, and are totally dedicated to God … they are dedicated to seek the
perfection of charity in the service of God’s kingdom, for the honour of God,
the building up of the Church and the salvation of the world. They are a
splendid sign in the Church, as they foretell the heavenly Glory” (Can 573 #1).
Paragraph 2 of this same canon adds:
“Christian faithful who profess the
evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience by vows or other sacred
bonds according to the proper laws of institutes freely assume this form of
living in institutes of consecrated life canonically erected by the competent
church authority and through the charity to which these counsels lead they are
joined to the Church and its mystery in
a special way”
The terminology “institute of
Consecrated Life” applies equally to “Religious” and to “secular Institutes,”
thus avoiding expressions historically associated with religious life as such.
Canon 573 seeks to give a comprehensive description of the consecrated life, a
life consecrated through profession of evangelical counsels. It is a new and
special dedication and consecration rooted in and more fully expresses that of baptism
and may be see as a further specification of the Christian vocation. This new
step in the Christian life, the canon recognizes, is a vocation – a life
entered into under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
The religious life is closer
following of Christ, a following with greater liberty and imitating Christ more
closely (PC 1). Furthermore, by the sacrament of baptism the Christian is
baptized into Christ, entering his redemptive dying and rising. In professing a
life of evangelical poverty, chastity and obedience, the consecrated
consecration, motivated by charity, is seen as honouring God and furthering the
two fold love of God and others in their lives of poverty, chastity and
obedience, the members of institutes of consecrated life become signs of life
to come, varying according to the nature and charism of the institute.
Because canon 573 applies to all
institutes of consecrated life. It speaks of both “vows and other sacred
bonds”. These evangelical counsels are the same: poverty, chastity and obedience;
the bonds by which they are undertaken vary according to the kind of institute
and its proper law. It may happen, however, that some institutes may actually
pronounce fewer or more vows or other bonds. But the totality of their gifts,
given according to the approved proper law, includes the same three dimensions.
Additional specific vows, in accordance with an institute’s charism and
legitimate heritage, may be defined in the proper law. Thus, while the counsel
are considered of the very essence of consecrated life, there can be
considerable diversity in the emphasis placed on one or another of them by
particular institutes. The manner of living obedience and poverty will be quite
diverse for secular and for religious institutes. In all case, the way of
living the counsels is to be developed in the constitutions (can 598).
The special position of all
institutes is that members are given over to the building up of the Church (can
573, #1); they are associated with the Church and its mystery in a special way
through charity (can. 573, #2); by their state, they pertain to the life and
holiness of the Church (can. 574, #1); and they possess a special gift in and
for the Church (can. 574, #2).
II. Religious
Institutes (Cans 607-709)
Canons 607 and the following, talk
specifically about religious institutes and religious life. “Religious life, as
a consecration of the whole person, manifests in the Church a wonderful
marriage established by God, as a sign of the world to come”. Some of the
important characteristics of religious life include consecration, public vows,
life in common, and witnessing to Christ (can. 607 #2 & 3). The Vatican II
Council understands consecration in terms of living the fullness of the gospel
life by means of the evangelical counsels (LG 44).
Canon 673 makes the “witness of a
consecrated life” the primary apostolate of religious, thereby focusing on the
consecrated with the idea of apostolate: “The apostolate of all religious
consists in their witness of a consecrated life which they are bound to foster
by prayer and penance” (c. 673). This includes institutes primarily dedicated
to the active life or the contemplative life. The very fact that a religious is
consecrated is an act that has value in itself and gives witness to God’s presence.
The service aspect of the apostolate is emphasize in canon 675, but is based on
the witness of the religious being consecrated to God. The commitment made by
the religious is fostered by prayer and penance (conversion) which are the
foundation of the consecrated life of every institute without regard to whether
it is dedicated primarily to prayer, service, or a particular combination of
those two elements. “In institutions dedicated to works of the apostolate,
apostolic action pertains to their very nature. Hence, the whole life of
members is to be imbued with an apostolic spirit, indeed the whole apostolic
action is to be informed by a religious spirit” (can. 675, #1). This paragraph
adopts the words of perfectae caritatis 8 in describing institutes dedicated to
the works of the apostolate. This is based on the idea that “apostolic action”
pertains to the very nature of such an institute. Thus, there is to be no
division or dualistic approach to life in institutes dedicated to works of the
apostolate. It is one life with two dimensions that complement each other
rather than causing divisions. “Apostolic action, to be exercised in the name
and by the mandate of the Church, is to be carried out n its communion” (can
675, #3). The apostolic action is exercised in the name of the Church and is
not an independent exercise of ministry by religious institutes or one of its
members. It is exercised by the mandate of the Church, which may occur because
a bishop has granted permission to an institute to erect a house and perform
the works of the institute; because a bishop has entrusted a particular work to
an institute; or because religious recognized a need an received approbation to
engage in a certain work.
Perfectae caritatis, nos. 7 and 9,
as well as canon 674, explains the role of contemplative institutes in the
Church. Because of the nature of contemplative vocation, members of these
institutes are not to undertake any pastoral assignments. “Institutes which are
wholly ordered to contemplation always retain a distinguished position in the
mystical Body of Christ for they offer an extraordinary sacrifice of praise to
God … through their hidden apostolic fruitfulness. For this reason, however
much the needs of the active apostolate demand it, members of these institutes
cannot be summoned to aid in various pastoral ministries” (can 674). This
principle is to be adhered to even though so as to keep the nature of the
contemplative life intact, members of contemplative institutes have always
carried out a pastoral ministry such as offering hospitality or being spiritual
guides, counselors, and confessors. These ministries would not be prohibited by
this canon insofar as they do not interfere envisaged as consistent with the
life of the institute can be outlined in the proper law.
“Lay institutes whether of men or
women, share in the pastoral office of the Church through spiritual and
corporal works mercy and offer the most diverse services to men and women;
therefore they are to persevere faithfully in the grace of their vocation”
(can. 676). The majority of religious in the Church are members of lay
institute, most of whom are engaged in apostolic action. The scope and depth of
the apostolic action of lay institutes are recognized; however the canon places
no legal responsibilities on such institutes, but gives more of a word of
encouragement with a vote of gratitude for the blessing that these institutes
have been for the Church.
This canon does not legislate
regarding the matter of the ordination of some members of lay institutes of
men. Perfectae Caritatis 10 states that lay institutes of brothers may admit
some members to holy orders to meet their need for priestly ministry in their
houses; such a provision requires approval of the general chapter. The lay
character of the institute is not affected by provision.
III. Apostolate of the Institutes (can. 683)
According to canon 673 “The
apostolate of all religious consists primarily in the witness of their
consecrated life, which they are bound to foster through prayer and penance”,
thus making the witness of living the consecrated life the primary apostolate
of religious. Provision has been made in the Decree on the Pastoral office of
Bishops in the Church (CD, 35) that religious, exempt (those removed from the
jurisdiction of the local ordinary in order to better provide for the good of
the institute and the needs of the apostolate) or not, whenever called upon by
the diocesan bishop to do apostolic work, should comply promptly and faithfully
in carrying out such duties and requests of the bishop. In view of the urgent
needs of souls and of the lack of diocesan clergy in some places, religious
institutes which are not dedicated to purely contemplative life may be called
upon by the bishop to help in pastoral ministries, taking into consideration
the special character of each religious institute. The religious are under the
jurisdiction of the bishops in the individual dioceses in accordance with the
general law, insofar as is required for the performance of their pastoral
duties and the proper care of souls. Such matters include: public worship,
preaching to the people: the religious and moral education, catechetical
instruction and liturgical formation of the faithful especially of children,
diocesan rules regarding behavior proper to the clerical state and various
activities related to the exercise of the sacred apostolate, Catholic schools’
policy and supervision, and legitimate decrees of Episcopal councils and
conferences which bind all.
The Church recognizes the need for
co-operation and discussion between the bishop and the religious superiors
regarding the works of the apostolate. “In organizing the works of the
apostolate of religious, it is necessary that diocesan bishops and religious
superiors proceed after consultation with each other” (can. 678 #3).
The Mystical Body
The use of the term “Mystical Body
of Christ” began with St. Paul. He was quite ware of the manifold gifts that
God bestows on his Church and the variety of charisms and ministries allotted
to individual members of the People of God. From his teaching we learn that all
the members of the Church cannot be reduced to undifferentiated conglomerate
(cf Rm. 12: 4-8; 1 Cor. 12;2-12, 1 Cor. 14).
It was under Pope Pius XII that the
description of the Church as the mystical Body of Christ became a household word. He gave the
same teaching as Paul in his Encyclical mystici Corporis, in which he discusses
the Roman Catholic Church ans the three conditions for full membership, namely,
faith in the teaching of the Church, the reception of the Sacraments and
obedience to ecclesiastical authority. He did not however take up the wider
question of membership in the Church of Christ which is effected through valid
baptism and therefore includes Christians outside the Roman Catholic Church as
did the Second Vatican Council. The Encyclical treats of problems within the
Catholic Church, and in those terms Pope Pius XII could say that the Mystical
Body of Christ is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church of Rome.
The Second Vatican Council, on the
other hand uses a more ecumenical approach and therefore, after admitting
members of all baptized Christians in the Church of Christ, it states that the
Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church (LG. 8). It went on to say
that “By communicating his Spirit, Christ mystically constitutes as his body
those brothers of his who are called together from every nation” (LG 7). This
goes to show the intimate union between Christ and his Church. It is important
to note three aspects of the Church as the Body of Christ: the unity of all her
members with each other as a result their union with Christ; Christ as head of
the Body; and the Church as bride of Christ (CCC 789). All who believe and
respond to God’s word and become members of Christ’s Body become intimately
united with him. This unity does not do away with the diversity of its members.
Rather it produces and stimulates charity among the faithful and triumphs over
all human divisions (cf. CCC, 791).
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