By Father Jim Thermos
Spiritual Director, St. John Vianney Theological Seminary
It had always been one of my favorite days of the year, and it never failed to disappoint. As the one appointed to lead the newest seminarians in their Spirituality or Propaedeutic Year, I gathered the men together on the couches in the living room on the second day to tell one another (in ten minutes or less!) exactly how it was that Jesus led us here to discern becoming a priest.
Three hours (and 18 guys) later, there settled upon us a feeling of awe, excitement and renewed trust in Jesus’ plan and the Holy Spirit’s power to bring each of us to the seminary.
If I had to put a Scriptural reference to it, I would say pursuing God’s call to be his holy priests is akin to the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:32) recalling, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us.”
Feeling that ‘burning,’ these men would spend the next seven to nine years seeking to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and refine their understanding of what it is to be Jesus’ holy priest.
What follows will be a few reflections on being holy, being a priest and being a holy priest.
Being Holy
My starting point must be ‘the innermost secret of God’ detailed in paragraph 221 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “God’s very being is love. By sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange.”
To be holy means that we are sharing in the Love (Holy Spirit) that is exchanged between the Father and the Son.
How does one do that?
Not to worry – Jesus has breathed his Holy Spirit upon us at our baptism and every moment thereafter. The Holy Spirit is the sanctifier, the one who makes us holy.
What a relief – we need not figure out how to make ourselves holy!
The Most Holy Trinity has provided “the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6) in the resurrected person of Jesus, who invites us to be one with him in his body, the Church!
So, each of us is welcomed into the embrace of the Holy Trinity to receive God’s infinite, unconditional love and friendship through the Holy Spirit’s outpouring of grace in the sacraments, in his teachings, guidance and governance given to us as members of Christ’s body, the Church. In holiness, Mary is our mother and our model.
We need only look upon the image of Jesus’ Most Sacred Heart to be enlivened by the personal, tender, hope-filled, merciful and sweet welcome he offers us.
As we look upon that heart pierced by a lance for love of us, notice the wound from which flows the life-giving waters of Baptism and the Most Precious Blood of the Eucharist. This wound is ‘the gate’ (Jn 10:7) through which we enter and find our home.
This is holiness: life in Christ brought about by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit so that we might share Jesus’ life of love with the Father. What joy!
How, then, might we understand the holy priest?
The holy priest is, first and foremost, a holy member of the Body of Christ. Like all members, he is made holy through an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the graces afforded him through the Church. Like each of the baptized, he is made new by partaking in the ‘life to the full’ (Jn 10:10) Jesus offers.
In his sermon “On the Anniversary of His Ordination,” St. Augustine famously said, “For you I am a bishop, with you I am a Christian.” We are all called to holiness.
From this place of holiness (as a Christian), the priest experiences a burning in his heart like the disciples on the road to Emmaus. He experiences a deep desire to share in Jesus’ mission. His heart is to reflect Jesus’ Most Sacred Heart.
“The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus.”
St. John Vianney
In short, the holy priest is ordained through an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to be one with Christ, the head. His mission is to serve the other members of Christ’s body.
How beautiful! What a privilege!
What a gift it is to be welcomed by Jesus to love his sheep as he loves them, to be his priest and offer the Holy Mass, to share his thirst (Jn 19:28) for souls, to reflect the love of the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (Jn 10:11).
As Jesus’ priest, the priest acts in Jesus’ name, making present the outpouring of God’s grace in the sacraments, in his teachings, guidance and governance.
I am so grateful that Jesus has chosen me to share in his one priesthood, to witness and be a part of the journey of other men who experience this same burning within their hearts.
Through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Priests, we “ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Mt 9:38) and provide an abundance of holy priests for his Church.
+++
Priest formation and support for retired priests are both supported by the Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal and shape our priests to bring souls to Jesus Christ. The appeal is the Archdiocese of Denver’s largest annual fundraiser and donations made to the appeal at archden.org/GiveNow help others become rooted in Christ on campus and through 40 other ministries.