: Pope Francis
: Giuseppe Merola
: Men of Mercy Pope Francis Speaks to Priests
: Beacon Publishing
: 9781929266807
: 1
: CHF 10.50
:
: Christentum
: English
: 200
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
Pope Francis is often called the People's Pope-individuals everywhere respond to his humility, empathy, and warmth. He invites people to dialogue openly and honestly in a way that opens up new ways of looking at things. In this collection of messages and homilies, Pope Francis shows us that he is the Priests' Pope as well. He understands who a priest is called to be: a man of mercy, a joyful and faithful minister, a shepherd who has 'the smell of the sheep,' with a heart centered in Christ and the sacraments above all. Through these messages, Pope Francis offers wisdom and encouragement to all priests. He knows the demands they face and how tired and discouraged they can become. Priests need mercy as much as anyone else-and so he encourages them to open themselves up to God's mercy and then energetically spread the message of mercy with joy, hope, and authenticity. May mercy guide our steps, inspire our reforms, and enlighten our decisions. May it be the basis of all our efforts. May it teach us when to move forward and when to step back. May it also enable us to understand the littleness of all that we do in God's greater plan of salvation and his majestic and mysterious working.
ANOINTED WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS
Vatican Basilica
Holy Thursday, 17 April 2014
 
Dear Brother Priests,
In the eternal “today” of Holy Thursday, when Christ showed his love for us to the end (cf. Jn 13:1), we recall the happy day of the institution of the priesthood, as well as the day of our own priestly ordination. The Lord anointed us in Christ with the oil of gladness, and this anointing invites us to accept and appreciate this great gift: the gladness, the joy of being a priest. Priestly joy is a priceless treasure, not only for the priest himself but for the entire faithful people of God: that faithful people from which he is called to be anointed and which he, in turn, is sent to anoint.
Anointed with the oil of gladness so as to anoint others with the oil of gladness. Priestly joy has its source in the Father’s love, and the Lord wishes the joy of this love to be “ours” and to be “complete” (Jn 15:11). I like to reflect on joy by contemplating Our Lady, for Mary, the “Mother of the living Gospel, is a wellspring of joy for God’s little ones” (Evangelii Gaudium, 288). I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that the priest is very little indeed: the incomparable grandeur of the gift granted us for the ministry sets us among the least of men. The priest is the poorest of men unless Jesus enriches him by his poverty, the most useless of servants unless Jesus calls him his friend, the most ignorant of men unless Jesus patiently teaches him as he did Peter, the frailest of Christians unless the Good Shepherd strengthens him in the midst of the flock. No one is more “little” than a priest left to his own devices; and so our prayer of protection against every snare of the Evil One is the prayer of our Mother: I am a priest because he has regarded my littleness (cf. Lk 1:48). And in that littleness we find our joy. Joy in our littleness!
For me, there are three significant features of our priestly joy. It is a joy which anoints us (not one which “greases” us, making us unctuous, sumptuous and presumptuous), it is a joy which is imperishable and it is a missionary joy which spreads and attracts, starting backwards—with those farthest away from us.
A joy which anoints us. In a word: it has penetrated deep within our hearts, it has shaped them and strengthened them sacramentally. The signs of the ordination liturgy speak to us of the Church’s maternal desire to pass on and share with others all that the Lord has given us: the laying on of hands, the anointing with sacred chrism, the clothing with sacred vestments, the first consecration which immediately follows. … Grace fills us to the brim and overflows, fully, abundantly and entirely in each priest. We are anointed down