Getting the "Little Picture"

NEW DELHI, June 19, 2009, 10.00 Hrs:

When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was proclaimed Pope, I vividly remember the joy of a priest friend standing next to me in St. Peter's Square. "Cardinal Ratzinger," he said, "was a "priest's cardinal.'" It struck me then as an interesting insight, which now appears to be spot on.

Benedict XVI has inaugurated the Year for Priests -- the first time since the Congregation for Clergy was founded at the Council of Trent that the Church has paid such special attention to priests.

It's just one of many examples of how much he values the priesthood. Elsewhere, Benedict XVI's esteem can be seen most clearly in his addresses to priests and seminarians. Frequently, on such occasions he has spoken about reaffirming a priest's identity, about being "a humble but real sign of the one, eternal Priest who is Jesus."

More specifically, he has given them firm words of guidance and encouragement, especially in light of today's pressures and challenges. Addressing clergy in Warsaw, Poland, on May 25, 2006, he reminded them that the faithful "expect only one thing from priests: that they be specialists in promoting the encounter between man and God. The priest is not asked to be an expert in economics, construction or politics. He is expected to be an expert in the spiritual life."

He added: "In the face of the temptations of relativism or the permissive society, there is absolutely no need for the priest to know all the latest, changing currents of thought; what the faithful expect from him is that he be a witness to the eternal wisdom contained in the revealed word." He later stressed that Christ needs priests "who are mature, virile, capable of cultivating an authentic spiritual paternity. For this to happen, priests need to be honest with themselves, open with their spiritual director and trusting in divine mercy."

But the most emphasized point of Benedict XVI has been for priests to live Christ-centered lives. In a speech he gave last year to young people and seminarians at the St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, New York, he urged them to deepen their friendship with Jesus the Good Shepherd, and talk heart-to-heart with him.

"Reject any temptation to ostentation, careerism, or conceit," he said. "Strive for a pattern of life truly marked by charity, chastity and humility, in imitation of Christ, the Eternal High Priest, of whom you are to become living icons. […] Remember that what counts before the Lord is to dwell in his love and to make his love shine forth for others."

His main concern is that priests be centered on the Eucharist -- something that was clear from his first speech as Pope, in the Sistine Chapel in April 2005: "The ministerial Priesthood was born at the Last Supper," he said. "All the more then must the life of a priest be "shaped' by the Eucharist."

Four years on since that momentous day when we watched Benedict XVI's election in St. Peter's Square, I asked my priest friend to expand on why he described the Pope at his election as being a "priest's cardinal." "He is obviously a priest first and a big cheese second -- someone who doesn't lose sight of the little picture," he said. "Too many bishops lose sight of the little picture, and say "We can't worry about that, we have a big conference/Mass/organization to worry about.'"

"Look how he has introduced kneeling for holy Communion," continued the priest, who comes from Britain and serves in an Italian parish. "A very powerful gesture, but it is not really a gesture, it is just normal if you respect the Eucharist… Look at his horror of child abuse: He looks at it from the position of a priest sullied by association rather than a CEO. Look at the way he preaches to parishes and children: He doesn't grandstand for the cameras or for the press, he speaks directly and is not easily distracted.

"Look at the lifting of the [SSPX] excommunications: an act of profligate generosity, which flew in the face of fashion, but then a priest is always profligate with mercy. … Look at his idea of creating a smaller Church: Any priest who is not an administrator will know that to renew a parish there is much to cut away."

The priest concluded: "He is obviously interested in Truth and wants others to be interested in the Truth too, not in him. Priests don't have vocations to be bureaucrats, they just become them, weighed down and demoralized by relentless diocesan 'big picture' initiatives, and some bishops who want a quiet life. But he has never lost sight of why he wanted to be a priest, of what helps and of what doesn't."