VATICAN - Catechesis of Benedict XVI: Saint Paul and the saintly Cure of Ars “differ considerable in the path of life which characterised them, however they have something fundamental in common: total identification with the ministry, their communion with Christ ”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – “Why a Year of the Priesthood? Why commemorate the saintly Cure of Ars who apparently did nothing extraordinary?” These two questions were posed by the Holy Father Benedict XVI at the beginning of the general audience on Wednesday 24 June, held in St Peter's Square. “As we come to the close of the Year of St Paul– the Pope said in his catechesis -, dedicated to the Apostle of the nations, an extraordinary model of evangeliser who undertook several missionary journeys in order to spread the Gospel, this new Jubilee year invites us to think of this poor peasant boy who became a humble curate, carrying out his pastoral service in a small village. Although the two saints differ considerable in the path of life which characterised them – one went from region to region to announce the Gospel, the other cared for thousands and thousands of faithful without ever leaving his small parish -, nevertheless they have something fundamental in common: total identification with their ministry, their communion with Christ … The purpose of the Year for Priests, as I wrote in a letter addressed to all priests for the occasion - is therefore to encourage priests to tend ‘towards the spiritual perfection on which depends above all the effectiveness of the ministry, to help priests first of all, and with them the whole People of God, to rediscover and reinvigorate awareness of the extraordinary and indispensable gift of Grace which the ordained ministry represents for the one who has received it, for the whole Church and for the world, which without the presence of Christ would be lost.”
Underlining the profoundly changed “historic and social conditions compared with those in which the Cure of Ars found himself”, the Holy Father asked “how can priests imitate him identifying themselves with present day globalised societies ”. In fact in our day “the common vision of life includes less and less the sacred ” and “the Catholic understanding of the priest is in danger of losing its natural consideration, at times even within ecclesial consciousness”. Benedict XVI then mentioned two different concepts of the priesthood which today “confront and at times oppose one another”. The first, "a social-functional concept which defines the essence of the priesthood with the concept of 'service': service of the community, the exercise of a function … On the other hand there is the sacramental-ontological understanding , which naturally does not deny the priesthood's character of service, but sees it anchored to the being of the minister and believes that this being is determined by a gift granted by the Lord through the mediation of the Church, the name of which is sacrament ". Nevertheless “these two concepts are not counterposed ” the Holy Father explained, citing the Decreto Presbyterorum ordinis Decree of Vatican II which states: " Through the apostolic proclamation of the Gospel, the People of God are called together and assembled. All belonging to this people, since they have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit, can offer themselves as "a sacrifice, living, holy, pleasing to God" (Rom 12:1), Through the ministry of the priests, the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful is made perfect in union with the sacrifice of Christ. He is the only mediator who in the name of the whole Church is offered sacramentally in the Eucharist and in an unbloody manner until the Lord himself comes.(" (n. 2).
The Holy Father then explained what it means for priests to evangelise and in what the so-called primate of proclamation consists, with these words: “Christian preaching proclaims not words but the Word and proclamation coincides with the very person of Christ, ontologically open to relationship with the Father and obedient to His will. Therefore, authentic service to the Word, demands on the part of the priest that he tend to ever deeper self denial… The priest cannot consider himself ‘master’ of the word, but servant. Now, to be the ‘voice’ of the Word is, for the priest, not merely a functional aspect. On the contrary it presupposes a substantial ‘losing self’ in Christ, participating in his mystery of death and resurrection with one's whole self: intelligence, freedom will and offering of the body, as a living sacrifice. Only participation in the sacrifice of Christ, in his Kenosis, renders proclamation authentic!…Therefore proclamation entails self sacrifice, a condition for proclamation to be authentic and effective ”.
In the last part of his catechesis the Pope said “precisely because he belongs to Christ, the priest is radically at the service of the people: he is the minister of their salvation, their happiness, their authentic liberation, maturing this progressive assumption of the will of Christ, in prayer, in being 'heart to heart' with Him. This then is the indispensable condition for all proclamation, which entails participation in the sacramental offering of the Eucharist and docile obedience to the Church”. The Holy Father concluded saying he hoped the Year of the Priesthood would lead “all priests to become totally identified with Jesus, crucified and risen”, and that “following the example of the Cure of Ars, they may be continually and ever more deeply aware of the responsibility of their mission, which is a sign and presence of the infinite mercy of God ”.
After greeting those present in different languages, Pope Benedict XVI addressed a Delegation led by the under secretary of the United Nations Organisation and special representative for Children in situations of armed conflict expressing his appreciation for the efforts made by Ms. Coomaraswamy and her collaborators "to defend the child victims of violence and arms, I am thinking of all the children of the world, especially those who suffer fear, abandonment, hunger, abuses, sickness and death. The Pope remains close to all these young victims and always remembers them in his prayers".
Lastly he mentioned the 150th anniversary of the Red Cross organisation – “an important stronghold of humanity and solidarity in many contexts of war and conflict and in many emergency situations While expressing the hope that human beings in all their dignity and integrity will remain at the centre of the Red Cross's humanitarian efforts, - the Holy Father said - I particularly encourage young people to make a concrete commitment to this most worthy organisation. I also take advantage of this moment", Benedict XVI concluded, "to ask for the release of all people held hostage in areas of conflict and, once again, for the release of Eugenio Vagni, Red Cross worker in the Philippines". (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 25/6/2009; righe 69, parole 996)