Mary, Mother of priests, pray for us!
When we begin priestly life we are full of enthusiasm, but occasionally imprudence appears and keeps us company. In these first years, the advice of a fraternal spiritual guide becomes essential. It is he, with his experience, who will gradually create a fraternal connection with us.
Creativity appears in these early years as well, fused with an idealistic touch. It is what highlights our charisma, nourishing our pastoral care and giving freshness to our priesthood.
As time goes by, we must learn to recognize the empty areas in our lives and the need to analyze what elements will fill them. When sorrows and anguish reach our hearts, we must seek Mary. She, as the Mother of priests, accompanies us along this path of love and devotion, interceding for us to keep the flame of our vocation alive.
1. They don’t have wine: When one takes on priestly life, there are two elements of great help: enthusiasm and creativity. This makes your ministry a celebration.
With enthusiasm comes imprudence, but the joy you feel covers it and even justifies it; that’s when it is necessary to begin searching for balance. In the first years after the seminary, it is very important that the new priest be accompanied by a more experienced priest who must have a fraternal spirit; so that he can guide him and also correct him.
How important it is to know that in this early stage, there will be repercussions from the new priest’s actions; and therefore, the importance of the accompanying priest in the first years is vital since he must also protect him from the distress that criticism or discouraging comments can bring.
These first disappointments may cause the celebration to come to an end, and enthusiasm to turn into a pastoral structure or a simple parochial monotony. How many new priests were sent to parishes to cover a pastoral void, rather than a vocational challenge!
Creativity also appears. In the first years, creativity and a bit of idealism merge, creating the “touch” that you as a priest give to your pastoral work. That is when “your charisma” appears… because charisma feeds your creativity and your creativity strengthens your charisma.
It is very important to return to your charisma so that the celebration of your life does not come to an end; so that the freshness of your priesthood does not stop appearing. Your charisma extends across your life and your vocation; it is what fuels and strengthens it. When creativity disappears due to fear of what people will say; when your charisma is tied to a fear of losing an assignment, or a post or position in your diocese; when your creativity is tied to mere compliance; then the celebration of life dies out, and one falls into the bitterness of melancholy.
2. Fill the jars: A priest also experiences emptiness and often feels empty. There are many reasons why a priest might reach that stage, and it is important to be able to analyze why. To transform water into wine, servers must fill the jars. Here comes the priest’s willingness to “fill himself” again. It may be necessary to look for people or moments that will serve to fill him with tools to help him in his transformation. Only Jesus can transform the natural into the supernatural; therefore, dear brother priest, do not seek to fill your void with natural elements. I remember Father Pepe Miljalchik who always used to tell me: “as a country priest I want to teach you that you should never drink alcoholic beverages or eat fast food alone”, because when those times of crisis and loneliness come, you can fall into alcoholism or into poor eating habits that will greatly affect your health, causing illnesses such as diabetes.
Therefore, pay attention to what you are filling your life with so that Jesus can transform you. You may be filled with disordered affections, pornography or possessive friendships; or the search for archdiocesan power, among so many other things. Fill yourself with whatever is most transparent and clear as water, so that Jesus can transform it.
3. Do: Mary never abandons her children, let alone priests, but this implies personal work. Mary intercedes, but you must work on yourself so that the celebration of your life does not come to an end. There are many priests who no longer live life as a celebration, but live in bitterness. I believe that once in a while, in our priesthood, we all run out of the wine of living our priesthood with enthusiasm and creativity.
But from personal experience I can tell you that when you overcome a crisis and learn to live the priestly ministry with the transformations that God is bringing about in you, life becomes more beautiful. You come to understand that your priesthood is not tied to what others enjoy about you, nor is it tied to what you do for others to enjoy, but everything is tied to what Jesus transforms and generates. Not to what you generate.
Mary, Mother of priests, pray for us!
