We begin this month of August with the inspiration of a great saint that we can imitate in our pastoral and religious life. St. John Vianney exemplified the faithful life of a priest. In spite of the many challenges of life and pastoral demands, his eyes were always fixed on the one who called him. I greet you all, my brothers, and especially those who are priests, a blessed Priesthood month. During this month, I wish to invite you to reflect on the service of the priesthood. I am often touched with the words from the holy scriptures, that our lord Jesus called us “to serve and not to be served”. I wish to entitle this letter with the phrase, “How can I serve you?” These are the most essential words of a true believer. A true servant’s heart is essential for ministry. A servant’s heart allows the person to put aside his or her own agenda in order to carry out Christ’s mission. The best leader in the Church is the one who is willing to serve.

St. John Vianney was once quoted as saying “A priest goes to Heaven or a priest goes to Hell with a thousand people behind”. Certainly, this phrase sounds quite stark but it actually leaves us with much food for thought. One of the main points that we are invited to reflect upon is that of service. In a more poignant way, we can turn to Pope Francis. On November 29, 2014 Pope Francis kept up his own running commentary on the issue of clericalism when he spoke to 120 superiors of religious Orders during a closed door meeting. During this encounter, he noted “Formation (of future priests) is a work of art, not a police action. We must form their hearts. Otherwise we are creating little monsters. And then these little monsters mold the people of God. This really gives me goose bumps,”.

Pope Francis also stressed that men should not enter the priesthood to seek a comfortable life or to rise up the clerical career ladder. The ghost to fight against is the image of religious life understood as an escape or hiding place in face of an ‘external’ difficult and complex world, and priests had to have “real contact with the poor” and other marginalized members of society. “This is really very important to me: the need to become acquainted with reality by experience, to spend time walking on the periphery in order really to become acquainted with the reality and life-experiences of people,” he told them. If this does not happen we then run the risk of being abstract ideologists or fundamentalists, which is not healthy.”

As Clerics Regular Minor, we are very much blessed by the charism of our Founders. Our priests and brothers are called to live out their vocations by striving to be “little in the eyes of world” so as to be great in the eyes of God. In order to arrive at this, we need to be able to risk and to make ourselves available to the promptings of the Spirit. Father Luigi Affoni wrote very nicely in his book, “I Chierici Regolari Minori nella Chiesa” that the Holy Spirit oriented our Founders to personally respond to the needs of the Church as they nourished themselves spiritually in so many ways. For the clerics, this response was primarily one of service through preaching the Word of God, working with those who are marginalized and celebrating the Sacraments. Our Constitutions #43 state that: Following Christ who, Master and Lord, bent down to wash the feet of his disciple (Cf. Jn 13;1-15), the member will make his own the same sentiments that were in Jesus (Phil 2:6), and in his life, as well as in his apostolate, he will remember that his profession calls him to serve his brothers in humility according to the words of the Lord: “I am in your midst as the one who serves you” (Lk 22:27).

Beware! The barriers to evangelism in congregations are apathy, lack of concern, no sense of urgency, the “I do not see it as my responsibility,” and the “what’s in it for me?” attitude. Based on a relationship with the Servant Leader, Jesus Christ, a true servant puts aside his or her own agenda in order to carry out Christ’s mission. The highest compliment a believer can give God is to invite a friend to know him.

How are our hearts formed as priests of Christ? Pope Francis again addressed this when he spoke about fraternity. In the context of the Clerics Regular Minor, fraternity is community. The Holy Father encouraged a community life of sharing and prayer with joy. He said, “The priest is a man who, in the light of the Gospel, spreads the taste of God around him and transmits hope to restless hearts”. To those visiting their community, they can communicate the Gospel values of a “diverse and supportive fraternity”, and make them feel the fidelity of God’s love and His closeness. I encourage you brothers to do the same and follow what our Holy Father suggested. We can be of service to one another. This can be done easily by just making the time to visit our different communities. Thinking of them and remembering them in our prayers goes a long way. We can show that they are loved and remembered by simply greeting them during their special occasions or even just dropping them a message or making an easy phone call.

Service is always expressed within a relationship and it must be a loving relationship with one another. Sending messages of comfort for those who have lost their love ones, especially during this pandemic season, is a great act of charity. Sending encouraging words to those who are hurt and reconciling words that brings comfort and healing to a sorrowing brother reflects the holiness of Christ. To be remembered is a powerful service we can afford to give one another. Let us do our best to be at service to one another. We may always say to one another, how can I serve you? With this attitude, it can transform us into what our holy founders intended us to be, brothers called by Christ to bring His presence in the midst of the world.

We must always welcome one another as a gift. “In a fraternity lived in truth, in the sincerity of relationships and in a life of prayer, we can form a community in which we can breathe the air of joy and tenderness.”

My brothers, let us live the joy of the Gospel. Let us meet Christ in those we serve and always remember, let us be shepherds who have the odor of the sheep. At the end of the day before you close your eyes for a restful blessed night, you may ponder on this question, “Did I ask someone today, perhaps a parishioner, a brother, or somebody who might be in need or a person I encountered today: How can I serve you?

Happy feast of the priesthood during this month and along with our founders may ST. John Marie Vianney intercede always for us!

Sincerely Yours,

Fr. Ted Kalaw, CRM
CRM General