Meaning of Priesthood

WHAT CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD MEANS The Catholic Priesthood - A Challenge of the Modern World - Final Statement - The FABC Office of Clergy organized a seminar for the priests of Asia from November 17-22, 2008 at the Assumption University (Suvarnabhumi Campus), Bangkok, Thailand, to discuss "Priestly Life as a Challenge of the Modern Life..."

Among the resource persons and participants were 1 Archbishop, 4 Bishops, and 78 priests from ten countries in Asia (India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam). The objectives of the seminar were: 1. To rediscover priestly identity rooted in the concept of Communion in the Asian Context. 2. To lead the priests to a deeper awareness of the Divine (God-Experience) in their priestly life and ministry. 3. To help priests to re-capture the joy of priesthood by confronting the challenges of the modern world.

The seminar was inaugurated with the Eucharist presided over by Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Imus Cavite, Philippines. On behalf of Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, the Apostolic Nuncio of Thailand, his First Counsellor Msgr. Marek Zalewski conveyed the Holy Father's sentiments of closeness and solidarity with the participants as they deliberated on a very important topic relevant to the life of the Church in Asia.

The final statement of the participants underlines the need for a "life of profound priestly spirituality." The priesthood is to be lived as a celebration of life. In a situation of "tremendous difficulties and tensions," the seminar recommends, beside others, a holistic formation in seminaries, regular gatherings of clergy, regular prayer, liturgical life and spiritual direction for priests today. There should also be "a more open, intimate and personal relationship between bishop and priests" which should also be reflected in a structure of dialogue at different levels and regular on-going and systematic programs of human and spiritual formation for priests at different stages of their lives."

FINAL STATEMENT -

WE REMEMBER - We remember that we priests accept that the ministerial priesthood from apostolic times is a dynamic faith reality in the Church, which of its very nature is Communion. This priesthood is God's gift to nourish the ecclesial communion through the exercise of the Priestly, the Prophetic and the Kingly offices. Such a call demands a co-operation with the Holy Spirit to live a life of profound priestly spirituality. This spirituality is one that has been nurtured over the years of formation from the priest's unique God-experience. Hence, rooted in communion with the Blessed Trinity, the presbyterium celebrates a communion of priests with the Bishops and Priests among themselves, especially through fraternities. Similarly, rooted in communion with the Trinity, a priest becomes a builder of communities among the People of God and all peoples.

WE CELEBRATE - We celebrate our priesthood for it is essentially a celebration of life. The dynamics of the seminar concretized this celebration through communal prayer, the Eucharist, the Divine Office and the many shared fellowships. The human aspect of the priesthood was also celebrated by a humble acknowledgement of our shortcomings, limitations, struggles and failures. We received much light in the areas of psycho-sexual and psycho-spiritual maturity. Thus, developing a healthy relationship with all sectors of society, we priests will grow into mature and wholesome persons.

WE BELIEVE - We believe and accept the words of Jesus, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit." (Jn. 15:16) Our vocation is then a gift from the Lord to whom we respond as his disciples. To us he has entrusted the great mystery of salvation and to be the stewards and dispensers of the mysteries and graces of God. (PO # 22). However, under the impact of a materialistic, hedonistic and consumerist culture of life, the priests of today are undergoing tremendous difficulties and tensions. Coupled with these are the ever growing complexities of the pastoral ministry which can create personal problems and conflicts in relationships.

In the light of this situation, here are some recommendations towards a more mature life and fruitful ministry:

1. The seminary formation must be holistic. While sufficient emphasis is given to intellectual formation, much more attention needs to be given to the human and spiritual formation especially in regard to psycho-sexual and psycho-spiritual development. To this effect it is strongly recommended that some formators be trained to care for the spiritual and human formation of the seminarians.

2. To foster communion among the clergy regular participation at gatherings in the diocese are to be encouraged. Communion is further promoted by the formation of fraternities and associations.

3. For growth in spiritual life, priests must be encouraged to deepen and nurture their God-experience through regular prayer, meaningful liturgy, reconciliation and spiritual direction.

4. There should be more open, intimate and personal relationship between bishops and priests, so that a bishop is looked upon, not so much as an authoritative figure but more as a father, brother and friend.

5. There is a felt need for a structure for dialogue between the bishops and priests at the diocesan, regional and national levels, to ensure transparency, accountability and a sense of belonging.

6. There should be joint meetings among all those involved in the different stages of formation of priests (selection of candidates, formation in seminary, on going formation). Such a collaboration and networking for the implementation of action plans will ensure continuity.

7. There should be a vision-mission statement formulated by the bishop together with his clergy, religious and laity to set the direction of the diocese with proper mechanisms for ensuring their implementation.

8. It is accepted and highly recommended that there be regular on-going and systematic programs of human and spiritual formation for priests at different stages of their lives.

CONCLUSION - May Mary the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of priests pray for us. In Jesus the High Priest, every priest is precious in her eyes and dear to her heart. Having lived a life of discipleship, she knows our needs and prays for us. In our devotion to her, may we experience her presence in our lives and imitate her love and fidelity to Jesus, our High Priest.

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Courtsy: http://www.fabc.org/

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vmalpan@gmail.com

Personal Testimony of Nick Vujicic

"No Arms, No Legs, No Worries...!" "My name is Nick Vujicic and I give God the Glory for how He has used my testimony to touch thousands of hearts around the world!

I was born without limbs and doctors have no medical explanation for this birth "defect".

As you can imagine, I was faced with many challenges and obstacles. "Consider it pure joy, my Brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." ....To count our hurt, pain and struggle as nothing but pure joy? As my parents were Christians, and my Dad even a Pastor of our church, they knew that verse very well.

However, on the morning of the 4th of December 1982 in Melbourne (Australia), the last two words on the minds of my parents was "Praise God!".

Their firstborn son had been born without limbs! There were no warnings or time to prepare themselves for it. The doctors were shocked and had no answers at all! There is still no medical reason why this had happened and Nick now has a Brother and Sister who were born just like any other baby. The whole church mourned over my birth and my parents were absolutely devastated.

Everyone asked, "If God is a God of Love, then why would God let something this bad happen to not just anyone, but dedicated Christians?"

My Dad thought I wouldn't survive for very long, but tests proved that I was a healthy baby boy just with a few limbs missing. Understandably, my parents had strong concern and evident fears of what kind of life I'd be able to lead. God provided them strength, wisdom and courage through those early years and soon after that I was old enough to go to school.

The law in Australia didn't allow me to be integrated into a main-stream school because of my physical disability. God did miracles and gave my Mom the strength to fight for the law to be changed. I was one of the first disabled students to be integrated into a main-stream school.

I liked going to school, and just try to live life like everyone else, but it was in my early years of school where I encountered uncomfortable times of feeling rejected, weird and bullied because of my physical difference. It was very hard for me to get used to, but with the support of my parents, I started to develop attitudes and values which helped me overcome these challenging times. I knew that I was different but on the inside I was just like everyone else.

There were many times when I felt so low that I wouldn't go to school just so I didn't have to face all the negative attention. I was encouraged by my parents to ignore them and to try start making friends by just talking with some kids. Soon the students realized that I was just like them, and starting there God kept on blessing me with new friends.

There were times when I felt depressed and angry because I couldn't change the way I was, or blame anyone for that matter. I went to Sunday School and learnt that God loves us all and that He cares for you. I understood that love to a point as a child, but I didn't understand that if God loved me why did He make me like this? Is it because I did something wrong? I thought I must have because out of all the kids at school, I'm the only weird one. I felt like I was a burden to those around me and the sooner I go, the better it'd be for everyone. I wanted to end my pain and end my life at a young age, but I am thankful once again, for my parents and family who were always there to comfort me and give me strength.

Due to my emotional struggles I had experienced with bullying, self esteem and loneliness, God has implanted a passion of sharing my story and experiences to help others cope with whatever challenge they have in their life and let God turn it into a blessing.

To encourage and inspire others to live to their fullest potential and not let anything get in the way of accomplishing their hopes and dreams. One of the first lessons that I have learnt was not to take things for granted. Bible says in Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the best for those who love Him. That verse spoke to my heart and convicted me to the point where that I know that there is no such thing as luck, chance or coincidence that these "bad" things happen in our life. I had complete peace knowing that God won't let anything happen to us in our life unless He has a good purpose for it all. I completely gave my life to Christ at the age of fifteen after reading John 9. Jesus said that the reason the man was born blind was "so that the works of God may be revealed through Him."

I truly believed that God would heal me so I could be a great testimony of His Awesome Power. Later on I was given the wisdom to understand that if we pray for something, if it's God's will, it'll happen in His time. If it's not God's will for it to happen, then I know that He has something better. I now see that Glory revealed as He is using me just the way I am and in ways others can't be used. I am now twenty-one years old and have completed a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Financial Planning and Accounting.

I am also a motivational speaker and love to go out and share my story and testimony wherever opportunities become available. I have developed talks to relate to and encourage students through topics that challenge today's teenagers. I am also a speaker in the corporate sector. I have a passion for reaching out to youth and keep myself available for whatever God wants me to do, and wherever He leads, I follow.

I have many dreams and goals that I have set to achieve in my life. I want to become the best witness I can be of God's Love and Hope, to become an international inspirational speaker and be used as a vessel in both Christian and non-Christian venues. I want to become financially independent by the age of 25, through real estate investments, to modify a car for me to drive and to be interviewed and share my story on the "Oprah Winfrey Show"!

Writing several best-selling books has been one of my dreams and I hope to finish writing my first by the end of the year. It will be called "No Arms, No Legs, No Worries!" I believe that if you have the desire and passion to do something, and if it's God's will, you will achieve it in good time.

As humans, we continually put limits on ourselves for no reason at all! What's worse is putting limits on God who can do all things. We put God in a "box". The awesome thing about the Power of God is that if we want to do something for God, instead of focusing on our capability, concentrate on our availability for we know that it is God through us and we can't do anything without Him. Once we make ourselves available for God's work, guess whose capabilities we rely on? God's! Trust always!"

Incredible? But True. Let God's name be praised!

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vmalpan@gmail.com