Towards the priesthood – Card. S. Wyszyński
You are the hope of a people that cries out to God…
Today, at a Holy Mass on which the rays of the solemnity of the Heart of God are reflected, the Church shows us the image of the Good Shepherd (…), and I can look on you as the fulfilment of the hope of a people that cries out to God.
Behold the Good Shepherd!… Before you could be called that, the holy Church had to labour greatly over you. Long years of study were needed, and alongside the work of mind and books a second work – is it not the harder one? – the work of interior formation. In accordance with the will of the Church, with the example of Christ, with the expectations and hopes of the people of God, spiritual formation was needed, the acquiring of a priestly spirit and style.
In search of the sheep…
Does the image of the Good Shepherd in the Gospel recalled today not move you, the Shepherd who does not wait for the sheep but goes out to seek them? Are you not moved by Christ's bold saying that he sends you not only to the good but also to sinners? The field of your work has no boundaries. From Christ's priesthood you have received your own Priesthood, which is at the same time Christ's – for all. „A priest, taken from among the people, is appointed for the people in the things that pertain to God”.
Through your ways there will pass a world of sinners, for you will go not to the healthy but to those who are ill. Yet you must not be afraid that your soul and the consecrated priestly garment will be soiled in the fields of a sinful and afflicted people of God.
When Christ went out to look for the lost sheep, he took no heed of crossroads, of thorns, briars and rocks. He wore himself out, he grew weary, dusty and dirty. But he went!… He went on until he found it. And that sheep, perhaps the worst of all, he treated as the best… He took it upon his shoulders and carried it back to the fold.
Dearly beloved! It seems to me that we stand more and more before a pastoral ministry which does not wait but – like Christ – goes out, seeks and wins the victory. Do not think that people will defend themselves against you. They may argue with you, bring accusations against you, and at times even take scandal at you. Yet at the bottom of this human unrest and fear there lies an undefined and unclear longing for God.
You are for everyone!
(…) My dearest children! You may make no distinctions, for you are aware that all are children of God. I send you out to go and to bear fruit. (…) Terrible is the contrast between the world of God and the world of Satan, of which the Gospel spoke today. In reality one cannot be indifferent; a person belongs to one world or to the other. If, however, someone should insist, by force, on counting himself among the enemies of God, let it not be so in your eyes. We may not think that way! You are for everyone! For the friends and for the enemies of God! To all of them you are to say that in the end (…) we shall all stand before God, who will show himself a Father to us all.
Spiritual Fathers! You are to go out and to tell of spiritual fatherhood to all the children of the Heavenly Father! You are to have a fatherly and brotherly disposition – towards all – towards the good and towards sinners.
As one who serves…
You have been raised very high, adorned and sanctified. A bishop's hands have rested upon you, your hands have been consecrated and you have been clothed in the chasuble, which signifies love. You have been raised up! Remember, however, my dearest sons, that all this greatness is not for you, but for the children of God. All your priestly greatness you are to give over to the humble service of the children of God…
The thought may sometimes come: „I have learning and a diploma, I have ordination”. That is true. You have all this, but so that you may become as one who serves, and not as one who rules.
Everything in love!…
People are thirsting for a heart! They are thirsting for love! They are thirsting for humility and humble service! The development and evolution of today's world is moving in that direction. All social changes are tending towards it. The point is to exercise authority – through love!
You are a priestly generation endowed with great authority, which you must exercise – through love! You will impress the poor people of today with nothing else; out of the depths of their souls, formally perhaps unbelieving, they cry: „Respice Deus, Protector noster, aspice Deus!” – Look upon us, Lord! Look! See us, your children!
You will win all people for God only through what he is, and he is Love. Through love you will win people for God. Through love you will bind them to one another. So do not display your power and do not try to frighten anyone. Do not use threatening words and do not pronounce curses. Love and serve everyone, and you will answer the most burning desires of the people of today, all the longings which mark out for the humanity of our time the paths of social development.
This, dearly beloved, is the spirit in whose name you will go out from the gates of the newly consecrated Archcathedral. You will carry a new spirit. Give it to those who love God and to those who do not love him yet… May the Best of Gods lead you!
Source: Ateneum Kapłańskie, 2/310, 1960.
