By Deborah Castellano Lubov
We must firmly embrace our priestly identity, Pope Francis suggested in his address to the Argentine seminary of Rome in the Vatican on Thursday.
Throughout his discourse, the Holy Father pointed to the great example of St José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, a fellow countryman from Argentina, often referred to simply as the “Gaucho priest.” The Pope, who canonized Brochero in 2016, suggested the Saint provides priests with an example of how to offer one’s life for the Lord.
In his remarks to representatives of the “Colegio Argentino”, the Pope said “Our vocation is not an appendage or a means to other ends,” but rather “is God’s plan for our lives, what God sees in us, what stirs His loving gaze.”
“I would dare say,” Pope Francis added, “it is, in a way, the love He has for us.”
Total gift of ourselves
Saying that in this way, priests find their true essence, the Pope urged those before him to work for the good of others, offering a total gift of themselves, in order to present an offering to God through their service.
The Pope stressed how important it is for priests to care for their interior lives, to “keep their fire alive” with great humility, and to embrace priestly fraternity.
“With brother priests,” Pope Francis stressed, priests are to have that desire to share everything he has, and to welcome when others correct him. Moreover, the Holy Father added, he is to do the same with them with candor, urging them to lead a life of deep piety with frequent confession.
The Holy Father also underscored the indispensable place of the Eucharist in priestly life, reminding that St Brochero never neglected this, and entrusted those gathered to the protection of Jesus and the Blessed Mother. – Vatican News
