Priests as Spiritual Fathers
Close to 300 people were treated to a day of Spiritual Renewal at St Joseph Catholic Church in Macon as we listened to Dr. Scott Hahn give three talks: Letter and Spirit, The Lamb’s Supper, and Priests as Spiritual Fathers. His third talk was greatly anticipated by many, this being the Year for Priests. More than a few were moved to tears at the end of his reflections.
For a priest, Dr. Hahn explained, his fatherhood is of a spiritual nature; therefore his care for us is of a spiritual kind. We cannot live, spiritually speaking, without our priests. As priests, men are called to be head of their spiritual family in their parish or to those placed under their care. God chooses them to be the instruments through which we have eternal life, a new birth, as God’s children, by the way of baptism, in cooperation with his Bride the Church. Similarly, earthly fathers, whom are also heads of their families, cooperate in bringing children into this world with their bride.
As fathers, priests take care of the spiritual and moral needs of their children. What earthly father does not take care of the physical needs of his children? He makes sure there is bread on the table, and provides clothes and shelter for them. In like manner, our priests make sure that every day we have Bread on the Table, the Eucharist, the food that will sustain us in our spiritual journey.
Do our earthly fathers guide us, teach us, correct us and forgive us as we grow and mature? So do our priests, our spiritual fathers. They teach us God’s word; and correct and forgive us in the sacrament of reconciliation. They also offer guidance and support through spiritual direction. They are, so to speak, our disciplinarians on the spiritual plane.
Knowing that fatherhood presupposes marriage, what loving spouse does not sacrifice himself for his bride, cares for her, loves her, and offers himself to her as a sign of his love. So does the priest, as a spiritual father, accomplish all these things for his Bride, the Church, and his children, us. He gives himself - mind, body and faculties - thus making a reality the command that Jesus gave the apostles at the Last Supper as he repeats at the time of consecration “this is my body, which will be given up for you”.
God has gifted and graced these men to say “yes” to a calling that will make them fruitful spiritual fathers, despite their weaknesses and inadequacies. Just like earthly fathers feel weak and inadequate at times, so do our priests. But God’s grace is greater than any weakness; and regardless of the priests’ faults and failings, God still works through them and uses them as instruments to build the Church Family. God gives them the grace to give us their lives. As Dr. Hahn reminded us several times, the priesthood is not hard, it is just impossible without God’s grace.
Ultimately, priests are an image of our Heavenly Father and point us in His direction. In a more concrete way, priests are a reminder of what is yet to come, of the joys of Heaven that come from a complete union with God. Their life of sacrifice, total self-giving, and detachment from all things human and earthly, remind us that our complete happiness does not lie here, but in Heaven, in the presence of our Heavenly Father.
He then concluded the talk with this beautiful prayer: “Almighty God, Our heavenly Father, we thank you for the grace of the sacrament of Holy Orders. We thank you for the gift of vocation, but we also thank you for the honesty and the humility of our brothers in Christ who are called to be fathers by receiving Holy Orders. We join with them in asking of you the supernatural assistance they need, not only to be faithful fathers of your family, but to be holy priests, and to become saints and nothing less, in order to make us saints and nothing less […] We thank you especially for our own parish priests, who in our own parochial families have given to us a share in a life that is eternal and divine.
At the same time we ask you Lord to forgive us for taking so much grace for granted.
For neglecting such a high and holy calling, for not being more encouraging to young men to consider this vocation this as their own. Help us especially in this year, and in all the years to come, to make up for lost time. Not only to pray for our priest but to reach out to them and to extend love to them, patience and mercy, just as we expect it from them. Help us to always extend it. But also Lord give us your eyes to see what young men you may be asking and calling, gifting and empowering.”
In Dr. Hahn’s own words, the one bad thing about the Year for Priests is that it is only a year. We need to thank God continuously for our spiritual fathers and pray for their commitment and holiness in their vocation. With God’s grace, all things are possible.
A Review by Michelle Migone, Serra Club Newsletter Oct. 2009
