The Heart of a Priest

From the "Preface" to Men of Brave Heart, by The Most Rev. José H. Gomez, S.T.D., archbishop of San Antonio (OSV, release date is Sept. 1, 2009)

I have thought for many years about what a mystery it is that God calls ordinary men to share in his plan for the salvation of the world. The priest alone is configured to Christ so that he stands in the person of the Savior himself, a messenger and vessel of the mercy of God. Yet at the same time, the priest remains a man like others, not noticeably different on the outside from the rest of men.

What distinguishes the priest always is his heart. The priest has a special heart — the heart of a disciple and a missionary; a heart that longs to share the joy of Jesus Christ with his brothers and sisters. Men do not come to the priesthood because they have calculated that it will be a good professional move. They do not come for the money or even the opportunity to do useful and interesting work. They come because they are compelled to come, because they have heard a call. Like Abraham and Mary. Like James and John and all the Twelve. “Do you love me more than these?” Jesus asked Peter. With Peter and the apostles, the priest has said, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love you.”

To heed such a call, a call that comes personally from the living God, a man needs a generous heart. To live out that call over the course of a lifetime, to give himself totally to God, a man needs a brave heart. Nothing human is alien to the priest. He sees it all. Every parish is a microcosm, a miniature world in which countless human dramas and dreams play out. The priest walks with his people as they are born and as they die; he is with them in times of joy and times of sorrow; in sickness and suffering, in health and happiness.

It was said of Jesus that “he himself knew what was in man” (John 2:25). This is true of his priests, too. The priest knows what is in man — he knows the depths that people can sink to, and the glorious heights they can climb to by the grace of God. He hears their confessions, and heals them of their sins. He feeds their deepest hungers with the Bread of Life. He preaches the Word of God in a world that has nearly forgotten him.

I am surprised by the humility of most priests. They are men of virtue, prayer, learning, and deep love, and yet so often they will admit feeling inadequate to the tasks they have been given, saying they do not feel wise enough or holy enough. On one level they are right, of course. Who could be worthy of such a calling, to be an ambassador and a steward of the mysteries of God? And yet each one knows that he has been called by name, chosen by God himself. Each one can say what St. Paul said: “By the grace of God, I am what I am” (1 Cor 15:10).

An excerpt from Men of Brave Heart, by The Most Rev. José H. Gomez, S.T.D., archbishop of San Antonio (OSV, release date is Sept. 1, 2009). Call 800-348-2440 to preorder.