Home | Contact Us | Subscribe/Renew | Register | Search | Site Map
You have heard me tell the story of Dominic Tang, the courageous Chinese archbishop who was imprisoned for twenty-one years for nothing more than his loyalty to Christ and his one, true Church. After five years of solitary confinement, in a windowless, damp cell, his jailers came to tell him he could leave it for a few hours, to do whatever he wanted. Five years of solitary confinement, and he had a couple of hours to do anything he wanted! What would it be? A hot shower? A change of clothes? Certainly a long walk outside? A chance to call or write family? “What will it be?” asked the jailer.
“I would like to say Mass,” replied Archbishop Tang.
A hot topic today is “the spirituality of the diocesan priest.” Even the pros admit it is a nebulous, ill-defined new topic, with a variety of worthwhile opinions on just what “the spirituality of the diocesan priest” is. But all agree on one thing: it has to be centered on the daily celebration of the Eucharist for the priest’s people.
What a practical approach to the spirituality of the diocesan priest that is! We make our daily Mass the heart of the day. That means we prepare for it, by meditating on the readings beforehand, by a spirit of prayer and recollection prior to Mass, by a reverent, sincere celebration of the Mass, and by a period of thanksgiving afterwards. If we do that, we’re on our way to “the spirituality of a diocesan priest,” then realizing that we bring that Christ whom we have offered up and received to our people, in our ministry, throughout the day.
In a 1983 address to U.S. bishops visiting Rome for their ad limina visits, Pope John Paul II said: “The spirituality of all diocesan priests is linked to the Eucharist. Here they obtain the strength to make the offering of their lives together with Jesus, high priest and victim of salvation. Through the Eucharistic sacrifice, celibacy is confirmed. From the cross the Lord speaks to all his priests, inviting him to be, with him, signs of contradiction…”
At the celebration of his golden jubilee of ordination, the Holy Father preached: “In the span of fifty years of priesthood, what is still the most important and the most sacred moment for me is the celebration of the Eucharist. My awareness of celebrating in persona Christi at the altar prevails. Holy Mass is the absolute center of my life and of every day of my life.”
Page
Catholic Faith Resources | For Catholic Parishes | Order OSV Products Search | Catalog | Books | Periodicals | Parish Resources | Offertory Solutions | About Us | Contact Us Send comments or questions to webmaster@osv.com Click here for our site map. Copyright © 2010, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. All rights reserved.