Constant prayer is key to priestly ministry, Pope tells Congregation for Clergy

June 01, 2017

“Pray tirelessly,” Pope Francis advised priests, in a June 1 address to participants in the plenary session of the Congregation for Clergy.

In his talk the Pope concentrated on the needs of young priests and their relationships with their bishops. He stressed that priestly ministry must be founded on prayer. Encouraging all priests to make time for prayer in their lives, the Holy Father said that he sometimes hears from priests who fall asleep while praying before the tabernacle. “Go ahead and fall asleep,” he said; “the Lord likes this, but stay there in front of Him.” He added that “our body, which is a good doctor, warns us when our tiredness has exceeded the limits.”

In addition to constant prayer, Pope Francis urged priests to “journey always, because a priest has never ‘arrived.’“ He also said that priests much “share with the heart, because priestly life is not a bureacratic office.”

The Pontiff underlined the need for bishops to pay careful attention to the needs of their priests, especially younger priests. He insisted that if a priest calls his bishop, the bishop should be sure to call back that same day, no matter how many other things are on his schedule. In that way, he remarked, the bishop stays close to his priest, acting as a father.

The Congregation for Clergy is meeting in Rome this week to discuss a number of topics, including the grouping of parishes in dioceses suffering from a shortage of priests, the incardination of priests in ecclesial movements rather than dioceses, and the role of the diocesan exorcist.

 

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Further information:

• Pope Francis to Clergy Plenary: prayer key to mission (Vatican Radio)
• Audience with the participants in the Plenary of the Congregation for the Clergy (Vatican press office)