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LINK to share: https://www.hanglberger-manfred.de/en-priestly-vocation.htm
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The role and the task
of a Priest: The
priest as a guide, organizer and companion on the
way of becoming mentally and spiritually self-reliant 1. God’s kingdom is
realized, among other things, by developing that the believers become mature
in an holistic way. The biblical basis for this is: Mt 23:8-10 “As for you,
do not be called 'Rabbi' … teacher … father … 'Master' …” Jer 31:33-34 (Promise of the
"New Covenant"): 34. No longer
will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how to know the LORD.
All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive
their evildoing and remember their sin no more. An important impulse of the
Second Vatican Council (GS ch 17): “Man's dignity
demands that he act according to a knowing and free choice that is personally
motivated and prompted from within, not under blind internal impulse nor by
mere external pressure. … From the post-synodal letter
"AMORIS
LAETITIA" ch 37: “We have been
called to form consciences, not to replace them.” Impulse from the Sacrament
of Baptism: Christians are
anointed to be "priest, king and prophet". 2. All believers are called
to realize this dimension of God’s kingdom and therefore are invited to walk
the path of mental and spiritual maturity. 3.
What is important to become mature and self-reliant? (1) In order to live
independently and "from within", self-knowledge and self-confidence
are needed. (2) To develop
self-knowledge and self-confidence, I think a healthy faith is very
important; but what is a healthy faith? For me, it means that I know
myself to be looked at with loving eyes by the origin of my life and the
origin of all reality, which some call God, and to know myself to be affirmed
comprehensively and fundamentally. (3) This enables me to
perceive my own life story with its light and dark sides and to say YES to
the whole of my own development. (4) This allows me to “live”
gladly and attentively in myself, i.e. in my body
and in the world of my feelings. (5) When I am "at home
in myself" and stop evaluating or fighting my feelings,
but learn to understand their signals - possibly through conversations
with trusted people - and learn to deal with them responsibly, I will begin
to live "from within". (To say goodbye to the
evaluation of feelings: https://hanglberger-manfred.de/en-understanding-feelings.htm) (6) Since the
feeling of compassion is often at odds with the feeling of fear of falling
short and with rational considerations, it is important to develop the inner
dialogue of head, heart and stomach, because these
three different physical-spiritual-mental perception centers allow for a more
holistic view than analyzing problems and making decisions using only one
method of perception. (7) In order to become
mature, it is important to recognize mental blockages caused either by
repressions of feelings in childhood or by unconsciously taking over
emotional burdens from ancestors, and to dissolve them. (More
detailed: https://hanglberger-manfred.de/therapeutische-uebungen.htm) (8) In order to become
mature, it is also important to refrain from devaluing other people and to be
able to defend oneself against devaluations by other people without devaluing
others by oneself. The rules of the game for
constructive arguing and fair criticism are helpful for this: https://hanglberger-manfred.de/en-streit.htm https://hanglberger-manfred.de/en-criticism.htm (9) In this
context, I think it is important to know and observe the basic truths of the
Christian view of man: - As a "Child of
God" and as "God's image," every human being is called to
comprehensive maturity and freedom. - God has entrusted creation
to man and shown him that he should love and respect other people as his
sisters and brothers: - Every person, as a
"Child of God," is an absolute original and is so different from
every other person that he cannot fully understand himself or any other
person, nor can he raise the claim to be fully understood. Therefore, human coexistence
requires respect for each other and respect for the mystery that each person
embodies. On the other hand, it is part of love for one another that one
strives to understand one another better and better - even if one knows that
one will never come to the end of it. - Humans are social beings;
as such, they are created for one another. They can be God's mediators for
one another, that is, they can make God's comprehensive affirmation of life
tangible for one another. Despite their differences, they can experience a
deep connectedness and unity through dialogue, love, appreciation, trust and respect. - As "Children of
God" and sisters and brothers, they reject all paternalism,
incapacitation, oppression and injustice - and
likewise an obedience associated with such forms of relationship. - They try to perceive the
voice of God in their conscience, by which they feel fully affirmed and which
gives them the inner strength to recognize the path of comprehensive
self-reliance and to move forward on this path. In this way, they listen to
God and also to the people who help them in the same
way. - In order
to help others to become self reliant, one
should let them search for what is important to them and, by asking specific
questions, help them to perceive and realize the various aspects of a
responsible and self-reliant way of life. 4. When the Gospel says: "Do not be called …teacher …!" (Mt
23:10) and in the book of the prophet Jeremiah: “No
longer will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen” (Jer
31:34), then the question naturally arises as to what "teaching
mission" the authorities of the Church, pope, bishops, priests and catechists, still have. Now, self-reliance is not a
given characteristic of Christians, even if they were all anointed at their
baptism to be "priest, prophet and king". For the path to
self-reliance is a process that must first be set in motion. And it is
precisely to this that the teaching activity of the authorities in the
Church, which is still necessary, is reduced: To tell the faithful that
they are called to full self-reliance and that it is their central and
irreplaceable task as Christians to follow this path. In addition, it is
important to describe "self-reliance " in more detail and to make
aware of the tasks that arise on the way there, and to offer appropriate help
to those who feel fear and uncertainty on this path. Since Christians do not only
make decisions for their own lives, but the Church has to
make communal decisions at the various levels, it is clear from the
considerations so far that these can only be made through a synodal process. Thus, whether it concerns
proclamation, liturgical celebrations, or the organizational structures of
the Church, everything must be oriented toward the self-reliance and responsibility
of all. 5 Abuse of power and
spiritual abuse are the opposite and prevent the way to full self-reliance of
the faithful. Therefore, the orientation of the pastoral care and pastoral
workers towards the self-reliance of the faithful is an essential element to
prevent the abuse of power and spiritual abuse and, consequently, sexual
abuse 6. The Eucharist and the
other sacraments are to be designed as celebrations and impulses on the way
to self-reliance: https://hanglberger-manfred.de/eucharist-celebration-of-the-new-covenant.htm
Unfortunately, this has not
yet been done. 7) Therefore, it should be an
essential part of the priest's understanding of his vocation to be a guide, organizer and companion on the path to self-reliance of
the faithful. 8 The primary selection
criterion for the priestly professions should not be willingness for a
celibate lifestyle or gender, but the ability to accompany well the people
and the religious community of a parish on the path of mental and spiritual
self-reliance. 9 The German Bishop Otto Spülbeck (1904-1970): "The pilgrim Church is
the Church of the laity. It is not a Church of priests and pastors, but a
Church of the people, above all of the laity. We are
called to your service. An essential element of the vocation of bishops and
priests, therefore is to make the baptized to be
self-reliant Christians and enable them to serve in the Church and society.” From: https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/31452-das-visionaere-kirchenverstaendnis-von-bischof-otto-spuelbeck >>> The Eucharist
as "Celebration of the New Covenant" >>> Does our Christian worship correspond to Jesus' intention? Manfred Hanglberger (www.hanglberger-manfred.de) LINK to share: https://www.hanglberger-manfred.de/en-priestly-vocation.htm
Other texts in English >>> Index of the texts about Eucharist >>> |
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