Fr. Richard OMOLADE

Words have power. One of the statements that has trended since the election of Pope Leo XIV deals with priestly formation.  It is found everywhere, but I really don’t understand if people really understand what the then Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost meant when he uttered these words “Priestly formation must not be shaped by cultural trends, political correctness, or the spirit of permissiveness. It must be formed in the fire of truth, chastity, self- sacrifice, and Eucharistic love. The priest is not called to “affirm identities,” but to convert souls. He is not called to bless sinful unions, but to call sinners to repentance.” There is a lot for us to unpack from these words.

These words are being presented as a testament of the character of Pope Leo XIV, in it we see his vision and beliefs. We also see what he expects of the priests of God. But he is not talking only to priests or Seminary formators, he is talking to the entire people of God. We all have a role to play in the formation of shepherds for the flock of God. And as the saying goes, the people deserves the leaders they get because, they came out of the people. Who are the people aspiring to the sacred task of the priesthood? Are these people in love with God or with the world? Are they people hungry for power or people willing to serve the least of their brethren?

The Church has always taught that there is only one priesthood, the priesthood of Christ, the good shepherd, all priests share in this and must be shaped by Christ the eternal priest, whose priesthood remains forever. Hence, priests are not ordained according to their political or cultural affiliations. They are ordained for the entire people of God and for the Church of God.  The ethos, laws and traditions of the Church must therefore guide all priests. Regrettably, this is not always the case as some priests dance to the tune of their benefactors or indeed, some people in the Church want priests to please them. All of us Catholics must become guards to guard against these anomalies and protect the Church from slipping into these evils.

Our age is plagued by many evils, and relativism is one of them, that spirit of anything goes, or let me do it the way I want, or “who are you to dictate to me how I should live my life?” is not a Christian attitude but from a spirit opposed to the spirit of God. Regrettably, this spirit has become virulent, it has become a religious pandemic, it affects not just a small group, it has pervaded the entire Church as you find it in both shepherds and flock. Many people find the truth obstructive and would go to any length to reject and fight it.  Many members expect their pastors to speak their “truth” instead of the truth of the Gospel.  And when money has exchanged hands, self-sacrifice can hardly be expected. This is the world in which priests are being trained and it takes enormous grace from God to remain detached from these secular obsessions and grave dangers.

Priests are instruments of God, they are to be seen as Christ in the world, hence they must be filled with the love of Christ and there is no better place to cultivate this love and nurture it than in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. |Unfortunately, also, the celebration of the Mass is often seen as dull because it does not follow the gyration the world is used to, yet Christ is present and blesses those who acknowledge him. While the Church is God’s instrument of salvation and priests are her principal agents dispensing God’s grace, they can only do so according to the mind of God and not to safeguard their own idiosyncrasies or as the new Pope asserts, to “affirm identities.” Only the identity of God our merciful father must be projected and not that of the sinful Adam that is present in all of us mortal men and women.  Our proclamation of the mercy of God is a much-needed message in our world today and we are in need of many priests, prophets and shepherds who will show the loving gaze of God yearning for souls to a world in darkness. Are these the ideas running through the mind of formators and seminarians as they prepare for the priesthood? Are these the ideals the lay people desire to see in their priests? If not, we must retrace our steps and put on the armour of God and let our lives be saturated with the truth and love of God.

All believers need this formation, and we must begin now. In the final analysis, our expectations and desires must change; we must desire what God wants and not what the world pushes in our face. We must conform to the spirit of God, not the spirit of the world. The only identity worth projecting is the new man formed in us according to the image of God. When we have such expectations, then our priests will be holy and fashioned after Christ himself.