Ronald D. Witherup - Gold Tested in Fire: A New Pentecost for the Catholic Priesthood

Gold Tested in Fire

Gold Tested in Fire

A New Pentecost for the Catholic Priesthood

Ronald D. Witherup, SS

LITURGICAL PRESS

Collegeville, Minnesota

www.litpress.org

Cover design by David Manahan, OSB. Illustration courtesy of Thinkstock iStockphoto Collection.

Photo on page xiv by Saydou - Bernard Tall 2011. Society of Saint Sulpice. Used by permission.

Unless otherwise noted, excerpts from documents of the Second Vatican Council are from Vatican Council II: Volume 1, The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, by Austin Flannery, OP 1996 (Costello Publishing Company, Inc.). Used with permission.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Other Scripture texts used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Excerpts from the English translation of Rites of Ordination of a Bishop, of Priests, and of Deacons 2000, 2002, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

2012 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, microfiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint Johns Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Witherup, Ronald D., 1950

Gold tested in fire : a new Pentecost for the Catholic priesthood / Ronald D. Witherup.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p.).

ISBN 978-0-8146-3382-3

Ebook ISBN 978-0-8146-3440-0

1. PriesthoodCatholic Church. 2. Catholic ChurchClergy. I. Title.

BX1912.W58 2012

262.142dc23

2011044684

Dedicated to my brother priests of

the Society of the Priests of St. Sulpice

16422012

who for 370 years have faithfully

served the ministry of

initial and ongoing formation of priests

around the world.

Ad multos annos!

Contents

Preface

A flood of publications on the priesthood accompanied the Year for Priests (June 2009June 2010), promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Vianney, the Cur of Ars, and to bolster the image of the priesthood in the twenty-first century. Thus, it may seem surprising to be offering yet another book on the same topic. Yet it is warranted for three reasons.

First, the topic of priesthood is a perennial one. Interest in the priesthood has not been in any way diminished by the controversies that have surrounded it, especially with regard to various scandals that have been in the limelight in the last decade. Indeed, one might say that interest in the priesthood has been piqued by the controversy. I believe modern Western culture is still fascinated by the priesthood. Media images of priests, not always unflattering, continue to appear, most recently with regard to the priestly role in combating evil through exorcisms. In other words, the priesthood is still a mysterious and intriguing profession.

Second, many publications that appeared for the Year for Priests went over familiar church teaching on the topic or offered timely personal and spiritual reflections on priestly ministry. Many of these are inspiring, and some are attempts to synthesize church teaching on the topic of the priesthood. I have wanted to offer my own voice to this conversation, based upon reflections on selected biblical, theological, and pastoral perspectives that I have thought to be important. My own approach comes from the experience of thirty-five years of priesthood, many of them spent in initial and ongoing formation of priests. It does not attempt to offer a theology of the priesthood or a comprehensive model for priestly ministry. Instead, it offers some diverse but key insights on the challenges of contemporary priestly ministry. One characteristic of these essays that will be noticeable, however, is that they are all biblically based. That is, they take their orientation from insights based on the Bible. Many of the chapters of this book began as presentations at priest retreat conferences or were published as essays in magazines intended specifically for priests. Previously published essays have been revised, updated, or expanded to some degree, as seemed suitable.

Finally, while this book is not intended as an apologia for the priesthood, it is borne of a love of the priesthood and the firm conviction that the priesthood is an essential, God-given ministry in the church. I believe the entire church benefits from wrestling with the challenges that have emerged in the priesthood since the Second Vatican Council (196265). As the fiftieth anniversaries of the opening and closing of the council approach, I believe we have an excellent opportunity to deepen our understanding of the councils teaching and its aftermath. In this spirit, anything that helps promote deeper reflection on the priesthood can be profitable. The struggles experienced in the priesthood in recent decades are not a sign of disintegration but a call to renewal and a return to the authentic roots of priestly ministry. My earnest desire is to reinstill confidence in the priesthood through a careful reading of some of its essential foundations and in the context of all ministry exercised in the life of the church.

My gratitude extends to many different individuals who have encouraged me in this project, particularly Peter Dwyer and Hans Christoffersen of Liturgical Press, and their excellent staff. I also thank my fellow Sulpicians, Fathers Thomas R. Hurst, SS, Thomas R. Ulshafer, SS, Lawrence B. Terrien, SS, Melvin C. Blanchette, SS, and Frederick J. Cwiekowski, SS; as well as Abbot Jerome Kodell, OSB, and Msgr. Paul Langsfield, who read parts of the manuscript or assisted me with other details. Although I alone bear responsibility for any errors in this book, their keen advice has been much appreciated. Father Hurst, president-rector of St. Marys Seminary and University in Baltimore, deserves my special gratitude for having read the full manuscript with care and for having offered some helpful corrections. I also thank the many seminarians and priests with whom I have been privileged to work in ministry over the years. Their questions, observations, and feedback have given me encouragement and often made me seek a more profound understanding of the priesthood that is such a precious gift to the church.

As indicated by the dedication, I am particularly grateful to my brother Sulpicians around the world for their selfless service to the church and for their personal support of my own ministry as the twenty-sixth superior general of La Compagnie des Prtres de Saint-Sulpice.

R.D.W.

Feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple, 2011

Acknowledgments

Photo on page 3 by Saydou - Bernard Tall 2011 Society of Saint Sulpice. Used by permission.