José H. Gomez - Men of Brave Heart: The Virtue of Courage in the Priestly Life

Men of Brave Heart

The Virtue of Courage

in the Priestly Life

The Most Rev. Jose H. Gomez, S.T.D .

Archbishop of San Antonio

Our Sunday Visitor Publishing

CONTENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

PREFACE

THIS IS A BOOK FOR priests. I have thought for many years about what a mystery it is that God calls ordinary men to share in his plan for the salvation of the world. The priest alone is configured to Christ so that he stands in the person of the Savior himself, a messenger and vessel of the mercy of God. Yet at the same time, the priest remains a man like others, not noticeably different on the outside from the rest of the men.What distinguishes the priest is always his heart. The priest has a special heart the heart of a disciple and a missionary; a heart that longs to share the joy of Jesus Christ with his brothers and sisters. Men do not come to the priesthood because they have calculated that it will be a good professional move. They do not come for the money or even the opportunity to do useful and interesting work. They come because they are compelled to come, because they have heard a call. Like Abraham and Mary. Like James and John and all the Twelve. "Do you love me more than these?" Jesus asked Peter. With Peter and the apostles, the priest has said, "Yes, Lord. You know that I love you."To heed such a call, a call that comes personally from the living God, a man needs a generous heart. To live out that call over the course of a lifetime, to give himself totally to God, a man needs a brave heart. Nothing human is alien to the priest. He sees it all. Every parish is a microcosm, a miniature world in which countless human dramas and dreams play out. The priest walks with his people as they are born and as they die; he is with them in times of joy and times of sorrow; in sickness and suffering, in health and happiness.It was said of Jesus that "he himself knew what was in man" (John 2:25). This is true of his priests, too. The priest knows what is in man he knows the depths that people can sink to, and the glorious heights they can climb to by the grace of God. He hears their confessions, and heals them of their sins. He feeds their deepest hungers with the Bread of Life. He preaches the Word of God in a world that has nearly forgotten him.I am surprised by the humility of most priests. They are men of virtue, prayer, learning, and deep love, and yet so often they will admit feeling inadequate to the tasks they have been given, saying they do not feel wise enough or holy enough. On one level they are right, of course. Who could be worthy of such a calling, to be an ambassador and a steward of the mysteries of God? And yet each one knows that he has been called by name, chosen by God himself. Each one can say what St. Paul said: "By the grace of God, I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:9-10).I wrote this book to encourage priests to persevere in that grace, in the great mission that God has given them. You need a brave heart to be a priest especially to be a priest called to the new evangelization of the Americas. How do we lead men and women to God in a culture where so many have lost their way and live as if he no longer exists? It takes courage, or what the Catholic tradition calls "fortitude," one of the four cardinal virtues. But courage is not something we are born with. It is a virtue that must be accepted, learned, and cultivated.My hope is that this book will assist priests in their lifelong growth in virtue and holiness. The book itself grows out of my doctoral studies in the Christian anthropology and moral philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas. But this is not an academic book. What I hope to do is present the fruits of serious, prayerful study of the Scriptures, of St. Thomas and the Church Fathers, of the writings of today's best moral theologians and bring it all to bear on the pastoral task of priestly formation. What is especially important to me is the witness of the Church's saints and martyrs, especially priests and deacons. The lives of the saints are "lived theology." In them we see the word of the Church's theology and teaching made flesh.I know from my own experience the life-changing influence a good priest can have on a person's life. There was a very holy priest who used to celebrate the early morning Mass at the local parish during my college years in Mexico City. Every day Padre Gaspar would begin to cry during the consecration, because he was aware of the incredible miracle that was happening on the altar at his hands.In 1970, when I was still a teenager, I met another priest, a visitor from Spain, who was obviously a man of prayer and virtue, with a deep love for Jesus Christ. Those were challenging and confusing times, with many changes going on inside the Church and in society. Many were questioning the Church's teachings and its relevance in the modern world. In the midst of all this, this priest had a peacefulness and calm about him. Yet he was also insistent about the truth of the Gospel and the urgency of evangelization. The unconditional fidelity of this faithful priest was striking, and his optimism about the future of the Church was contagious.This encounter changed the direction of my life. Looking back on it, I have no doubt that the witness of that saintly priest was instrumental in my own discernment of my vocation. It took great courage to speak and live the way he did, and I have never forgotten his priestly example. Many years later I had the privilege of being in St. Peter's Square in Rome when he was canonized as St. Josemara Escriv de Balaguer.I have known many holy priests whose names will probably never be written in the history books or in the rolls of the saints. But they were saints nonetheless even if the fruits of their ministries are known only to God and to the people whose lives they touched.One of these priests was Father John O'Shea, who was assigned to the cathedral in Denver when I was serving as auxiliary bishop there. A late vocation to the priesthood, Father O'Shea was a former deputy police chief, a widower, and a father of ten children. He suffered a heart attack two days after his ordination at the age of 69. While he was recovering, doctors discovered that he had a brain tumor. Within four months he was dead. But he left me with a wonderful example of courage and trust in God's will. He was a joyful man, even in his sickness. One day, as he was coming out of the sacristy, I asked him how he was doing. He said, "I am the happiest person in the world because I just said Mass."As I was finishing this book, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, announced the convocation of a special "Year for Priests," to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of the patron saint of priests, St. John Vianney. So I offer this book as a humble contribution to the Pope's initiative, which seeks to call attention to the missionary vocation of the priest in the world of the third millennium. St. John Vianney once said: "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus." I pray that this book can aide in the growth and formation of the priestly heart which is always the heart of a disciple, the heart of a missionary, and the heart of Christ.I write as a bishop, but always too as a "priest forever." I have been ordained now for more than thirty years, and my priesthood is the profound joy and privilege of my life. I can think of no more beautiful way to spend one's life than to spend it in the priestly service of our Lord. And I thank God for this gift every day.I dedicate this book to my brother priests in San Antonio, Texas, my first collaborators in the mission of the new evangelization. In a special way I dedicate this work also to all seminarians past, present, and future of Assumption Seminary in San Antonio. St. Rafael Guizar Valencia, the missionary saint of Mexico, said: "A bishop can do without the miter, the crozier, and even without the cathedral. But he cannot do without the seminary, since the future of his diocese depends on it." Every bishop knows this, and I am grateful beyond words to all who open their hearts in love to the priestly calling of Jesus Christ.I pray that this work in some way will help all priests and seminarians to draw near in confidence to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). And I entrust everything to the tender intercession of the Mother of Priests, Our Lady of Guadalupe.Next page