To Priests, Men and Women Religious (11 June 1982)

On Friday, 11 June 1982, the Holy Father greeted priests and men and women religious, seminarians and members of secular institutes, in the Cathedral of Buenos Aires. He spoke on the profound meaning of the Eucharist.

Dear brothers and sisters.

1. I cordially greet you, priests, men and women religious, members of Secular Institutes, seminarians and young people in the process of formation to consecrate you to Christ.

I am with you, in this Cathedral of Buenos Aires dedicated to the Holy Trinity, a few days after celebrating the Solemnity of the Trinitarian Mystery and before the Feast of the Corpus Christi.

This leads us to reflect on the profound meaning of the Eucharist in the vocation and in the life of the priest and of consecrated souls.

St. Paul expressly places before our eyes the extraordinary ecclesial content that flows from the Eucharist for our existence: “For the bread is one, we, though many, form one body, because we all share in this one bread” (1 Cor 10:17).

We see here in a few words outlined the existential theological foundation, which, starting from the Eucharistic mystery, leads us to the reality of faith, of ecclesial union, of correspondence to this love, which is the basis of our consecration.

It is you, consecrated to Christ and to the Church, to disinterested love for him, to a kind of life founded on faith, ministers and witnesses of the faith, supporters of the faith and of the hope of others.

This configures you as people who live very close to men and society, to its sorrows and hopes. But it distinguishes you in the way you feel and live your existence.

In fact, the priesthood is a consecration to God in Jesus Christ to “serve. . . to the multitude” (cf. Mark 10, 45). This consecration is, as we all know, an indelible sacramental gift, conferred by the Bishop, a sign and the cause of grace.

For their part, the dedication of the religious is a dedication of themselves accepted by the Church for his service. It constitutes a special consecration, “which has an intimate roots in the consecration of baptism and manifests it with greater fullness” (Perfectae Caritatis, 5).

Now well, both dedication are more or less effective in ourselves and in the community we serve, according to the fidelity we observe in living our life, interior and outer, in accordance with the gift received and the commitment accepted.

In order to understand and live this dedication faithfully, the help of grace is necessary. Consequently, a priest or consecrated person must find time to remain alone with God, listening to what he has to say to us in silence. For this reason, we must be souls of prayer, Eucharistic souls.

2. And since one is especially consecrated souls, one must be men and women with a great understanding of ecclesial union, which represents and realizes the Eucharist. Living in the Church and for the real Church, we are not autonomous or independent, nor do we speak in one’s own name nor represent ourselves, but we are “carers of a mystery” (1 Tim 3: 9), infinitely superior to us.

The guarantee of this ecclesial character of our life is union with the Bishop and with the Pope. Such union, faithful and always renewed, can sometimes be difficult and even involve renounties and sacrifices. But don’t doubt accepting one and the other when necessary. It is the “price”, the “re-dip” (cf. Mk 10:5) that the Lord asks of us, for him and with him, for the good of “multitude” (cf. Mark 10, 45) and yourself.

Because if every priest, whether diocesan or religious, is bound to the Episcopal Body by reason of the order and magisterium, which serves the good of the whole Church, according to the vocation and grace of each one (cf. Lumen Gentium, 28), even the religious is called on his part to insert himself into the local Church from his own charism to love and respect for the pastors, to the ecclesial dedication and to the mission of the Church herself (cf. Perfectae Caritatis, 6).

3. These common bonds within the Church must lead to a close union between yourselves. The Eucharist, the supreme source of ecclesial unity, must make its fruits felt constant of active communion, renewing and strengthening it every day more in the love of Christ.

And thus, above the diversity and particularity of each person, group or ecclesial community, be the Eucharistic banquet the perennial center of our communion in the same “body” (cf. 1 Cor 10:17), in the same love, in the same life as the One who wanted to remain and renew his saving presence, so that we might have his own life (cf. Jn 6, 51).

4. The concrete way of achieving that communion which requires the Eucharist must be the creation of a true fraternity. Sacramental Fraternity, of which the last Council is concerned (cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 8), going to the priests, and of which St. Ignatius of Antioch already speaks (cf. S. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Mag., 6; Ad Phil., 5) as a requirement of the Catholic priesthood.

A fraternity that must strengthen all those who participate in the same ideal of life, vocation and ecclesial vision. But that they must feel in a special way those who have special titles among those who, as the Gospel teaches, are “brothers” (cf. Mt 23, 8).

A fraternity that must become the presence of life and service to the brothers, in the parish, on the chair, in the school, in the priestly ministry, in the hospital, in the religious house, in the slums and in any other place.

A fraternity translated into feelings, attitudes and gestures in everyday reality. Lived in this way, forms part of our testimony and credibility before the world. As division and factions place obstacles in the ways of the Lord.

But we must well consider that this fraternity, the fruit of the Eucharist and of the life of Christ, is not limited to the boundaries of one’s own group, community or nation. It expands and must understand the whole universal reality of the Church, which is made present in every place and country around Jesus Christ, salvation for those who form the family of the children of God.

5. The need to establish such a climate of fraternity logically leads us to talk about reconciliation within the Church and in society. Particularly in the delicate current moments that make it much more mandatory and urgent.

We all know the tensions and wounds that have left their mark, aggravated by recent events, in Argentine society; and that we must try to overcome as soon as possible.

As priests, men and women religious, you have an obligation to work for peace and mutual building up (cf. Rom 14:19), trying to create unanimity of one’s feelings with one another (cf. Rom 12:16), teaching to overcome evil with good (cf. Rm 12, 21). And by opening spirits to divine love, the primary source of understanding and transformation of the heart (cf. Is 41, 8; Jn 15, 14; Gc 2, 23; 2 Pt 1, 4).

It is up to you to exercise the “ministry of reconciliation” (cf. 2 Cor 5:18), proclaiming the “word of reconciliation” entrusted to you (cf. 2 Cor 5, 18). This is not opposed to true patriotism, nor does it conflict with it. The authentic love for the Fatherland, from which you have received so much, can lead to the point of sacrifice; but at the same time it is necessary to take into account the patriotism of others, so that they may communicate both and the other may be mutually and enrich in a perspective of humanism and catholicity.

6. In this perspective, my current trip to Argentina is placed, which has an exceptional character, completely distinct from a normal apostolic-pastoral visit, which is postponed to another opportune occasion. The reasons for this trip explained in the letter of May 25, which I addressed to the sons and daughters of the Argentine nation.

Today I come to pray with you during these important and difficult events, which have been taking place for a few weeks.

I come to pray for all those who have lost their lives, for the victims of both sides, for the families who suffer, as I have done in Britain.

I come to pray for peace, for a dine and just solution to the armed conflict.

You who in this Argentinian land are as a special title men and women of prayer, raise it to God with greater insistence, both in a personal and communal form.

For my part, I wished to be here to pray with you, especially during these two days.

We will concentrate prayer especially in two moments: before the Mother of God, in her Shrine of Lujon and in the celebration of the most holy Body and Blood of Christ.

7. I know the good ecclesial and religious spirit that animates you. There are very many of you who have come to participate in this act. But you also represent the other priests or religious families of the country who constitute the first living forces of the Church in this beloved nation. I entrust to everyone this important intention. In particular, to souls consecrated to God in the silence of cloisters.

In these difficult and restless days, the presence of the Church that prays is necessary on the Argentine land; of the Church which bears witness of love and peace.

May this witness before God and men enter into the context of the important events of your contemporary history. Bring your hearts up. For to all the events of human history the history of salvation must also be united.

May the witness of the presence of the Bishop of Rome and of your union with him give an impulse to the history of salvation in your homeland.

With these auspices and with deep affection for every priest, religious, religious, seminarian and member of the ecclesial Institutes of Argentina, present and absent, I cordially impart the Apostolic Blessing to you.

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