To Seminarians, Porto Alegre (5 July 1980)

On 5 July 1980, the Holy Father addressed the seminarians, aspirants to the priesthood, at Porto Alegre, enjoining them to keep in their hearts “as a powerful impulse the secret of Christ's special call.”

Dear children.

1. You certainly won't be surprised if I confide in you that this meeting was one of the most desired of the many that Providence allows me to have in this great nation. It is a joy to be able to meet you young people, willing to follow Jesus Christ who calls for a total gift of self in the witness of love for him and service to the brethren; with you, priests and religious, who are responsible for the formation of those who are preparing for the priesthood, for religious life or for a direct commitment to apostolic activity. The future of the Church in Brazil depends to a large extent on you.

“Thanks to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2Thess 1,2).

Many thanks for the cordiality and enthusiasm of your welcome, to which I am very sensitive. It is another manifestation of the traditional Brazilian hospitality that I have experienced these days.

In every moment of my pastoral pilgrimage through your land, with my heart turned to Fortaleza and in tune with the People of God in Brazil, I ask myself: "Where are you going?". The mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart. In all stages of my pilgrimage to the national Eucharistic Congress, the question was and is timely: timely when I met with the families and priests in Rio de Janeiro, timely in the meeting with men and women religious in São Paulo and timely in contact with the world of work, with workers, in São Paulo. However, here, in this meeting with you, the question seems to me particularly timely. Indeed, the future of the Church in this great, beautiful and promising Brazilian nation largely depends on you. In this,

And you, aren't you or do you want to be this someone?

2. My first message is for you, dear young people, for you who keep in your heart as a powerful impulse the secret of Christ's special call. Always be aware of the divine teacher's predilection for you: every vocation is part of a great divine plan, in which each of those called is very important. Christ himself, the Word of God, the "called" par excellence "did not attribute to himself the glory of high priest, but the one who said to him: "You are my son, today I have begotten you" (Ps 2:7). As in another passage he says: “You are a priest forever, in the manner of Melchizedek” (Ps 110.4)” (Heb 5.5).

Vocation is, therefore, a mystery that man accepts and lives in the most intimate part of his being. Gift and grace, it depends on the sovereign divine freedom and in its full reality, it escapes our understanding. We cannot demand an explanation from the giver of all goods - "why did you do this to me?" (cf. Rom 9:20)-because the one he calls is also "he who he is" (cf. Ex 3:14).

The vocation of each one merges, up to a certain point, with his very being: it can be said that vocation and person become one. This means that a particular act of love for those called not only to salvation but also to the ministry of salvation enters into God's creative initiative. Therefore from eternity, from when we began to exist in the designs of the Creator, he also wanted to call us, preparing in us the gifts and conditions for a personal and conscious response to the call of Christ and of the Church. God who loves us, who is love, is also "the one he calls" (cf. Rom 9:11).

Therefore before a vocation we adore the mystery, we respond with love to the initiative of love, we say yes to the call.

3. However, you know well that at the origin of every vocation there is always Jesus, the supreme incarnation of God's love; in the love of Christ the vocation finds its why. He himself said it: "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit..." (Jn 15:16). Let me repeat, as I said for you alone, what I wrote recently: "I, the Pope, am the humble and passionate servant of that same love which moved Christ when he called his disciples to follow him" (John Paul II , Nuntius oblata occasion diei, adligiesas et sacerdotales vocationes fovendas quotannis toto orbe catholico dicati , 4, die 19 Apr. 1980: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II , III,1 [1980] 954).

Ultimately, the one who calls us is the Father, the farmer (Jn 15:1), and he draws us towards the one he has sent (cf. Jn 6:44). His call prolongs in us the work of love that began in creation. But it is always Christ - directly or through his "universal sacrament of salvation" who is the Church who makes us perceive the divine call to work which is personal collaboration with him. So he did with the first apostles: "He called to himself those whom he wanted and they came to him" (Mk 3:13; cf. Mk 6:7).

The answer depends on the generosity of the heart of the one who is called, because the one who calls always leaves the freedom of choice: "If you want..." (cf. Mt 19:21). In this meeting with you, filled with gratitude, I raise my spirit to the God who always loves us and gives us comfort and hope (cf. 2Thess 2:16) and I implore that "your charity may be enriched more and more in knowledge and in every kind of discernment, so that you can always distinguish the best" (Phil 1:7-8). Do not be afraid like the young man in the Gospel. “Many goods” are worth exchanging for “treasure in heaven.”

At this point I cannot fail to make to each of you in particular the insistent invitation that I usually make in similar circumstances to young people who have the same ideal: listen to the Lord, the great friend. He looks you in the eye and speaks to your heart in the intimacy of personal prayer (cf. Rev 3:20), community prayer (cf. Mt 18:20) and the liturgy, because he "is always present in his Church, especially in liturgical actions" ( Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7). Rest assured that he will enlighten you and help you discover and love the meaning and value of a vocation. Who knows if today, in this meeting "in his name" of him, he doesn't want to tell you some of his secrets? If so, "do not harden your hearts" (cf. Heb 3:8). Only in availability to God's voice will you find the joy of total self-realization.

4. Beside you, as ministers of Christ and interpreters of his interior inspirations, are those to whom the Church has entrusted the delicate task of your formation. In addressing my thoughts to them, I am pleased to recall first of all the long tradition of commitment to priestly formation in Brazil, with some characteristics recognized by all: it goes back to the first experiences in the colleges of Bahia, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro , we pass through the period already designated as the "era of convents" and through alternating moments of trial and flowering, up to the first ecclesiastical organization. In the eighteenth century, the seminaries proper appeared, among which those of Mariana, Olinda and Caraca have left a name in the history of Brazil.

And how can we not recognize the merits and appreciate the important role of religious orders and congregations?

Subsequently, with seminaries which were recommended by the Council of Trent, established in many parts of the immense territory, the formation of successive levies of priests continued, many of whom, in this last century, came to Rome to perfect their studies and , first in the Latin American Pio college, then in the Brazilian Pio college, or in the Roman houses of religious institutes, valid instruments for maintaining the traditional ties between Catholic Brazil and the chair of Saint Peter, in the communion of the universal Church.

5. In the face of these glorious traditions of the past, a question arises in the heart of the Pope tormented by the "sollecitudo omnium ecclesiarum" (2 Cor 11:28): in a decisive hour for his destiny and that of the world, what is the current, Brazil will have seminaries, religious houses or other ecclesiastical institutions, will have above all superiors and teachers capable of preparing priests and religious, who are up to the problems posed by a constantly increasing population and with increasingly vast and pastoral needs complex?

The question touches on a fundamental point in ecclesial life. I would like to pause for a few moments to talk about it with you, who have responsibility for seminaries and houses of formation, in various ways. The centuries-old experience and thoughtful reflection of the Church demonstrate the absolute necessity of these structures for the preparation of priests and religious. The Second Vatican Council confirmed that the path followed by the Church over the centuries is the good one and that, therefore, it cannot be abandoned.

The formation of a priest and a religious cannot be left to improvisation. It is the grace of God which inspires the vocation, it is the grace of God which creates the priest and the religious. But this grace is given in the Church and for the Church: therefore it is up to the Church to prove the authenticity of a calling and to guide its development up to the goal of sacred orders and religious vows. Now, for the Church, on the basis of her tradition and her experience, all of this cannot be fully implemented without an institution called with a highly significant name: seminary, and other analogous institutions for religious formation.

6. Sure, the seminary and other educational institutions need updating. The Church knows this. This is a constant concern of hers. The Church knows that reality changes according to times and places; it reflects on reality and follows reality, which bears within itself the signs of divine providence.

Therefore he proposes precise norms, and thus tries to help those responsible for priestly and religious formation in their arduous work, which to be effective must always be carried out in the Church and for the Church.

For this reason, my venerable predecessors took care, with admirable solicitude, to address the issues of priestly and religious formation, as required by modern pastoral needs. For the same reason, the Holy See has not failed to recall, comment and make explicit the needs indicated by the Council, through a series of documents, in which those responsible for priestly and religious formation must see a renewed testimony of trust, understanding and love .

7. As I speak to you, I am aware of the difficulties which disturb the modern world and have repercussions on the life of the Church. Seminaries and other educational institutions could not be spared. The very proposal of priestly and religious life has encountered obstacles, not infrequently, even in those who had to proclaim it courageously or could welcome it generously.

Even if the difficulties were greater than those we know, our sacred duty remains that of evangelizing the People of God on the divine greatness of the ministerial priesthood and on the lofty ideal of the consecrated life. For this reason, dear priests and religious, I invite you to review the constitution " Lumen Gentium " and the decrees " Presbyterorum Ordinis " and " Perfectae Caritatis” of the Second Vatican Council; in a particular way I invite you to re-read the letter I addressed to all the priests of the Church on the occasion of Holy Thursday 1979, to reaffirm the holy doctrine of the Church on the ministerial priesthood, which is participation in the priesthood of Christ, through sacred orders and gift of Christ to his and our community (cf. John Paul II, Epistula ad universos Ecclesiae Sacerdotes adveniente Feria V in Cena Domini anno MCMLXXIX , 3 et 4, die 8 Apr. 1979: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II , II [1979] 844 -847).

When we are intimately involved in this truth, when we communicate it integrally to the People of God, when we bear witness to it with our lives, then the difficulties of our times will not frighten us.

8. Having reaffirmed these fundamental principles which arise from faith, allow me to mention some practical aspects which deserve prudent consideration for the good of the Church and of priestly and religious life.

The Church wishes that the most suitable means and methods be sought for the formation of today's priest and religious. The directives of the Council and the subsequent ones of the Holy See are all oriented in this direction. The Council rightly suggested dividing the too numerous seminarian communities; he invited the aspirants to the priesthood to maintain contact with the community and to offer help for pastoral activity in the places where their formation takes place. The pedagogical value of these guidelines cannot be doubted.

However, after a sufficient period of experience one should rethink some initiatives undertaken certainly with good intentions, but which can distort the orientations of the Council and lead to disappointing and harmful results. What needs to be corrected or completed, for example, in the various not always successful initiatives aimed at replacing seminaries, especially through the so-called "small communities"? What are the pros and cons of forming future priests exclusively within the communities in which they will then have to carry out their ministry? How can we avoid reducing the program of studies and the seminary "curriculum" to a minimum, with evident damage to the specific intellectual and spiritual formation that belongs to the new minister of God?

Lucidity and courage are needed, above all on the part of the Bishops, to clearly orient all the points concerning the formation of new ministers, especially priests. We rejoice in observing that the forward-looking norms of the Second Vatican Council are once again being given due consideration, accepted and put into practice, while experiences that have not borne fruit or have turned out to be negative are redimensioned, relativized and, when necessary, abandoned.

9. Above all, however, I would like to underline that in this work the work of priests and religious remains fundamental, whether they are superiors, teachers or novice masters. Your mission is wonderful, but difficult. The pastors of the dioceses and those in charge of religious life will have reflected and prayed before making the choice fall on you and entrusting you with one of the most delicate ministries that exists in the Church: to form the future educators of the People of God.

Having accepted this mission, you must feel responsible for your personal preparation. The Council insisted on this point (cf. Optatam Totius , 5). The first Synod of Bishops gave precise guidelines. Your bishops and religious superiors will help you. But your continuous spiritual, intellectual and pastoral qualification depends on you, on your awareness of your duty.

Your spirituality must draw from the pure source which is Christ. Teacher of teachers, shepherd of our souls, supreme model of every educator and of every education. Your intellectual preparation must always be updated, in full fidelity to the magisterium and living tradition of the Church, in humble and affectionate acceptance of the word of God which surpasses all human wisdom. Your pastoral efficiency will gain with insertion in the diocesan presbyterate, whose experience enriches you and which you enrich with your experience.

With this complete preparation, your mission will be accomplished with difficulty, but also with joy, with the blessing of God who does not leave those who offer him his unconditional collaboration without help. Thus prepared, you will find the light and strength to carry out an action of authentic evangelical pedagogy.

You will guide the aspirants entrusted to you to conquer the primacy of the spiritual, that primacy which will then sustain them in the efforts of the apostolic ministry and in fidelity to the commitments undertaken before the Church. You will guide them to clearly discern their vocation, to strengthen their character, to accept the sacrifice of a life totally consecrated to God and to the Church. You will guide them in developing a solid, healthy, open culture, such as is required today of those who in turn must be teachers of the People of God. You will guide them in the acquisition of pastoral knowledge and wisdom, which is the proclamation of the word of God, the celebration of divine mysteries, spiritual care of the community and of individual souls. In a word: your disciples will draw from your wealth, just as you will draw from the inexhaustible riches of Christ's heart.

10. Here, dear children, is the exhortation that rises from the depths of my soul, here is the mandate that I wish to entrust to each of you: place your mind, your heart, your energies generously at Christ's disposal. I say this to you, superiors and educators, who in your daily dedication to your delicate task are called to be a sign and instrument of the service of Christ who builds up his body. I say this to you, young people who have accepted the call and have accepted to set out in the footsteps of Christ, to be tomorrow witnesses of his love among your brothers.

My thoughts and exhortations also turn to Christian families, which the Second Vatican Council indicated as the "first seminary" of vocation (cf. Optatam Totius , 2): it is up to them to create within themselves that climate of faith, of charity, prayer, which directs the children to confront God's initiative and his plan for the world in an attitude of generous availability. Schools play an important role alongside the family, in which teachers, especially if they are Catholics, must feel the commitment not only to enriching the pupils' minds with the contents of culture, but also to sensitize their hearts to the appeal of moral values ​​and the exciting fascination of great ideals.

I want to reserve a particular word for the parish. whose contribution in this regard remains decisive. In it, in fact, young people live their Christian experience, in it they listen to the proclamation of the word of God and participate in the celebration of the signs of salvation, in it they also meet with the testimony of the different vocations and different ministries. Therefore, the importance of ecclesial associations, groups, movements is evident, not to mention the person of the priests in charge of the pastoral care of the community, as the normal means of God's call to a more generous service for the advent of the kingdom. I therefore exhort every element of the Christian community to assume their responsibilities in this essential sector of ecclesial life.

Christ needs everyone's contribution to make the word reach other hearts that "not everyone can understand" (cf. Mt 19:11), the word of the invitation to give oneself unreservedly to the cause of the kingdom.

In renewing to each one the expression of my gratitude, my trust and my affection, I entrust your intentions and your resolutions to the most holy Virgin Aparecida. I ask her, in particular, that she take under her maternal protection of you young people in this decisive period of your existence and that she lead you, with a sure hand, towards an encounter with Christ; who loves you, who calls you, who awaits you, who will be your joy, today and always.

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