RIFLESSJONI WARA 35 SENA SAĊERDOZJU
Fr Joe Borg hu saċerdot li aktar nassoċjawh mal-midja milli mal-knejjes u l-festi u l-uffiċċju parrokkjali. Però dan jitfa' dawl fuq ix-xogħol varjat li jkun mitlub jagħmel saċerdot. Apparti l-ħidma "uffiċjali" li l-Knisja tafda lil kull saċerdot (dak li jissejjaħ "mandat") ikun hemm ukoll ħidma li s-saċerdot iwettaq għax ikun maqtugħ għaliha. Għalhekk nawguraw lil Dun Joe ad multos annos u nifirħu bil-kontribuzzjoni tiegħu fil-qasam tal-midja f'pajjiżna. Din ir-riflessjoni li kiteb kienet parti minn artiklu bl-isem "Behind Closed Doors" li deher fil-ġurnal "The Sunday Times" ta' nhar il-Ħadd 17 ta' Ġunju 2012. Naħseb li għandha sservi ta' inkuraġġiment għal kull min qed jirrifletti dwar is-sejħa tiegħu.
On Tuesday I will be commemorating a much more significant milestone: the 35th anniversary of my priestly ordination... Priesthood is pure gift. Like all gifts it is given free. You can refuse it. You can stop taking care of it and risk losing it. You cannot earn it. The hard work involved is to hang on to it and not to receive it.
This gift is not given to the individual for the exclusive benefit of the individual. It is a gift given to the individual for the sake of the community. If you are not a priest for others, you are not a priest. Full stop. This is the litmus test. The more time a priest has for others the more time the priest has for God and vice versa.
A priest is not a priest because of personal achievements. He is not a priest because he is the wisest, or the holiest in his community. On the contrary, we are priests in spite of the many mistakes we make and sins we commit.
Every day at the beginning of the Mass we proclaim to the community that we have sinned. One is a priest in spite of himself and not because of himself.
If we are wise enough we give a positive spin to the sins we commit. We can tell others: look at this God of ours. He loves us so madly that He even lets a miserable sinner like yours truly be one of His ministers.
Being a priest is much more than acting in a particular way. It is a way of being more than just a particular way of behaving. Quite naturally the 'doing' part should follow the 'being' part.
This way the 'being' can be expressed in so many different ways and manners. One is not only a priest when one celebrates Mass – though that is a most powerful and defining moment – but one is also a priest in 'secular' work e.g. teaching, research, media, etc. Quite naturally translating these 'secular' activities into a priestly ministry presents challenges.
I am thankful for these 35 years of priesthood, warts and all. I thank the Lord for being so generous to me. I also thank the ecclesial community for accepting and loving me notwithstanding my limitations.
No comments:
Post a Comment