The Spirituality of the Priest
The Spirituality of the Priest
We would like to speak in this field about a few points, including:
The spiritual style of the priest. His lack of love for money.
The priest between meekness and anger. The priest and prayer.
The Spiritual Style
1. The priest’s style should be a spiritual style, just as his goals are spiritual, and his means are also spiritual.
For there are many priests whose service is merely activity. One of them is like a flame of activity and movement, but without spirit.
Some have a service that is merely social service, some are absorbed in architectural service, and some have a service of words.
But what is important is that his service be spiritual, even in all the previous activities.
In his teaching also, he should have a spiritual style.
2. In theological dialogue, his style must be spiritual.
He should not be harsh in his discussion, nor use insults, sarcasm, or mockery of the minds of others. Rather, he should care for the objective points with the strength of evidence and logic, and with scriptural and rational proof, because a sarcastic style cannot win those with whom he debates.
Among the examples of noble spiritual dialogue was the style of Saint Didymus the Blind,
whose method was to win over the one he debated, not to defeat him. With this strong and polite style, he was able to attract many pagan philosophers to the Christian faith, and he deserved that Saint Athanasius the Apostolic appoint him director of the theological school in Alexandria.
3. The priest’s method in visitation should also be spiritual.
It should be a spiritual visitation, not merely a social visit or a personal relationship. Rather, his visit to any family or individual should be a spiritual visit, with spiritual goals and spiritual means, and it should result in a spiritual outcome for the benefit of those he visits.
4. Likewise, his style should be spiritual in confession as well.
The confession session should not be a session of friendliness and exchange of compliments and affectionate phrases. Rather, the penitent should feel that he is before God in the presence of the priest, or before the priest in the presence of God.
The repentant confesses before God in the hearing of the priest,
in a serious and balanced spiritual session, which begins with prayer and ends with the prayer of absolution, in which the penitent feels that he receives absolution from God through the mouth of the priest. We have devoted a special section to confession.
5. In caring for the poor, the priest’s style should be spiritual.
He should not care for helping the poor materially while wounding their feelings or humiliating them, or dealing with them in a manner of authority and rebuke.
Nor should he deal with them continually in a manner of suspicion, casting doubt on the truthfulness of everything they say, accusing them of lying and deceit, or making them wait for a long time without reason, making them feel neglected, ignored, or treated with indifference.
A poor person may take from him and leave while resentful because of bad treatment.
6. Likewise, in sermons the priest should be characterized by spirituality.
They should not be merely thought or merely information that addresses the mind without addressing the spirit, such that the listener feels he is listening to a scholar or a thinker, not to a spiritual father.
The spiritual priest, even in doctrines and theology, speaks of them in a spiritual manner. An example of this is Saint Athanasius the Apostolic in his book On the Incarnation of the Word. The book is originally a theological book, yet at the same time you feel that it is a spiritual book that addresses your spirit, while it is also biblical teaching.
7. The priest’s evaluation of his service should be a spiritual evaluation.
For many priests evaluate their service by non-spiritual measures, such as building and construction, while the poor have no share in his service, which leads some of them to deviation or apostasy. Yet he is in great joy over what he has constructed and built. We do not forbid care for construction, but not on the basis of neglecting care for the poor, of whom the Lord said: “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matt 25:40).
A priest may evaluate his service by the amount of information he presented in his sermons, even if it changes nothing in their lives, but is merely accumulations added to their mental store.
There is also a priest who makes order in the church the most important thing he is keen on, even if he loses many values for the sake of order.
For the sake of order he rebukes frequently, expels, insults, and loses many people while he commands and forbids. Sometimes he even prevents or stops service, under the pretext that Sunday School children cause noise and disturbance in the church. In his view, order is the most important thing. Order is of course acceptable, but with wisdom, so that we do not lose everything because of it.
There is a priest whose activity increases while his spirituality decreases,
and there is no balance between activity and spirituality. It is a tragedy to gain order and lose oneself and lose people, because he did not succeed in arranging the balance between the goal and the means.
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