In his letter proclaiming the Year for Priests, Pope Benedict XVI says the following: “(we) priests should feel that the following words, which (St. John Vianney) put on the lips of Christ, are meant for each of us personally: ‘I will charge my ministers to proclaim to sinners that I am ever ready to welcome them, that my mercy is infinite.’ The priest, by virtue of his ordination to the order of presbyter, is conformed to Christ head and shepherd of the church and thus participates sacramentally in the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Jesus, to the end, extended his mercy, as he said to the repentant thief on the cross: “I assure you: this day you will be with me in paradise.” (Lk 23:43) Moreover, after his resurrection, Jesus charged the apostles: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound.” (Jn 20:23) The church was thus to continue Jesus’ ministry of mercy and forgiveness, particularly through the ministry of the ordained priesthood.
As Pope Benedict indicates above, those words are indeed meant for every ordained priest. That is, by our words, example, and ministry, we are to “proclaim to sinners … that (God’s) mercy is infinite.” St. Mary Faustina Kowalska, the Polish nun canonized by Pope John Paul II, and the apostle of Divine Mercy, wrote in her diary: “Come with faith to the feet of my representative ... I myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest ... I myself act in your soul ... Make your confession before me. The person of the priest is, for me, only a screen. Never analyze what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to me, and I will fill it with my light.” These words of St. Faustina express a tendency in many of us, that is, to allow the person of the priest to blind us to God’s grace working through him sacramentally. We may do this because of the shame we feel because of our sins, or we may do this because something about the priest inhibits us. Whatever the case may be, we are encouraged by Pope Benedict, by St. John Vianney and by St. Faustina, to make use of the ministry of priests in seeking God’s divine mercy.
Many Catholics have become devoted to the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. I find it deeply beneficial, especially since it awakens in us a deep spirit of mercy. We are called to seek the Lord’s mercy and to be merciful ourselves. It does this by instilling a profound confidence in and respect for God’s infinite mercy. Praying for divine mercy allows the Spirit’s oil of mercy to anoint and heal us. God’s mercy is like a salve that heals the wounds that sin causes in our lives and in the world. Praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy prepares us and makes us more disposed to approach the sacrament of penance.
As for us priests, we can learn from the example of the Curé of Ars. The Holy Father notes that “(in) his time the Curé of Ars was able to transform the hearts and the lives of so many people because he enabled them to experience the Lord’s merciful love.” We, priests of today, are called to enable our people to experience the Lord’s merciful love. Pope Benedict moreover notes that the Curé of Ars “dealt with different penitents in different ways.” With penitents who were humble and contrite, he extended the Lord’s tender compassion. With penitents who were lukewarm he awakened repentance in them and prayed doubly for them. Benedict notes the Curé’s words to a confrere, “I will tell you my recipe: I give sinners a small penance and the rest I do in their place.” Mercy stimulates and awakens mercy.
Let us pray in this Year for Priests that we will see in our priests God’s gift of divine mercy. Let us pray that we will see in their ministry an extension and expression of the heart of Christ, on fire for his people, ever ready to extend his healing mercy. Let us pray for our priests, that they not be simple conduits of God’s mercy but truly sacramental expressions of the love and mercy of Christ for his people.