Spiritual Theology Of The Priesthood

Hans Urs von Balthasar's writings have pastoral implications that even now are barely recognised and hardly developed. Here a pastorally experienced theologian, who knew von Balthasar personally, unfolds this pastoral dimension for the first time. Integrating Christology and Ecclesiology with the profound spirituality that for von Balthasar is inseparable from authentic theology, Fr Power demonstrates the paradoxical grandeur and weakness of the Catholic priesthood. He highlights the roles of the Catholic priest as servant, bridegroom, shepherd, victim, teacher, prophet, celebrant and minister of reconciliation. At a time when many priests feel their identity called into question, this book offers new hope for the renewal of the priesthood in the Catholic Church.

The Theology of Priesthood is the result of a two-year seminar and dialogue on the priesthood sponsored by the Central Province of Dominican Friars. The goal of the seminar was to promote dialogue around varied theological issues and pastoral concerns, representing diverse viewpoints, in order to deepen our understanding of priesthood in the Roman Catholic tradition. The focus was on the historical, liturgical, and theological aspects of priesthood that require further reflection.

"Hans Urs von Balthasar's writings have pastoral implications that even now are barely recognised and hardly developed. Here a pastorally experienced theologian, who knew von Balthasar personally, unfolds this pastoral dimension for the first time. Integrating Christology and Ecclesiology with the profound spirituality that for von Balthasar is inseparable from authentic theology, Fr Power demonstrates the paradoxical grandeur and weakness of the Catholic priesthood. He highlights the roles of the Catholic priest as servant, bridegroom, shepherd, victim, teacher, prophet, celebrant and minister of reconciliation. At a time when many priests feel their identity called into question, this book offers new hope for the renewal of the priesthood in the Catholic Church."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Priesthood and crisis are two words that appear to be very closely related. Or so it has seemed for the past thirty years and more. The crisis in the priestly ministry is constantly showing new sides, however-the issue of the priest's own self-understanding, for example, the interplay of the various different vocations within the Church, and the struggle, in the face of a plethora of different ofÞces and ministries, to discern what constitutes the speciÞc priestly dimension and identity. Again and again, in his theological writings, Hans Urs von Balthasar has addressed the fundamental issues of ofÞce and ministry, of priesthood and discipleship. He has uncovered the foundations from a biblical and theological historical perspective and has offered answers to the current problems of priestly existence. This book presents the confrontation with relevant trends, and at the same time the opposing current generated by von Balthasar, since he does not follow popular positions but instead gives us the very core of the Gospel and of revelation, like rye bread. In order to illuminate the spirituality and meaning of the life of the priest of today, von Balthasar goes back to the origins, to the apostles, to their calling, and above all to that moment from which their apostolic mission and their entire Christian existence originates, the Paschal mystery of Jesus. On the eve of his death, Jesus establishes the Eucharist and the priesthood; immediately after his Resurrection he bestows on the disciples the power to forgive sins, entrusts his sheep to Peter, and sends them out into the whole world. Thus von Balthasar considers the life and mission of today's priests in continuity not only with the Þrst apostles, but above all, with Jesus himself. The person and mission of Jesus Christ stand at the center of priestly spirituality. Hence all the reßections in this work revolve unswervingly around Jesus Christ and his mission. Jesus is the source and norm of priestly existence. Only when God, made manifest in the Þgure of the Savior Jesus Christ, is understood as the center from which this priestly existence springs, and only when this enduring center is proclaimed, can the bold presumption of the Lord in entrusting his mission to weak men be understood in conÞdent trust and attract new followers, even in lean times.

Priesthood and crisis are two words that appear to be very closely related. Or so it has seemed for the past thirty years and more. The crisis in the priestly ministry is constantly showing new sides, however-the issue of the priest's own self-understanding, for example, the interplay of the various different vocations within the Church, and the struggle, in the face of a plethora of different offices and ministries, to discern what constitutes the specific priestly dimension and identity. Again and again, in his theological writings, Hans Urs von Balthasar has addressed the fundamental issues of of?ce and ministry, of priesthood and discipleship. He has uncovered the foundations from a biblical and theological historical perspective and has offered answers to the current problems of priestly existence. This book presents the confrontation with relevant trends, and at the same time the opposing current generated by von Balthasar, since he does not follow popular positions but instead gives us the very core of the Gospel and of revelation, like rye bread. In order to illuminate the spirituality and meaning of the life of the priest of today, von Balthasar goes back to the origins, to the apostles, to their calling, and above all to that moment from which their apostolic mission and their entire Christian existence originates, the Paschal mystery of Jesus. On the eve of his death, Jesus establishes the Eucharist and the priesthood; immediately after his Resurrection he bestows on the disciples the power to forgive sins, entrusts his sheep to Peter, and sends them out into the whole world. Thus von Balthasar considers the life and mission of today's priests in continuity not only with the first apostles, but above all, with Jesus himself. The person and mission of Jesus Christ stand at the center of priestly spirituality. Hence all the reaections in this work revolve unswervingly around Jesus Christ and his mission. Jesus is the source and norm of priestly existence. Only when God, made manifest in the figure of the Savior Jesus Christ, is understood as the center from which this priestly existence springs, and only when this enduring center is proclaimed, can the bold presumption of the Lord in entrusting his mission to weak men be understood in confident trust and attract new followers, even in lean times.

Since the end of Vatican II, in 1965, more active involvement of the laity has led many people to wonder about the priestಙs place in the Church. In this masterful work, theologian Jean Galot, S.J., clarifies the nature of the priesthood. He explains how the Jewish priesthood, the perfect priestly ministry of Jesus, and the role of the Twelve help us understand the ministerial priesthood. He considers how the ಜpriesthood of the faithfulಝ and the ministerial priesthood relate to each other, and how the latter is, by Godಙs design, necessary for the former. Theology of the Priesthood carefully examines the priestಙs role as minister of sacrifice and the sacraments, prophet of the Word, and leader of the Church. These and other aspects are summed up, according to Galot, in the priestಙs ministry as shepherd. This ministery is itself a sharing in Jesusಙ role as Shepherd: ಜThe priest does not draw the inspiration for his pastoral zeal from his own feelings, from his own personal resolve to create a better worldಝ, Fr. Galot writes. ಜHe is shepherd on the strength of Godಙs pastoral intention and represents specifically Christ the shepherd. Consequently, he is called upon to fulfill his pastoral mission not according to ideas of his own and his own personal ambitions, but in keeping with Godಙs own dispensation and the design of salvation devised by the Father and carried out by Christ. Like Jesus himself, the priest is at the service of the Father.ಝ The book also explores the spiritual life of priests, including the role of celibacy. It concludes with a discussion demonstrating that the male character of the ministerial priesthood is based on the will of Jesus and is not contrary to womenಙs dignity on their role in the Church.

It is generally accepted that since the end of Vatican II there has been a crisis in the Catholic priesthood. This is reflected in two areas in particular--defections from the priesthood and a serious decline in vocations, primarily in the developed countries of the West. John Paul II has addressed this situation many times during his pontificate, especially in Pastores dabo vobis where he offers a clear theological vision and a program of formation to overcome the current crisis of priestly identity. In his new book McGovern offers a deep analysis of the Pope's theology of priesthood, drawing not only from Pastores dabo vobis, but also from his Holy Thursday Letters and other important writings on this topic. In this study the author deals with core aspects of priestly identity under three main headings--theological, spiritual, and pastoral--in the context of service to the lay faithful and the evangelization required of the Church in the new millennium.

The widely-reported crisis facing the Roman Catholic priesthood has brought to the fore fundamental questions regarding the theology of the ministerial priesthood. A return to traditional sources has been proposed as one means of inspiration and renewal. The particular spiritual theology of priesthood proposed by the founder of the French school of spirituality, cardinal and statesman Pierre de Berulle (1575-1629), had a major influence on seminary formation as late as the era leading up to the Second Vatican Council. Newly reflected, in part, in Pope St. John Paul II's post-synodal exhortation Pastore Dabo Vobis, this spiritual theology of priesthood again enjoys a wide appreciation. This monograph represents the first in-depth critical appraisal of Berulle's ideas and his influence on the development of the Roman Catholic theology of the priesthood, principally through his use of concepts adapted from the realm of speculative mysticism, that is, philosophical speculation regarding mystical experience, and shaped into an applied metaphysic. Key notions underlying his polemicized positive theology, and related to the Christological debates of the Reformation and Counter Reformation eras, include such concepts as subsistence, relation, substance, obediential potency, person, causality, image, being, and more. The author's thesis is that Berulle's spiritual theology of priesthood created a sea change in the theology of priesthood, heretofore unrecognized, as his ideals survived mainly in formation literature and have been underexplored by theologians and philosophers, who have passed over the pertinence of this category of work in particular and spiritual theology in general in the shaping of theological concepts related to the priesthood. This study details how Berulle's project to renew the priesthood fostered the absorption of certain Reformist and Counter-Reformist inheritances and aporias into mainstream tradition, including an interpretation of exemplar causality as generative, and of the priest as public person and transparent image.