Servants of Charity

Dear Confreres, 

Scripture says, "I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding," (Jeremiah 3,15). How can we be good shepherds who care for and lead well those in our charge? First and foremost, we must be shepherds after God's own heart. The phrase translated as “after my heart” in Jeremiah 3,15 means, literally, “like my heart” (ִיבּלכּ - kelibbi). If we want to lead people in God's ways, then our hearts, which include our thinking and choosing, not just our emotions, must be like God's own heart. We must contemplate two hearts: the Heart of the Good Shepherd and our own heart as priests. The Heart of the Good Shepherd is not only the Heart that shows us mercy, but is itself mercy. The Heart of the Good Shepherd tells us that His love is limitless; is never exhausted and never gives up. There we see His infinite and boundless self-giving; the source of that faithful and meek love which sets free and makes others free.
Contemplating the Heart of Christ, we are faced with the fundamental question of our priestly life: Where is my heart directed? It is a question we need to keep asking, daily, weekly. Where is  my heart directed? Our ministry is often full of plans, projects and activities: from catechesis to liturgy, to works of charity, to pastoral and administrative commitments. Amid all these, we must still ask ourselves: What is my heart set on? For as Jesus says:

Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” (Mt 6,21)

All of us have our weaknesses and sins. But let us go deeper: what is the root of our failings, the place we have hidden that “treasure” that keeps us away from the Lord?
The great riches of the Heart of Jesus are two: Father and us. His days were divided between prayer to the Father and encountering people. Not distance, but encounter. So too the heart of Christ's priests knows only two directions: the Lord and His people. The heart of the priest is a heart pierced by the love of the Lord. For this reason, he no longer looks to himself, but is nstead turned towards God and his brothers and sisters. It is no longer a fluttering heart, allured by momentary whims, shunning disagreements and seeking petty satisfactions. Rather, it is a heart rooted firmly in the Lord, warmed by the Holy Spirit, open and available to our brothers and sisters.
A shepherd after the heart of God does not protect his own comfort zone. He is not worried about protecting his good name, but unafraid of criticism, he is disposed to take risks in seeking to imitate his Lord. A shepherd after the heart of God has a heart sufficiently free to set aside his own concerns. He does not live by calculating his gains. He is not a boss to be feared by his flock, but a shepherd who walks alongside them.
So it is also with the priest of Christ. He is anointed for his people, not to choose his own projects but to be close to the real men and women whom God has entrusted to him. With a father's loving gaze and heart, he welcomes and includes everyone. He listens patiently to the problems of his people and accompanies them, sowing God's forgiveness with generous compassion. He does not scold those who wander off or lose their way, but is always ready to bring them back and to resolve difficulties and disagreements.

Dear Confreres! May we find joy daily in the Eucharistic celebration when we renew our 'yes' with the words: “This is my body, which is given up for you”. 

This is the meaning of our life; with these words, in a real way we can daily renew the promises we made at our priestly ordination. Moreover, our Guanellian tradition of renewing this 'yes' on the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus requires us to be shepherds after God's own heart.
As Pope Benedict XVI reminds us 'the priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus', we must never forget that from this heart sprang the gift of the priestly ministry. I pray that you will be shepherds after God's own heart with the poor entrusted to your care as we begin the month of June with the renewal/new ministry that each of you are assigned for the growth of the Province. I wish all of you all the best for your studies, practicum and for a fruitful ministry.

Fr. Ronald J, SdC

Provincial Superior