By Fr. John Adamski

Next week American Catholics will observe “Respect for Life” week, an effort by our bishops to draw attention to several significant issues affecting life in our country today. The areas of concern: the unborn, aged, youth, poor, peace and the family should elicit a response from every Christian person. Jesus taught us that each person has a great dignity and value especially because every human being has the possibility of sharing in the life of God through faith. We give some positive indication about our own “Respect for Life” by the way that we treat those who have a special need to be met in their own lives.

A priest expresses his own respect for the value of life and its implications for all people in a particular fashion. He is called to the service of others, most especially God’s people with whom he finds himself at any given stage of his life and ministry. Because of God’s call for him and his personal believing attitude, the priest must see the entire scope of human needs including the search for final happiness and lasting peace with God. A priest must be a man concerned with the “now” needs of his people because he realizes that these needs must be met in order to help people see beyond the limitations and restrictions of today and into the lasting freedom of living with God forever. A person in great pain, anguish and suffering today will hardly be able to move eagerly into the new unknown of tomorrow’s challenge.

Perhaps the clearest sign of the way a priest is called to approach this task is the fact that he gives his entire life and choice of life style over to his people. He forms no family of his own because he must lead all God’s people to a further experience of the reality of God’s family. He makes this personal sacrifice because of his own confident hope and trust in the existence of God’s care for men. This personal dedication should help the priest to share more fully the generous concern of God for us by his openness and availability to our needs. His celibate commitment is not necessarily a deprivation of love but a willingness to give love in this open-ended manner.

Today we are becoming increasingly aware of the Christian responsibility to serve one’s neighbor. Many options exist for those people who wish to assume a life style which will permit them to serve others. Ministry within the Church is one of those service options which is a possibility. A person thinking about priesthood should make some effort to determine what he would hope his life might be able to accomplish, what he really sees as important and meaningful for good and well-being of others. Some service specialties such as medicine, social work, education, etc., may be appealing because of their more immediate goals and methods. Other people might see themselves better suited to trying to help expand the growing realization of God’s call and care for men. That’s the specific task of the priest.

While much depends on a person’s willingness to assume this service role, ministry in the Church also includes the aspect of a call from God. This divine call may be difficult to determine since it seldom includes any sort of extraordinary revelation to announce its presence. Perhaps the best indication of God’s call is one’s own personal happiness. If a man finds himself happy with the task of serving, if he experiences some measure of joy and inner peace in sharing his life in this way then he should become more confident that this is in fact what God might be calling him to do with his life. Daily problems and frustrations will remain, but these will assume their proper perspective if there is an underlying peace and satisfaction with one’s capability and opportunity for ministry.

A crucial aspect in this whole process of sharing a profound respect for life is prayer. Every Christian needs to approach God giving Him thanks and seeking his continued blessings. The priest, one who takes on the role of leading god’s people, must give his willing effort to maintaining a deep communication with God through his own life of prayer. His vision of faith includes his realization that ministry comes from God and must be exercised in faithfulness to him. The constant effort to be faithful is nourished and strengthened through the communication called prayer.

Your own observance of “Respect for Life” week might also include a remembrance of your priests. Your prayers for us will certainly assist us to grow further in our personal respect for the life and call of God to his people today.