By Fr. John Adamski

About three weeks ago a dozen vocation personnel from as far away as Chicago, Detroit and Boston gathered in Atlanta for a special training session sponsored by the National Center for Church Vocations and the American Management Association. This was one of several such programs being held in various places throughout the country. The seminar discussed management principles, counseling and the theology of ministry.

The session discussing the theology of ministry were especially pertinent for me since they focused some of my own thinking about the nature of priestly leadership within the church. Priestly commitment is a willingness to give fully and completely of oneself for the sake of serving God’s people. In that sense it reflects the same characteristics as a marriage commitment: total, lifelong giving. But instead of making that gift to one other person, the priest is called to make that same gift of himself for all the people he might serve.

Choosing that style of life is different from deciding about a particular job or career because one deals more definitely with the actual values that shape the goals and ideals of an individual’s life. Accepting God’s call to serve the church is a statement of faith in God and the significance of a faith position for every man as well as a recognition of the value of human life and the efforts necessary to care for and respond to human needs. A priest is a person who hopes to realize some of these values through his own generous gift of everything that he is as man.

That’s a tall order for any person. At times, even after ordination, it may seem like a great deal to ask from someone. In fact, it is a life style that will demand much (but then what sincere life effort doesn’t), but it is not an impossible call. Priestly ministry is particularly an involvement of oneself in a special relationship: a relationship of service to the community of believing people. That role of leadership and service remains viable only when the relationship with the community is an actual part of the life and work of the priest. This means simply that the support of the rest of the community is an essential need for successful ministry. Support, not in the sense of full agreement with everything that a priest says or does, but rather a recognition of the value of his role within the community and an effort to encourage and sustain that role.

That concern and involvement are crucial so that the priest remains an actual, living part of the community rather than an isolated individual who simply performs certain faith rituals. The priest should function as a leader not because some powers have been injected into him, but because he seeks to assist the community in their corporate responsibility to continue the work of Jesus in every age and place.

So often I think that many of our people today still think of a priest as being somewhat removed from the mainstream of life and particularly the harsh reality of their own lives. A situation like that can develop not just because of an attitude on the part of the priest, but also because the people aren’t fulfilling their community role to support the one who leads. A priest needs feedback from his people about the ways in which he is or is not in contact with the basic core of their lives.

When was the last time you invited your parish priest to your home? When was the last time you made a thoughtful comment - positive or negative - about his sermon? When was the last time you invited him to share something of the happiness or sadness that was even momentarily a part of your life?

The priest himself needs to make a generous, sincere effort to maintain the relationship to the community that is the essence of his priestly role. His personal efforts will never be successful without the involvement, care and support of the people he serves.