20 - 天主教會台灣主教團

V.308-2010
the feast of Pentecost, the apostles started to evangelize without fear and
reaped bountiful fruits. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we have no
force to evangelize. We may toil in evangelizing for a long time, but get no
obvious results, like Peter who said to Jesus: “Master, we have worked hard
all night and have caught nothing.” (Lk 5:5) Nevertheless, precisely at this
very moment, we must be like St. Peter and say to Jesus Christ, the Master
of evangelization: “but at your command I will lower the nets." (Lk 5:6)
Yes, we must constantly pray, believing deeply that when the time comes,
the Lord Jesus will enable us to bear fruit far beyond our hard toil. (Lk
5:6-7)
II. THE YEAR FOR PRIESTS
Priests are the most important cooperators of the bishops. They are
the clergy of God’s mercy in the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and
Reconciliation. In this Year for Priests, let us give the clergy our warmest
support and encouragement. Today when the entire people of God are
to participate in the work of evangelization, the zeal and enthusiasm
of priests to evangelize are more than necessary. There is a shortage of
priestly vocations in the Church today. Priests and lay people should make
a personal reflection and make improvements. When priests and lay people
have different opinion at work, or their ways of doing things are different,
this is not something surprising but can test the depths of our Christian
spirit. Christ-centered communities make the truth of Christ prevail.
Being the “elder” of a parish and a community, the priest should be a
figure of unity and let the spirit of cooperation among lay people integrate
into the community. The priest should not have outbursts of emotion
towards the personnel, nor should he be an “opportunist” or judge people
by appearance. In our present society where there is a growing disparity
between the rich and the poor, where many people in the world are suffering
from hunger and starvation, the ascetic spirit of cloistered priests and
religious who live a life without worldly desires is ever more meaningful.
Let us “endure and enjoy, enjoy and endure”, encouraging mutually to be
strong witnesses of the Gospel.
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