François-Régis Salefran / Wikimedia Commons
CV NEWS FEED // There is profound beauty in the vocation of the priesthood, Cardinal Robert Sarah, archbishop emeritus of Conakry, Guinea, reflected at a conference for Catholic clergy Jan. 15 in Rome.
Cardinal Sarah asked those present if they recalled celebrating their first Mass and the emotions they had at the time. Even if their first Mass was a long time ago, he said, the beauty of offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass has not changed.
“The beauty of our vocation to our particular configuration with Jesus Christ, the beauty of our ministry, and the beauty of our witness in bringing Him to others and in bringing others to Him remain undiminished,” he said, “even if we are older, tired, or discouraged.”
Cardinal Sarah, who is prefect emeritus of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, expressed hope that his address would encourage those present in vocational renewal. The UK publication Catholic Herald published a transcript of the address, titled “Beauty and the Mission of the Priest,” which was given in Rome, at the Third International Catholic Clergy Conference.
Continuing, Cardinal Sarah countered the idea that beauty is subjective and elaborated on its definition from a theological and moral standpoint. Beauty is not chiefly an aesthetic issue, he said, but a matter of whether the observable aspects of man’s life and worship of God “truly [participate] in that which is of Jesus Christ, who is Beauty, Truth, and Goodness incarnate.”
Moreover, Jesus Christ is beautiful, the Cardinal elaborated, “because of His integrity, His holiness, and His sacrificial dedication to His Mission. He is beautiful because He is completely given over to the accomplishment of His Father’s will.”
Given man’s sin and limited capabilities, the priest’s participation in the offering of Christ’s self-sacrifice is only possible through Christ’s grace.
“The beautiful face of Jesus Christ, the definitive revelation of God in human history, can shine in me and through me; but only if I cooperate with that grace today and renew my resolve to do so for as many more tomorrows as I am given on this earth,” the Cardinal said.
An implication of the priesthood’s beauty is that the liturgy must be beautiful as well, according to Cardinal Sarah. The majority of his address focused on this topic of beauty in the Sacred Liturgy.
“If the Eucharist is truly the source and summit of the Church’s life and mission,” he said, “we cannot settle for second-best, or worse.”
Concern for beauty in the Mass, Cardinal Sarah said, is not simply aesthetic, but “fundamentally pastoral.” Everything in the priestly life flows from the calling to serve at God’s altar.
Moreover, prayer and reverence on the altar will invite the faithful to participate more deeply in the Liturgy, he said. For example, he encouraged the priests to truly pray the liturgical texts rather than just read them as a formality.
“If we give ourselves to the liturgical rites and truly enter into them, just as Christ offered Himself on the Cross, people will know that we are not mere functionaries getting a job done, but men of God standing before Him in awe, profoundly aware of the privilege that is ours,” Cardinal Sarah said. “This is our vocation! This is whom God calls us to be! This is how we shall build up the Church on earth and lead souls to salvation!”
The full text of Cardinal Sarah’s address can be read here.
