Cardinal Filoni meets wtih seminarians in Zambia

(Vatican Radio) A life of service to the Gospel should be at the heart of a seminarian’s formative journey. That was the message of Cardinal Fernando Filoni, in a homily given to students for the priesthood during a November 7th to 10th visit to Zambia.

The Cardinal, who is Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, was preaching at Mass in St Dominic’s Seminary in Lusaka. He reminded the seminarians that a life at the service of the Gospel and the church’s mission of evangelisation is the mark of the life of authentic disciples of Jesus.

“The life of Jesus’ closest disciples, which is what we are called to be, is shaped by concrete love, a love, in other words, marked by service and availability. It is a life that has no closed spaces or private property for our own use, or at least there shouldn’t be. Those who choose to model their entire life on Jesus no longer choose their own places; they go where they are sent in ready response to the one who calls.”

The Cardinal went on to call on the seminarians to reject a safe and comfortable life. Rather, he said “have courage to fully offer yourselves, the best years of your life, in full availability to your Bishop and to the poor and marginalized.”

Touching on the subject of temptation, the cardinal warned that “We can be tempted to follow Jesus for ambition: ambition for money or power…In our life as disciples of Jesus, there must be no room for personal ambition, for money, for worldly importance. We follow Jesus to the very last step of his earthly life: the cross.”

Cardinal Filoni also highlighted the importance of celibacy as a tool to free priests and seminarians to be completely at the service of the Gospel.

The full text of the Cardinal's homily may be found below.

Homily at St. Dominic’s Major Seminary, Lusaka, Tuesday, 8 November 2016

Dear Brothers in Christ,

It is a joy to be with you here at St. Dominic’s Major Seminary. Having been sent to Malawi as the Holy Father’s Special Envoy on the occasion of the Consecration of the Cathedral in Karonga, afforded me the opportunity to also draw close to the Church in Zambia. At this time, I would like to convey to all of you the greeting and Apostolic Blessing of His Holiness Pope Francis. As Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, I would like to greet and thank the Very Reverend Father Kennedy Seketa, Rector of this seminary, for the cordial welcome, and all Rectors and formators here present for your service to the Church’s mission of evangelization, carried out so effectively through the education and formation of the next generation of priests. To His Excellency, the Most Rev. Julio Murat, Apostolic Nuncio to Zambia, I thank you for all the hard work in organizing this visit. On behalf of the Missionary Dicastery in Rome, I would like to extend a word of gratitude to the Episcopal Conference and the Most Rev. Benjamin Phiri, Auxiliary Bishop of Chipata and Bishop-Director for Seminaries, for the dedicated leadership of the programs of priestly formation in Zambia.

I would like to direct this brief reflection to you seminarians, whom I now greet and to whom I convey the support and affection of our Holy Father Pope Francis. The liturgy of the Word for today presents us with a passage from the Gospel of Luke, in which we hear Jesus exhorting his Apostles, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do’” (v. 10). Jesus is reminding his followers of the principle duty of Christian discipleship: service. This obligation and willingness ‘to serve and not to be served’ arises as a response to the generous gift of Mercy and salvation we have first received from God. As we heard in the first Reading, “The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways.” God has come to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, “who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own.” We are the recipients of the greatest gift imaginable: life in Christ here on this earth and eternal life with the Blessed Trinity in Heaven. The heart that is aware of the gift of Salvation, which we receive, will be drawn to a proper response of loving service to God and others.

The aspect of service, dear seminarians, should be at the heart of your formative journey.[1] A life of service to the Gospel and the Church’s mission of evangelization is the mark of the life of authentic disciples of Jesus. Our Holy Father Pope “The life of Jesus’ closest disciples, which is what we are called to be, is shaped by concrete love, a love, in other words, marked by service and availability. It is a life that has no closed spaces or private property for our own use, or at least there shouldn’t be. Those who choose to model their entire life on Jesus no longer choose their own places; they go where they are sent in ready response to the one who calls.”[2] Francis, in addressing the seminarians at World Youth Day in Poland, put it this way, The vastness of missionary work urges me to invite you to not limit yourselves to little projects or desire a comfortable and safe life, rather have courage to fully offer yourselves, the best years of your life, in full availability to your Bishop and to the poor and marginalized. Nevertheless, as even happened with some of the Apostles, “We can be tempted to follow Jesus for ambition: ambition for money or power…In our life as disciples of Jesus, there must be no room for personal ambition, for money, for worldly importance. We follow Jesus to the very last step of his earthly life: the cross.”[3]

In order to live out the vocation of generous service to God and His People as priests of Jesus Christ, we must be grounded in prayer and our commitment to celibacy. We are called to a daily dialogue with Christ, meeting Him in the tabernacle and developing a personal friendship with the Lord. As Pope Francis has reminded us, “The way to seek God is through prayer that is transparent and unafraid to hand over to him our troubles, our struggles and our resistance…He is happy when we tell him everything: He is not bored with our lives, which he already knows; he waits for us to tell him even about the events of our day.”[4] We are called to follow the Word of God in prayer and not the voices of the world that we hear on the streets or through the computer. The Word of God and a personal relationship with Jesus through prayer will never fail us.

Finally, dear seminarians, God may be calling you to a life of committed service to his Church to be lived out in the free choice of a life of celibacy. When fully embraced it frees us to follow Jesus more closely. Celibacy draws us into close conformity to Jesus and enables a life of generous service to others. Remember that the Holy Spirit, the font of holiness, is ever-present with the strength necessary to follow Christ by entering into his spousal love for his Bride, the Church, through a life of chaste celibacy.

I am happy to hear that you have spent time reflecting on the theme of Mercy throughout this past year. As this Year of Mercy draws to a close, we are reminded that “each of us holds in his or her heart a very personal page of the book of God’s mercy. It is the story of our own calling, the voice of the love that attracted us and transformed our life, leading us to leave everything at his word and to follow him.”[5] Never forget how much God has done for you. Trust that He will always provide for your needs and do not be afraid to follow Jesus wherever he leads you. Thank you for your openness to God’s will and your willingness to boldly follow Christ’s invitation to “Come, follow me.” God bless you!

[1] John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, nn. 21-23.

[2] Pope Francis, Homily during Mass with Priests, Religious and Seminarians at World Youth Day 2016.

[3] Pope Francis, Address to Clergy, Men and Women Religious and Seminarians, Nairobi (Kenya), 26 November 2015.

[4] Pope Francis, Homily during Mass with Priests, Religious and Seminarians at World Youth Day 2016.

[5] Ibid.