I received a question about the quote from St. Josemaria appearing in the blog header: "A priest should be exclusively a man of God. He should reject any desire to shine in areas where other Christians do not need him."
St. Josemaria is quite a lightning rod. He is loved and revered as well as hated and reviled. It is in not enough to say, "So was our Lord." His model of priestly service is amazing on its own terms. He was sinful man, a broken man, a man whose sins were borne on the Holy Cross. Yet, he is also a saint. This ought to give us great comfort. This is not to say that we ought to embrace sin. It is rather to say that there is no place for discouragement. Yes, we shall sin. Yes, we have sinned. Yes, our sins make us foolish. However, they are not stronger than Jesus Christ. If we submit to Him and not to the sin, sanctity may be in our reach as well. Here's a quote that I think sums up St. Josemaria and his view on this:
"The Church, the souls, of all continents, of all times present and to come, expect a lot from you... But you should have it very firmly fixed in your head and in your heart that you will be fruitless if you are not a saint or, let me put it better, if you don’t struggle to be a saint." (From The Forge, 873)
Our job as priests is not perfection; it is the struggle for perfection. The struggle is within our reach.
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