Conference paper
Live that what you do! Eucharist – the Source of the Spirituality of the Priest
Milan Špehar
; Theology of Rijeka, Dislocated Studies of Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb, Rijeka, Croatia
Abstract
Today the priestly spirituality is a much debated pastoral issue, unlike so in the past. The pastoral activity itself has a spiritual thread, but it is noted that the priest – because of the pastoral ministry – needs to cultivate a spirituality. It can not be a monastic spirituality, but necessarily a caritas pastoralis. The main and everyday part of the pastoral activity is the Eucharist, which is also a source for the Christian spirituality, in a special way for a priest that celebrates and leads the celebration of the Eucharist. The Eucharist has the dimension of the sacrifice, part of which is the kenosis, God's descending towards man, and the banquet as the ascending, with the anticipation of a future eternal life. The way of celebrating the Eucharist is important for a priest, since on it relies complete further activity, i.e. the life of the “Eucharist after the Eucharist”. The Eucharist is not and it can not be the means of a personal spirituality and a personal sanctification, but its character is necessarily of a banquet – a communal one. Caritas pastoralis and the encouragment to the priest given on the ordination day to live that what he does are a part of a one priestly spirituality.
Keywords
Eucharist; caristas pastoralis; kenosis; sacrifice; banquet; Eucharist after the Eucharist; adoration
Hrčak ID:
71325
URI
Publication date:
16.8.2010.
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