Fr Ogundipe Sdv

 THE PRIEST IS A HUMAN NOT A SPIRIT Fr Ogiator CDA Introduction My dear brothers, we gather not as angels disguised in cassocks but as men who have been looked upon by mercy. Before the altar and before the people, the priest stands as one who has been chosen, called and consecrated. Yet he remains profoundly human. This recollection invites us to return to a simple and liberating truth. The Catholic priest is not a spirit pretending to be human. He is a human person raised, healed and strengthened by the grace of God. Forgetting this truth wounds the priest and quietly harms the people entrusted to him. The Danger of Pretending to Be a Spirit There is a subtle temptation in priestly life to appear permanently strong, permanently prayerful, permanently in control. This temptation is often rewarded by applause and silence. But it slowly hollows the priest from within. Assuming to be a spirit leads to emotional repression, spiritual pride and moral vulnerability. The Directory for th...

 A Silent war begins when a Priest no longer trust his brothers My dear brothers, I speak to you from my experience, as a brother struggling among you, carrying the same oil of ordination and the same fragile humanity. There are moments in our priestly journey when the wound is not directed inward, and not even primarily toward the people we serve, but toward one another. There are moments when a priest discovers, sometimes painfully and sometimes quietly, that he no longer trusts his brother priests. This reality is rarely admitted aloud, yet it can deeply shape the way we live our priesthood. When trust among priests is weakened, something essential in the Body of Christ suffers. The priesthood was never meant to be lived in isolation. From the day of our ordination, we were inserted into a presbyterate, not as independent contractors of grace, but as brothers sharing one priesthood in Christ. Presbyterorum Ordinis reminds us that priests form one presbyterate and are bound toget...